Maya Alkateb-Chami

Maya Alkateb-Chami is a researcher and educator working at the intersection of educational linguistics, philosophy of education, and comparative education. Her research focuses on literacy education as an ethical, political, and social issue in culturally and linguistically diverse settings, with particular attention to language-of-instruction (LOI) policies and practices and to critical literacy education. 

Maya's interdisciplinary research program investigates educational outcomes in relation to LOI policies and practices in schools and classrooms using qualitative and mixed research methods—comparatively between countries and in select bilingual settings. She brings the rigor of analytic philosophy to this work and strives not to take for granted conceptions of literacy and language, the relation between them, or the common belief that literacy education is inherently empowering. These questions are at the heart of her dissertation project, Literacy and the Right to an Open Future. 

Maya is currently a doctoral candidate in Education at Harvard University, with a secondary field in Philosophy. Prior to doctoral studies, she had a career in nonprofit management spanning the areas of human rights, refugee education, and culture and the arts. She holds an M.Ed. in Language and Literacy from Harvard; an M.Sc. in Art Education from Indiana University, Bloomington; and a B.A. in Political Science from Damascus University. She was an editor of the Harvard Educational Review and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education as an instructor in Education and a teaching fellow.