Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive your own copy of Community Update.
Teaching and Learning | Research | Community Engagement
Message from Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem
Aanii - Greetings! As the university’s academic year and the public education system’s school year comes to an end, I am excited to share with you some initiatives and accomplishments of the last term in the Faculty of Education.
Prioritizing Climate Action
The climate emergency is a priority for the Faculty of Education. It is imperative that we as educators, researchers, policy makers, and communities come together to ensure action towards a sustainable future for all of us.
The Faculty of Education recently held a roundtable on climate, sustainability and education in which faculty members discussed their work in relation to four themes:
- Curriculum and education: infusing climate thinking into our teacher education and graduate-level courses
- Policy: creating sustainable practices related to working at UBC and in academia
- Research: leveraging expertise in topics and funding to support interdisciplinary faculty research and work by graduate students
- Community engagement and professional development: connecting with our wider educational communities and sharing current knowledge, pedagogies, curriculum, and other insights related to climate sustainability
In four spotlight sessions, speakers discussed transdisciplinary research on topics such as systems thinking and collaboration in relation to climate and sustainability, sports and the environment, media communications, climate and health—especially for marginalized populations, and action plans for creating synergies and equitable policies across UBC campuses and other institutions.
Next, this fall we will hold a similar roundtable for staff. As we aim to advance this timely and important work, we will continue to investigate sustainable development strategies for sustainability, education, and action.
Accord on Indigenous Education
Together with University of Alberta’s Dean of Education, Dr. Jennifer Tupper, I will co-chair a townhall on revising the Accord on Indigenous Education at the upcoming Canadian Society for the Study of Education | Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation (CSSE-SCÉÉ) conference at York University in Toronto.
First introduced in 2010, the Accord has been instrumental in prioritizing Indigenous education in faculties of education across Canada to ensure Indigenous knowledges and perspectives flourish in all classrooms. The revision builds on the original key principles to advancing Indigenous education with a goal towards recognizing significant changes as a result of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, as well as highlighting exemplars that are transforming education for all students nationally. Community engagement will be an important part of this work. I look forward to listening and lifting the voices of others in planned outreach activities this fall.
Conferences
Many of our scholars and graduate students are actively participating in conferences delivering papers and poster sessions.
This past April in Chicago, UBC Faculty of Education members presented approximately 50 papers and poster sessions at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference. This coming week, faculty and students will deliver over 60 papers at the CSSE-SCÉÉ conference being held at York University in Toronto.
Closer to home in July, the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE) conference will be held this year in Victoria, BC. The year’s theme is Re-imagining teacher education: from words to action. Watch the program for papers from our scholars.
Community leadership
Two of our faculty members have recently taken on leadership positions in our community.
Dr. Claudia Ruitenberg will serve as President in 2024–2025 for the Philosophy of Education Society (PES) and will preside over the PES conference in March 2025. More
Beginning July 1, Dr. Mary K. Bryson will serve as Academic Director, Public Humanities Hub (PHH). PHH fosters collaborative research in the Humanities in Arts, Law, and Education at UBC Vancouver. Dr. Bryson is currently Academic Co-Director for PHH. More
Awards and recognitions
I am delighted to share with you just some of the recent awards and recognitions within our Education community.
Dr. Annette Henry will be presented with the distinguished Carol Crealock Memorial Award at the CSSE-SCÉÉ conference awards reception on Sunday, May 28 at York University in Toronto. The joint CAEP/CASWE award recognizes a scholar who demonstrates a strong sense of justice and passion for equity and who embodies collegiality, support, and mentorship for new scholars.
Dr. Rita Irwin was presented with the 2023 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Learning Award at the AERA conference in Chicago for her substantive contribution to the field of arts and learning.
Dr. Peter Arthur received the UBC Okanagan Killam Teaching Prize. The award is given annually to faculty nominated by students, colleagues and alumni in recognition of excellence in teaching.
Two of our faculty members were honoured with ABCDE Teaching awards at the Association of BC Deans of Education’s (ABCDE) Teacher Education Round Table held this year at Thompson Rivers University. Dr. Wendy Klassen was awarded the ABCDE Teacher Educator Award. Dr. Lee Gunderson received the ABCDE Teacher Advocate Award.
UBC Education alums—Marny Point (BEd’02, MET’04) and Alyssa C. Reyes (BKin’14, MA’22)—received alumni UBC’s Alumni Builder Award for their significant contribution to the university and enrichment of the lives of others. Marny Point is a lecturer in the First Nations and Endangered Languages program and teaches a course in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, the Coast Salish traditional Musqueam language. Alyssa C. Reyes is the physical activity manager for UBC Athletics & Recreation and UBC Wellbeing and leads a strategy to increase physical activity across UBC’s Point Grey campus.
The inaugural Dean Blye Frank Graduate Scholarship in Education was awarded to two fourth-year doctoral students, Christina Cook and Iskander Lee. This scholarship supports research focused on creating education policy and education curriculum and educating educators in SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) inclusive education.
Graduations
This week we celebrated the graduation of over 650 students from the Faculty of Education, including 302 students from our kinesiology undergraduate program and 365 students from our many graduate programs. Our Master of Educational Technology (MET) program alone, which is celebrating its 20th year, graduated 81 students. I applaud our students on this great achievement and wish you all the best as you embark on or expand upon your career.
Retirement
With the 2022–2023 academic year ending, thirteen of our beloved faculty members will be retiring. I wish to thank these brilliant and dedicated scholars and educators who have contributed so much to our knowledge of education and related fields. I look forward to hearing about the exciting opportunities this new chapter is sure to bring you.
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP)
- Dr. Ann Anderson
- Dr. Tony Clarke
- Dr. Harry Hubball
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS)
- Dr. Ishu Ishiyama
- Dr. Janet Jamieson
- Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl
Department of Educational Studies (EDST)
- Dr. Blye Frank
- Dr. Wendy Poole
- Dr. Allison Tom
- Dr. Pierre Walter
Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED)
- Dr. Monique Bournot-Trites
- Dr. Annette Henry
- Dr. Marianne McTavish
Wishing you a restful, productive and joyous summer!
