Dr Jennifer Frean awarded the Brian Street Memorial Award

Dr Jennifer Frean, Research Fellow in the Social of Social and Political Science at the Faculty of Arts, has received the Brian Street Memorial Award for her contributions to scholarship bridging anthropology, education and literacy practices at the Literacy Research Association’s 75th Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

The award supports research honouring the legacy of the British anthropologist and literacy researcher Brian Street. Dr Frean was endorsed for the award by Dr Susan Israel, editor of the Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension, 3rd edition, and was invited to present as the author of one of three chapters selected from the Handbook, joining a symposium of international authors.

Her presentation, 'Examining reading comprehension through the lens of communication', called for researchers to collaborate and galvanise across disciplines. Jennifer's work stems directly from her transdisciplinary PhD, awarded by the School of Culture and Communication in 2022, titled 'Do university students learn better from paper or screen? A study of delivery mode and first language when reading for comprehension'.

Dr Frean's award-winning paper will be published by the Literacy Research Association in a special edition of its journal in 2026.