Education News Autumn 2019 | Page 3

Dr . Jerome Cranston , Dean

There are times when I think it is important for those of us who work in publicly funded institutions to reach out and back to the publics we serve to reconnect and ask : What do we need to be to remain relevant and become better ? I want to be clear that I am not suggesting that we ought to subject ourselves or allow ourselves to be subjected to a narrowly defined economic regime that increasingly tries to measure our relevance by using measures to quantify and qualify our value as institutions and human beings , assessing our relative output values in terms of teaching ( often measured in the number and presumed quality of the graduates ) and research ( often measured in the number and presumed quality of the publications ).

Rather I believe that as a Faculty we need to be , and remain , connected to the communities we seek to serve so that they can help us , maybe push us , to become better and to keep us relevant . Few faculties or colleges of education or the professors who contribute to them can ever accurately approximate or simulate what actually happens in a “ real life in real time ” classroom or school or community setting . We might aim for vivid approximations of real life , but that is most likely the best we can hope to achieve . In order for wouldbe teachers , school administrators and community educators / leaders to be effective they need ongoing , real life exposure in real time to the lived realities that are then aligned with targeted and timed professional development opportunities that support them as they develop the crucially important dispositions , felt understandings , and professional skills .

In order to accomplish this , we need to bring our alumni and education-sector partners back to the Faculty to not only support us , but also in some very real ways to push us to be even more relevant . It seems clear that we need to continue to develop our programs to be outwardly focused , to open up students ’ and instructors ’ minds to the possibilities of what education writ-large can be as a mechanism for individual and collective social transformation . For this reason , over the past 18 months we in the Faculty of Education have been reaching out to our education-sector partners through events such as our Community Engagement Forum and Alumni Gathering to bring the “ outside world ” of educators back into contact with our Faculty . They have helped us to become better .

This issue of the Education News illustrates and highlights some of the individual accomplishments of alumni and faculty and the collective commitments of the Faculty to education to help create and support healthier individuals and communities . I hope you enjoy this issue , and want to thank you for all you do that makes us better and stronger as a Faculty .

Photos Left : Early Childhood Education Summer Institute took place from July 2 - 23 , with students taking two , 3-credit graduate curriculum and instruction courses toward their graduate degree programs . Among other benefits , ECE Summer Institute provided students with a space to engage with other ECE practitioners and an opportunity to infuse understandings of early childhood education with an understanding of how to create equitable and just learning contexts and experiences by shifting curricular , policy , and structural decisions based on the hopes and dreams of children , families , and communities .

Photos Right : Community Engagement Institute took place from July 7 to 19 , with students taking two , 3-credit graduate courses , EFDN 807 and EAHR 825 , toward their graduate degree programs and with 27 members of community organizations participating . The Institute is designed to develop strategies for individual and collective engagement ; to build collaboration between the university and communities while also facilitating self-governance , agency and citizen leadership formation , enhancing participatory processes of engagement for research , facilitation and teaching in a variety of fields and contexts . Activities demonstrated links between participation , social inclusion , collective action , and transformation .

( L-R ) Dr . Lynn Gidluck , José Sousa , Dr . Heather MacLeod , Dr . Cindy Hanson , and Najmus Sabah

Photo credits : Cindy Hanson and Nellie Johnson

Education News | Page 3