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Oct. 7, 2021

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dung Pham, a doctoral student in the Evaluation, Measurement and Research (EMR) program in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology, received the 2021 Conference Mentored Travel Award for the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE). The award is for early career professional and student researchers of color and covers conference registration, hotel and travel. Awardees participate in a mentorship program with an established researcher to help them navigate the meeting, make connections and to be a sounding board throughout the event.

Pham is an international student from Vietnam currently in her fourth year of the EMR program. Attending SREE’s 2021 virtual conference has been a valuable experience for Pham because it’s given her an opportunity to hear innovative ideas that give her a better sense of what she could do for her dissertation. EMR students are required to make a methodological contribution in the area of evaluation, measurement or research as part of their dissertation, so being up to date on the most current developments in educational research methodologies is a must.

The conference also gave her a chance to expand her professional networks and feel better prepared for the next stages of her career. Having a mentor for the conference, Dr. Rehka Balu, Director of the Center for Applied Behavioral Science at MDRC, made a huge difference in her experience and allowed her to better achieve her goals."

Before attending graduate school in the United States, Pham was a member of the Faculty of Business English at Foreign Trade University in Vietnam, where she taught English courses to undergraduate students of Business English, Business Administration and International Business programs. She is interested in examining reliability and validity and related issues in educational research design and methods.

Of the award, Pham said, “I am very honored to receive this award and would like to thank Dr. Jessaca Spybrook for introducing me to SREE and for her support and guidance as I navigate this scholarly space.”