Shaping Education: Our 2024 Undergraduate Research Award Recipients

Each year, the University of Manitoba’s Undergraduate Research Awards spotlight exceptional undergraduate students who make significant contributions to research. Among this year’s award recipients are six students from the Faculty of Education whose projects reflect deep engagement with critical educational issues including the first award in Creative Works category.

Chris Hay, “Place Writing in Educational Contexts: Studies of Practice”
Research Supervisor: Michelle Honeyford

Part of my role on the research team was to co-facilitate and transcribe interviews and focus groups with educators who participated in Summer Writing Institutes led by the principal investigators of the study, Dr. Michelle Honeyford and Dr. Jennifer Watt. Their experiential framework was designed to engage educators in “profoundly impactful writing experiences through which they learn to see themselves as writers”. I  analyzed the data that emerged from the interviews through poetic inquiry and arts-based research.

I was inspired by Dr. Honeyford’s instruction in “Teaching Senior Years English Language Arts” on multi-modalities, and thinking about texts and assessments in broader, deeper, and nontraditional ways. This study prompted me to critically reflect on my practices as a teacher candidate, writer and teacher of writing, and visual artist, intentionally developing a responsive practice that aligns with the principles of Mamàhtawisiwin.

I have developed a deeper understanding of how to address sensitive topics like consent and gender-based sexual violence in educational settings, which will be invaluable in creating a safe and inclusive classroom environment for my future students.

Working with my supervisors, I was given the freedom, trust, and encouragement to use my skills, knowings, and passions to further expand on the project. They also offered me the following feedback: “Chris made significant contributions to the research and to the project. Her sensitivities as a teacher, visual artist, and researcher were invaluable. She brought her tremendous insights to the data as a visual artist, utilizing poetic inquiry and collage to create stunning pieces from/with the data.”

Faatimah Kamalodeen, “Towards decolonized and transformative educational practices: Insights from refugee family narratives of their exilic journeys”
Research Supervisor: Dr. Sreemali Herath

Currently, I am pursuing my B.Ed to become a certified teacher in Manitoba. We are receiving many refugee students in our schools that have disrupted education and heartbreaking life experiences. This research project helps me to have trauma-informed approaches by understanding the background of my refugee students.

We worked with multi-generational refugee families using narrative and arts-based methods to generate data to gain a deep understating of the exilic journey these families took. We aimed to understand the journey through refugee family narratives of their journeys to Canada. We did this by assembling artifacts refugee families associate with the journey and collecting and then analyzing historical fiction on refugee journeys by Canadian refugee authors.

Our team consisted of multicultural and multilingual team members and Dr. Sreemali values and appreciates and each of their work. Since our human study that involved trauma, Dr. Sreemali lead the way by ensuring humanity for our research participants by makinf them feel comfortable to share their traumatic journeys. Learning from her example, this has encouraged me to become a thoughtful leader whenever I assume a leadership role.

Dr. Sreemali also provided the following feedback: “As a pre-service teacher, Faatimah was curious to learn more about what teachers in Manitoba can to do support children and families of refugee backgrounds to provide the language support they need. This curiosity stemmed from what she experienced first-hand during her practicum experiences. The research gave her a unique opportunity to learn about refugeeism and the challenges students faced in school.”

Brooke Jackson, “Missing the Point: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Manitoba Education Grades 9 and 10 Human Sexuality Curriculum Resources”
Research Supervisors: Shannon Moore and Jennifer Watt

My research examined the Manitoba Grades 9 and 10 Human Sexuality curriculum through a Critical Discourse Analysis to identify gaps in how it addresses key concepts such as gender, consent, and gender-based sexual violence (GBSV). Findings revealed that ‘consent’ is mentioned only minimally, and that the curriculum lacks inclusive, research-informed content on gender and sexual orientation.

My inspiration for this research comes from my passion as a Physical & Health Education preservice teacher and my belief in the importance of addressing gender-based sexual violence in the classroom. I see it as essential to empowering students with knowledge about consent and gender roles, especially as these issues are portrayed in media and shape young people’s perceptions.

Through this experience, I have developed a deeper understanding of how to address sensitive topics like consent and gender-based sexual violence in educational settings, which will be invaluable in creating a safe and inclusive classroom environment for my future students. My faculty mentors provided invaluable support, especially as we navigated the sensitive topics within our research. Their professionalism and encouragement made me feel confident in exploring complex issues, and their guidance helped shape my approach to addressing these subjects effectively. 

I would advise other undergraduate students to pursue research topics they are truly passionate about, as this will keep them motivated especially through challenges. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to mentors for guidance at any time!

Lauryn Handoga, “Can’t Fold Now: Producing critical feminist media resources to enact ethical sex education”
Research Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Watt and Dr. Shannon D. Moore

As a URA, I contributed to a research initiative focused on empowering educators to address Gender-Based Sexual Violence (GBSV) in classrooms through critical feminist media literacy education. Recognizing that media profoundly shapes young people’s perceptions of gender, consent, and relationships, I designed and co-developed a deck of “I Spy with My Feminist Eye” pedagogical playing cards grounded in critical media literacy and feminist theory for teachers to use in their classrooms. The cards provide popular media examples alongside prompts for reflection, analysis, and creative production, to help teachers facilitate discussion on gender, consent, and sexual violence, in the classroom through a critical feminist media literacy lens.

In my future career, I will be teaching students who are in arguably the most formative ages of their life (ages 10-14), and who are internalizing harmful messages about consent, relationships, and gender from the media. If left uncontested by educators, these harmful messages from popular media will continue to shape their understanding of themselves and others. I believe it is my responsibility as an educator to teach about consent, gender, and relationships through this lens.

If you are an undergraduate students considering to engage in research, I would encourage you to find a faculty member that is researching something that personally interests you and be brave – and go for it. It will be such a rewarding and profoundly impactful experience that you will carry into your career.

2024 URA recipients from the Faculty of Education also included:

Serena Chan, Levelling Up, “Developing a Game for Students with ADHD and LD Transitioning from High School to Postsecondary Education”
Research Supervisor: Dr. Lauren Goegan

Meghan Young, Katie Anderson, Lauren G. Hallett, “Mending the gap: A guide to Indigiqueering the curriculum”
Research Supervisor: Dr. Lucy Delgado

Krystal Stigander