A University of Alberta social studies education professor wants to know why the Alberta government’s recent decisions around social studies and history curriculum renewal appear to run counter to evidence-based best practices adopted elsewhere in Canada.

Two Educational Policy Studies professors, who are also parents, have added their voices to the chorus of concerns about the Alberta government’s fall school re-entry plans during a surge in the coronavirus pandemic.

While the majority of courses are moving online for the Fall 2020 term, one Education professor and his colleagues are taking students back to nature––and sharing the experience in a documentary, available online now.

You could say teaching runs in Lisa Sydora-Wood’s family. Her father retired from serving as a vice-principal in Parkland County after 39 years and her sister has been teaching for over a decade.

On June 30, her last day as Chair of the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), Toni Samek received a final piece of good news related to the role.

Elaine Simmt built a one-of-a-kind career, not unlike the woman herself.

While the Faculty Education is grateful that she spent a significant portion of her working life with us, we understand that her retirement, which commences on July 1, 2020, is more than well-earned.

It started with a crisis that made international news.

In 2016, forest fires ravaged Fort McMurray. Almost 100,000 people were evacuated and 2,400 homes were destroyed. In the aftermath, Nathalie Reid’s research into trauma-sensitive pedagogy found many student-focused resources, but there were few resources for educators also experiencing trauma.

Reid, who crosses the virtual convocation stage to receive her PhD in Elementary Education on June 12, realized that the significant research gap might present an opportunity to better support teachers in schools.

I want to start by expressing my hope that everyone in our community is safe, healthy and finding time for self-care in our current circumstances. I also want to thank our incredible educators, administrators and staff across the education spectrum—including those here in the Faculty of Education—who have continued to support learners through the uncertainty and constraints imposed by this public health emergency.

If you’d like to spend time improving your professional skills this summer, the Faculty of Education has devised online learning experiences for school leaders committed to resilience, innovation and ensuring high-quality educational experiences for all students.

We saw it looming on the horizon for weeks in North America, as it shut down entire cities in China and proliferated rapidly through Europe. Then, suddenly, it was here. The global coronavirus pandemic became, seemingly overnight, a very local public health emergency across Alberta. We’re all still living through what came next: a major disruption in social functioning as schools, businesses, entire economic sectors shuttered in an effort to prevent a spike of infections that might overwhelm the healthcare system.