This story is featured in the Spring 2016 issue of Showcase: The Champions of Change Issue. View the complete Showcase publication

"We have a duty to prepare the next generation of teachers to be social change agents," says dean of Education, Dr. Cathy Bruce.

Rooted in the guiding principles of Trent’s School of Education, an emphasis on social and ecological justice is embodied in all its offerings from the undergraduate Teacher Education Stream and emphasis in Teacher Education, to the Consecutive B. Ed. program, M.Ed. in Educational Studies, and the new Indigenous B.Ed. program.

Challenging our future citizens

"Our programs address issues of inclusivity, learning abilities and challenges, race, sexual orientation, gender, and culture," Professor Bruce says, noting that those socio-cultural concerns are reflected in the knowledge, experience, and research interests of the School's instructors.

Teacher candidates consider these issues through core mandatory courses that have a social justice focus, such as Indigenous and Environmental Sustainability, and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity.

"These courses help our teacher candidates to think about the students they will be working with, not only from a teaching aspect, but in terms of their broader sense of social responsibility as they go forward as future citizens," Prof. Bruce says.

Providing new perspectives,

Perhaps the greatest opportunity for teacher candidates to enhance their knowledge about social justice issues and cultural diversity is through the alternative field experience placement, a mandatory placement that is unique to Trent University.

"Everybody has to do a three-week placement that is not in a typical classroom setting," Prof. Bruce explains. "It has to be something a little unusual that will expand their thinking and their understanding of social justice issues." Students can choose to design an alternative field placement that reflects their personal interests or they can participate in one of the established programs, including: the Learning Garden, where teacher candidates learn to instill an environmental consciousness in their future students; Learning from the Land and Indigenous People, where they develop an awareness of Indigenous culture and traditional knowledge; Camp fYrefly, a camp for LGBTQ and two-spirited youth; and, beginning next year, teaching in Cambodia.

Additionally, all teacher candidates are required to do a tutoring placement in the Supporting Literacy and Special Needs program.                  

"We believe our teacher candidates need to have this range of experience so they are open to all students they are going to be working with," Prof. Bruce says. "Rather than a place of conformism, schooling should be where people expand their horizons and consider things beyond their own lives and perspectives, in order to help change and improve the world."

Indigenous Bachelor of Education first in Ontario

Prof. Bruce points out that the School is continually looking for ways to infuse social justice into its offerings, citing the new Indigenous Bachelor of Education as an example of an innovative program stream developed to tackle a social issue. "We are responding to the clear need to increase the representation of Indigenous teachers in Ontario, who are currently underrepresented in our teaching population," she says.

Welcoming the first class of students in fall 2016, the B.Ed. Indigenous is a five-year concurrent education program for self-identified Indigenous students, who pursue a B.Ed. while concurrently earning credits toward an Arts or Science degree.