Robinson receives Faculty Excellence Award for Research

Leading through Intervention

Dr. Ann Robinson’s endeavors in research are legendary. She conducts research studies, translates research to practice, and provides leadership to create sustainable research structures.

“Dr. Robinson is on a very lofty peak in the terrain of the field,” said Dr. Don Ambrose, editor of the Roeper Review.

Past president of the National Association for Gifted Children, Robinson is a national leader in gifted education. Her most recent empirical work focuses on the effect of school intervention on students and teachers, research that led to two multiple-year field studies funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

“Ann received the highest scholarly honor for a single work when her article, ‘A National Study of State and Local Advocacy,’ was selected Paper of the Year by the Gifted Child Quarterly, “a” said Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn-Neely, chair of the Department of Educational Leadership. “It was the first systematic empirical study of advocates in the field of gifted education. The findings have been used to identify key features of successful advocacy efforts by individuals in the field.”

In 2009, Robinson presented a paper at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, and in 2010, she presented new biographical work in Paris at the Biennial Meeting of the European Council on High Ability. A major scholarly project involving national and international researchers, “A Century of Contributions to Gifted Education: Illuminating Lives,” is pending publication.

She doesn’t just research ideas; she translates complex research for practitioners in the field. Preceding the best practices movement, Robinson collaborated on a project that resulted in “Recommended Practices in Gifted Education: A Critical Analysis,” a classic reference in the field.

An example of her research is the Jodie Mahony Center at UALR, founded by Robinson and named for the late state legislator responsible for a vast body of educational legislation and policy. The center has been the hub of the intervention research studies carried out in schools.

Robinson came to UALR in 1986. She earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from the University of Wyoming in 1971 and 1973 and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Purdue University in 1983.

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