Sponsored by the Robert Schuck Fund, this award recognizes and promotes exceptional research that makes a substantial contribution to the improvement of teacher education
Faculty and two alumni in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education were recently honored with the Association of Teacher Educators’ 2026 Robert F. Schuck Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award for their article “Community Mapping in Teacher Preparation: Developing Undergraduate Students’ Knowledge of Community Assets.”
The article was published in “Action in Teacher Education,” by Associate Professor of Education Heidi Hollingsworth, Associate Professor of Education Lisa Buchanan, Abigail Maclean Wilson ’21, Felicia Robinson ’21, and William S. Long Professor and Professor of Education Jeffrey Carpenter.
The research focuses on the impact of a course-based community asset mapping project on undergraduate students’ capacity for identifying and understanding assets within communities surrounding specific schools.
Sponsored by the Robert Schuck Fund, this award recognizes and promotes exceptional research that makes a substantial contribution to the improvement of teacher education. Established in honor of Robert F. Schuck, the award reflects his enduring commitment to rigorous scholarship that strengthens the field. Through this recognition, ATE seeks to encourage research that advances teacher education, supports the national and international dissemination of impactful findings, and expands the knowledge base that informs our profession.
About the Authors
Heidi Hollingsworth is an associate professor of education at Elon University. Her research focuses on teacher preparation that involves policy and advocacy, community-based learning, academic service-learning, community asset mapping and study abroad.
Lisa Buchanan is an associate professor of education at Elon University. Her research in teacher education is focused on preservice and in service teachers’ beliefs and decision making, social studies education and the use of children’s literature and media to teach difficult topics.
Jeffrey Carpenter is a professor of education at Elon University. His research focuses on self-directed and collaborative teacher learning.
Abigail Maclean Wilson ’21 graduated from Elon University in 2021 with a major in elementary education and a minor in early childhood education. She recently spent two years in Zambia working with a university ministry.
Felicia Robinson ’21 graduated from Elon University in 2021 with a major in elementary education and a minor in African and African American studies. She is an educator and a program assistant for the Intercultural Learning Certificate Program at Elon University.