Reimagining Educational Development: Decolonizing Practices in Higher Education

9:00 am to 1:00 pm | June 18, 2024 | Atrium 340 (CLARI), Saint Mary’s University | In-person Workshop

Getting to SMU Campus

Our main entrance is located at 923 Robie Street, but you might find it more convenient to come via Inglis Street, for example through the Burke Building (5932 Inglis). Have a look at our campus map.

Parking

Dedicated Pay & Display parking spaces are available in the Arena parking lot on Inglis Street. The rates are $3.00/hour or $20.00/day. The Pay & Display machine accepts Visa and Mastercard. The ticket stub must be displayed on the dashboard of your vehicle. Metered parking is also available ($2.00/hour around campus). For more information, please visit here.

Program Schedule

Session 1: Third Space Professionals

Facilitated by Shazia Awan (Dalhousie) and Stefani Woods (Saint Mary’s University)
9:00 am to 10:30 am

Positioned between the academic and administrative spheres at higher education institutions, educational developers hold a unique space and operate across traditional boundaries in these contexts. In this session, we will together explore the concept of Third Space Professionals and professional identity of educational developers. We will also discuss structures and practices that can support or limit the work of educational developers. We urge you to reflect your professional identity and on the question: ‘So, what do you do? before we meet for the session.’

Please note: Participants are encouraged to read So what do you do?’: Third space professionals navigating a Canadian university context (Smith et al. 2021) before this session.

Networking Break

10:30 am to 11:00 am

Tea, coffee, juice, and water are available at the front of the room. Let’s chat!

Session 2: Decolonizing Educational Development:
Fostering Critical Consciousness and Co-Creating Strategies

Facilitated by Rachelle McKay (Dalhousie)
11:00 am to 12:00 pm

Decolonizing education involves recognizing and dismantling the colonial structures and biases that exist in educational systems, including educational development. The decolonization of educational development isn’t just the work of Indigenous educational developers or Indigenous peoples. We are all responsible for working towards meeting our institution’s strategic goals and commitments to reconciliation and decolonization.

In the first part of this workshop, participants will be grouped with colleagues from their home institution to collaboratively complete a self-assessment of their centre’s decolonization efforts (self-assessment handout to be provided at the session). The purpose of completing these centre-level self-assessments is to recognize the decolonial work that’s already being done and by whom, and to identify areas where decolonial considerations and strategies need be further embedded. For the second part of this workshop, participants will be grouped with colleagues from various institutions to brainstorm, discuss, and produce a list of personal and/or professional strategies that can aid in deepening one’s decolonial consciousness and help facilitate the infusion of decolonial practices across different areas and aspects of educational development. Throughout the session, participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and learn from one another, fostering an environment of mutual support and shared learning.