“Having doctoral students who hail from a number of countries and diverse backgrounds has enriched my life.”

I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, where I had an excellent doctoral journey.

I have worked in education for decades as a classroom teacher, curriculum consultant, and administrator. My experience in education has served me well in my work as a teacher educator. While at OISE, I also held a number of leadership positions.

My area of research is teacher education. I have been invited to speak around the world on two groundbreaking research studies. These studies are strengthening the research on teacher education because we are deepening our understanding of the complexity of teacher education.

Both of these research studies have large research teams that include doctoral students, teachers, and teacher educators. Our research teams are collaborative communities where doctoral students, in particular, are part of every stage of the research process, from data gathering to analysis to publication. This training improves their own research skills and helps them see themselves as researchers. 

Since I had such a positive doctoral journey, I wanted to ensure my doctoral students had a similar experience. 

To help my students prepare to be strong teacher educators, I formed the group Becoming Teacher Educators. This group, open to all doctoral students, was initially focused on preparing doctoral students who want to secure a position in teacher education. Over the seven years this group has been in existence, it has become so much more. We have become a community where we have individually and collectively supported students through all phases of their doctoral journey.

In order to understand the power of our BTE group, we conducted a self-study research project which was published in one of the most prestigious journals in education. The research on our group revealed the necessity of having a safe community to discuss the doctoral journey, the value of regularly sharing research, and the importance of learning about the complex role of a teacher educator while a doctoral student. 

I have loved my time at U of T, both as a student and as a professor. It is an amazing place to work because of the high calibre of students, the range of research conducted, the vast number of professional development opportunities for faculty, and its prime city location. I truly value our international and diverse student body. Having doctoral students who hail from a number of countries and diverse backgrounds has enriched my life. 

Winning the JJ Berry Smith Supervision Award was one of the highlights of my career. It is satisfying to contribute to the development of the next generation of scholars in our field. It is an honour to be recognized for doctoral supervision at a university that has such an extensive doctoral program and is so committed to quality at the doctoral level.