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Faculty of Education News Bulletin

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Top Stories
Program Office Updates
Teaching & Learning
FESA
New Publications
In the Media
News From the York Community
Upcoming Events

Top Stories

Celebrating the Art of Education and Scholarship in the Faculty of Education – On May 21st, the Faculty held its annual End-of-Year Celebration centred on the theme of arts and scholarship. Faculty and students came together to celebrate and explore the many intersections between art and education. Participants enjoyed engaging presentations on the art of scholarship and pedagogy, while exploring the many ways artistic practices can deepen understanding, foster connection, and enrich learning experiences

The annual End-of-Year Celebration also featured the presentation of the following Faculty Awards:

Dean Robert Savage handing out awards to: Rachelle Campigotto, Celia Popovic, Stephanie Fearon & Mary Ott

What Prince William’s Homewards Program Can Teach Canada About How to Scale Youth Homelessness Prevention - This think piece by leading prevention expert, Stephen Gaetz, shares what Prince William’ Homewards initiative reveals about what Canada needs to bring prevention program models — like Upstream Canada — to more schools and communities. Read think piece

Research aims to close literacy gap – Dean Robert Savage is leading research that asks a deceptively simple question: What actually helps children learn to read – and how early can schools intervene to make a lasting difference? Read more

The Public Education Exchange (PEX) hosted a webinar series on The Political Evolution of Parental Rights, inviting authors, researchers, and educators from a special issue published by the Canadian Centre on Policy Alternatives, to share their insights. Speakers explored the movement’s political and historical roots, and its deeper impact on public education

Education alumni recognized in York University’s 2026 Top 30 Alumni Under 30 - Two alumni from the Faculty of Education have been recognized in York University’s 2026 Top 30 Under 30 program. Read more

Four Education students presented with York Leadership Award – The students were recognized with the Robert J. Tiffin Student Leadership Award for leadership that contributes to the growth, development and vitality of the University. Read more

Graduate students in Assistant Professor Lorin Schwharz’s Children and Adolescent Literature class recently presented on Canadian Young Adult Science Fiction at The Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy that took place at York campus May 30-31

Associate Professor Qiang Zha was an invited speaker for a Webinar hosted by King’s College London - The title of the webinar was Academic Freedom in China: Securitisation, Knowledge Traditions, and Global Implications

Associate Professor Qiang Zha is organizing a 75-minute session at the Big Thinking Summit 2026, taking place June 9–11 in Edmonton. The session, scheduled for June 10, is titled “How Can We Nurture and Scale up Future-oriented Innovative Universities?”. Convened by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the session will explore innovative ideas and emerging practices shaping future-oriented universities around the world. Discussions will focus on how institutions can nurture and scale these innovations, with particular attention to the implications for Canadian universities. Learn more

Associate Professor Rachel Silver traveled to Lilongwe and Zomba, Malawi to prepare to launch the Spencer Foundation-funded research project, Reconfigurations and Refusals: Forging Futures Beyond Aid in Malawi’s Education Sector with Co-PIs Dr. Steve Sharra, Dr. Nelson Nkhoma, and Dr. Alyssa Morley. Meetings took place with partnering institutions including the Malawi School of Government and the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (pictured)

Professor Emerita Celia Haig-Brown and her colleague Naomi Adelson will be presenting a session titled “Changing Responsibilities of Data Management through role-playing workshop” on June 9 at the Big Thinking Summit in Edmonton

Professor Emeritus Ron Owston is advancing pedagogy through online workshops focused on two AI-powered teaching assistant apps he helped create. Learn more

UNESCO Chairs Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl contributed the foreword to AI Era: Redefining Teaching and Learning by Paul Pu and Jim Slotta, reflecting on human-centred learning and education for sustainable development in a rapidly changing world shaped by AI. The book launch was held on 28 May 2026 at OISE, University of Toronto. Another opportunity to meet the authors and join a discussion on AI in teaching and learning will take place at The Erindale Academy on June 13. Learn more

From June 22–25, 2026, Charles Hopkins and Katrin Kohl will host the entire Education, Gender and Inequality track at the Times Higher Education Global Sustainable Development Congress 2026, convening global conversations on equity, learning and sustainable futures. Bringing together education leaders, policymakers and researchers from around the world, the track will explore how universities can advance inclusive and sustainable change through collaboration, innovation and equitable access to education. Learn more

The Spring 2026 issue of the ED Alumni newsletter was distributed to all Faculty of Education alumni May 29, highlighting faculty news, alumni achievements, and community updates. Read issue

Website Updates and Improvements – Several sections (Home page, Graduate Program in Education, Research) of the Faculty of Education website have recently been refreshed with updated content, improved navigation, and new information to better support our stakeholders. We encourage you to explore the latest updates and ensure any bookmarked pages or shared links reflect the most current information available

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Program Office Updates

Research Office

Event Recap: 

Expanding Scholarly Conversation Through Media Engagement: A Two-Part Workshop - Workshop 2: How Scholars Engage Media Effectively, explored how scholars could create and share their own media by choosing formats and approaches that best suited their goals. Participants heard from York’s Media Relations & External Communications department about the support services available to researchers and faculty, and took part in a hands-on workshop to develop, review and refine their media pitches through small-group discussions and feedback sessions. The session also encouraged participants to think collectively about proactive media outreach, building support networks and responding effectively to potential backlash. The Faculty of Education Marketing and Communication’s team also presented on the marketing support available to faculty members.

Discover York Academics:

The DYA portal has been developed to support and streamline the maintenance and updating of faculty profiles. DYA offers a centralized, streamlined way to maintain faculty profiles, supports research and grant applications through automated CV generation, and gives you full control over what information is public or private. Learn more about DYA in a previous YFile article.

All faculty members already have a private DYA account, with some information—such as courses taught—automatically populated by the University. With your permission, your current Faculty Profile can be migrated to DYA. No CV upload or external links (e.g., Scopus) are required. Expanding your profile is entirely at your discretion.

The Faculty of Education will be transitioning to York’s new university-wide platform, Discover York Academics (DYA), in place of the current Faculty Profiles. York aims to retire current faculty profiles by the end of 2026.

The information below is intended to provide a clear overview of the system’s purpose and how it works, and to offer support for further learning.

Upcoming Research Commons Workshops:

Preparing for the New Tri-Agency Narrative CV
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.| via Zoom

This workshop will introduce researchers to the new Tri-Agency narrative CV format, including why it is being adopted, how it differs from the traditional Canadian Common CV (CCV), and how to begin drafting one. Participants will hear practical guidance from the VPRI Office, the LA&PS Research Office, and a researcher with direct experience using the narrative CV format. The session will also highlight available resources, key writing strategies, and considerations around AI tools and proposal development. Register here

Selected Funding Opportunities:

Please reach out to the OADR (research@edu.yorku.ca) if you have questions or would like support in preparing a submission for any of the following grants:

External

Internal

Graduate Program Office

Join PhD student Ayesha Menezes for Muddy Buddies: Mud Day 2026 at Evergreen Brick Works on June 21, 2026, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Rooted in her doctoral research, Reimagining Muddy Play: Ethical, Political, and Ecological Possibilities for Children’s World-Making, this free community event celebrates play, nature, and ecological connection. Students, faculty, and volunteers are warmly invited to participate. To volunteer, email menezesm@yorku.ca

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Office

Spring Convocation 2026  - There will be 12 graduates from the program – 4 Full Time and 8 Part Time. Several have already secured teaching positions in the field, and we invite them to become part of our Alumni group. This group serves as a support for our graduates, as they are often the only Teacher of the Deaf in their school board

Admissions - Our incoming cohort includes 8 Full Time and 6 Part Time students. Including our continuing second- and third-year Part Time students, our total enrolment for the upcoming academic year will be 47 students

Practicum Placements - Students have completed their final practicum placements in school boards across Ontario, including an unprecedented number of TDSB placements. Mentor teachers provided positive feedback to the program regarding the teacher candidates' engagement with the practicum, noting qualities such as their flexibility in scheduling and proficiency in implementing strategies

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Teaching & Learning

First-year BEd student leads printmaking field trip at York - In this reflection, first-year Bed student Bennett De Medeiros shares their experience leading their practicum class through an engaging and creative introduction to print media. Read more

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FESA

The Faculty of Education Students’ Association (FESA) received significant recognition from York University after a successful academic year - The council was awarded the Most Improved Student Government Award and the Keeley Mitchell Award for Campus Engagement. Former FESA President, Devonte Ellis, was presented with the Outstanding Student Government Leader Award and the Robert Everett Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance Award as well. 

Congratulations, FESA! Your hard work and commitment last year truly made a positive impact on the student body, in and out of faculty!

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New Publications

Professor Lisa Farley has a new article titled “We Don’t Own Kids”: On the “Inconvenience” of Transgender in Childhood in the Journal of Childhood Studies

Course Director Andrea Valente finalised a collaborative editorial and writing project that lasted two years, resulting in the publication of a book on Artificial Intelligence and Discourse, consisting of two volumes: Volume 1, Cross-Cultural Perspectives of AI Technology Across Media Narratives, and Volume 2, Critical Views of AI-Integrated Communication. The edited volumes reflect collaborations by multilingual and multicultural scholars from various countries with chapters on theoretical and empirical research about AI and GenAI across various contexts. Volume 2 contains case studies from classroom practices in higher education

Associate Professor Qiang Zha and his co-authors have a new article titled “Tracing Public Sentiments and Policy Changes Toward Canadian International Students Using LLM”  in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education

Associate Professor Rachel Silver has a new publication titled “Free of Mind, Though I Am a Refugee”: Borderless Graduate Education and the Politics of Knowledge Production.co-authored with four York alumni, including an MEd alum (HaEun Kim), a BEd alum (Riya Bhatla), and two MEd alumni (Sahra Mohamed Ismail and Mark Okello Oyat)  from the BHER project, in American Educational Research Journal

Publications

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In the Media

Please note: Some media stories mentioning York University are behind paywalls. To ensure accuracy and accessibility for our community, we only include articles we can fully access and verify. 

Prof Stephen Gaetz meets with Prince William, advancing work on global youth homelessness prevention: The Globe and Mail

Contemporary Black Canadian pioneers of social justice: Trailblazing change makers
The Jean Augustine Chair in Education was mentioned on the afrotoronto.com website May 12

Stories of regret and fulfillment from the call of ’73
Professor Emeritus Paul Axelrod and Paul Anisef contributed and article to the Globe & Mail May 16

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News from the York Community

University Fund supports new programs, student learning at York - York’s University Fund is supporting cross-Faculty projects, new learning spaces and expanded student programming in 2026. Learn more

York marks National Indigenous History Month with new placemaking initiative - June is National Indigenous History Month, an opportunity for the York University community to recognize and celebrate the histories, cultures, languages and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, and to reflect on our shared responsibility to advance reconciliation. Learn more

York University marks Pride Month across campuses and communities - York University recognizes Pride Month as a celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities and contributions, but also as a reminder of the ongoing struggles shaping these experiences locally and globally. Learn more

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Upcoming Events

July 2026
No event found!

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