Kwangok Song

Kwangok Song is an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas, specializing in sociocultural aspects of literacy and learning. She joined the faculty in 2017 and holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on bilingual and biliteracy practices, digital literacy, and classroom discussions, particularly in multilingual and multicultural settings. She teaches undergraduate literacy methods courses and emphasizes qualitative methodologies like discourse analysis and ethnography.

Her work explores emergent bilingual students’ language use in diverse contexts, including online environments and community-based heritage language schools. She has contributed to understanding how translanguaging strategies support learning and how civic engagement shapes biliteracy development in immigrant families. Song co-leads Area 8 (Literacy Learning and Practice in Multilingual and Multicultural Settings) at the Literacy Research Association and has secured grants, such as the 2018 study on bilingual education in U.S. heritage language schools.

Awarded the LRA Scholars of Color Transitioning into Academic Research (STAR) mentoring program (2013–2015), her publications span journals like International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism and Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, addressing topics ranging from digital literacy to family literacy practices. Her teaching interests include literacy assessment and theories of reading instruction.