I'm a PhD Candidate and secondary teacher passionate about advocating for teachers, democratic teacher professionalism and equitable, high-quality public education. My research explores how and why teachers enact educational advocacy through various networks to counter neoliberal-informed policy making. Using both critical and post-structural lenses, my research employs a theory of alliances, assemblages, and affect intended to encourage rethinking around educational activism and provide spaces of hope for a more humane society.
I am in the third year of my doctoral program in
Education at the University of Regina, currently working on data collection. My
research interests have been inspired by seventeen years of experience teaching
in Saskatchewan public schools as well as involvement in teacher activism both
within and beyond the union. My
supervisor, Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson, is a nationally recognized expert on
teacher professionalism, teacher unions, and teacher professional learning. For
the past year, I have participated in a mentoring group organized by Dr. Nina
Bascia, professor at University of Toronto and prominent teacher union
researcher. I also conducted a pilot study to inform my
dissertation research, presented the findings at national and international
conferences, and submitted the manuscript for publication (Keil &
Osmond-Johnson, 2022).