Mahfida’s Tahniat, EDST PhD student, is the winner of the Summer Photo Contest for the month of July 2026 organized by the Campus Resident.
About the contest rules: https://thecampusresident.ca/enter-our-summer-vacation-photo-contest/
Brunner, Lisa
About
Research Interests
Adult education, Citizenship and democracy, Higher Education, International and Comparative Education, International migration, Post-colonial studies, Research methodologies
Bio
I study education and international migration, with a focus on how settler colonial states and institutions govern mobility and belonging. My areas of specialization include adult and higher education, Canadian immigration policy, international student mobility, temporary and multi-step migration, refugee resettlement, citizenship education, and newcomer settlement and integration from a critical perspective. My current research is part of the “Migrant Integration in the Mid 21st Century: Bridging Divides” Canada First Research Excellence Fund research program.
As a scholar-practitioner, I also engage in policy-relevant knowledge mobilization and contribute to professional communities of practice. I have over fifteen years of professional work experience in adult and higher education, including as an International Student Advisor, Strategic Initiatives & Special Projects Coordinator, and Curriculum Designer for cultural orientation and citizenship education programs. I am a Public Policy Consultant with the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia (AMSSA) and have been a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant since 2014. In 2025, I appeared before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to provide expert witness testimony for the “International Student Program and Study Permits” study.
Research and Education
Education
University of British Columbia, PhD (Educational Studies)
Simon Fraser University, MA (Geography)
University of Pittsburgh, BA (English Literature and Political Science)
Selected publications
Peer reviewed journal articles
Brunner, L. R., Streitwieser, B., & Bhandari, R. (2026). Classifications and clarifications: Rethinking international student mobility and the voluntariness of migration. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 24(2), 549–563. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2023.2261416
Brunner, L. R. (2025). International student mobility and the politics of distance education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 56(2), 870-889. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13543
Brunner, L. R., & McCartney, D. M. (2025). Colonial logics as public secrets of international student mobility. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.6047
Brunner, L. R., Shokirova, T., Gamal, M., & Stein, S. (2025). Higher education’s care/control of refugee and displaced students. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 12(2), 11–33. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/2212
Brunner, L. R., Trilokekar, R. D., Morris-Lange, S., Liu, H., Laufer, M., El Masri, A., & Joshi, A. (2025). Magnets, gatekeepers, surveillants, and refiners: The emergence of higher education institutions as migration governance actors in Australia, Canada, and Germany, 1990 to 2019. International Journal of Educational Research, 129, 102490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102490
Brunner, L. R., & Tao, W. W. (2024). Artificial intelligence and automation in the migration governance of international students: An accidental ethnography. Journal of International Students, 14(1), 269-288. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v14i4.5762
Brunner, L. R., Karki, K. K., & Valizadeh, N., Shokirova, T., & Coustere, C. (2024). Unfamiliarities, uncertainties, and ambivalent long-term intentions: Conceptualizing international student-migrant settlement and integration. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 25, 973–996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-024-01116-1
Brunner, L. R. (2023). Settler nation-building through immigration as a rationale for higher education: A critical discourse analysis. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(5), 1086-1102. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2193732
Brunner, L. R. (2023). Higher education institutions as eyes of the state: Canada’s international student compliance regime. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 21(2), 236-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2022.2037407
Brunner, L. R. (2022). Towards a more just Canadian education-migration system: International student mobility in crisis. Studies in Social Justice, 16(1), 79-102. https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v16i1.2685
Brunner, L. R. (2021). ‘Edugration’ as a wicked problem: Higher education and three-step immigration. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(5), 4. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i5S.4061
Brunner, L. R. (2017). Higher educational institutions as emerging immigrant selection actors: A history of British Columbia’s retention of international graduates, 2001–2016. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 1(1), 22-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2016.1243016
Other publications
Brunner, L. R., & Mehta, D. (2026). Pathway promises and policy realities: Lessons from the international student reset of Canada. Migration Policy Practice, XV(1), 43-50. https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0452544
Brunner, L. R. (2025). Canadian international student policy at a crossroads. Policy Brief No. 1, October 2025. Institute for Research on Public Policy. https://centre.irpp.org/research-studies/canadian-international-student-policy-crossroads/
Brunner, L. R., & Cervantes-Macías, M. E. (2025). Reflections on Canada’s first international student cap. Critical Internationalization Studies Review, 4(1), article 2. https://doi.org/10.70531/2832-3211.1043
EDST Activity
Courses taught
EDST 401: Education, School, and Social Institutions
EDST 493: Introduction to the Study of Higher Education
EDST 513: Current Issues in Higher Education
EDST 521: Foundations of Higher Education (Teaching in 2026/2027 Winter Term 1)
EDST 540B: Locating Oneself in Global Learning
With students from my EDST 401 course, awarded the Student Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization Funding Grant (Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia) for the project “Decolonization, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and Teacher Identity: B.Ed. Self-Reflective Writing Project.” Check out our zine here!
Additional
Editorial board member, Comparative and International Education (2025-present)
Zhu, Yidan
About
Research Interests
Adult Education and Lifelong Learning, Aging and Lifelong Learning, Biodiversity Learning, Community Development, Environmental Sustainability, Health Professions Education, Intercultural Communication, Migration, Program Planning and Evaluation, Women and Gender
Individual research Interests
Bio
I received my Ph.D. in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. Before joining the Department of Educational Studies at UBC, I served as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Adult Education at Texas State University, a Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia.
My research explores how learning is socially organized across diverse institutional and community contexts. Situated within the field of adult education, I examine learning in relation to migration, women and gender, intercultural communication, health professions education, aging, and community development. My current work also explores the role of lifelong learning in promoting biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability through community-based educational initiatives.
I have taught graduate and doctoral-level courses in adult education, program planning and evaluation, research methodologies, and intercultural communication across Canada, the United States, and Hong Kong. My teaching emphasizes critical thinking, reflective learning, and the integration of theory and practice. I enjoy creating collaborative learning environments that encourage students to engage with contemporary issues through community-based inquiry and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Research and Education
Research Projects
Selected Publications
Selected Publications
Zhu, Y. (2023). Transforming adult education through critical feminist theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.
Zhu, Y. (2020). Learning to become a good mother: Migrant mothers as adult learners. Adult Education Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713620921179
Zhu, Y. (2020). Transnationalizing lifelong learning: Taking the standpoint of Chinese immigrant mothers. Globalisation, Societies and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2020.1762168
Zhu, Y., & Zhang, W. (2019). Active learning for active ageing: Chinese senior immigrants’ lifelong learning in Canada. Educational Gerontology, 45(8), 506–518.
Zhu, Y. (2019). Can participatory action research empower participants in adult educational studies? Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 31(1), 63–73.
EDST Activity
Courses taught
Additional
Congrats to Sai Manjari Kaladindi, Stephen Sarmento, & Zhuqing Mei for the EDST Research Day Blog Publication Award
2026 EDST Research Day Blog Publication Award as a Presenter, entitled A Comparative Study on the Purposes of Arts Education in Middle School in Canada, China, and India Through Teachers’ Perspectives by Sai Kaladindi, Stephen Sarmento & Zhuqing Mei
Congrats to Mahfida Tahniat for the EDST Research Day Blog Publication Award
2026 EDST Research Day Blog Publication Award as an Attendee, entitled Toxicity in Education: A Vicious Circle by Mahfida Tahniat
https://blogs.ubc.ca/edst/2026/05/16/toxicity-in-education-a-vicious-circle
Congratulations to Jelana Bighorn on her Successful Oral Defence (M.A. Thesis)
Please join us in congratulating Jelana Bighorn who successfully defended her M.A. Thesis on April 29, 2026.
Title:
TRANSGRESSING WHITE SUPREMACY IN EDUCATION: A LAKOTA BAHA’I APPROACH
Abstract:
The purpose of this research is to examine the behaviors, attitudes, and actions of white students and staff members towards decolonization and anti-racism praxis in public schools located in British Columbia. This thesis conducts a spiritually based, Indigenous decolonizing methodological approach that emerges from a theoretical framework based on Lakota principles, Baha’i teachings and critical pedagogy. These three distinct paradigms comprise three separate tipi poles under which the sacred moments method is implemented. Sacred moments method creates a defined space for action, reflection and consultation with a cherished relative who has passed on. The imagined conversations examine personal experiences with white students and white teachers within educational settings to learn what understanding and/or awareness of systemic oppression is present. The intention of this research is to maintain a focus on the behaviors, attitudes, and actions of the oppressor rather than the oppressed. Decolonizing and antiracism public educational praxis in British Columbia is largely delivered by white teachers yet there is limited research on the effectiveness of their engagement or their commitment to its goals. The four key themes in the findings include: (1) the centrality of truth telling, (2) the desire to dream, (3) from fragility to hostility, and (4) the specter of forgiveness. This research aims to contribute new insights into white teacher resistance towards decolonization and anti-racism suggesting that as long as white relatives refuse to meaningfully engage in their own spiritual healing, anti-racism and decolonization initiatives within educational settings will continue to fail. As such this study issues a call for relational accountability. It remains to be seen who will respond to its call and when…
Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Hartej Gill, Co-supervisor
Dr. chuutsqa Rorick, Co-supervisor
We are grateful to Dr. Lee Brown, UBC Emeritus and Knowledge Keeper, for his valuable contributions and expertise.
Congratulations Jelana!
Congratulations to Soyoo Yoo on a Successful Oral Defence (M.A. Thesis)
Please join us in congratulating Soyoo Yoo who successfully defended her M.A. Thesis on April 28 of 2026.
Title:
Negotiating Silence and Resistance: The Political Agency of Korean Primary Teachers
Abstract:
This thesis explores how South Korean primary school teachers exercise political agency when they are not allowed to express political opinions or participate in collective actions. Drawing on Foucauldian perspectives as interpreted by Stephen Ball and Doris Santoro’s work on teachers’ demoralization, this study constructs a theoretical framework that interprets teachers’ inner conflicts as an early manifestation of resistance and the emergence of political subjectivity.
This study employs a qualitative design, using semi-structured interviews with six Korean primary teachers to examine how discourses shape teachers’ experiences and how teachers recount practices of negotiating and resisting dominant discourses. Findings demonstrate that teachers’ political agency becomes visible through tensions between discourse and practice. All participants reiterated the prevailing discourse that teachers have excessive responsibility, but are positioned as powerless because their opinions are often blocked by parents’ demands or school administrators’ opinions. In contrast, all participants also articulated practices that demonstrate their agency in four ways. First, political subjectivity emerged through collective action, particularly in response to the criminalization of teachers’ responsibilities and perceived ethical violations. Second, teachers illustrated their role as democratic actors by teaching democratic values to students, by creating spaces for students to share their opinions through classroom meetings or the students’ council. Third, several participants refused a politically neutral position and expressed their determination to speak out or sometimes participate in political actions. Fourth, teachers enacted micropolitical engagement through small and strategic actions, even when such actions involved fear and risk.
This thesis argues that teachers are not merely policy implementers; rather, they are political subjects with agency and who resist circulating discourses in various forms. This study contributes to scholarship by illustrating how micropolitical engagement is enacted when macropolitical engagement is restricted by strict educational policy, specifically focusing on teachers’ private conflicts between institutional demands and professional ethical values. Finally, it advocates protective mechanisms for teachers and broader spaces for teachers to speak out to establish a more democratic education system.
Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Claudia Ruitenberg, Supervisor
Dr. Sooyeon Kim, Member
We are thankful for the University Examiner’s contribution and expertise.
Dr. Anne Phelan, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, University Examiner
Congratulations Soyoo!
Capstone Sequence (EDST 501 & 553) Winter 2026-2027
Ready to turn research theory into real-world practice? This two-course capstone sequence (EDST 501 and 553) gives students exactly that opportunity. Offered over two terms, each meeting on five Saturdays, this two-course sequence provides students with hands-on research experience in optional group work. EDST 501 builds your research proposal through mini-workshops, targeted lectures, and engaging hands-on activities. Students will go through every step of the research process: pinpointing research problems, crafting problem statements, formulating research questions, writing literature review, developing feasible research methodology, and producing research-focused academic writing. Each course assignment contributes to a component of your research blueprint, which culminates in an actionable research proposal as the final course assignment, ready to be implemented in Term 2;
EDST 553 brings your research to life by offering the opportunity to implement the research proposal you developed in EDST 501 or in other research methodology courses you have taken. The course takes your proposal from paper to practice, focusing on navigating the ethics review, collecting and analysing data, writing up findings and discussion, and producing a final product polished enough for publication and conference presentation. Students will also have the opportunity to showcase their final products through a public presentation at the end of the term.
It is highly recommended that students get started by exploring topics of your interests and the relevant literature by considering the following guiding questions:
- What is the problem you are interested in investigating? (problem statement)
- – What makes it a problem?
- – In what context?
- What do you want to know about the problem (or what questions do you have about the problem)? (Research question/s)
- Why do you want to know that? (Motivation)
- Why should anyone else care? (Significance, contribution)
- What are you trying to achieve? (purpose/objectives)
- What has been done or is already known on the topic of your interest? (Literature review)
If you have any questions about the courses, please email Dr. Fei Wang (fei.wang@ubc.ca).
EDST 501 (W1)
- September 12
- September 26
- October 17
- November 14
- December 5
EDST 553 (W2)
- Jan 16
- Jan 30
- Feb 13
- March 13
- March 27 (optional)
- April 3