Bureau of Research

The Faculty is a research-intensive unit.  Scholarly work carried out by faculty is published regularly in books, monographs, and peer-reviewed journals such as the Alberta Journal of Educational Research, Educational Psychology, Journal of Literacy Research, TESL Canada Journal, Journal of the North American Regional Alliance of IATA, and the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education.  Many professors also serve as editors or advisory board members of these and other highly regarded journals in education.  Excellence is also marked by the research and development awards and external grants awarded to faculty in recent years, for example, the Premier’s Research Excellence Award from the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, the Chancellor’s Research Award from Queen’s University, the Michener Medal for Fine Arts, and the George C. Metcalf Foundation Research Excellence Award.  Another benchmark of quality is the impact of policy reports and research papers on governments, school boards, and community development. 

Faculty Research Funding Support

 

In 2003, the Faculty of Education created a Research Endowment Fund, which to date has grown to 1.69 million dollars.  The Faculty also provides consistent funding to support research through such initiatives as Research SEED grants, E-Learning Incentive grants to encourage experimentation with technologies in teaching, and TEACH grants to encourage the study and enhancement of teaching practice.  With all of these initiatives there is an expectation that at least half of the funds awarded will be used to support full-time graduate students in the Faculty as research assistants.   The Faculty also provides travel grant monies to assist with expenses associated with making research presentations at national conferences for both faculty and students.

Research Foci

Cognition and Learning

Both basic and applied research and development in cognition and learning are conducted at the Faculty of Education.  Much of this research begins with a focus on learners.  Specific areas for basic research include first and second language processing and learning, learning disabilities, literacy, semiotics, exceptional children and adolescents, social cognition, and spatial reasoning.  Building on strengths in basic research, faculty members have designed curriculum materials for children with severe reading difficulties, and in first and second language learning.

Curriculum

Curriculum encompasses a broad spectrum of issues in the study of teaching and learning. Researchers work in the areas of curriculum theory and design as well as specific investigations in the pedagogy, theory and assessment of specific subject areas. We have particular research strength in the following:  1) Arts, Literacy and Humanities:Some examples of research include work in arts education, biography, embodied knowing, fine and performing arts, literacies, narrative, school architecture, and symbol systems and 2) Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE): Some examples of research include aesthetics and mathematics, computers in education, design education, knowledge building, and teacher professional development. 

 

Assessment and Evaluation

The Assessment and Evaluation group operates in many contexts, at many levels, with many methods of inquiry, all directed at the improvement of learning.  Evaluative inquiry that advances learning for all participants and, where appropriate, their organizations, is important.  Areas of research include assessment practices such as analyzing test data; classroom practices, such as integrating assessment into teaching and learning; and evaluation research intended to design and implement evaluations.  

Health Education and Education Policy 

The Social Program Evaluation Group (SPEG) undertakes a large part of the research activity in this area.  The work is multidisciplinary and crosses several faculties.  Most obvious is the cooperation between the Faculty of Education and that of Health Sciences.  A major focus is on at-risk youth, educational structures, and international health issues.  Also included are responses by many faculty members to groups such as ministries, governments, and non-governmental organizations for policy position papers.

History, Policy Studies and Philosophy

Investigations of pluralist societies, citizenship education in the context of globalization, policies in educational organizations, and leadership and management in educational organizations are examples of research foci. Faculty interests include the philosophy of pre-service teacher practice, the work of John Dewey, political theory, human rights, pragmatism and the history of educational thought.

Social and Cultural Contexts

This is a broad category that encompasses a variety of activities.  A large component of the research work in this area is in international and development education and in related implementation projects.  Investigations of pluralist societies and citizenship education in the context of globalization are also prominent.  Sociological, philosophical, historical, anthropological, and cultural studies perspectives are brought to bear on these issues.  An emerging strength is the area of indigenous education.

Teacher Education and Learning

Teacher education and leadership, and professional development permeate much of the Faculty’s work.  However, some individuals specifically focus their research efforts in this area, working on professional knowledge and thinking, relative practice, action research, administrative structures, and pedagogical processes from primary to tertiary education.

National and International Collaborations

Cultural pluralism has strong implications on teaching and educational research.  As a component of the Faculty of Education’s strategic development plan, internationalization is intended to encourage international research and institutional collaboration that will ultimately enhance the relevance and quality of its degree programs.  Among its many international initiatives, the Faculty hosts two international journals; is a member of CREAD, an international educational consortium; has partnership agreements with universities in the U.K., Spain, Chile and Switzerland; offers an International Visiting Scholar Fellowship; funds an International Postdoctoral Fellowship; brings international scholars for faculty colloquia; arranges the Duncan McArthur Lecture Series with international speakers; participates in Canadian trade missions; and hosts the annual Teachers’ Overseas Recruiting Fair.