Research

My research expertise centers around critical white masculinities and the impact on various aspects of society, specifically hockey culture. Through this work, I aim to explore the complexities of gender identity and challenge traditional notions of masculinity, seeking to promote healthier and more inclusive understandings of masculinities. Particularly the intersection between masculinity and mental health, examining how societal expectations and stereotypes surrounding masculinity stemming from hockey culture influence boy’s and men’s mental well-being. This multidisciplinary research draws from education, sociology, psychology, gender, and cultural studies.

I am also interested in developing critical energy literacy and knowledge to respond to the climate crisis among preservice teachers. My research seeks to identify strategies to improve environmental literacy and empower teachers to engage in environmental education by examining environmental justice and equity issues and investigating how social and cultural factors intersect with masculinity and environmental issues. I aim to develop inclusive educational practices that address environmental injustices.

Current and completed research projects are listed below, and if you are interested in collaboration, please email me.

Born to Be: Our Journey for Equity in Minor Soccer

Working with  BTB Soccer in Edmonton, we are engaging in a storytelling methodological approach with participants using Participatory Narrative Inquiry. (With Dr. Verena Roberts) Link to BTB Research Website

A reflexive Turn in Elementary Science Methods Education

Through course assignments, students are asked to reflect on their relationship with science, their science teacher identity, how they come to represent content pedagogically and provide a portfolio of their learning journey in science. These artifacts offer an opportunity to inform teacher education programs where preservice teachers may feel hindered in teaching science and where the strengths lie in preparing preservice teachers better to teach science in a changing landscape where reliance on fossil fuels, for example, is a catalyst for the climate crisis.

Previous Completed Research Projects

Breaking the silence: Opening dialogical spaces with a university men's ice hockey team: Using the World Café as methodology, this project will follow Concordia University’s Men’s Ice Hockey Team for the 2022-2023 season to open dialogues on hockey culture and the pressure to perform. (Funded by SSHRC)

white male love: A case study of cis/hetero men’s perceptions of love (Funded by Concordia University of Edmonton)

Resisting the Toxic: Re-interpreting and Reimaging Masculinity in Ice Hockey: Qualitative project working with aspiring, current, and past professional hockey players’ experiences with resistance to hypermasculinity (with Drs. Tim Skuce & Shannon D.M. Moore) (Funded by Brandon University)

Fostering a Good Human Identity Through the Arts: Photovoice project exploring the ways in which the Calgary Stampede Foundation fosters equity, diversity and inclusion within its’ programs (With Dr. Sylvie Roy) (Funded by Calgary Stampede Foundation)

Men Riding for Sustainability: Exploring men’s connections to the environment to improve their mental wellness and well-being (funded by Movember)

Attendance Initiatives: Critical Discourse Analysis project to gain better understanding of on-reserve Indigenous students’ experiences in off-reserve schools. (With Dr. Mairi McDermott) (Funded by Alberta Education)

Moving Indigenous Education Courses Online: Collaborative project exploring relational pedagogies in an online environment in Indigenous education (With colleagues, PI: Dr. Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn) (Funded by Taylor Institute of Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary)