Cash Ahenakew
Dr. Ahenakew’s research proposes to develop alternative approaches to pedagogy and methodology that contribute to the revitalization and transformation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous education, research and well-being. Contributions: Keywords:
Ali Abdi
His research centrally focuses on the role of education in social well-being with special emphasis on the historical and cultural contexts of learning and teaching. Dr. Abdi’s academic work has impacted ways of decolonizing the philosophies and methodologies of knowledge, thus re-centering the locations of previously marginalized discourses and pedagogies. In addition, he studies processes of globalization and global citizenship with special emphasis on educational policy and attached power relations.
International education; International development; Global citizenship; Postcolonial studies.
Handel Wright
Multiculturalism; Race relations; Africa and diaspora; Sociocultural identity; Cultural studies; Youth.
Dr. Wright’s research focuses on issues of identity related to representation and social justice locally, nationally and internationally. In particular he works on multiculturalism and related or competing discourses (transnationalism, interculturalism, cosmopolitanism, diaspora) and how these contribute to and affect identity (e.g. immigrant, multiracial and queer youth). He also works on Africana identity construction on the continent and in the diaspora (especially Canada and the United States).
P. Taylor Webb
Policy; Governmentality; Raciologies; Fieldwork in philosophy.
Dr. Webb’s work examines and critiques how education rationalizes and produces ‘governable subjects’ within liberal and neo-liberal normative architectures. To do this, he examines the intentions (or desires) and enactments in policy and treat these as material productions rather than as only representations of discourse and/or ‘ideology’. Here, the locus of his work is interested in micropolitics and various subjectivizations that are produced during policy events.
Fei Wang
Educational leadership and administration; Social justice; Equity and diversity; Educational policy; Comparative education; Organization studies.
His research focuses on educational leadership and administration, social justice, educational policy, and organizational studies. Dr Wang’s research looks at the nature of school principals’ work, social in/justice in schools, principals’ leadership and administration, and equity and accountability policies.
Pierre Walter
Adult education; International and comparative education; Environmental education; Ecotourism; Informal learning; Adult literacy; Gender and development; Southeast Asian studies.
Dr. Walter’s latest research focuses on the informal learning of adults, the educational “currriculum,” and issues of gender and development in community-based ecotourism initiatives in Southeast Asia. Other research looks at environmental education in North America and the ways in which adults learn in environmental protest, the food movement, and community gardens.
Jude Walker
Adult literacy policy; Higher education reform; Student transitions; Scholarship of teaching and learning in health professions education; Comparative and international education.
Dr. Walker’s research focuses on the macro and micro aspects of adult and higher education, and seeks to identify the drivers and outcomes of educational policy, the responses and resistances to educational reform, and the factors that contribute to student learning and engagement.
Michelle Stack
Educational policy; Educational leadership; Media education; University rankings.
Dr. Stack’s research focuses on educational policy, media education, media and university rankings, and how journalists and academics interact. She is committed to communicating research through peer review and engagement with media and stand up comedy. Her works aims to expand educational policy alternatives and media coverage of education to include issues of social justice and equity. Prior to coming to UBC in 2003 she worked for the BC Children’s Commission.
Thomas Sork
Program planning; Educational planning; Professional ethics; Adult and continuing education; International engagement; International collaboration.
Dr. Sork’s research focuses on the human dynamics of planning in adult and continuing education with a particular focus on technical, social-political and ethical dimensions of practice. He has challenged conventional notions of planning, especially those based on assumptions of technical-rationality. His proposal for a “question-based approach to planning” recognizes the importance of context to the choices made by planners and that the approach used must be based on sound professional judgement.
Claudia Ruitenberg
Philosophy of education; Ethics; Political and citizenship education; Epistemology; Health professions education; Art education; Gender and queer theory.
Her scholarship raises philosophical questions about educational concepts, theories, policies, and practices. For example, Dr. Ruitenberg has examined conceptions of politics and democracy underpinning different approaches to citizenship education, and has proposed an ethic of hospitality as a guiding ethic for education. Her work spans different types of education, including K-12 schooling, teacher education and other professional programs, higher education more generally, and non-formal education.