Linking People and Knowledge: Strengthening Ontario’s Higher Education Policy Research Community
On Thursday, April 24, 2014 the Higher Education Group at OISE joined the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), as well as the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) to host a free, one-day research policy symposium. This event focused on building a community of researchers and practitioners to advance policy-based knowledge on Ontario’s postsecondary education system.
Agenda
Thursday, April 24, 2014, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
9:00 – 9:30
Introduction
- Marie-Lison Fougère (MTCU); Welcoming remarks
- Glen Jones (OISE); Reflections on the current landscape
9:30 – 11:00
Panel 1: Involving academics in policy research
- Chair: Richard Wiggers (HEQCO)
- George Fallis (York University); A view from the University: Public policy in teaching and research
- Laurel Schollen (Fleming College); The College Student Achievement Project: Research at the Nexus between Practice and Policy
- Gretchen Kerr (UofT); Collaborating to integrate policy and research
- Bill Praamsma (MTCU); Policy research at MTCU: Recent initiative
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee break
11:30 – 1:00
Panel 2: Building policy research networks – Lessons learnt
- Chair: Mark Heeler (MTCU)
- Carol Campbell (OISE); Lessons Learned from Mobilizing Knowledge and Applying Research for K-12 Education
- Leesa Wheelahan (OISE); Higher education policy research in Australia
- Michael Johnny (York University); The successes of knowledge brokering to support policy development
1:00 – 1:30
Lunch
1:30 – 3:00
Moving Forward: Strengthening a Policy Research Community
A facilitated discussion with: Ingrid van der Kloet (MTCU) ; A demo on social media opportunities to support a policy research community
This event was sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario; and the Higher Education Group, Â¥·ïÌìÌÃ, University of Toronto.
Organizing Committee: Lucia Padure (MTCU), Richard Wiggers (HEQCO) and Glen A. Jones (University of Toronto).
About the speakers
Carol Campbell
Carol Campbell is Associate Professor of Leadership and Educational Change at OISE, University of Toronto. She is also Director of the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research, a tripartite partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Education, University of Toronto and Western University. Carol is well-known for her commitment to connecting research to policy and practice for educational improvement. From 2005 – 2010, Carol worked for the Ontario Ministry of Education, where she was Senior Executive Officer for The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, was appointed Ontario’s first Chief Research Officer for Education, and became the founding Director of the Education Research & Evaluation Strategy Branch. Carol also has international experience. In the United States, she was Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, Stanford University. In the United Kingdom, she worked as an advisor at school district and government levels and was an academic at the Institute of Education, University of London. Originally from Scotland, Carol completed her Ph.D. at the University of Strathclyde.
George Fallis
George Fallis is University Professor and Professor of Economics and Social Science at York University in Toronto. He did his BA at the University of Toronto, his PhD at Princeton University, and worked for the federal government and a provincial research agency before joining York University. At York, he has been Chair of the Department of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He has been Academic Colleague on the Council of Ontario Universities and an auditor of degree programs at Ontario universities. Professor Fallis’ research often deals with issues of public policy. He has published widely on housing policy, urban policy, and written on constitutional reform. His current research deals with universities: their roles and responsibilities in the 21st century; the place of an undergraduate liberal education; and the role of university-based research in national innovation. He is author of Multiversities, Ideas, and Democracy (University of Toronto Press, 2007, paper 2011). His most recent book is: Rethinking Higher Education: Participation, Research, and Differentiation (Queen’s Policy Studies Series, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013).
Marie-Lison Fougère
Marie-Lison Fougère is the Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Programs Division, at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Since joining the Ontario Public Service in 1991, Marie-Lison Fougère has worked in a variety of functions, including strategic policy/program development and implementation, research and evaluation, interjurisdictional relations, issue management, and stakeholder relations. In her current role, Ms. Fougère is responsible for major cross-cutting strategic policy and program initiatives in postsecondary education and employment and training. As well, she leads relations with the federal government and provinces and territories in the areas of labour market agreements, skills training, labour mobility, and pan-Canadian education policy. Previously, Ms. Fougère was Assistant Deputy Minister of the Office of Francophone Affairs. In this capacity, Ms. Fougère led the transformation of French-language services in the Ontario Public Service. Ms. Fougère also worked for ten years at the Ministry of Education, where she held several director-level positions from 1999 to 2005 for the Kindergarten to Grade 12 system. Ms. Fougère studied political science and German literature at Dalhousie University (Halifax) and Heidelberg University in Germany. She also holds a Master’s Degree from York University in Toronto. She is fluent in French, English, and German.
Mark Heeler
Mark Heeler is currently on executive exchange to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) where he is the Director, Special Projects, in the Strategic Policy and Programs Division. He is on exchange from Queen’s University where he is the Executive Director of the Principal’s Office. Before joining Queen’s, Mark was the Program Advisor at the National Judicial Institute in Ottawa and prior to this he taught and worked in administration at York University in Toronto. Mark has a PhD in Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
Michael Johnny
Michael Johnny is the Manager of Knowledge Mobilization for York University, holding this position since 2006. Michael has an MA in Canadian and Native Studies from Trent University, having researched policy implications for Native literacy in Ontario. He has over 13 years of experience in educational research and development with specific skills in program development, strategic planning, program evaluation, stakeholder consultation, and policy development and analysis. He has experience working both in a university research environment and at the community level planning, implementing and evaluating social programs. Michael’s interests aside from mobilizing knowledge are golf, playing guitar and camping with his daughter.
Glen A. Jones
Glen A. Jones is the Ontario Research Chair in Postsecondary Education Policy and Measurement and Professor of Higher Education at the Â¥·ïÌìÌà of the University of Toronto. Glen’s research focuses on higher education policy, governance, academic work, and administration. He is a prolific contributor to the Canadian and international literature on higher education and a frequent public speaker and commentator on higher education issues. He was Chair of the Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education at OISE from 1998-2001 and Associate Dean of OISE from 2003-2011. He received the Research Award from the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education in 2001, and their Distinguished Member Award in 2011
Gretchen Kerr
Gretchen Kerr is a Full Professor and the Vice-Dean of Academic Affairs in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto. As Vice-Dean, Professor Kerr is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of the development, management, coordination, accreditation and evaluation of all undergraduate and graduate degree programmes of the Faculty. She has over 15 years of experience leading curriculum development and evaluation in the Faculty, including the oversight of all experiential education opportunities including internships, directed research, and practica. Professor Kerr also has an extensive publication record with respect to safeguarding of young people in sport.
Lucia Padure
Lucia Padure is currently the Research Coordinator at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) with the Research and Planning Branch, Strategic Policy and Programs Division. Previously she acted as a Senior Policy Advisor in the same division in the Strategic Program Initiatives Branch. She received her PhD from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at University of Toronto (2009) and her Master of Public Administration from Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (2003). Lucia’s research interests include higher education policy, differentiation, quality assurance and comparative education.
Bill Praamsma
Bill Praamsma is currently Acting Director of the Research and Planning Branch, Strategic Policy and Programs Division, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU). Previously he served as a Manager of Funding Policy and System Planning Unit (MTCU), and worked at York University, Ontario Ministry of Finance and Toronto City Hall. Bill Praamsma holds a Honours Bachelor degree in Economics from Queen’s University, and received his Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Guelph.
Laurel Schollen
Laurel Schollen has been a community college educator for 30 years, and presently serves as Fleming College’s Vice President Academic. Prior to joining Fleming Laurel was the Associate Vice President Academic at Seneca where she was responsible for the Centre for Academic Excellence, including included the Program Quality and Teaching and Learning units. Laurel’s experience at as Seneca’s Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Technology and representative to the provincial Heads of Technology (HOT) group sparked her interest in examining the link between secondary school mathematics experience and first year college technology mathematics performance. Inspired to create a seamless math experience for students, Laurel founded the College Mathematics Project (CMP) and working with a small research team based at Seneca saw the project grow from a single institution to include the full college system from 2008 to 2010, funded by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. She now directs the extension of the CMP, the College Student Achievement Project, which includes first year college mathematics and language.
Ingrid van der Kloet
Ingrid van der Kloet is a research analyst in the Research and Planning Branch at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Ingrid holds a Masters of Arts in Public Policy and Administration from Ryerson University and a Masters of Arts in English Literature from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is currently studying economics at Ryerson University and is interested in a range of postsecondary education and labour market issues, including vocational education, active labour market programs, and equity in education. Ingrid also works as a community health nurse with at-risk homeless populations and has taught nursing at York University.
Leesa Wheelahan
Leesa Wheelahan holds the William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership. Her research interests include community colleges; tertiary education policy; student equity, student pathways, qualifications frameworks and credit transfer in tertiary education; the role of theoretical knowledge in curriculum; community college teacher development; and, the relationship between education and the labour market. She has led many national projects and published widely on these issues in Australia and internationally.
Richard Wiggers
Richard Wiggers, PhD (Georgetown) is the executive director of research and programs at HEQCO. In addition to past positions with the federal government, he has worked for two private sector education organizations. Before arriving at HEQCO in 2009, he worked with the New Brunswick government in the Post-Secondary Affairs Branch and as the Manager of Innovative Learning and Professional Development with the Department of Education. In his role at HEQCO, Richard is responsible for managing more than 60 research projects dealing with Student Services, Teaching and Learning and Learning Outcomes, and he oversees all research projects and policies at HEQCO. He is leading a major research project on Work Integrated Learning that involves 14 Ontario colleges and universities, and he also serves on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Apprenticeship Journal, as an External Associate with the University of Waterloo’s Centre for the Advancement of Co-Operative Education, and as a Faculty Advisor with Humber College’s new Research Analyst Post-Graduate Program.