Off the Shelf: Recent Episodes
voicEd Radio
It is estimated that over 7 000 Doctoral degrees are awarded in Canada each year, dealing with a variety of topics, across a number of different disciplines. Some of this work is picked up by traditional media, some finds its way into bookstores but, admittedly, much of the hard work that candidates put into their research—often spanning years of study—goes unnoticed and unread.
Off the Shelf is a weekly voicEd Radio series dedicated to highlighting some of the latest education research being completed by PhD and EdD candidates. We aim to give you a taste of what has inspired today’s researchers, what questions have driven them and what impact they hope to have on the education world.
Lisa Taylor is a PhD Candidate at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. Her research questions and methodology explore how teacher health and well-being were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this conversation we explore the progress that she is making towards her final dissertation:
"How might exploring teacher health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic be used to afford better insights into the stressors and strategies that influence teacher well-being?
Follow research from the Werklund School of Education on Twitter: @UCalgaryEduc
Eman Khalifah is a graduate student at the University of Victoria. Recently, she defended her Masters thesis: "A case study of PETE teacher candidates’ learning to teach physical education: An application of occupational socialization theory".
You can access Eman Khalifah's thesis directly at: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/13522
In this conversation, we unpack the theory, the application and questions that are still emerging for Eman.
For more on education-related research at the University of Victoria, follow on Twitter: @uvicEducation
Dr. Brandon Needham is Principal of Langenburg Central School in Langenburg Saskatchewan. He recently completed his PhD work at the University of Regina and his dissertation is the topic of our conversation today:
"Critical Action Research: How One School Community Lives Out The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action"
Look for more education-related research out the University of Regina by following them on Twitter: @URFacofEd
Kiera Brant-Birioukov is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at York University. Her scholarly interests include Haudenosaunee Thought, Indigenous Curriculum Theory, Reconciliatory Pedagogies and Indigenous Language Revitalization.
Kiera successfully defended her doctoral thesis in January 2022: Kanenhstóhare- THe Educative Implications of Estrangement, Homecoming, and Indigeneity.
Harrison Campbell, BE.d, MA: Harrison Campbell is a Doctor of Philosophy student at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. His area of scholarship explores the use of process drama in understanding complex literacy practices within secondary schools. His PhD research has been generously funded by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, through the Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS Doctoral), and The Killam Trusts through the Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Memorial Scholarship.
We talk about Harrison's doctoral work—an extension of his Masters research—on experiencing literacy in the theatre space.
Enoch Leung is a PhD student in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University. His recently defended dissertation, "Toward Safety and Positive Support in Schools for LGBTQ youth: Québec Teachers’ Perspectives on LGBTQ-Inclusive Sexual Health Curricula" is the subject of our conversation today.
Follow more education research coming out of McGill University by following them on Twitter: @edumcgill
Mohammed Estaiteyeh a PhD candidate in Curriculum Studies at Western University in Ontario. He has an emphasis on Science/STEM Education and is passionate about curriculum reform and innovative pedagogical practices in K-12 educational settings.
In this conversation, we explore Mohammed's dissertation, "Enhancing STEM Teacher Candidates’ Understanding and Implementation of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Through Differentiated Instruction."
Find out more about Mohammed Estaiteyeh at https://www.edu.uwo.ca/phd-profiles/mohammed-estaiteyeh.html
Dr. Karen Acton is Assistant Professor Department of Leadership Higher and Adult Education, OISE/UT.
In this research conversation, Dr. Acton talks her dissertation work focused on the educators in our schools who take on the role of leading sustainability work. What motivates them? What are the supports that enable them to continue to do this work? What challenges and barriers exist in keeping this work going?
Find out more about Dr. Karen Acton and her work: https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/lhae/Faculty/412207/Karen_Acton.html
Learn more about other research at OISE/UT by following them on Twitter: @OISEUofT
Sabrina Shajeen Alam is a PhD candidate in the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University and is about to finish her PhD in the summer of 2022.
Her research interest is to find out the impact of educational technology on children’s mathematics understanding. For her PhD thesis, she is investigating to what extent digital home numeracy practices (e.g., math applications) serve as a foundation for childrens' mathematics understanding.
She is also exploring whether digital math apps can serve as an intervention tool for children with mathematical learning disabilities. Sabrina is leading with two international collaborations to see the cross-cultural differences. Her work has already been recognized by the scientific community.
Find out more about Sabrina: @AlamSabrina3
Follow education research from McGill University: @edumcgill
Dr. Verena Roberts is a High School Online Humanities Teacher for Rocky View Schools, and a Sessional Instructor for UVic, UCalgary. and a Learning Designer for UBC,
Mark Turner is a teacher for Rocky View Schools and the coordinator of a very special program called The Farm.
The field research for Verena's dissertation, Open Educational Practices (OEP): Design-based Research on Expanded High School learning Environments, Spaces, and Experiences, was carried out in Mark's classroom.
Other than official post-secondary career centres, where do students get their information and inspiration about possible career paths. Dr. Candy Ho explored this question in her doctoral dissertation, "Professionals in Post-Secondary Education: Conceptions of Career Influence".
Candy talks about her work on questions about the career influencers, formal and informal, in the lives of Canada's post-secondary students.
Follow Dr. Candy Ho on Twitter: @CanceHo
Follow Simon Fraser University Research: @SFUResearch
Dr. Sunaina Sharma's doctoral dissertation, "An Exploration of the Relationship between Digital Technology Use and Student Engagement in a Grade 11 English Class: A Classroom Ethnography" is an important exploration of how students interact with classroom-based technologies from an engagement/disengagement perspective.
Dr. Sharma's research could provide valuable insights into how we think about education technology in our post-pandemic thinking.
Dr. Sharma's research was completed through the Schulich School of Education at Nippissing University.
Dr. Robyn Masters has a real heart for the mental health of those learn and work in our school systems. She completed her PhD at Western University and she's here to talk about her thesis dissertation, "Promoting Mentally Healthy Classrooms: Evaluation of online mental health literacy instruction in pre-service teacher education"
Follow the work of Dr. Robyn Masters on Twitter: @E_robynmasters
Dr. Jaime Malic's thesis, "Living Leadership: Exploring the Leadership Values and Practices of Independent-School Principals in Ontario" explores the relationship between what schools leaders say they believe and what they do.
I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Malic about her research and some of the questions that are still emerging for her.
Dr. Terry Whitmell is an Ontario-based educator who has worked at all levels of the system in the Peel District School Board. Her curiosity around deeper forms of assessment has led her to her PhD work: "Navigating Dilemmas in "Going Gradeless": Experiences of Teachers in Ontario, Canada":
Max Antony Newman has a special interest in how immigrant parents negotiate meaning and expectation within in the Ontario school system. In this conversation we talk about his study of how Eastern European immigrant parents see the importance of parental involvement and the ways in which they choose to engage with their children's schools.
Anne Marie Luce is an education leader with extensive knowledge of and experience in national and international contexts. She brings this expertise and the questions that have developed to her doctoral work at Gonzaga University.
Anne Marie's inquiry explores the complexity of teaching in inter-cultural contexts and, specifically, how school leaders can develop a greater sense of cultural intelligence.
Today, we talk about her capstone project: "Moving Beyond Festivals, Flags and Food: Developing Culturally Intelligent Leaders".
Follow Anne Marie on Twitter: @turnmeluce
Follow Gonzaga University on Twitter: @GonzagaU
Dr. Gurpreet Sahmbi is concerned about how well STEM students do in their transition from secondary to tertiary education. In particular, how does Calculus continue to act as a gatekeeper to future success, not only in STEM, but in other disciplines that insist on success in first year Calculus?
These questions became the basis for Dr. Sahmbri's dissertation "A Tale of Two Universities: Investigating Factors Affecting the Secondary to Tertiary Transition into Calculus for Students in STEM Disciplines"
Follow Dr. Gurpreet Sahmbi on Twitter: @gurpreetsahmbi
Follow OISE/UT on Twitter: @OISEUofT
In his EdD work, Dr. Ken MacKinnon explored the impact that the discourses around gender and leadership have on the work of both males and females who take on the role of Principal. In this conversation, we take up some of the themes presented in his dissertation, "'Thank goodness you are a man!': Troubling Gender and Principal Leadership in Elementary Schools."
Follow Ken MacKinnon on Twitter: @leadingthechg
Follow Western University Research on Twitter: @westernuEdu
Eleftherios (Terry) Soleas is a PhD graduate of the faculty of education at Queens where he is an assistant adjunct professor in the professional masters of education program teaching the Capstone project and Innovative Curriculum planning courses. He also works as an Education Researcher in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queens.
In this conversation, we take a look at Terry’s PhD research on Innovation: “What Factors and Experiences Motivate Innovators? An Expectancy-Value-Cost Approach to Promoting Student Innovation”
We talk about the definition of innovation, teaching innovative thinking and the importance of seeing innovation as an issue of justice and equity.
Follow Terry’s work on Twitter: @ESoleas
Nancy Wise has long wondered about the fate of struggling readers in an early French Immersion classroom. Are they "counselled" to leave the program and return to an English stream where special education supports may be greater? Or is it possible to identify and help all students succeed with an FI context?
Nancy's PhD work tackled these questions and more. "A school-based phonological awareness intervention for struggling readers in early French immersion" describes an intervention based on the "science of reading" research to explore the question.
Follow Nancy on Twitter @FIEdConsulting
Today on the podcast, it’s Ontario-based vice-principal and Doctor of Education, Jeff Brinson. His work has culminated in an Organization Improvement Plan Building Capacity for Triangulated Assessment challenges the status quo around assessment practice but places that challenge in the context of larger organization transformation.
Follow Dr. Jeff Brinson on Twitter: @JeffreyBrinson
Richelle Bird is a PhD candidate in the School and Applied Child Psychology program. Both her research and professional interests involve supporting vulnerable, marginalized populations, and global mental health.
Richelle's PhD dissertation, “Standing on the Forefront of School Mental Health”, points to the importance of providing mandatory and extensive mental health literacy training for teacher candidates in their initial teacher preparation programs.