Kelly, Deirdre M.

Professor

604–822–3952

deirdre.kelly@ubc.ca

Office: Ponderosa Commons 3039

About

Research Interests

Children and youth, Gender Studies, Media and democracy, Social justice, Sociology of Education

Research Supervision Interests

Individual research Interests

Bio

Research and Education

Education

Santa Clara, BA

Tufts, MA

Stanford, PhD

Awards

UBC Killam Teaching Prize, Faculty of Education, 1998-99

Murray Elliott Award for Outstanding Service in Teacher Education, UBC Faculty of Education, 2007

Research Projects

Young Digital Citizens and Future-Focused Journalism

2025 – 2026

Role: Principal investigator. Granting agency: John & Doris Andrews Research & Development Award

Selected Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Moore, Ashley R., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2024). Getting real about critical realist interviewing: Five principles to guide practice. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 23, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241299311

Gill, Hartej, Kelly, Deirdre M., Sablan Martin, Kelsey, & Mazawi, André Elias. (Eds.) (2023). Indigenous historiographies, place, and memory in decolonizing educational research, policy, and pedagogic praxis: Special issue in honour and memory of Professor Michael Marker (1951-2021). Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 18(2), 119 pp. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/jcie/index.php/JCIE

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2022). Critical media literacy for uncertain times: Promoting student reflexivity. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 4(2), 15-26. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2022-14-2-2

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Currie, Dawn H. (2021). Teacher reflexivity when using pop culture in the classroom. International Journal of Critical Media Literacy, 2(2), 121-147.

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Currie, Dawn H. (2021). Beyond stereotype analysis in critical media literacy: Case study of reading and writing gender in pop music videos. Gender and Education, 33(6), 676-691. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2020.1831443

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2022). Critical social literacy: Media engagement as an exercise of power. Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies, 44(5), 406-446. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2021.1941551

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2014). Alternative learning contexts and the goals of democracy in education. Teachers College Record, 116(14), 383-410.

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2011). The public policy pedagogy of corporate and alternative news media. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 30(2), 185-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11217-011-9222-2

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Brandes, Gabriella Minnes. (2010). “Social justice needs to be everywhere”: Imagining the future of anti-oppression education in teacher preparation. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 56(4), 388-402. http://ajer.synergiesprairies.ca/ajer/index.php/ajer/article/view/839

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2010). A critical inquiry and antioppressive approach to teacher education. Teacher Education & Practice 23(4), 478-481. [invited response to the journal’s feature section “Dialogues of Teacher Education,” theme issue entitled A Social Justice Imperative for Teacher Preparation and Practice.]

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2009). Mean, wild, and alienated: Girls and the state of feminism in popular culture. Girlhood Studies, 2(1), 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2009.020102

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Brooks, Mary. (2009). How young is too young? Exploring beginning teachers’ assumptions about young children and teaching for social justice. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(2), 202-216.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10665680902739683

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Brandes, Gabriella Minnes. (2008). Equitable classroom assessment: Promoting self-development and self-determination. Interchange, 39(1). 1-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10780-008-9041-8

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2007). Young mothers, agency and collective action: Issues and challenges. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, 9(1), 9-19. http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/jarm/article/viewFile/5131/4327

Currie, Dawn H., Kelly, Deirdre M., & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2007). Listening to girls: Discursive positioning and the construction of self. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(4), 377-400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518390601176366

Currie, Dawn H., Kelly, Deirdre M., & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2007). “The power to squash people”: Understanding girls’ social aggression.British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(1), 23-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425690600995974 Currie, Dawn H., Kelly, Deirdre M., & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2006). “The geeks shall inherit the earth”: Girls’ agency, subjectivity and empowerment. Journal of Youth Studies, 9(4). 419-437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676260600914416

Kelly, Deirdre M., Pomerantz, Shauna, & Currie, Dawn H. (2006). “No boundaries”? Girls’ interactive, online learning about femininities. Youth & Society, 38(1), 3-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0044118X05283482

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2006). Frame work: Helping youth counter their misrepresentation in media. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 27-48.
http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE29-1/CJE29-1-kelly.pdf

Kelly, Deirdre M., Pomerantz, Shauna, & Currie, Dawn. (2005, September). Skater girlhood and emphasized femininity: “You can’t land an ollie properly in heels.” Gender and Education, 17(3), 129-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540250500145163

Kelly, Deirdre M., Brandes, Gabriella Minnes, & Orlowski, Paul. (2003-2004). Teaching for social justice: Veteran high school teachers’ perspectives. Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, 2(2), 39-57

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2003). Practicing democracy in the margins of school: The Teen-Age Parents Program as feminist counterpublic. American Educational Research Journal, 40(1), 123-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.3102/00028312040001123

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Brandes, Gabriella Minnes. (2001). Shifting out of “neutral”: Beginning teachers’ struggles with teaching for social justice. Canadian Journal of Education, 26(4), 347-454. http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE26-4/CJE26-4-Kelly.pdf

Books and Monographs

Authored

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2022). Pop culture and power: Teaching media literacy for social justice. University of Toronto Press.

Currie, Dawn H., Kelly, Deirdre M., & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2009). “Girl power”: Girls reinventing girlhood. New York: Peter Lang.

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2000). Pregnant with meaning: Teen mothers and the politics of inclusive schooling. New York: Peter Lang.

Kelly, Deirdre M., with Diane Purvey, Kamini Jaipal, and David Penberg. (1995). Balancing diversity and community: A large, urban high school adopts the mini-school approach. Exemplary schools project, case study of Vancouver Technical Secondary School. Toronto: Canadian Education Association.

Kelly, Deirdre M. (1993). Last chance high: How girls and boys drop in and out of alternative schools. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Edited

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Gaskell, Jane. (Eds.). (1996). Debating dropouts: Critical policy and research perspectives on school leaving. New York: Teachers College Press.

Chapters

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Arnold, Chrissie. (2016). Cyberbullying and internet safety. In Barbara Guzzetti & Mellinee Lesley (Eds.), Handbook of research on the societal impact of digital media (pp. 529-559). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2012). Group interviews: Understanding shared meaning and meaning-making. In Sara Delamont (Ed.), Handbook of qualitative research in education (pp. 405-414). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Stack, Michelle. (2012). Bridging journalistic-academic divides to promote democratic dialogue and debate. In T. Fenwick & L. Farrell (Eds.), Knowledge mobilization and educational research: Politics, languages and responsibilities (pp. 128-141). New York: Routledge.

Currie, D. H., & Kelly, D. M. (2012). Group interviews: Understanding shared meaning and meaning-making. In S. Delamont (Ed.), Handbook of qualitative research in education (pp. 405-414). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Currie, D. H., & Kelly, D. M. (2012). Who am I? Who can I become? In M. J. Hird & G. C. Pavlich (Eds.), Questioning sociology: Canadian perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 34-47). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Currie, Dawn H., Kelly, Deirdre M, & Pomerantz, Shauna. (2011). Skater girlhood: Resignifying femininity, resignifying feminism. In Rosalind Gill & Christina Scharff (Eds.), New femininities: Postfeminism, neoliberalism and subjectivity (pp. 293-305). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2010). Media representation and the case for critical media education. In Mary Clare Courtland & Trevor J. Gambell (Eds.), Literature, media, and multiliteracies in adolescent language arts (pp. 277-303). Vancouver: Pacific Education Press.

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2008). Meanness. In Claudia A. Mitchell & Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (Eds.). Girl culture: An encyclopedia (Vol. 2, pp. 426-431). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2007). Pregnant and parenting teens. In Barbara J. Bank (Ed.), Gender and education: An encyclopedia (Vol. 2, pp. 779-786). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Kelly, Deirdre M., Pomerantz, Shauna, & Currie, Dawn H. (2007). “You can break so many more rules”: The identity play and work of becoming skater girls. In Michael D. Giardina & Michele K. Donnelly (Eds.), Youth culture and sport: Identity, power, and politics (pp. 113-125). New York: Routledge.

Currie, Dawn H., & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2007). Who am I? In George C. Pavlich & Myra J. Hird (Eds.). Questioning sociology: Canadian perspectives (pp. 34-55), Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.Currie, Dawn, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2006). “I’m going to crush you like a bug”: Understanding girls’ agency and empowerment. In Yasmin Jiwani, Candis Steenbergen, & Claudia Mitchell (Eds.), Girlhood: Redefining the limits (pp. 155-172). Montréal: Black Rose Books.

Non-Refereed Publications

Journals

Gill, Hartej, Kelly, Deirdre M., Sablan Martin, Kelsey, & Mazawi, André Elias. (2023). Editorial introduction. Indigenous historiographies, place, and memory in decolonizing educational research, policy, and pedagogic Praxis: Special issue in honour and memory of Professor Michael Marker (1951-2021). Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 18(2), 1-7. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/jcie/index.php/JCIE

Kelly, Deirdre. (2012, Winter).Teaching for social justice: Translating an anti-oppression approach into practice. Our Schools/Our Selves, 21(2), 135-154. http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2012/02/osos106_Teaching_Social_Justice.pdf

Brandes, Gabriella Minnes, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (Eds.). (2010). Special issue: Notes from the field: Critical teacher inquiry. Educational Insights 14(1). Available: http:/ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v14n01/toc.html

Kelly, Deirdre M., & Brandes, Gabriella Minnes. ( 2010). Critical teacher inquiry: Examining classroom practices through the lens of social justice . Educational Insights 14(1). Available: http://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v14n01/intro/index.html

Stack, Michelle, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (Eds.). (2006). Introduction [to the theme issue]. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 1-4. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.42

Stack, Michelle, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2006). Popular media, education, and resistance. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 5-26. http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE29-1/CJE29-1-stackkelly.pdf

Brandes, Gabriella Minnes, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (Eds.). (2004, March). Special issue: Notes from the field: Teaching for social justice. Educational Insights, 8(3). http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights <Simultaneously issued as the monograph Teaching for social justice, jointly published by the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and the University of British Columbia Office of External Programs>

Brandes, Gabriella Minnes, & Kelly, Deirdre M. (2004, March). Teaching for social justice: Teachers inquire into their practice. Educational Insights, 8(3). http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v08n03/articles/teaching.html <Simultaneously issued as the Preface to the monograph Teaching for social justice, jointly published by the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation and the University of British Columbia Office of External Programs>

Allred, Pam, Kelly, Deirdre M., & Reiss, Michael. (2004). Review symposium on Pregnant bodies, fertile minds: Gender, race, and the schooling of pregnant teens, by W. Luttrell. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(5), 639-653. [invited] http://www.ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v08n03/toc.html

Other

Kelly, Deirdre M. (2007, Summer). Toward a more nuanced and reflective social justice discourse. Professional Development Perspectives, 6 (5), 1, 8-12. Reprinted in Education for social justice (pp. 1-6). Ottawa: Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 2008. http://www.ctf-fce.ca/publications/default.aspx?document=EPD

EDST Activity

Students Supervised

Ph.D.

Semenec, Paulina. (2022). “Calm’s not my style”: Attending to multiple enactments of mindfulness in a primary classroom.

Paterson, Kate. (2021). “It’s a very careful line we walk”: How educators resist, navigate, and make sense of the queer, trans necropolitical landscape of elementary education [Co-supervised with Mona Gleason]

Dormond, Keith. (2020). Service providers challenging Orientalism and supporting HRVO victims and perpetrators.

Plaut, Shayna. (2014). Writing/righting truths across borders: Learning from transnational peoples’ journalism and politics. [Co-supervised with Claudia Ruitenberg]

MacIntosh, Lori. B. (2013). The failure of antihomophobia education: Embracing the hope of an impossible future.

Moy, Lisa. (2008). Disrupting “bully” talk: Progressive practices and transformative spaces for anti-violence work in schools.

Brooks, Mary. (2008). Making connections: Interpersonal violence, women, and learning in graduate school.

Pomerantz, Shauna. (2005). Dressing the part: Girls, style, and school identities.

Orlowski, Paul. (2005). What’s ideology got to do with it? Race & class discourses in social studies education.

Dow, Martha. (2003). Educating for citizenship: Transformation and activism through reflective accountability.

Wang, Athena. (2001). Boys’ masculinities in play: In dialogue with anti-violence teachers and students.

Taylor, John. (2000). Educational discourses and teaching identities: An ethnography of being taught to teach.

Martineau, Sheila (1999). Rewriting resilience: A critical discourse analysis of childhood resilience and the politics of teaching resilience to “kids at risk.”

Bonson, Anita. (1997). A tale of two Susans: The construction of gender identity on the British Columbia frontier. [Co-supervised with Jean Barman]

Ed.D.

Johnson, Leslie D. (2024). The caring practices of women in higher education leadership: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of care. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89331 [Co-supervised with Alison Taylor]

Gledhill, Karen. (2024). Who do we trust? Life histories of women in school leadership. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89070 [Co-supervised with Fei Wang]

Fleming, John. (2021). Stories of educational journeys and leadership: Travelling betwixt and between.

Windsor-Liscombe, Suzanne. (2014). Parental perceptions of an arts-integrated focus school: A case study of a public fine arts elementary school in British Columbia.

Perkins, Christine. (2013). How school principals understand and respond to homophobia: A study of one B.C. public school district using ethnodrama.

Sackville, Patricia. (2012). Bottom-up educational leadership and policy-making through storytelling: Language policy in practice at a Canadian institute.

Johnson, Wendy. (2009). Preparing to appear: A case study of student activism.

Fraser, Carolyn Jean. (2007). Secondary school girls in conversation about school success: Implications for practice and policy.

M.A.

Yoon-Potkins, Qwisun. (2023). Reimagining sexual health education: Centering youths’ perspectives.

Gray, Kerria. (2018). “You’re doing it wrong”: Skateboarding, gender and the right to the city.

Ryland, Megan. (2018). Learning digital citizenship in publics of practice: How adults learn to use activist hashtags on Twitter.

Bohachyk, Laura. (2015). Matters of care in Alberta’s “Inspiring Education” policy : a critical feminist discourse analysis.

Moule, Jennifer. (2013). The masked masquerade: Superhero and princess narratives and gendered masquerade in an early childhood setting.