Doctoral Student Profiles

I am a first-year PhD student in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. I am originally from Nova Scotia and first studied History at Mount Allison University and eventually Education at Brock University. With an interest in exploration, I first went to South Korea to teach English and then to China where I mostly taught Social Studies and English Language Arts in two BC curriculum offshore schools. I also coached ultimate frisbee and helped build a youth league with other schools in Shanghai. When I returned to Canada, I completed an MA at the University of Victoria researching the perspectives and experiences of BC offshore school graduates and internationalization of education. Now at UBC, I plan to research how Canadian teachers depict and Chinese students perceive social studies and humanities courses taught in British Columbia offshore schools.

I, Maria Jose, am an educator who has had the opportunity to walk alongside Indigenous people on educational projects defined by their own terms. I have identified myself as two-Spirit Mestiza, with Indigenous heritage. I feel honoured to have worked collaboratively and to have learned how to recreate a curriculum in order to make it culturally responsive. After working on culturally relevant curriculum development, I always wonder what have others felt and learned from the experience and what we all can learn from that process. This is the reason why I wanted to explore the experience of the stakeholders involved in developing lessons based on the tipi story for my Master’s thesis. I was born in Mexico City and raised since I was two years old in the Cancun area. I have the blessing to speak the Mayan language, of the territory I grew up in, and my Mayan name is X-Jose. But also, I have worked with and understand Ayuujk Jay, Pur’epecha, Ñöñho, Yaqui, among others. I have been a visitor in Musqueam territory where I have had the blessing of studying my MA and now my PhD at UBC. For my PhD I want to compare how teachers feel to be prepared or not to work in minority Indigenous groups in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. I love the outdoors, love to share life, food and stories. I am happy to be part of the EDCP graduate community again!

I am a Ph.D. student at the University of British Columbia Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. My research interests include curriculum implementation and teaching practices to improve learning opportunities for students with different backgrounds. I am particularly interested to understand how to better connect both micro (classroom/schools) and macro (policymakers) actors to design and implement more equitable curriculum policies. During my Ph.D. program, I intend to study the role of classroom assessment both in supporting student learning and teacher knowledge about their students' needs, but also, in the implementation of the new British Columbia Curriculum. Previous to coming to Canada, I have analyzed classroom teaching practices to improve student learning opportunities in Latin America and worked with universities and policymakers to design better curricula and more equitable educational policies. I am also a former philosophy public high school teacher and a math educator in an NGO in Brazil. My background includes a Master's in International Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University (USA) and another in Education from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). I also have a Bachelor and Teacher Credential in Philosophy from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).

I am from Vancouver and taught secondary English at a local independent school for 16 years. Before returning as a doctoral student under the supervision of Dr Anthony Clarke in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, I studied at UBC (BHK, BEd, MA) and completed a thesis entitled, "Coach-to-coach mentoring in a youth soccer academy: Applying theoretical knowledge within relevant contexts of practical sport coaching." During this time, I was able to work closely alongside Dr Harry Hubball, whose guidance and mentorship were instrumental to my professional and academic development. My current research interests include teacher autonomy, teacher education, and curriculum theory. In my spare time, I enjoy playing soccer and golf, working in the garden, and being Daddy to my beautiful daughter.