Ian Alexander
Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)
Perspectives and experiences of Social Studies teachers in British Columbia offshore schools
The Faculty of Education at UBC is advancing educational research and understanding in ways that celebrate diversity, equity, and innovation, and welcomes international collaboration in an increasingly borderless world.
UBC’s Faculty of Education, one of the world’s leading education faculties, has served the local, national, and international education community through leadership in research, teaching, service and advocacy for more than 60 years. As the largest Faculty of Education in British Columbia, it plays a critical and influential role in the advancement of education in the province, shaping and participating in education’s possibilities and potential as a social good.
Today, the Faculty of Education creates conditions for transformative teaching, innovative learning, and leading-edge research guided by the highest standards of scholarship and the principles of collaboration, social justice, inclusion and equity. Offering undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional development opportunities, the Faculty of Education enrolls thousands of students each year on two campuses and ranks 10th in the world, according to QS World University Rankings (2021).
UBC’s Faculty of Education prepares more than 45% of the elementary and the majority of secondary educators in British Columbia, and a significant proportion of British Columbia’s school counsellors, administrators, special education professionals, and school psychologists. With more than 57,000 alum located in 100 countries, the UBC Faculty of Education truly is a global entity.
The Faculty of Education is home to four departments (Curriculum and Pedagogy, Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, Educational Studies, and Language and Literacy Education) and two schools (the School of Kinesiology and the Okanagan School of Education).
Mission
To advance education's role in the well-being of people and communities.
Research Centres
- Centre for Culture, Identity and Education (CCIE)
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA)
- Centre for Sport and Sustainability (CSS)
- Centre for the Study of Teacher Education (CSTE)
- Psychological Services and Counselling Training Centre (PSCTC)
- Centre for Early Childhood Education & Research (CECER)
- Institute for Veterans Education and Transition (IVET)
Research Facilities
We provide outstanding research facilities for faculty and graduate students that promote leading-edge research. Our Education Library is a specialized resource with access to all of UBC’s research and special collections, including the X̱wi7x̱wa Library with materials produced by Indigenous organizations, tribal councils, schools, researchers and publishers.
The Faculty’s Education Research and Learning Commons at Ponderosa Commons features technology-enhanced teaching and learning spaces and also informal learning spaces. A number of faculty manage their own research labs, situated throughout campus.
Many of our PhD students have been selected as UBC Public Scholars and have received other honours.
Research Highlights
https://ivet.educ.ubc.ca/Notable strengths are in literacy education and multilingualism; struggling and marginalized youth; Indigenous education, decolonization, and research; transformational program and curriculum design and inclusive pedagogies for schools, community organizations and higher education; sexual orientation and gender-identity inclusive education; social-emotional learning and well-being; autism; exercise physiology, socio-cultural aspects of health; neuromechanical studies; and multidisciplinary research in diversity, health, early childhood education, and digital media. The School of Kinesiology ranks 1st in Canada and 4th in the world by QS World University Rankings (2021).
UBC’s Faculty of Education is the national leader in the number of education graduate student fellowships received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Additionally, the Faculty of Education is home to six Canada Research Chairs, one CIHR chair and nine donor-funded research chairs and professorships.
Schools / Departments
Graduate Degree Programs
Research Supervisors in Faculty
or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.
| Name | Academic Unit(s) | Research Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Lo, Owen | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | Gifted Education, High Ability, Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning, Multiculturalism, Problem Solving, Qualitative Research, Research Methodologies, Sociocultural Approaches to Learning and Teaching |
| Louie, Dustin | Department of Educational Studies | Indigenous Education; Social justice; Educational philosophy |
| Loutzenheiser, Lisa | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Social sciences; anti-oppressive education; queer studies; curriculum theory; Youth Studies; curriculum policy; qualitative methodologies; ethnography; Gender Studies; social inequality; sexuality education; alternative education; marginalized youth; 2SLGBTQ; Race Studies in Education; Mentorship in higher education; Faculty Development |
| Lucyshyn, Joseph | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | Applied Behaviour Analysis, Behaviour Disorders, Behavioural Family Intervention, Positive Behaviour Support, Single-Subject Research |
| Mazawi, Andre | Department of Educational Studies | Citizenship and democracy, Higher education, International and Comparative Education, Leadership and organizations, Research methodologies, Sociology of Education |
| McEwan, Desmond | School of Kinesiology | Sport and exercise psychology; Teamwork; Sport Psychology; Group Dynamics; High-Performance Teams; Human Thriving |
| Mercer, Sterett | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | Special education and disability; Educational psychology; curriculum-based measurement; academic intervention; written expression |
| Metcalfe, Amy | Department of Educational Studies | Higher education; Educational policy; History and philosophy of education; Visual theory, visual culture and visual literacy; Higher Education Studies; Higher Education Policy; Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Higher Education; Science and Knowledge; Internationalization; Migration Studies; Academic Labour and Mobility; Visual Research Methods; Campus Environments |
| Miller, Kenneth | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | Mindfulness and its incorporation into mental health interventions in settings of adversity, Development of culturally grounded assessment and evaluation tools, The use of mixed-methods in intervention development and evaluation research |
| Milner-Bolotin, Marina | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; Science, technology and engineering curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; Specialized studies in education; Educational Technologies; educational innovation; Educational technology; physics education; STEM education; STEM teacher education; Science and Knowledge; teacher education; Teacher and Student Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Teaching and Learning Systems; Technological Innovations |
| Mitchell, Cameron | School of Kinesiology | Kinesiology; Aging; molecular biology; Muscle hypertrophy; Nutrition; Physical performance; Protein metabolism; Resistance training; Sarcopenia |
| Montgomerie, Johnna | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Home economics and the political economy of everyday life, Money, debt and household financial management, Financial literacy and public education about money, Research methods and methodologies, Pedagogy and Curriculum Studies |
| Munoz, Joaquin | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Children & Youth, Discourse Analysis, Indigenous Education Research, Literacy, Pedagogy, Teacher Education Research |
| Nashon, Samson | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Curriculum design; high school physics; primary science; teacher education; science teacher education; physics teacher education and classroom instructions, Action Research, Curriculum Studies, Metacognition and Learning, Pedagogy, Research Design and Method, Science Education, Teacher Education, Ways of Knowing |
| Nelson, Melanie | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | experiences of Indigenous caregivers within Western systems |
| Nicol, Cynthia | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | mathematics teacher education, culturally responsive pedagogy, Aboriginal education, care-based and problem-based learning, Math education |
| Noori, Sofia | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Refugee subjectivity, Refugee education, Mental Health & Education |
| Norman, Moss | School of Kinesiology | Kinesiology; Community and public health; Critical weight studies; Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology; Indigenous physical cultures; Masculinities; Socio-Cultural Studies |
| Norton, Bonny | Department of Language & Literacy Education | education, ESL, international perspectives, literacy, teacher research |
| O'Donoghue, Donal | Department of Curriculum & Pedagogy | Art Education, Curriculum Studies, Gender, History of Education, Sociological Issues |
| Opini, Bathseba | Department of Educational Studies | Disability studies; Equity; Foundations of education; Policy and leadership; Race and ethnicity; sociology of education; Teaching and practice |
| Ovie, Glory | Department of Educational Studies | Teacher education and professional development of educators; Education systems, n.e.c.; Educational administration, management and leadership; Crisis Management in Schools; Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization; Social Justice Education; Mental Health and Wellness and Education; Teacher Education Research |
| Pan, Yilin | Department of Educational Studies | Education systems, n.e.c.; Economics of Education; Equity; International development; K-12 leadership and policies; Cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit and cost-utility analyses |
| Park, CJ | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | Vocational psychology; Career counseling; diversity and social justice; critical consciousness; international and cross-cultural psychology; interventions |
| Perry, Nancy | Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology, and Special Education | motivation and self-regulated learning in young children; social perspectives on teaching and learning, reading and writing; accommodating individual difference in general education classrooms; learning disabilities; special education, Metacognition, motivation, and self-regulated learning in elementary school children Social perspectives on teaching and learning, including social cognitive and sociocultural theories, Teacher development, Individual differences, Learning disabilities |
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Recent Publications
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Education.
Recent Thesis Submissions
Doctoral Citations
A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | How do adoptees make meaning of their sense of self in relation to what they know about their families of origin? Dr. Bork’s research indicates that adoptees are informed by the intergenerational knowledge of the particular family line they feel most embraced by. Her research helps us understand how to better support adoptees and their families. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. O’Sullivan explored how quality is experienced by youth in community music making and learning contexts in Ireland. She observed Positive Youth Development in action and generated new quality touchstones. Through evocative stories, this study communicates how experiences that promote freedom, friendship, and community are integral to quality. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Allen found that students hold nuanced perspectives about learning technical writing in computer science and that their experiences of this learning are influenced by their communities in various and complex ways. Her work may impact curricula and adds to the understanding of students' experiences and perspectives in learning communicative skills. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Johnson’s research analyzed the caring practices of women in higher education leadership in Canada and the U.S. through phenomenological analysis, highlighting the political nature of caring and the challenges women, especially from marginalized groups, face. Findings benefit institutions fostering authentic and inclusive leadership. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Chan is dedicated to helping improve mental health and quality of life in children with developmental disabilities and their families by investigating the effectiveness and feasibility of mindfulness and self-compassion programs for children of Autism and their parents. Her study found promising results of such an intervention. | Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Rahimi used discursive methodologies to study prevalent ideologies and emotion talk in psychologists' and immigrant parents' discussions of their experiences. The results of the study contribute to our understanding of the impact of ideologies on the psychological construction of emotion talk of psychologists and immigrant parents in feedback sessions. | Doctor of Philosophy in School and Applied Child Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Gledhill used timeline life history methodology to examine the concept of trust for women principals in secondary schools in Canada. She developed a visual metaphor based on mycorrhizal threads to explain how trust builds or declines within a gendered substructure. Her research provides insight into ways principals can build trust and recognize low-trust situations. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Poirier examines the role of university practitioners responsible for engaging with local communities. His study is one of the first to look at the roles, tensions, and perspectives that mark the life of such practitioners within Canadian universities. His research adds to dialogue around how public universities can best fulfill their mission. | Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy (EdD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Sagar studied intergenerational bipolar disorder. She heard stories of how having the same diagnosis as a parent shapes one's own experiences. This research helps inform meaningful, mindful, and empathic practices to support families as they navigate their journeys with intergenerational BD. | Doctor of Philosophy in School and Applied Child Psychology (PhD) |
| 2024 | Dr. Waldhauser examined the transition from military to civilian life, and the role of physical activity in supporting veterans' health and well-being after release from service. These studies contribute to a greater understanding of factors related to adjustment after transition and have the potential to inform future programming for veterans. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |