Black Graduate Students in the Faculty of Education: An Inquiry into Academic Success and Well-being (2010-2020)

Project Name

Research Team

Dr. Annette Henry
Dr. Stella Namae
Dr. Bathseba Opini
Kimani Karangu

Learning Transformed Goal

We will support bold and daring teaching, learning, research, and scholarship that challenge barriers to educational access and success, promote quality and socially responsive educational experiences, and contribute to public dialogue.

Project Summary

Existing studies show that Black students continue to experience complex barriers in accessing and participating in post-secondary education in Canada (Henry, 2015; Howard & James, 2019; James, 2012). Black students continue to be underrepresented in Canadian post-secondary institutions, are racially discriminated against and lack sufficient support to succeed in their studies and future work opportunities (CBC Radio, 2017; Jack-Davies, 2018).

Through in-depth interviews, this project explored the experiences of past and current Black students in the Faculty of Education. Results offer insights into the structural barriers, the effects of these barriers on their studies and career aspirations, as well as the strategies they employed to address the challenges experienced. The study also offers recommendations for the Faculty that are applicable to the wider university recommendations regarding racial inclusivity.

sogiUBC’s Transformative Education Speaker Series (TESS) presents Dr. Megan Scribe

By Karla Jubaily

A Poetic Inquiry into Indigenous Girlhood in Canada

Dr. Megan Scribe (Ininiw iskwew, Norway House Cree Nation) is an interdisciplinary Indigenous feminist researcher, writer, and educator. Her award-winning dissertation, Indigenous Girlhood: Narratives of Colonial Care in Law and Literature, examines how legal and literary narratives shape knowledge on violence in the lives of Indigenous girls living under settler colonialism. Her most recent co-authored (with Sefanit Habtom) publication To Breathe Together: Co-Conspirators for Decolonial Futures contemplates how Indigenous, Black, and Black-Indigenous peoples can conspire against settler colonialism and anti-Blackness as part of shared worlding projects. Dr. Scribe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Ryerson X University, an Associate Research Fellow with Yellowhead Institute, and a Council Member for Aboriginal Legal Services Community Council Diversion Program.

Event Description

This lecture meets Indigenous girls situated at the intersection of gender-based violence and targeted attacks on Indigenous children, two eliminatory strategies that subtend Canadian settler colonialism. Indigenous girlhood is foregrounded with the recognition that the Canadian state has access to Indigenous girls in a way it does not once these girls become adults. Participants are called to bear witness to harmful social policies and practices targeting Indigenous girls and how this violence is subsequently narrated in legal and literary accounts. This lecture draws together a unique assemblage of legal and literary texts, including inquests and inquiries, official studies and reports, legislation, and Indigenous prose and poetry. These seemingly disparate texts are more than mere vehicles for knowledge transmission. These texts invariably shape knowledges. This lecture insists that in order to address settler colonialism, we must foreground Indigenous girlhood and critically examine how we talk about Indigenous girlhood and state violence.

Featuring

Dr. Megan Scribe, X University (previously known as Ryerson University)

Dr. Harper Keenan, Director of SOGI UBC

Dr. Reginald D’Silva, Associate Dean, Equity & Strategic Programs

Daniel Gallardo Zamora, Graduate Research Assistant, SOGI UBC

When

Tuesday, January 25, 2022 | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Where

via Zoom

Accessibility

Live ASL Interpretation

Registration is now closed.

RESEARCH INFORMS

By Paula Sabti

RESEARCH CONNECTS

By Paula Sabti

RESEARCH INSPIRES

By Paula Sabti

RESEARCH CHALLENGES

By Paula Sabti

RESEARCH EXPLAINS

By Paula Sabti

RESEARCH MATTERS

By Paula Sabti

Native Northwest Award in Education for Indigenous Students

By Ayla Collins

January 17, 2022

The Faculty of Education is pleased to announce a new annual award for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students enrolled in the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP). The awards, totalling $2,000, have been made available through a gift from the Native Northwest Reconciliation Fund. Preference will be given to students studying early childhood education.

Native Northwest was founded by Larry Garfinkel (BA 1975, BSW 1977) and Sandi Karmel (BSW 1977) in 1983 and creates products designed by Indigenous artists, allowing them to tell the stories of their communities and cultures through their work. The Native Northwest Reconciliation Fund supports justice for those who continue to be impacted by Residential Schools by funding initiatives such as community wellness, learning and connection to culture.

Congratulations to the Faculty of Education’s SSHRC grant recipients

By Ayla Collins

January 13, 2022

The Faculty of Education is dedicated to advancing educational research in ways that celebrate diversity, equity and innovation. We are pleased to announce that four Faculty research projects have been awarded Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants. SSHRC provides grants to support post-secondary-based research, research training and knowledge mobilization activities in the social sciences and humanities.

Dr. Jillianne Code, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, was awarded a SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant for her project “Beyond the academy: Professional agency and learning in virtual contexts.” Co-investigators on the project are Dr. Andrea Webb, Associate Professor of Teaching in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Erica Machulak of Hikma Strategies.

The SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants provide short-term and timely support for partnered research activities that inform decision-making at a single partner organization from the public, private or not-for-profit sector. The small-scale, stakeholder-driven partnerships supported through Partnership Engage Grants are meant to respond to immediate needs and time constraints facing organizations in non-academic sectors. In addressing an organization-specific need, challenge or opportunity, these partnerships let non-academic organizations and post-secondary researchers access each other’s unique knowledge, expertise and capabilities on topics of mutual interest.

To learn more about Dr. Code’s work, visit her profile.

Dr. Shannon Leddy, Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Faculty of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, was awarded a SSHRC Connection Grant for her project “Decolonizing Together: Facing and Challenging Racism and Discrimination in Teacher Education.” Co-Investigators on the project are Dr. Bathseba Opini, Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Educational Studies and Dr. Surita Jhangiani, Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education.

SSHRC Connection Grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives. These events and activities represent opportunities to exchange knowledge and to engage with participants on research issues of value to them. Events and outreach activities funded by a Connection Grant often serve as a first step toward more comprehensive and longer-term projects.

To learn more about Dr. Leddy, visit her profile.

Dr. Johanna Sam, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education’s Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, and Special Education, was awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her project “A Two-Eyed Seeing Approach: How Do Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Youth Cope with Cyber-Aggression?” Co-Investigators on the project are Dr. Jenna Shapka, Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education and Dr. Jan Hare, Dean pro tem and Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education.

SSHRC Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years.

To learn more about Dr. Sam’s scholarly work, visit her profile.

Dr. Sharon Stein, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education’s Department of Educational Studies, was awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her project “Towards the Ethical Integration of Different Knowledge Systems: Lessons from STEM and Health Fields.” Co-Investigators on the project are Associate Professor Dr. Cash Ahenakew, Department of Educational Studies, along with UBC colleagues Drs. Will Valley, Tamara Cohen, and Dallas Hunt.

SSHRC Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research development projects of up to two years.

To learn more about Dr. Stein’s scholarly work, visit her profile.