March 2024 | published once each term

Message from Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem

Dear community members,

I appreciate this opportunity to showcase the scholarly and other important work underway within the UBC Faculty of Education. Please feel welcome to connect with me to share your thoughts and feedback. Please also feel free to forward Community Update to colleagues who may be interested.

The UBC Faculty of Education has achieved outstanding recognition in both the Maclean’s 2024 University Rankings, tying for first place for education programs in Canada in research and programs, and the Times Higher Education 2024 World University Rankings, where the Faculty is rated second in Canada for education. While these remarkable achievements are a testament to the dedication and excellence of our faculty, instructors, students, staff, donors, and all who contribute to our Faculty, success is not only measured only by awards and accolades; it can be seen in the positive impact our work has on the broader community. Your passion and commitment reflect the pursuit of excellence and collaborative spirit that makes our Faculty a vibrant community of learning and innovation.

The second academic term is well underway and it continues to bring opportunities for growth, success, and learning experiences that enrich our diverse communities. My areas of focus are guided by the Faculty’s foundational principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, anti-racism, and sustainability. Which brings me to my first topic.

I am excited to host the upcoming 2024 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture, which will launch the inaugural event of the UBC Faculty of Education’s exciting new global speaker series on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusion with an intersectional lens. This new series provides a distinguished platform for global 2SLGBTQIA+ leaders to share their inspiring experiences and work as we deepen our understanding of SOGI inclusion. On April 2, we will welcome Kalki Subramaniam (cull-key su-bruh-mun-yum) as our distinguished keynote speaker. She is a leading transgender rights activist and celebrated author, artist, actor, and entrepreneur. She was pivotal in legalizing transgender identity in India and is the founder of the Sahodari (suh-hoe-dhu-ree) Foundation, which empowers India’s underprivileged transgender community. The Q&A will be moderated by Mischa Oak, a former British Columbia teacher who helps foster diversity and 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion excellence through collaborating with school districts, Indigenous communities, international development projects, and more. Register.

I am also pleased to share that I’ve secured funding for a groundbreaking Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Early Childhood Education: Nurturing Childhoods Through Indigenous Ways of Knowing. This initiative empowers educators and service providers to enhance learning environments by integrating Indigenous perspectives, worldviews, and pedagogies into early learning environments. The course will foster inclusivity in the classroom by exploring themes such as Indigenous knowledge, histories, perspectives, pedagogies, family and community, land as the first teacher, and Indigenous languages and literacies. For those unfamiliar with MOOCs, they are accessible online courses featuring learning modules that participants can engage with at their own pace, ensuring accessibility for a diverse range of learners.

Last month, we were delighted to host the 2024 Early Years Conference, a comprehensive three-day event dedicated to fostering collaborative approaches, strengthening relationship-building, and exploring cutting-edge research for professionals working with young children and families. As a premier professional development opportunity for those working in early childhood development, intervention, and family support, the conference was a wonderful opportunity for educators, healthcare and service providers, policymakers, and members of the community to gather, share and learn about ways to improve the lives of children and their families. I look forward to seeing many of you at this biennial conference in 2026.

On March 14, we will host the inaugural UBC Faculty of Education Indigenous Alumni Network event, which will take place at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. An engaging speaker panel will feature Indigenous alumnae professionals who will share their experiences, insights, and strategies for navigating and challenging busy culture, and how they prioritize well-being. A networking reception and gallery tour will follow the program. Join us.

I am committed to advancing Black flourishing, the first principle of the recently pledged Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education, which addresses the importance for Black individuals and communities to thrive and experience well-being despite systemic racism, discrimination, and inequality. Aligning with UBC’s Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative, the Faculty is searching for three tenure-stream positions for Black scholars, including a Canada Research Chair in Black Lives and Experience in Education (Tier 2). The Faculty is also searching for a Director of the forthcoming Robert Quartermain Centre for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI)-inclusive Excellence in Education, as well as many more key positions. Visit our careers page for more information.

I conclude my message by sharing the Faculty’s new AI Corner. As conversations about the evolving nature and applications of generative artificial intelligence take place in universities and beyond, our AI Corner provides examples, activities, tools and more resources to help navigate this rapidly developing field and remain at the forefront of educational innovation.

Miigwech – thank you,
Jan

As the debut Canadian initiative of its kind, our early childhood education certificate program for deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) individuals launched in September. Tailored for adult learners within the DHH community, the two-year, part-time online program helps meet the needs of young children who are DHH and helps provide meaningful employment opportunities to adults who are DHH. The program offers in-person practicum placements across British Columbia and fosters accessibility through comprehensive captioning and interpretation, primarily delivered visually.

In July 2024, the Faculty will launch our inaugural blended-delivery Doctor of Education program in our Okanagan School of Education. Designed to inform, empower, and engage current and aspiring leaders, this innovative program offers a flexible delivery format, enabling learners to remain in their communities and maintain full-time employment. The coursework will primarily be delivered online, supplemented by opportunities to attend intensive on-campus summer sessions.

Registration is open for the Faculty’s Local Open Online Course (LOOC), Historical, Systemic and Intersectional Antiracism: From Awareness to Action. This course explores the implicit and explicit forms of historic, systemic and institutional racisms, their past and present colonial and intersectional impacts on marginalized peoples and their communities, and how to create lasting change.

Six recent graduates from our Faculty’s West Kootenay Rural Teacher Education Program—an 11-month program emphasizing rural and small school settings in Nelson, British Columbia, and its surrounding communities—graciously share their insights and experiences from their journey as teacher candidates in the Bachelor of Education program, including their motivations for entering the teaching profession, their journey through the program, and their aspirations for making a positive difference in their communities.

The Faculty’s Climate Justice and Sustainability Initiative aims to enhance awareness of and engagement with principles of sustainability in education to address multi-dimensional environmental challenges. This initiative offers a curation of online interdisciplinary climate justice resources, ranging from lesson plans to events to podcast interviews and panel conversations with experts and practitioners.

Dr. David Wright secured a significant Canadian Institute of Health Research grant to help mitigate side effects of antipsychotic medications. His research focuses on lifestyle interventions, such as exercise and ketogenic diets, as a means to unlock molecular tools that could serve as targets for therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Rosalin Miles was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame for her outstanding leadership and commitment to empowering Indigenous communities through sports. Founder of the Indigenous Physical Activity and Cultural Circle, Dr. Miles is recognized in the Builder category for her significant contributions to advancing and elevating the profile of Indigenous sports.

Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen was appointed Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Intersectionality (Tier 2). Her research aims to refine and disseminate psychological interventions to improve parent and child mental health, with a focus on developing mobile health interventions to engage traditionally underserved populations.

Dr. Eli Puterman was elected Member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. His research program develops and implements physical activity and exercise programs in collaboration with and for hard-to-reach and high-stress individuals to determine how programs can improve mental and physical well-being.

These are a few of the many innovative and exciting developments taking place in the UBC Faculty of Education. Visit our news page to learn more.

The Faculty is delighted to offer a new annual MET Award for Indigenous Students. The award, designed to create pathways for Indigenous students to earn graduate-level credentials, covers program tuition for either the 30-credit master’s degree or 15-credit graduate certificate for an Indigenous student.

The Faculty’s inaugural Reconciliation and Decolonization Alumni Award was conferred to Marjorie Dumont (BEd ’96, MEd ’14) and Mindy Carter (PhD ’12). The award acknowledges extraordinary alumns who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering decolonization efforts or reconciliation with Indigenous peoples or communities, or who have inspired others to continue decolonization or reconciliation efforts.

We are pleased to host the 2024 ABCDE Teacher Education Roundtable at the UBC Okanagan campus from April 25 to 26. This year’s theme is K9’s, Kindness, and Collaboration. The event will feature keynote speaker Dr. John-Tyler Binfet, Director of UBC’s long-running canine therapy program titled, “Building Academic Retention through K9s,” (BARK), which facilitates 60+ therapy dogs brought to campus to reduce student stress. The roundtable will bring together deans, educators and administrators from British Columbia’s teacher education programs, including Thompson Rivers University, Trinity Western University, University of BC, University of the Fraser Valley, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University and Vancouver Island University.

Educators across British Columbia are encouraged to join us on April 23 for the webinar, Engaging All Learners in the Middle Years, the final installment of a thought-provoking series centred on effectively engaging middle-year learners in multi-age and multi-grade classroom settings.