Research and Initiatives

Laurier's Faculty of Education is shaping the future of the profession by connecting research, scholarship and creative activity with communities.

We aim to foster collaborative inquiry and research opportunities in education, and support faculty-led research projects in partner schools and with other education communities, both locally and globally. We also seek opportunities for research training for students and faculty, and encourage critical research discourse among colleagues.

Our programs integrate collaborative inquiry and research opportunities for students, staff and faculty members within an innovative and inclusive research culture. Learn more about the initiatives, groups and resources we've cultivated to support these goals.

Centre for Leading Research in Education (CLRiE)

Director: Alexandra Gottardo

The Centre for Leading Research in Education is a coming-together of Laurier faculty, staff and students, as well as researchers and partners from external community organizations, with backgrounds in education, psychology, kinesiology, music, health studies, biology, languages and literatures, history, social work, youth and children’s studies, global studies, and more.

CLRiE's focus on interdisciplinarity encourages the development of thoughtful, balanced and creative approaches to educational research in a changing world.

The centre's core purposes are to support research and research-related activities in education across the lifespan, build sustainable educational knowledge mobilization networks; and strengthen interdisciplinary research networks with an education focus.

CLRiE can provide in-kind support to faculty-led research projects. CLRiE also hosts knowledge mobilization activities to support the research efforts of its members.

A collection of shapes, building blocks and letters

InkSmith's k8 micro:bit robot on a desk in front of a presentation

Teach Digital Lab

Director: Julie Mueller

The Teach Digital Lab was formed in 2008 and has grown to include researchers, teachers and community partners, including school boards and local affiliates, with a shared passion for understanding technology and how it impacts learning and teaching in a digital age.

Professor Mueller and Teach Digital Lab have major ongoing research projects in the fields of education technology, computational thinking, and physical exercise/self-regulated learning. 

Mission on the Moon

The most recent project, Mission on the Moon, is co-sponsored with industry partner, InkSmith Limited, and supported by the Canadian Space Agency. The program offers space-themed coding and robotics STEM courses for Canadian youth in grades 6-9, with InkSmith's k8 micro:bit robot acting as the lunar rover in introductory courses.

Students can perform all of the missions in real life by programming k8 to complete specific tasks in the Physical Hardware courses. But the content is also adaptable for delivery without physical hardware in a virtual coding environment using the Virtual Coding courses.

STEMovation

STEMovation provides high quality, in-community STEM outreach for families from groups underrepresented in STEM education and careers. In partnership with the Waterloo Region school boards, BEd and BSc students facilitate hands-on STEM activities through after school events.

For more information, contact Assistant Professor Avis Beek.

Students standing around a STEMovation booth

Educator and Leadership Institute (ELI)

Education provides the tools for young people to access diversified career options, higher income levels, sustained health and active citizenship. To achieve these outcomes, children must receive a quality education taught by skilled and competent teachers and school leaders.

The Educator and Leadership Institute was developed to build teaching and leadership capacity in communities globally. The ELI model is based on educator-to-educator professional learning to foster enhanced outcomes for students. Typically, this involves short (one to two week) professional learning sessions attended by local and Canadian educators.

In tandem with the face-to-face courses, and with the support of D2L and other educational organizations, ELI has developed online resources that support and extend the learning that occurs in the summer institute.

To date, more than 2,000 educators in Haiti, Egypt, and Nepal have completed training via ELI, impacting more than 100,000 students. A case study examining the effectiveness of ELI has been published in Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education.

For more information, contact Professor Steve Sider.

Inclusive School Leadership Research Team

Director: Steve Sider

The Inclusive School Leadership Research Team is made up of more than 20 faculty members, graduate, and undergraduate students from across Canada.

This research team is highly engaged in multiple research projects examining inclusive education and school leadership in Canada, Ghana, Haiti, St. Lucia, Mauritius, and beyond.

The team is committed to providing support and resources to principals and school leaders as they navigate how to build inclusive school environments for students.

boy talking with two female student volunteers

Lift Off to Higher Education

Lift Off to Higher Education is a free, interactive online program intended to support guidance counsellors, classroom teachers, special education teachers, and administrators as they present ideas for career planning to their students.

Aimed at students in grades 6, 7 and 8, the programs help students identify their interests and skills, and introduces them to various pathways of education and financial literacy.

The presentations are offered in seven to ten modules and accompanied by a workbook that includes independent activities for students. The programs are flexible and educators are welcome to present the modules and activities however will best serve the needs of their students.

The objectives are aligned with the Ministry of Education’s Creating Pathways to Success: An Education and Career/Life Planning Program for Ontario Schools.

Graduate Research

The Master of Education (MEd) program provides opportunities for students to be involved in research. All students are offered graduate courses specific to research methodologies, with additional optional opportunities to participate in a new research-intensive stream within the MEd. Graduate students may also work on research projects through an independent study and as part of a faculty member's research team.

A PhD program is anticipated in the future and will provide further opportunities for students and faculty to engage in research.