Christina De Silva’s Brock career ended on a high note with her receiving the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario Galbraith Preservice Teacher Award of Excellence. She was nominated for the award by Susan Docherty-Skippen, an Instructor in the Faculty of Education. De Silva is graduating from the Concurrent Teacher Education program. Her first teachable subject is history and her second is biology.Read more
Concurrent Teacher Education, Convocation, Spring Convocation
Categories: News
When Brock’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECE) students graduate on June 12, Herbert Vigil will be the only male crossing the stage.
“Everyone’s very supportive,” said Vigil of his experience as one of the few men in the BECE program.Read more
Members of the Brock community recently gathered to discuss social media, beauty ideals and visual and cultural identities in adolescents during a research symposium organized by Fiona Blaikie, a Professor in the Department of Educational Studies. Blaikie’s recent research has focused on youth visual and cultural identity constructions and the need for these to be explored in art education.
The symposium, “Impression Management: Constructions of Visual and Cultural Identities,” was held in Pond Inlet on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. The day included two discussion panels, with speakers also giving brief presentations on their work around the theme of youth identity construction. The discussions were moderated by Dolana Mogadime, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies. The welcoming ceremony was officiated by Nicholas Printup, a media and communications student at Brock University and member of the Beaver Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River, and the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation.
. The speakers included:
Dolana Mogadime, Fiona Blaikie, Jennifer Rowsell, Research, Youth Identity
Categories: News
Local high school students will showcase their artistic skills through a new exhibition featured at Rodman Hall Art Centre over the next few weeks.
Face Value: An Exploration of the Self-Portrait through a Multimodal Lens officially opens on Thursday, Jan. 17, with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Rodman Hall. Light refreshments will be served with remarks about the project at 5 p.m. The exhibition runs until Feb. 24.Read more
DSBN, Jennifer Rowsell, Multiliteracies, Peter Vietgen, SSHRC
Categories: Events, News
The latest Special Issue of Brock Education: A Journal of Educational Research and Practice is now available.
The special issue, “Aesthetic Interventions: Implications for Social Justice through Art and Performance,” was co-edited by two guest editors:
This special issue brings together a collection of diverse voices, critical perspectives, and topics, which examine notions of aesthetics, art interventions, and implications for social justice issues and education. The essays contained in this issue represent a rich interplay of theory, practice, and criticism, creating a form of cross-disciplinary response that invite new approaches to investigate aesthetic education.
The guest editors were supported by Editor-in-Chief, Dolana Mogadime, and the Brock Education Journal’s technical team throughout the process of producing the special issue. The Brock Education Journal’s technical team includes William Ankomah, Tim Ribaric, Peter Vietgen and James Windjack. Dénommé-Welch and McNeil would also like to thank the reviewers for contributing their time and expertise to the special issue.
Brock Education Journal
Vol 28, No 1 (2018)
Table of Contents:
https://journals.library.brocku.ca/brocked/index.php/home
Whether it’s Instagram, Snapchat or another popular platform, social media has the ability to impact the way teens see themselves and how they form their own identity.
This concept, as well as others surrounding social media, beauty ideals and visual and cultural identities in adolescents, will be discussed at a research symposium taking place at Brock on Friday, Feb. 1.
Impression Management: Constructions of Visual and Cultural Identities in North American Adolescents brings together researchers from several institutions and disciplines. Held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pond Inlet, the event is open to all members of the Brock community.
Two discussion panels will be held throughout the day, with speakers also giving brief presentations on their work around the theme of youth identity construction.
“Identity is a key issue across disciplines because it is contested and difficult to navigate. Asserting identity raises issues of class, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion and politics,” says Faculty of Education Professor and event organizer Fiona Blaikie.
Her recent research has focused on youth visual and cultural identity constructions and the need for these to be explored in art education.
“Identity is a particularly problematic issue in high schools as adolescents begin to establish their sense of self,” says Blaikie. This process shapes youth as individuals and impacts the social ecosystem of schools.
“Studies of high school identities reveal various manifestations of power and agency within subcultures, as well as bullying and exclusion,” explains Blaikie.
The role of technology, celebrity culture and social media on identity construction will also be explored during the symposium.
Many forms of identity construction as well as the impact of celebrity and pop culture influencers are realized via social media, including Instagram, Snapchat and blogs.
Blaikie is currently leading a research project that focuses on visual and cultural identities and beauty ideals in adolescents, encompassing intersectionality and visual art self-creations and constructions through social media and art making.
Symposium speakers include:
The discussions will be moderated by Dolana Mogadime, Associate Professor in Brock’s Faculty of Education. Mogadime’s scholarship resides in the arenas of ethnographic, auto-ethnographic and narrative inquiry. She focuses on social justice and intersectionality, particularly around issues of race, gender and class.
Refreshments and lunch will be provided at the symposium. Members of local school boards have also been invited.
Capacity for the event is limited and registration is required by Thursday, Jan. 24 for catering purposes. For more details on the day’s speakers and to register for the event, visit the Faculty of Education website.
Art education, Dolana Mogadime, Fiona Blaikie, Jennifer Rowsell, Youth Identity
Categories: Events, News
Beginning a new year gives us an opportunity to look ahead to the future.
For the Faculty of Education, this will be a year of transitions in several key areas.
Renewing and developing programs
The Department of Educational Studies is developing a new Bachelor of Educational Studies program for students interested in learning and teaching in non-school environments such as non-for-profit, for-profit, government and post-secondary organizations.
The Department is also exploring the development of a professional education doctorate (EdD) to respond to domestic and international demands for high quality, professionally-focused programs for educational leaders.
Our existing Bachelor of Education (BEd) programs are undergoing their periodic review by the Ontario College of Teachers. During this process, we have reflected on the ways the Initial Teacher Education Program, mandated by the province and implemented in 2015, continues our tradition of exceptional teacher education and responds to the diverse learning needs of children in our K-12 systems.
Building capacity with new tenure track faculty positions
We will be hiring three new tenure track faculty positions. These will support Faculty renewal and help set the direction of our programs over the next ten to twenty years. The new positions are an opportunity to re-affirm our commitment to faculty equity and diversity while ensuring our programs and research reflect the needs of educators today and tomorrow.
Refocusing internationalization efforts
This process includes multiple connected elements. Some of these elements are already in place and others will be rolled out in the upcoming academic year. These initiatives include:
All the best for the New Year.
Louis Volante, Professor in the Department of Educational Studies, recently helped to celebrate the first ever annual conference for the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy (HHCP), a University College London (UCL) research centre.
Joining several world-class speakers, Volante was invited to give the opening keynote address at the conference.
During his keynote, Volante explored the ways socioeconomic inequality and resiliency can impact the academic achievement of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) family backgrounds. Around the world, policymakers are wrestling with the challenge of closing achievement gaps between these students and their more affluent peers.
“Improving the educational outcomes of all students, and particularly students from low SES backgrounds, can have lifelong impacts on student success and economic mobility from generation to generation,” says Volante.
Volante’s recent research and forthcoming edited volume provides an analysis of ten nations, including England and Canada, designed to address socioeconomic disadvantages. He shared some of these at the conference.
As well as giving the keynote address, Volante participated in a panel discussion with HHCP advisors, policymakers and fellow researchers on re-imagining early years and primary pedagogy.
“It was an honour to be invited to speak at this conference,” said Volante. “UCL is ranked first for Education in the 2018 QS World University Rankings by Subject, so this was a unique opportunity to join leading international thinkers to discuss the ways we can put teachers and children in a position where they can succeed.”
The conference, which was held at the British Library, aimed to bring together those with a shared passion for improving children’s educational experiences, whether at home or in the classroom.
The HHCP was established in 2018 to build on the work of UCL’s Institute of Education (IOE) in the field of primary and early years education. The Centre’s aim is to equip children to reach their full potential by improving teaching and learning for children from birth to age 11, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Photo caption: Louis Volante participated in a panel discussion with Hayley Peacock, an advisory board member for the HHCP; Iram Siraj, Oxford University; Rosie Flewitt, Co-Director of HHCP; Thelma Walker, Member of Parliament for Colne Valley in the United Kingdom and an advisory board member for the HHCP; and Sonia Blandford, Visiting Professor of Education and Social Enterprise at UCL Institute of Education. Photo courtesy of Penny Hay.
Growing up in Namibia’s rural Ohangwena region, Lydia Lungameni dreamed of becoming a teacher.
But with racial divides preventing all children from having the same education, she also dreamed of change.
Lungameni received her Master of Education during Brock’s Fall Convocation on Friday, Oct. 12. While she was filled with pride as she crossed the stage to mark her achievement, her focus had already shifted to her next goal: helping to decolonize Namibian education.
Alumni, Lydia Lungameni, Master of Education, MEd
Categories: News
Congratulations to our newest graduates and alumni!
Today the Faculty of Education has 152 new alumni, from our two most recent PhDs to our certificate programs in Adult Education.
We are very proud of each graduate. They, their family and friends have invested significantly in their success. They have worked diligently in their studies, their practicums and their research. Some, such as Spirit of Brock medal winner Nigel Crosscombe, were recognized with awards. Many have overcome significant hurdles – caring for family members, working full and part-time, or being away from family and friends in their home country and community.
Graduating from our programs does not mean our relationship ends. It is only one step in a life-long partnership. We look forward to learning about our graduates successes – as teachers and administrators, as scholars and as community leaders. We look forward to welcoming some back into our masters and doctorate programs. And, we look forward to celebrating your achievements.
To our newest alumni, we wish you all the best as you take your next steps.
Alumni, Convocation, Fall Convocation
Categories: News
