Faculty PhD student receives international award: 2022 Patrice L. Engle Dissertation Grant Award

We are delighted to announce that Gong Jing, Joann, a 3rd-year PhD student from our Faculty, has been awarded 2022 Patrice L. Engle Dissertation Grant Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).

In Joann’s study, she aims to contribute to an understanding of socioeconomic status-based disparities in home learning environments and early achievement in Mainland China, and to pilot a culturally appropriate measure of home learning environments for Chinese families. She would like to express her heartfelt gratitude to her supervisor Professor Nirmala Rao in the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences, for her support and guidance. Professor Rao’s commitment to and passion for early childhood development and educational equity have inspired Joann and guided her research. Joann’s ambition is to translate this study into practice, and promote evidence-based policies and programmes which support disadvantaged children and families in low- or middle-income countries.

This year there were an enormous number of excellent applications from students working on early child development research in Africa, Asia and America. Despite the strong competition, Joann is one of the six selected awardees, who will receive funding and join the community of Engle scholars, who have been conducting research on early child development around the world since 2013.

The SRCD is a multidisciplinary, non-profit and professional association with a membership of approximately 5,500 researchers, practitioners, and human development professionals from over 50 countries/regions. The purposes of the SRCD are to promote multidisciplinary research in human development, to foster the exchange of information among scientists and other professionals, and to encourage applications of research findings. The Grant provides support for junior students who are interested in a career in global early child development, and who are either from or doing research in low- or middle-income countries/regions. 

Our heartiest congratulations to you, Joann!