Wright, Chan co-awarded Alatis Prize for research on multilingual education in Cambodia
The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) named two Purdue College of Education faculty members and their colleague as the co-recipients of the 2023 James E. Alatis Prize for Research on Language Planning and Policy in Educational Contexts.
The co-recipients are: Wayne E. Wright, associate dean for Research, Graduate Programs, and Faculty Development and the Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language, Purdue; Virak Chan, clinical assistant professor in Literacy and Language, Purdue; and their colleague Sovicheth Boun, assistant professor of ESL & Literacy and a coordinator of the TESOL Graduate Programs at Salem State University, Massachusetts.
They received the prize for their journal article, “Implementation of Multilingual Mother Tongue Education in Cambodian Public Schools for Indigenous Ethnic Minority Students,” published last year in the inaugural issue of Educational Linguistics (2022, Vol 1., No. 1, pp. 196-217, De Gruyter Mouton). The article is available to read for free via open access.
“I have long appreciated the work of TIRF in providing support to graduate students and scholars and in recognizing outstanding scholarship in the field of language and education,” Wright said. “It is an immense honor to receive the 2023 James E. Alatis Prize for Research on Language Planning and Policy in Educational Contexts alongside my dear colleagues and friends, Sovicheth Boun and Virak Chan. We hope this award brings attention to the important collaborative work of the Cambodian government, international NGOs including CARE Cambodia, and local indigenous ethnic minority communities to develop and expand multilingual mother-tongue education policies and programs.”
“As a former TIRF DDG (Doctoral Dissertation Grants) awardee, it’s my pleasure and honor once again to be recognized by TIRF,” Chan said. “We hope this recognition of our research helps to bring renewed attention to the importance of multilingual education, specifically in the indigenous ethnic minority communities.”
The TIRF James E. Alatis Prize for Research in Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts was established in 2014 to honor James E. Alatis, a TIRF founder and long-serving Trustee of the Foundation. TIRF Trustees decided to recognize an outstanding article or chapter in the field of language planning and policy in educational contexts in Dr. Alatis’ name because he committed a great deal of his career working in the field of language education policy.
Source: TIRF https://www.tirfonline.org/trio-of-researchers-selected-as-2023-tirf-alatis-prize-co-recipients/