Education for Social Justice and Sustainability
Ten Schools the VSB Should Aim to Rename
“Over the past five years, individuals and community groups have placed increasing pressure on the Vancouver School Board to rename schools named after individuals whose historical legacies do not reflect the values of the school communities they’re located in. This article traces the history of Vancouver school naming practices over time and identifies ten schools that the Vancouver School Board and school communities should consider renaming to better reflect the communities’ values and histories.” Dr. Lindsay Gibson
Dr. Lindsay Gibson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. He taught secondary school social studies and history in Kelowna Public Schools for twelve years and was on the writing team for the K-12 social studies curriculum in BC and Alberta. His research focuses on historical thinking and history teacher education.
The Case for Commemoration Controversies in Canadian History Education.
In this article Lindsay Gibson argues that commemoration controversies should be an essential part of teaching and learning history in Canadian K–12 schools.
“Commemoration controversies have the potential to be meaningful and relevant for students, they address civic education competencies central to history and social studies curricula, and they provide rich opportunities for advancing students’ historical consciousness and historical thinking.”
Gibson also addresses the issue of commemoration controversies in classrooms in his article in The Conversation.
Dismantling Spherical Cows: Advancing Social Justice in STEM Education
“This paper explores the divide between a presumed value-laden Social Justice education and a presumed value-free STEM education. By examining the colonial legacies of STEM, as well as the Great White Men of STEM, the authors problematize these constructs and commonplace responses to them. The paper concludes by offering some specific recommendations for how a contextualizing, critical pedagogy might occur in the social justice oriented STEM classroom.” Dr. Öslem Sensoy
Dr. Öslem Sensoy is a professor on the Faculty of Education at SFU and Associate Director for the Center for Law, Education and Society at SFU. Her research interests include social justice education, anti-oppression and anti-racism education, and critical media literacy. She holds a PhD in Multicultural Education and a MA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization.
Connecting with Nature: Learning to be Part of the Dance
Shaila Shams writes about the work of Dr. Sean Blenkinsop and Dr. Mark Kettes in SFU’s Faculty Research Spotlight Series.
“Learning about the Indigenous epistemology driven place-based education was an eye opener for me. The incredible work of the researchers helped me evaluate the dominant ideologies of education and their impact on our practices in a new light. What resonated with me the most was the philosophy of decolonizing education from an anthropocentric view and reconceptualizing education in a more holistic, inclusive way to teach us to live in harmony with nature. Working on this write-up during COVID-19 pandemic was a blessing in disguise as it motivated me to learn more about nature, the interdependence of lives and beings , and pushed me to question the current educational system that promotes human-centric activities and practices and their impacts.” Shalia Shams
Shaila Shams is a PhD candidate in Language, Cultures and Literacies program at SFU. She has a Masters degree in Applied LIngusitics and an undergraduate degree in English Literature, and experience lecturing in the Bangladeshi higher education sector. Shaila’s research interests include language and identity, and her published work includes the study of imperialism and the role of online social networks in language teaching.