University of Texas at Austin

Literacy Development in Peru

This program will work with Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru to provide students with an understanding of literacy initiatives implemented with international support in the Peruvian Amazon. Students will learn about the importance of preserving indigenous languages through collaboration with local partners. Student teams will collect data from leaders, educators, children, and families in the region of Ucayali to design literacy proposals informed by context. Program includes fully-funded travel to Peru summer 2023 and winter term 2023-2024.

Faculty team members:

  • Desirée Pallais-Downing, PhD, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
  • Patience Epps, PhD, Professor, Linguistics, College of Liberal Arts

International partner:

  • Cayetano Heredia University, Lima, Peru

Student team members:

  • Antonella Anderson – Plan II, Psychology, Madelyn Hajovsky – Linguistics, Caden Martin – English, History, Jenna Pipkin – Bilingual Education
  • Paola Gon – Psychology, Meera Hatangadi – Plan II, Corporate Communication, Frances Parra – International Business, Karla Rojas – Bilingual Education
  • Sabrina Chuan – Marketing, Saneeva George – Nutrition, Zaina Ghaffar – Speech-Language Pathology, Nutrition, Hanna Kang – International Relations and Global Studies
  • Zofia Graham – Linguistics, Plan II, Gloriel Kazadi – Psychology, Youth and Community Studies, Nioni Ledzma – Religious Studies
School students smile while holding papers at a school in Peru