Allison Skerrett is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Director of Teacher Education in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. A former secondary English teacher in Boston Public Schools, Allison continues her commitment to secondary English teachers, students, and ELA curriculum and instructional practices through her teaching and research at the University level. Dr. Skerrett works with secondary English pre-service and in-service teachers as a teacher educator. Additionally, her research focuses on diverse adolescents’ literacy practices and the design and implementation of secondary English curriculum and instructional practices that reflect the strengths and needs of diverse student populations.
Allison writes for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers in secondary-English education focused journals such as English Education and Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Her award-winning book, Teaching Transnational Youth: Literacy and Education in a Changing World (Teachers College Press 2015), is the first to examine the educational opportunities and challenges arising from increasing numbers of students living and attending school across different countries. Dr. Skerrett has received College- and University- level awards for her teaching at The University of Texas at Austin. She has also received awards for her research, such as from the Literacy Research Association. Dr. Skerrett also lends her expertise in secondary literacy/reading to national and international education advisory boards including the US National Assessment of Educational Progress in Reading (NAEPR) and Scotland’s International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA).