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Faculty of Education News Bulletin

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Top Stories
Program Office Updates
New Publications
In The Media
News From the York Community

Public Lecture Series - HAPPENING TODAY

Education holds a complicated relationship with ability. In Ontario, K-12 schools are tasked with teaching important skills aimed to ensure youth can participate in future civic, social, academic and employment opportunities. However, when schools suspect a student may not be learning as expected, the determination as to “why” and the decisions that follow can hold critical consequences. Employing a disability studies lens, Parekh’s research examines how student identity characteristics (e.g. gender, race, SES, etc.) and contextual factors can play a role in how ability and/or disability are constructed in schools as well as implications associated to program, pathway and placement decisions

This is a FREE event and all are welcome to attend

Learn more & register

Top Stories

Educated and Empowered: York U Alumna Named Among 2025 Top 30 Under 30 - York University’s Top 30 Alumni Under 30 awards program is a prestigious annual recognition of outstanding young alumni who are making significant contributions in their fields and communities. This year, the Faculty of Education proudly highlights alumna Blessing Owusu, a three‑time York University graduate, as one of the honorees. Blessing is an educator, children’s book author, and dedicated advocate for equity and inclusivity in education. Read more

ED faculty and graduate student presentations at 2025 CSSE conference –  A number of our faculty members and graduate students will be presenting at CSSE’s 53rd annual conference taking place at George Brown College in Toronto Saturday, May 31 (preconference day) to Thursday, June 5 (post-conference day). CSSE will be part of Congress 2025, hosted by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Learn more

Community transformation at heart of York U Connection Grants projects - Researchers at York University have earned funding to lead diverse knowledge mobilization initiatives that aim to bring people together and drive social change. Out of the five York-led projects funded, the following 2 projects are associated with Education faculty members:

  • Visualizing Queer Femme Narrative Histories of Toronto Using Digital Mapping is led by Andrea Schwartz (York University, coordinator of the Centre for Feminist Research) and co-applicant Chloe Brushwood Rose (York University, professor in the Faculty of Education and vice-provost, teaching and learning), along with collaborators from the ArQuives and the University of Winnipeg. This $20,925 one-year digital humanities project will use mapping technologies to document and visualize Toronto's queer femme histories in collaboration with The ArQuives.
  • Conference for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing is led by Kate Tilleczek (professor and Canada Research Chair, York University, Faculty of Education) and co-applicant Felipe Montoya (professor, York University, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change), along with an international team of collaborators. This $49,985 grant supports a one-year initiative to organize a conference focused on youth engagement with environmental and planetary health issues.

Teaching in Focus (TiF) Conference – Members of the Faculty of Education presented at this year’s TiF conference on May 8. In the final plenary, a panel consisting of 4 (3 of whom were from our Faculty) discussed the impact of AI on our teaching and learning. The panel members were professor Celia Popovic, course director Andrew McConnell, and student Haokai (Richard) Wang

Difficult Knowledge and Children’s Museums: Programming, Practices, and Principles across the United States and Canada - This report authored by Lisa Farley (York University), Debbie Sonu (CUNY), Sandra Chang-Kredl (Concordia), and Gillian Parekh (York University) presents the findings of a survey of over 100 children’s museum directors, educators, learning specialists, and curators at work in museums across the United States and Canada. The survey was developed in consultation with the museum community, with a focus on programming and practices that use storytelling to represent social issues and difficult knowledge with children. Read report

Associate Professor Qiang Zha recently co-hosted the Compare and BAICE Podcast Episode #4, with Dr. Uma Pradhan of University College London - The episode featured two guest speakers: Professor Emerita Sheila Trahar from the University of Bristol (who also served as the editor of Compare), and Dr. Adisorn Juntrasook, Assistant Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University in Thailand. In this episode, Qiang and his colleagues dive into a very important topic – ‘Decolonising’ writing for academic journals. Listen to episode

Challenging Anti-Blackness in Math Education - In a new article published in the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Assistant Professor Molade Osibodu explores how mathematics classrooms continue to marginalize Black students in Ontario. Titled “What’s Black Got to Do with It?”, the study investigates the experiences of eight Black secondary students in the Greater Toronto Area, uncovering how math spaces remain shaped by antiblackness, despite recent policy changes like the 2020–2021 move to destream Grade 9 math. Read the full article

Students in Assistant Professor Lorin Schwarz’s winter-term graduate course "Select Topics In Psychoanalysis," had a chance meet and interact  with practitioners and theorists conducting crucial research in the psychotherapy/psychoanalytic fields. These included Kleinian Dr. Josie Oppenheim from the New York Psychoanalytic Institute, Chris Vanderwees, a Lacanian thinker from the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society, Karen Dougherty of the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and mental health consultant for the National Film Board of Canada, as well as Bryan Nichol sand Medria Connolly, two writers/therapists working with youth (and others) in the Los Angeles area who spoke to the class about race, politics and hope during difficult times

Guest speakers included:

  • Dr. Josie Oppenheim (New York Psychoanalytic Institute) on Kleinian theory
  • Chris Vanderwees (Toronto Psychoanalytic Society) on Lacanian perspectives
  • Bryan Nichols and Medria Connolly (International Forum of Psychoanalytic Education) on race, politics, and hope in psychotherapy
  • Karen Dougherty (Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and NFB mental health consultant) on the intersection of documentary and psychoanalysis

The course offered students a unique opportunity to interact with leaders in the field and explore the evolving relevance of psychoanalysis today

From research to rights: York project supports self-determination in Central America, Caribbean - In 2024, Prilly Bicknell-Hersco sat on the shaded porch of a house on Colombia’s San Andrés Archipelago, surrounded by seven Raizal women, an Afro-Caribbean ethnic group native to the region. A PhD student in the Faculty of Education, Bicknell-Hersco was there as the senior research assistant for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-funded project led by Miguel González, professor in York University’s Department of Social Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Read more

The UNESCO Chair team — Charles Hopkins (UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education Towards Sustainability) and Katrin Kohl (Co-Chair) are co-hosting the entire education, gender, and inequality track at the THE Global Sustainable Development Congress in Istanbul, June 16-19

  • June 18: Don’t miss the unveiling of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings — a key moment spotlighting how universities worldwide are advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • June 19: Join Charles, Katrin and others for a fireside chat on Education, gender and inequality

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Program Office Updates

Research Office

Thursday June 5, 2025
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Miles S. Nadal Management Centre 222 Bay Street, Suite 500
Lecture Hall #1

Join us for an afternoon of insight and inspiration as we celebrate the Faculty of Education's contributions to research, teaching, and community engagement at York University.

Explore how education can spark transformation and inspire hope through:

  • Engaging Roundtable Discussions
  • Innovative Research Presentations
  • Thought-Provoking Conversations

This is a FREE event and is open to all - everyone welcome!

We hope to see you there as we reflect, connect, and envision the future of education together.

RSVP HERE

Selected Research Funding Opportunities

Please contact the OADR (research@edu.yorku.ca) if you have questions or would like support in preparing a submission for any of the grants and awards below. 

External 

Internal 

Upcoming Awards 

May 

June 

July

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program Office

Graduates – We will have 11 graduates from the program at this year’s convocation – 4 FT and 7 PT. Almost all of our graduates 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 5 FT and 13 PT students, including 2 from out of province. Including our continuing second- and third-year PT students, our total enrolment for the upcoming academic year will be 51

Practicum Placements – DHH students have completed their final practicum placements in 8 different school boards across Ontario. 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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New Publications

Course director Louise Azzarello has published a new book titled Interrogating Neoliberalism and Cruel Optimism in Education: The Radical Potency of Despair 

Publications

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In The Media

Canada can lead efforts to reform foreign aid that neither cuts nor continues the status quo, Assistant professor Rachel Silver co-authored an article in the Globe and Mail, May 14

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News from the York Community

New mandatory cybersecurity training for York U staff, faculty, instructors - York University has introduced mandatory cybersecurity awareness training for all faculty, staff and instructors. The course consists of 13 modules that range from one to five minutes in duration. The program takes about one hour and completion is required by June 21. Learn more

Reminder: York's new Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) now live - York University employees are reminded that as of May 1, the University launched a new Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) through Sun Life, delivered via Lumino Health Virtual Care. Learn more

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Marketing, Communications & Outreach support for faculty members

The Faculty’s Communications, Marketing & Outreach team has a wide range of vehicles to support faculty’s priorities and initiatives. These tools are designed to help build awareness, foster engagement, strengthen reputation and ensure consistent communication with key audiences. Our approach is strategic and adaptable, aligning with the evolving needs of the Faculty and broader institutional goals. Please contact Anderson Coward, Communications & Marketing Specialist at acoward@edu.yorku.ca with any communications and/or marketing needs that you may have.

York University’s central Media Relations team also provides support to faculty and is the university’s point of contact for all media outlets. Media Relations supports York’s central areas and faculties, and secures positive, front and centre coverage of experts in news coverage. The Faculty of Education is supported centrally by Emina Gamulin, Digital Senior Media Relations Officer. Please contact her directly at egamulin@yorku.ca for all of your media relations needs including press releases, interviews and expert commentary.

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We encourage faculty, staff and students to contribute written articles and submissions for the Faculty of Education blog on the home page of our website at https://www.yorku.ca/edu/. We also encourage submissions for future issues of the Faculty of Education News Bulletin. All written submissions:

  • must be related to the Faculty of Education and/or its programs
  • can include personal and fun articles

Articles need to be submitted in Microsoft Word for consideration. Please send articles directly to edbulletin@edu.yorku.ca

Tell us what you think of the ED News Bulletin. We would love to hear from you.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this edition of the Faculty of Education News Bulletin.

Created by:

Anderson Coward
Communications & Marketing Specialist

Adam Riley
Web Designer & Developer

Devonte Ellis
Communications & Marketing Assistant
Summer Student

Barb Rodezno
Director - Strategic Communications, Marketing & Outreach

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