LI, Guofang 1972-

PERSONAL: Born July 9, 1972, in Hubei, China; immigrated to Canada; daughter of De-Chun Li (a farmer) and Feng-Lan Chen (a farmer). Ethnicity: "Chinese." Education: Hubei University, B.A. (teaching English as a foreign language), 1993; Wuhan University, M.A. (applied linguistics), 1996; University of Saskatchewan, Ph.D. (family and community literacy, early childhood education), 2000; University of British Columbia, post-doctoral studies (early literacy education and second language education), 2000-01.

ADDRESSES: Home—275 E3 Scamridge Curve, Williamsville, NY 14221. Offıce—Department of Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of Education, State University of New York at Buffalo, 505 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 275 Seventh Ave., 28th Floor, New York, NY 10001. E-mail—Guofang_li@yahoo. com, [email protected].

CAREER: Zhong Shan College, Wuhan, China, lecturer, 1994; Wuhan University, Wuhan, lecturer in English department, 1994; Business Foreign Language Training Center, Wuhan, lecturer, 1995; University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada, faculty of education, research assistant, 1997-99, lecturer, 1998-2000, Second Language Institute, lecturer, 1999-2000, College of Arts and Science, lecturer, 1999-2000; University of British Columbia, Canada, Language and Literacy Education, lecturer, 2000-01; State University of New York at Buffalo, second-language education, assistant professor, 2001—. Instructor in English as a foreign language at numerous schools in China; interpreter and translator in China, 1994-96. Member of board of directors, Chinese Language School, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1999-2000.

MEMBER: Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Language Arts Researchers of Canada, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, American Educational Research Association, National Council of Teachers of English.

AWARDS, HONORS: Dr. Kay Whale Memorial Book Prize, 1998; Margaret Gillett Best Article Award, McGill Journal of Education, 2001.

WRITINGS:

"East Is East, West Is West?": Home Literacy, Culture, and Schooling, Peter Lang (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor of numerous scholarly articles to books, including International Multiculturalism 1998: Preparing Together for the Twenty-first Century, edited by A. Richardson, Kanata Learning Company Ltd., 1998; and Multicultural and Multilingual Literacy and Language Practices, edited by F. Boyd, C. Brock, and M. Rozendal, Guilford Publications, 2003. Contributor to journals, including Journal of College English Teaching and Testing, Canadian Children, Canadian Journal of Education, TESL Canada Journal, McGill Journal of Education, and Journal of Literacy Research. Member of review board, McGill Journal of Education and TESL Canada Journal. Reviewer for Canadian Journal of Education.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Battles of Literacy and Culture: Teaching and Learning in a New Social Order, for State University of New York Press.

SIDELIGHTS: An assistant professor at the State University of New York campus at Buffalo, Guofang Li focuses on the study of language acquisition and second language learning. A native of China, Li immigrated to Canada after earning a master's degree on the subject of English education in China. Her doctoral work involved the study of literacy outside of school, and in particular the home practices of immigrant Chinese families in Canada.

Her 2002 title, "East Is East, West Is West?": Home Literacy, Culture, and Schooling, builds on Li's doctoral and post-doctoral research. In the book, she challenges the myth of the model Asian-American student who excels in school better than other ethnic groups. Having studied Chinese immigrant families in Canada, Li concluded that it is "a misconception that every Chinese parent can help their children like middle-class parents do," as she told Greg Toppo of USA Today. Li found that when parents themselves are unable to help their children with homework because of long work hours or because of their own lack of education, and when the schools fail to come to the aid of the child, then Asian immigrants do just as poorly academically as other minorities. Speaking with Patricia Donovan for the State University of New York at Buffalo Reporter, Li noted that "the stereotype of Asian students as model minorities has become a destructive myth for children of all backgrounds whom the school systems are failing—and they are failing many of them."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Reporter (State University of New York, Buffalo, NY), December 5, 2002, Patricia Donovan, "Dispelling Stereotypes: Researcher Debunks Idea That Asians Make Better Students," p. 5.

USA Today, December 10, 2002, Greg Toppo, "'Model' Asian Student Called a Myth: Middle-Class Status May Be a Better Gauge of Classroom Success," section D, p. 11.