We are excited to announce the 2024-2025 recipients of the Ontario Graduate Scholarships, the SSHRC CGS Master’s Scholarships, and the SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarships.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)
Adrianna Arsenault – Switching Gears: Exploring The Ripple Effect of At-Home Learning on Parental Advocacy for Children with Disabilities | Supervisor: Jordan Shurr
My research explores how home-based learning experiences influence the advocacy efforts of parents of children with disabilities. My research examines the ways these experiences shape parents' understanding of their child's needs and consequently what they advocate for within educational and support systems. My broad research interests include critical disability studies, parent involvement and advocacy, online learning and transition planning for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Ren Challacombe – Practicing Queer and Crip Pedagogies in Music Education | Supervisor: Ben Bolden
2SLGBTQ+ and disabled/neurodivergent music educators have to decide whether to disclose their marginalized identity/identities at work. This is unfortunate, considering that 2SLGBTQ+ and disabled/neurodivergent educators can use their identity/identities to inspire the way they teach to the benefit of their students and themselves. Through collaborative inquiry, this research will gather 2SLGBTQ+ and disabled/neurodivergent music educators together to explore how they can practice critical pedagogies in their teaching environments. In a self-study, the consonances and dissonances between queer and crip pedagogy will be examined through the author's own practice as a queer and disabled choral director. The aim of the research is to build similar-identity music educator learning communities and highlight the unique skills of 2SLGBTQ+ and disabled/neurodivergent music educators and identify teaching strategies that honour teacher and student alike.
Holly Crump – Educating for Equity: Understanding Recent Graduates’ Dispositions Towards Social Justice and Social Justice Education | Supervisor: Jordan Shurr
My research seeks to uncover how recent graduates of a teacher education program consider justice, both theoretically and practically, in their pedagogical approach. By developing an in-depth understanding of individuals’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes pertaining to justice and social justice education, I hope to be able to assess educators' preparedness to identify and address injustice at both an individual and structural level
Lisa Deveau – Exploring Pedagogical Practices and Interdisciplinary Learning for Police Officers: De-Escalation and Mental Health Training | Supervisor: Ben Kutsyuruba
Jianing Lv – Promoting English Language Learners’ Language Learning in Ontario’s Play-Based Kindergarten Classrooms |Supervisor: Kristy Timmons
Despite the promotion of inclusion and evidence-based language interventions, their successful translation into practice in early childhood education environments remains limited. The purpose of this study is to discover the strategies Ontario's kindergarten educators and parents are using to support language development of children with autism. Through interviews and classroom observations, this study will provide empirical evidence on the language interactions of children with autism in kindergarten classrooms and how educators and parents are creating language learning opportunities in schools and at home.
Jennifer Maracle – Towards a Transformative Pedagogy: Learning through Etuaptmumk of Indigenous and Western Knowledges | Supervisor: Jennifer Davis
Employing the Etuaptmumk (Two Eyed Seeing) framework to create a new education model that supports whole child development using knowledge from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Western research.
Claire McGillivray - Moments to Movements: Exploring Mathematics Decolonization in Secondary Schools | Supervisor: Nenad Radakovic
Mathematics decolonization is gathering momentum in academic circles and elsewhere, but as the momentum of the movement unfolds, decolonial actions and results occur with varying levels of authenticity, and only sometimes reach secondary level classrooms. This study aims to explore the process of mathematics decolonization in secondary education, by investigating various ways of understanding and teaching mathematics and the ongoing problem of colonialism in the mathematics classroom, as well as through conducting case studies with teachers, Indigenous community members, and individuals working in the broader field of mathematics education.
Graham McVeety – Musicking for Change: A Relational Approach to Canadian Music Education |Supervisor: Ben Bolden
In Canada, music education practices are often aligned with broader goals like improving literacy and numeracy. While this supports academic skills, it reduces music education to a tool for reinforcing external achievements, overlooking the deeper connections fostered through music-making. Grounded in Christopher Small’s theory of musicking, which emphasizes relational and participatory experiences, this research explores musicking as a transformative practice that prioritizes human connection over academic merits. Using an autoethnographic approach, this research integrates arts-based methods to highlight the internal desires expressed through musicking. This research aims to explore a framework for Canadian music education that values personal empowerment and social change by prioritizing the fulfillment of personal desires and human connection, rather than rigid, outcome-driven practices.
Nathan Rickey - Constructing a New Theory of Self-Assessment via Multimodal Data | Supervisor: Christopher DeLuca
Teachers across education contexts are called to facilitate student self-assessment to foster self-regulated learners and inclusive assessment practices. However, teachers and students struggle to cultivate student self-assessment in classrooms, primarily because the self-assessment process is not well understood—meaning that supporting students in developing their self-assessment processes is implausible. Addressing this gap, my research aims to understand what comprises the process of student self-assessment. Specifically, my study triangulates multiple forms of data collected while learners are engaged in self-assessment to map the cognitive, metacognitive, and affective dimensions of the process.
Lydia Scholle-Cotton - Transformative Trends: Investigating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence Writing Tools on Higher Education Instruction | Supervisor: Saad Chahine
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are changing how university instructors teach and assess students. This shift challenges instructors, who must decide whether to adopt or limit these tools. There are concerns about academic integrity, but there is also a recognition that future employers may prefer graduates skilled at using AI. My research aims to understand how university instructors in Canada view and use AI in their teaching. I will use both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the complex dynamics in this context better. I will explore their familiarity with AI, how it affects their teaching methods, and how their perceptions and practices evolve over time. The results will help identify ways universities can adapt to this new technology while ensuring fairness and academic honesty.
Sunaira Tejpar - Examining the Connection between Social-Emotional Factors, Self-Regulation and University Students’ Attitudes toward their Exceptionality | Supervisor: Ian Matheson
My research focuses on the self-knowledge of students with learning disabilities, as well as how educators communicate with them about their learning disabilities to foster self-advocacy.
Doctoral SSHRC (CGS-D)
Andrea Hill - Unlocking Potential: Incarcerated Women’s Perceptions of Gender-Responsive Programming in an Ontario Prison | Supervisor: Alana Butler
Trauma-informed pedagogy and culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy have been shown to improve educational outcomes. Yet, incarcerated women are underrepresented in educational research, despite often experiencing high rates of trauma and victimization. My proposed research examines how gender-responsive correctional educational programming—designed to be holistic, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive—is perceived by incarcerated women in an Ontario prison. This study aims to explore how such programs address these women’s unique strengths and challenges, with the goal of informing the broader implementation of gender-responsive frameworks within correctional education settings. By doing so, I hope to contribute to the improvement of educational attainment for incarcerated women and their opportunities for successful reintegration post-release.
Master's CGS M Holders
Julia Andersen – #MeToo in Teacher Education: Teacher Candidates' Experiences of Sexual Harassment During Practicum | Supervisor: Lee Airton
#MeToo in Teacher Education: Understanding Teacher Candidates' Experiences of Sexual Harassment During Practicum. Although conversations about sexual harassment have become more widespread across various sectors, the field of education—especially teacher education—seems to lag behind. This thesis aims to examine the experiences of teacher candidates who face sexual harassment during their practicum placements, along with institutional responses and the impacts of these incidents. The findings will inform recommendations for faculties of education, helping to enhance policies and practices for preventing and responding to sexual harassment more effectively.
Anya den Hartog – Exploring Strategies Homeschooling Parents Use to Engage Children with Text During Shared Reading | Supervisor: Pamela Beach
Young children learning to read are developing concepts of print, and yet spend very little time looking at text during shared reading. My research explores what strategies parents use to direct their child’s attention toward text, and how these strategies correlate with time looking at the text; captured with eye-tracking. My study will use multiple methods including parent interviews and literacy measures targeting vocabulary, comprehension, and alphabet knowledge to contextualize my findings. The unique relationship of ‘parent’ and ‘teacher’ and their under-representation in literacy literature inspired my decision to include homeschooling families as the population of interest for my research.
Erica Lewick – Empowering Change: Tracking Innovation Among Participants of the Innovation to Transform Education Training | Supervisor: Saad Chahine
Innovation plays an important role in supporting economic and social well-being. While most of the population lives in developing countries, innovative contributions are still primarily coming from developed economies, highlighting a need to lift innovation capacity among youth in developing nations. My research explores how one program, called the Innovation to Transform Education Training, helps youth in Nigeria gain innovation skills and attributes required for leadership roles and decision-making in education. To improve the program, data is needed to show how effectively the training supports the development of innovative behaviour. Studying how innovation training can support youth in developing countries will help promote global equity and bridge the international innovation gap.
Laura Mozhu Li – Exploring Chinese Newcomer Youth’s Understanding and Experiences of Racism Through Shifting Positionality and Identity | Supervisor: Claire Ahn
My research examines the ways that identity and shifting positionality with immigration affect Chinese Newcomer Youth’s (CNY) understanding and experiences of racism in Canada. CNY are torn between both cultures in developing their new sense of identity and belonging, often experiencing the pressure to assimilate in schools. When school board policies overlook anti-Asian racism, there is often a lack of resources to support CNY in both their learning and wellbeing, as their experiences of racism are hidden. My research will contribute to understanding CNY’s identity and experiences from a Critical perspective, and alert school boards of the need and urgency to provide support and resources for these youth, fostering a sense of belonging and wellbeing, and providing smoother transition in immigration.
Rachel Su – Teaching As a Two-Way Mirror: Marginalized Pre-Service Educators and The Impact of Stereotype Threat in Ontario’s Teacher Education | Supervisor: Lee Airton
This research investigates the impact of stereotype threat on pre-service educators, particularly those from historically underrepresented groups in the teaching profession. Stereotype threat, defined as the fear of conforming to negative stereotypes, can hinder cognitive functioning and affect professional practices, contributing to the challenges of retaining racialized educators in North America. This study focuses on pre-service teachers at a Southern Ontario public university, using a qualitative phenomenological approach. Expected findings will provide a nuanced understanding of the environments where stereotypes are perpetuated and the coping strategies employed by these educators. The study aims to inform institutional changes needed to better support racialized pre-service teachers and address the disparities that contribute to their high turnover rates, ultimately enriching our understanding of teacher identity development and promoting diversity in education.