Michael Lawson
Department Head and Associate Professor of Educational Research, ESPRMC
EDUCATION
| Degree | Area of Study | University |
|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | School Organization and Educational Policy, School of Education | University of California, Davis |
| M.S. | Department of Family Studies and Social Work | Miami (Ohio) University |
| B.A. | Department of History | Washington State University |
AWARDS AND HONORS
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Review of Research Award, American Educational Research Association |
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Student, family, and community engagement
Improvement science
Organizational development and re-design
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Design, implementation, and evaluation of early intervention and prevention programs for vulnerable children, youth, and families
Student, family and community engagement in schools and community agencies
Improvement science, particularly its import for school improvement, child and family interventions, and community development
HIGHLIGHTED PUBLICATIONS
- Lawson, M. (2017). Bridging student engagement research and practice. School Psychology International, 38, 221-239.
- Lawson, M., & Masyn, K (2015b, December). Analyzing profiles and predictors of students’ social-ecological engagement. AERA Open, 1 (4), 1-37. Doi: 10.1177/2332858415615856
- Lawson, M., & Masyn, K (2015a, January). Analyzing profiles, predictors, and consequences of student engagement dispositions. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 63-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2014.11.004
- Lawson, M. & Lawson, H. (2013). New conceptual frameworks for student engagement research, policy, and practice. Review of Educational Research, 83, 432-479.
- Lawson, M., & Alameda-Lawson, T. (2012). A case study of school-linked, collective parent engagement. American Educational Research Journal, 49, 651-684. DOI: 10.3102/0002831211427206
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Michael A. Lawson is Department Head of Educational Studies in the College of Education at The University of Alabama where he also serves as Associate Professor of Educational Research and Evaluation. His research is richly interdisciplinary. His expertise centers on student, family, and community engagement, improvement science, and organizational development and re-design. His scholarship has been published in leading academic journals such as Review of Educational Research, the American Educational Research Journal, AERA Open and Research on Social Work Practice. Prior to his tenure in academe, Dr. Lawson enjoyed a 15-year career as program designer and evaluator for complex change initiatives in Northern California. He now lives in Hoover, Ala., with his wife Kaye and their three dogs Lucy, Whiskey, and Milo.
Dr. Lawson’s teaching philosophy follows three core principles:
- The Learning is in the doing.
- The best way to learn about a system is to try to change it.
- Most people learn the most powerfully from making their own mistakes.
He therefore tries to structure his classes to be participatory, project-based, and to integrate extant research and theory with practice-related challenges.