Xiaoxiao Du

2014 — PhD, Western University
2008 — MEd, Western University
2006 — MA, Laurentian University
2004 — BA, Shenyang Normal University 
 

Xiaoxiao joined the Faculty of Education as Assistant Professor of language and literacies in July 2021. She is the former President (2019–2021) and Past President (2021–2023) of the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada and has been Associate Editor of the Language & Literacy eJournal since 2021. Dr. Du earned her Ph.D. from Western University, where her dissertation received the John Dearness Memorial Award. She has extensive experience working with diverse learners, families, and educators across public and private educational settings, from elementary to post-secondary levels in Canada and internationally. Through her scholarly work, Dr. Du has investigated and supported children’s early literacy learning across school, home, and community contexts. She has collaborated with elementary school teachers to deepen their understanding of diverse learners and enhance literacy instruction. Her work also engages parents in exploring school curricula and home literacy practices, bridging the gap between school and home literacies. Additionally, she learns with and from Indigenous teachers and researchers, engaging in reciprocal, relational practices that honor Indigenous ways of knowing and contribute to decolonizing education. She advocates for the meaningful affirmation and integration of culturally and linguistically diverse children's funds of knowledge within school curricula. Her scholarly work promotes and advances asset-based, justice-oriented pedagogies and multiliteracies that honor learners’ identities, foster inclusive practices, and promote culturally responsive and sustaining teaching.