Laurier expert alert: Back to school

Aug. 31, 2022
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – Ontario’s elementary and secondary school students will be back in class on Wednesday, Sept. 7, while university and college students also return that week. Classes at Wilfrid Laurier University begin on Thursday, Sept. 8. Laurier has many experts available to speak about topics related to returning to school.

The following list includes Laurier experts who are available to speak at this time but does not represent the full breadth of expertise that exists at our institution. For a more comprehensive inventory of our faculty researchers, please consult the Experts at Laurier database.        

Maria Cantalini-Williams, dean of the Faculty of Education, is an expert on innovation in education, early childhood and experiential learning. She is available to discuss the creative strategies and adaptability that will be required to support a successful school year as pandemic restrictions ease, as well as the ways parents can help support a safe and smooth transition back to school. Contact: mcantaliniwilliams@wlu.ca

Ardavan Eizadirad, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education, is an expert on equity and social justice in education and sports, and is a certified basketball official. Among his other areas of expertise are standardized testing, critical pedagogy and anti-oppressive community engagement. He has previously taught in early childhood education and child and youth care at university and college, as well as teaching Kindergarten to Grade 12. A published author, Eizadirad is also the Chair of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization Coalition in the Faculty of Education. Contact: akealy@wlu.ca

Kelly Gallagher-MacKay, assistant professor in the Law and Society program, is an expert on law and educational inequality for children and youth. She has researched schools and child welfare, “streaming” and systemic discrimination, the policy and data infrastructure required to understand equity of access to postsecondary education, and the connections between playground quality, health and poverty in Ontario. She is available to speak about the impacts of the pandemic on children’s education and why some children have fallen behind more than others. Gallagher-MacKay was the lead author on the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table brief on impacts of education disruption. Contact: kgallaghermackay@wlu.ca

Sybil Geldart, associate professor of Psychology, specializes in the areas of child clinical psychology, school psychology and counselling. She is a practising member of the College of Psychologists of Ontario and, among her courses, teaches exceptionalities during childhood and adolescence. Contact: sgeldart@wlu.ca

Jennifer Holm, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education, is an expert in mathematics education, teacher beliefs and conceptions of mathematics, and mathematics knowledge for teaching. She was an elementary school teacher from 2000-2016, and has taught at Laurier since 2017. Contact: jholm@wlu.ca

David Johnson is a retired economics professor in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. He has been researching elementary school test results in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia; differences between exam results across schools on provincial examinations and teacher-awarded grades; and teacher salaries and labour relations. Contact: djohnson@wlu.ca

Danielle Law, associate professor in Laurier’s Youth and Children’s Studies and Psychology programs, is an expert on cyberbullying, associated mental health concerns and responsible internet use. Law’s research examines how children and adolescents develop cognitively and socio-emotionally as they interact and socialize using technologies. Contact: dlaw@wlu.ca

Christine Neill is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. She is an expert on the economics of education and higher education policy in Canada, including university financing and student loan policies. She is also studying how parents’ education affects their children’s education decisions, and how the switch to full-day kindergarten in Ontario's French language schools affected parents’ work outside the home. Contact: cneill@wlu.ca                               

Julie Mueller, professor in the Faculty of Education and executive member of the Centre for Leading Research in Education, is an expert in digital technology in teaching and learning, learning to teach in a digital age, assessment of problem solving and computational thinking, and physical activity and learning. She has taught courses in both the Department of Psychology and Faculty of Education, and is a former elementary school teacher for the Waterloo Region District School Board in Kindergarten to Grade 6. Contact: jmueller@wlu.ca

Jennifer M. Straub, an assistant professor for the Faculty of Education, is an expert in teacher education and French as a second language (FSL) initial teacher education programs. Her current research focuses on increasing the number of FSL teachers in Ontario. Straub is also a former vice-principal and classroom teacher. Contact: jstraub@wlu.ca