“We are so proud of the incredible accomplishments of our professors in obtaining this highly competitive funding,” says Jess Whitley, vice-dean, research and professional development.
“Their work reflects the broad range of research conducted within the Faculty and the multiple communities who stand to benefit from the findings of these innovative studies. We congratulate all the recipients.”
As principal investigators, co-investigators and collaborators, our professors are working at the forefront of research for social change. This funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and ACFAS will enable them to advance knowledge, create new partnerships, and strengthen existing collaborations.
Post-Secondary Education and Social Mobility in Low and Middle-Income Countries (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant)
Access to postsecondary education in middle-to-low income countries is abysmal, according to Professor Minahil Asim. Less than 10% of school-leavers in sub-Saharan Africa are enrolled in postsecondary education, despite its essential role in improving intergenerational social mobility. Information about conditions, programs and policies affecting participation in higher ed is scarce. Findings from this project will enable researchers to understand how to support students’ transition to postsecondary studies and improve their job perspectives. Project goals include building an open-access database with information from 82 countries to help researchers, policymakers and educators provide evidence-based solutions to improve program outcomes.
Transforming the Lives of Black Children and Youth in Canada (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 2023 Partnership Grant)
As a co-applicant on this national project, with Professor Bukola Salami from the University of Calgary, Professor Tya Collins will bring her expertise in Black youth studies to this five-year, $2.5 million project, which aims to improve educational and social outcomes for Black children and youth. The research will explore how public, private and not-for-profit organizations can work together to make positive changes in education, the justice system, child welfare, and settlement and integration.
A living laboratory for innovative learning technologies in higher education (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant)
Megan Cotnam-Kappel, holder of the Research Chair on Digital Thriving in Franco-Ontarian Communities, is a co-investigator with Professor Bruno Poellhuber from the Université de Montréal on this five-year, $2.5 million project. The initiative is an international, interdisciplinary research network centred on innovative learning technologies, including extended reality, video gaming, digital creation and artificial intelligence. The goal is to explore the transformative potential of these technologies and understand how they can enhance learning processes and skills development in higher education.
Positioning the concept of ‘didactics’ in scientific research (ACFAS Programme de coopération en recherche dans la francophonie canadienne)
The terms “didactics” and “pedagogy” have always been understood as mutually exclusive in scholarly literature. Since the emergence of didactics as a discipline in the French-speaking academic world in the late 1960s, distinguishing it from pedagogy has proved complex, requiring nuanced understandings. Professor Carole Fleuret and Professor Cécile Bullock (Simon Fraser University) examine how these concepts are used (or rejected) in education. Considering the cultural and geographic contexts that influence how the concepts are perceived, this study focuses on the construction of the academic field and the advancement of knowledge in education.
Exploratory study on the analysis of (intelligent) forensic tools used in the Canadian judicial context (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant)
Professor Carole Sénéchal’s research examines how forensic evidence is evaluated in the Canadian judicial context. The project probes the reliability of artificial intelligence-based forensic tools compared to their traditional counterparts, human-induced biases in the choice and use of these tools and the interpretation of results. Findings from the analysis of Canadian judicial decisions from 1990 to 2020 could help develop AI tools and provide recommendations to improve the quality of forensic evidence presented in courts of law.
Canada Learning Loss Policy Report (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grant)
The true extent of pandemic learning loss in Canada is unknown, but there’s an urgent need to set evidence-based priorities, raise awareness and implement effective interventions. Lead researcher Professor Tracy Vaillancourt, with institutional partners including the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Commission of UNESCO and a coalition of experts from across Canada, will produce a pan-Canadian policy report on learning loss intended for policymakers, educators, school psychologists and researchers from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
A tolerated intolerable: A longitudinal examination of youth soccer referee abuse and its impact on health (Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant)
Exposure to violence during childhood poses a significant threat to health. Abuse of referees in sports (including youth) is rampant, and yet there’s no research on the impact this type of workplace violence has on adolescents’ health. As principal investigator, Professor Tracy Vaillancourt will lead the research team’s examination of exposure to workplace violence on physical and mental health, and the ways gender and contextual factors such as workplace characteristics and provincial policies have affected 3,300 youth soccer referees aged 12 to 16 from Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Education for Democracy: A six-part podcast series (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Connection Grant)
Professor Joel Westheimer’s Education for Democracy podcast series seeks to amplify the role of public schools in strengthening democratic society. This year should be the biggest election year in world history. Seventy countries comprising more than half the world’s population (over four billion people) are sending voters to polls. At the same time, support for democratic institutions is declining and authoritarianism is rising. This podcast series will highlight the role of schools in furthering commitment to democracy and educate the public about the connections between healthy democracies and schooling.
