Research Day 2023

Keynote: Facing the Brokenness: Cultivating Critical Hope in Educational Research and Teaching

Speaker: Kari Grain, PhD

The role of hope in education has long been a discussion that inspires and repels. Just as hope can be a vital foundation for the construction of possible futures, its soft edges and utopian ideals can alienate those for whom hope is not easily aroused or summoned. In an era wrought with interconnected injustices like toxic drug poisoning, continued colonial violence toward Indigenous and Racialized Peoples, unchecked capitalism, and myriad manifestations of the climate crisis, a hopeful stance that lacks action or contextual complexity is naive to the dire realities before us. And yet, people and communities who demand (and work for) change – activists, educators, healthcare workers, community leaders, and others – need connection and fortitude now more than ever. In this talk, I introduce the idea of “critical hope” (Freire, 1994; Grain, 2022) and ask how it might offer a nourishing, relational framework for those engaged in research and teaching. In the book, Critical Hope (2022), I conceptualize this notion with the original ideas of Freire, but infuse it with diverse research and ideas presented by poets, neuroscientists, critical feminist scholars, musicians, Indigenous leaders, anti-racist writers, and community activists. Critical hope prioritizes “relational accountability” (Wilson, 2001) and active hospitality toward emotions like anger and grief. As a relational practice, critical hope is a dance – a messy, embodied entanglement between the difficult knowledge of the brokenness facing education, and the host of vibrant possibilities that education is ideally positioned to bring into being. The intention of this talk is to further explore how we, as a community in the Department of Educational Studies, might engage with the broken pieces and reimagine what it means in our own teaching and research, to heal. 

Research Day 2023 – Call for Proposals

Submission is closed.

The program committee for EDST Research Day 2023 invites proposals for individual presentations, poster sessions, roundtable, and panel sessions, and more from students and faculty members. All students are welcome – Ph.D., Ed.D., M.A., and M.Ed.

EDST Research Day showcases the rich educational research, practice, and theory developed by the department’s students and faculty. We welcome work in diverse subjects, and in all phases of development, including projects that come out of coursework, research conducted as Research Assistants or Principal Investigators, thesis sections, or papers in progress. Presenters are encouraged to try out ideas to be developed for a forthcoming conference. 

Mindful of conferences that will take place shortly after Research Day, we encourage participants to engage with topics covered by key conferences in our field. We invite proposals that focus on the following theme:

Reimagining education for an equitable, sustainable and connected world – In the past few years, the world has undergone intense changes, the nature and pace of which are unprecedented. The disruption and uncertainly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have highlighted that we cannot continue life as usual, and this demands a different educational response. This conference is an invitation for us to come together to rethink education for a world that is equitable, sustainable, and connected. We welcome proposals that engage the themes of social justice, environmental justice, technology and education. While these themes raise important questions, applicants should not feel limited to address these themes only. We, thus, also invite proposals on other education-related topics.

Each session should include at least one EDST student, but we encourage collaborations with EDST faculty members and/or students from other departments. Faculty members are invited to take an active role throughout Research Day as discussants, moderators, facilitators, and mentors.

Submission is closed.

Types of Presentations

Individual Presentations

Traditional and alternative presentations are welcome!

Suggestions include:

• Paper Presentation (up to 20-minute talk and 10-minute Q&A)
• Short Presentation (up to 7-minute talk and 5-minute Q&A)
• Ignite (20 slides in 5 minutes, each slide advancing automatically after 15 seconds and 5-minute Q&A)
• Art/Performance
• Film Presentation (up to 20 minutes)
• Poster Presentations

Roundtable and Panel Sessions

Roundtable and panel sessions will run 75 minutes each. Formats available are:

• Panel Discussion: 2-4 panelists discussing a topic in front of the audience; includes a Q&A and discussion session
• Roundtable Discussion: A discussion on a topic in a roundtable format with equal participation from all participants
• Book Session: A presentation of a new book, followed by a Q&A session
• Scholars’ Café: Informal session that showcases the most exciting and unique research done at EDST.

How to Apply

Proposal Requirements

Individual presentation proposals should include:

1. Presenter’s name, department, and program
2. Full title of the proposal
3. 150–200-word abstract
4. Type of presentation 

Panel/Roundtable discussions proposals should include:

1. Facilitator’s name, department, and program
2. Full title of the proposal
3. Type of session
4. Brief summary of activities planned for your session and key participants’ names, with a 150-200 word abstract for each speaker

Want to present but not sure how to prepare? Your GAAs are here and would love to sit with you to discuss your proposal ideas and helping you prepare! Contact us at: edst.gaa@ubc.ca for any questions, comments, or assistance.