Ȩnlę o! Hello! 您好! ¡Hola! Salam alaekum! 
I am Dr. Yetunde S. Alabede (Yétúndé Alábẹdé), a multilingual educator, teacher educator, interdisciplinary scholar, and educational leader committed to advancing equitable, culturally responsive, and linguistically sustaining educational opportunities across homes, schools, and communities.

I hold a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education from Michigan State University's College of Education, an M.A. Ed. from Bowling Green State University, a B.A. Ed. from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and a teaching qualification from the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Nigeria. I have also completed Levels 1–3 of the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) Chinese language proficiency examinations. I am a certified K-12 ESL teacher in the state of Michigan.

My scholarship sits at the intersections of family language policy, multilingualism, heritage language education, language and literacy development, teacher education, and African childhoods and family experiences across local and transnational contexts. Drawing on interdisciplinary and Global Southern perspectives, I examine how language, identity, culture, power, and belonging shape educational experiences and opportunities, particularly for African families and communities whose knowledge systems and linguistic practices have historically been marginalized.

Central to my scholarly contributions is ẹ̀bùnlingualism, a conceptual framework that positions language as a gift embedded in relationships of care, responsibility, identity, and intergenerational belonging. Through this work, I explore how families, children, and educators negotiate language practices, sustain cultural knowledge, and create possibilities for multilingual flourishing. My research engages critical, decolonial, feminist, and culturally sustaining perspectives alongside multimodality, digital multiliteracies, and critical language pedagogy.

With over almost two decades of teaching and educational leadership experience, I have worked across early childhood, elementary, secondary, higher education, and community-based learning environments. My teaching spans English language development, English Language Arts, Yorùbá heritage language education, Chinese language and literacy, social foundations of education, multilingual education, and international education. I have also supported the preparation and professional development of pre-service and in-service teachers in elementary education, ESOL, and world language education.

My professional journey extends across Nigeria and the United States, with additional experience facilitating learning in virtual and international contexts, including Canada, South Africa, China, and the United Kingdom. These experiences inform my commitment to designing learning environments that recognize learners' linguistic and cultural resources as strengths.

Beyond classroom teaching and university research, I am the Founder and Administrative Head of Ebunoluwa Children School, a community-centered educational initiative in Ogun State, Nigeria. Through the school, I work to connect locally grounded knowledge with global educational opportunities, integrating play-based, culturally responsive, and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. This work reflects my longstanding commitment to educational access, community engagement, and developing children as capable learners and contributors to their communities.

My scholarship has appeared in the Journal of Language and Literacy Education, Michigan Reading Journal, Journal of Education for Multilingualism, and Journal of Language, Identity & Education, as well as in contributions to edited scholarly volumes. I have also contributed to academic and professional communities through research collaborations, editorial work, mentorship, and leadership and service engagements with organizations including the Lagos Studies Association, Michigan State University, Penn State's Global Virtual Forum, and the American Association for Applied Linguistics.

My broader professional interests extend to educational innovation, curriculum development, multilingual family engagement, teacher professional learning, and community-engaged scholarship. Across these areas, I seek to build meaningful connections between research, policy, and practice while creating spaces where diverse ways of knowing, learning, and being are recognized and valued.

Outside my professional engagements, I find joy in art, folk music, gardening, cooking, and spending time with family across borders. These experiences continue to shape my understanding of learning, care, creativity, and belonging. I welcome opportunities for scholarly collaboration, teaching, research partnerships, educational leadership, consulting, mentorship, and community-engaged initiatives that advance inclusive and transformative education.

Thank you for visiting. I look forward to connecting!