By Rochelle Starr

This week we have a very exciting episode that explores international opportunities for Faculty of Education students. We talk to graduate student Tracy Onuczko about her trip to Africa (and see photos from her trip) and then discuss a wide range of opportunities with Dr. George Richardson, Associate Dean, International.

If you have ever thought about going on an international adventure in Education, you need to watch this episode!

By Michael Brown

Before the civil war, Somali National University (SNU) was a thriving institution of higher learning, with 15,000 students, 700 staff members and 13 departments. Its alumni included the current president of the country, notable scientists, peace activists, humanitarians and dignitaries.

It’s the transformation in her students when they experience success they didn’t think possible that Anita Lafferty loves most about her work as First Nations Metis Inuit (FNMI) Graduation Coach at St. Joseph High School.

“The best part of my job besides graduation day is seeing my students succeed where they thought they couldn’t. There is success in all the little things and the students feel pride when they accomplish what they may not have felt they could,” says Lafferty, who has been at the position since graduating from the U of A with a BEd in 2011.

“It was like breaking the code; this was something adults did,” says Sandy Bell, '77 BEd, reminiscing about her entry into the mysterious world of cursive handwriting. “It was a feeling that I’d arrived. I knew what they were writing about. It was big.”

She even remembers the effort she poured into her first handwritten Christmas thank-you letter. “That was important to me.”

Backgrounds are what propel Drs. Anna Kirova and Larry Prochner in their Early Childhood Education research. What do children from cultural and linguistic minority backgrounds bring with them to school? What Indigenous values do parents teach in the home? And what underpinnings motivate teachers? What is the role of early childhood teacher education programs in preparing teachers to dovetail children’s preparation for school with meaningful connections to the culture and language of the home community?

By Peter Boer, Education student

It is strange to think that, in as little as two years, the way we approach learning about curriculum will change.

It was a business in India that started Dr. Dinesh Rathi on his research path, but it’s not just large corporations that will benefit from the work he does. Non-profit organizations will, too.

Dr. Rathi is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alberta. He’s fascinated by Knowledge Management or KM and has research interests in the areas of emerging technologies (social media and open source software), digital libraries, and human computer interactions.

By Rochelle Starr

On January 31, 2014 a teach-in on Treaty Rights, Indigenous education, and the First Nation Education Act, was held at the U of A’s Faculty of Education south building.

This teach-in (an informal lecture and discussion on a particular subject of public interest), hosted by I:SSTRIKE, Indigenous Students Strengthening Treaty Relationship through Indigenous Knolwedge and Education, was a complete success.  The room was filled to capacity, people also stood to listen from the hallway.