Three DISE Graduate Students Win Prestigious Fellowship and Awards for International Research
Three graduate students from McGill University's Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE) have been honoured with prestigious fellowships and awards for their international research endeavours.
Renee Davy, a PhD candidate in Educational Studies, is a 2023 recipient of the International Doctoral Research Awards (IDRA). Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and managed by Universities Canada, the IDRA aims to enhance research skills in Canada and the Global South, with the goal of improving the lives of people in the developing world. In 2023, 25 doctoral students from 12 Canadian schools each received up to $20,000 in awards. Her project entitled Transforming Writing Instruction: Engaging Marginalized Youth in a Community Publishing Approach to Writing explores how marginalized youth’s engagement with community writing and grassroots publishing can shape their social and academic identities. Using a participatory action research approach, her work aims to challenge the deficit discourse surrounding marginalized youth and their language and literacy development. Renee’s research is being supervised by Dr. Amir Kalan.
Sitong Wang, a PhD candidate in Educational Studies, has been awarded the Graduate Mobility Award, which encourages graduate students to study and conduct research abroad as part of their McGill degree program by defraying part of the cost of the international experience. Titled “Discovering the Reading Subject”: Reducing Linguistic Prejudice in Writing Assessment in Academic Writing, focuses on reducing linguistic prejudice in writing assessment. This award enables Sitong Wang to collect material and data to examine writing course outlines, institutional language policies, and other relevant documents from universities in China. This research contributes to a thorough analysis and comparison of pedagogical methodologies and materials across universities in diverse countries, helping to determine the ubiquity of linguistic prejudice in writing education and thereby addressing Wang's research questions. Sitong Wang's research is being supervised by Dr. Amir Kalan.
Chama Lassassy, an MA student in Second Language Education, has been selected as an incoming young leader for the 2024-25 Pathy Foundation Fellowship at the Coady Institute. This prestigious 12-month fellowship, supported by the Pathy Family Foundation, provides each Fellow with up to $40,000 in funding to implement a self-designed initiative. Chama Laassassy's initiative, ⵉⵙⵡⵉ | ISWI: Purpose for At-Risk Youth, aims to empower at-risk youth in Nador, Morocco (الناظور, المغرب). This project seeks to create a supportive environment for young people, helping them develop skills and opportunities that promote their personal and professional growth. offers community-focused experiential learning opportunities for graduating students. Chama Laassassy is in the final year of her MA program, focusing her research on the impact of outside-of-the-classroom language practice on language learning. Her commitment to fostering sustainable positive social change has earned her this important fellowship. Chama Lassassy's research is being supervised by Dr. Susan Ballinger. Learn more about the Pathy Foundation Fellowship.
Congratulations to the winners for their commitment to driving social change in international contexts!
