Aika Ishige is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, the University of British Columbia. Her research interests encompass race, identity, multiculturalism, and critical pedagogy. Her dissertation project examines majority-group students’ awareness of privilege in the context of multiculturalism in Japan.
She has worked as a lecturer at a university in Japan for several years before her Ph.D.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our students who graduated this morning at the 8:30am ceremony! We are incredibly proud of their hard work, dedication, and contributions to our community.
Student
Program of Study
Supervisor
Cheung, Lam Yin Candy
MEd in Literacy Education
Dr. Iris Berger
White, Chelanna
MEd in TESL
Dr. Andreea Cervatiuc
Yung, Siu Yung
MEd in TESL
Dr. Guofang Li
LLED’s graduate supervisor, Dr. Teresa Dobson and graduate program assistant, Stella Shen were also at the ceremony this morning to greet and celebrate with them.
Congratulations once again to all of our graduates, and their supervisors, on reaching this significant milestone. We wish you continued success in the journey ahead!
A place to call home: Stories of a young refugee-background child navigating classroom, marginal, and neighbourhood places. Multicultural Perspectives, 27(3), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2025.2575736
Please join us in congratulating the following LLED graduate students on being recipients of the 2025–2026 Faculty of Education Graduate Student Endowed Award!
Student Name
Award
Supervisor(s)
Takamitsu Mamashita
LOMCIRA Harold Covell Memorial Scholarship
Dr. Derek Gladwin, Dr. Kristiina Kumpulainen
Rosa David
Joseph Katz Memorial Scholarship
Dr. Ryuko Kubota, Dr. Meghan Corella
Aika Ishige
Joseph Katz Memorial Scholarship
Dr. Ryuko Kubota
Kyu Yun Lim
Mary Elizabeth Simpson Scholarship
Dr. Ryuko Kubota, Dr. Jennifer Jenson
Serikbolsyn Tastanbek
Dean of Education Scholarship
Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman, Dr. Meike Wernicke
Ziwen Mei
Dean of Education Scholarship
Dr. Guofang Li
Ryosuke Aoyama
Leon and Joan Tuey Graduate Scholarship
Dr. Ryuko Kubota, Dr. Meike Wernicke
These awards are granted on the basis of academic excellence. They represent an important recognition of academic achievement and can be a meaningful credential for future competitions (e.g. SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC, etc.).
LLED Arts-Based Educational Research Gathering: “Artful Listening: Meaning Making through/with Sound”
LLED will soon be hosting our next informal Arts-based Educational Research (ABER) gathering in December. We continue to do this in the Department to advance this important area of research, scholarship, and teaching. All faculty, graduate students, and staff are invited to attend regardless of whether you are currently engaged in arts-based research or are just interested and want to experiment with arts-based work, find inspiration, seek collaborations, and so on.
As such, we are excited to invite you to our upcoming interactive session titled “Artful Listening: Meaning Making through/with Sound.” Those attending this session will be given an opportunity to play with invitations to engage with collaborative arts-based reflective activities – if they so desire. Likewise, if you have a story or experience you would like to share about your practice as an artist-scholar and/or your inspirations, please feel welcome to bring it to the discussion.
We continue to work with our wonderful 2025/2026 ABER GAAS, Yi Luo and Matt Clarke! Please note that this session will also feature LLED PhD Candidate Klára Abdi, who will lead us in a sound healing and wellness offering as part of our event; for more on Klára’s sound work, please see here.
As the sound healing session will take place on the floor, we encourage participants to bring a yoga mat, towel, blanket, or any other item that will help you lie down comfortably (if applicable). Please also note that sound healing can sometimes evoke deep emotions or memories; we invite you to take care of yourself throughout the session in whatever ways you need, and you are welcome to communicate any needs to us at any time. Following the sound healing, there will be a short reflection period. We will provide pens and papers, but please feel free to bring your preferred journaling materials if you have them.
