Travis Fuchs
Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD)
Supporting socially responsible science education in K-12 classrooms
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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
Graduate Student Stories
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Imagine disasters and laughing and making meaning through humor in the face of the rubbles. Dr. Maestrini's work is a comic poetic collection of stories, poems and theories written to understand the social, political, cultural and pedagogical functions of humor after earthquakes in Mexico, in life and during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Couture's work explores some of the ways that individuals seek out and experience community though sporting practices. His findings offer insights into the nature and structure of community in the contemporary moment and extend ways of thinking about the relationships people have with physical activity, with technology, and with one another. | Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Park explained an analytical approach to examine individuals' response behaviors in psychological and educational testing. She developed novel applications to understand responding tendencies and nonresponse behaviors. Her research provided new insights into test development and evaluation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Rutakomozibwa studied motivation and engagement in physics learning using technology infused instruction for females. Her analysis reveals that prior knowledge affects engagement and heightens task value for motivation. Simulation is transformational for developing student canonical science. Her results are important for education applications. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Maloney studied factors that contributed to kindergarteners' social competence. She found that children's self-regulation proficiency and the quality of relationship with kindergarten teachers contributed to children's empathy and prosocial behaviour. This knowledge will help educators promote social skills in children. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development, Learning, and Culture (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Hales examined the mentor figure within British Columbia's public education system. Her study traced understandings of early career teacher mentorship and mentor work in provincial and school district policies and programs. Her research challenges assumptions about the desirability and benefits of teacher mentorship programs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Verwoord used art-making and art exchange to explore the beliefs of individuals studying to become teachers, including what it means to be a teacher and the power of the arts for learning about 'being in the world.' She used ideas of what it means to be in the world as a human, to present suggestions for teachers and teacher education programs. | Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Could we use children's various home languages for their school learning? Collaborating with Grade 2-3 children categorized as English learners, and a teacher, Dr. Rajagopal designed practices to include their languages, stories, drawing and photography. Her work highlights systemic inequities and advocates for relational and antiracist pedagogies. | Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. Bigloo conceived of 'place' as biospheric and historical via autobiographic research adding to the basic structure of currere what she termed cosmo-currere. As a result, curriculum became a terra-didactic text and it was disclosed that without biospheric justice for Here and the Present, neither There, nor any other form of Justice will be. | Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum Studies (PhD) |
| 2022 | Dr. McDaniel examined how frontline community workers maintain wellness while responding to the fentanyl overdose crisis. Participant responses focused on collective ethics, social support, work-life balance, structural supports, and individual strategies. These findings make clear the crucial need to advocate for increased worker resources. | Doctor of Philosophy in Counselling Psychology (PhD) |