Highlights
A Welcoming Speech by Prof André Elias Mazawi
SSL Recognition and Appreciation Award for Exemplary Service to the Student Community
Prof Nadena Doharty’s Keynote Presentation
Daniel Gallardo in the Role of Facilitating Discussion Session
Winners of the EDST 2026 Research Day Blog Publication Award
The EDST Student Support Lead (SSL) Team convened EDST’s annual Research Day on April 17th, 2026, at the Faculty of Education, UBC. Students and faculty presented and discussed critical and emerging issues in education during a period marked by war, inflation, rising tuition, racism, and other global challenges. These factors have increased stress, fear, and exclusion within educational settings. Meanwhile, concerns about inequality and calls for justice are diminishing amid social, cultural, and political dominance.
Is education inclusive of all voices, or is it simply a race to completion? While this question has no easy answer, several participants at Research Day 2026 presented research on inequalities in curriculum, teaching methods, policies, and social and cultural influences that contribute to a toxic educational environment. They also proposed strategies to advance social justice in education.
A Welcoming Speech by Prof André Elias Mazawi
The event opened with a welcoming word by Prof André Elias Mazawi, Head of the Department of Educational Studies. He invoked the image of a heart pierced with an arrow, a metaphor drawn from St. Augustine’s book, Confessions. For André, the metaphor captures the impact of kindness, love, empathy, care, and well-being on individuals and on the organization of the spaces we inhabit. In contrast, he pointed out, toxicity – as an alienating environment – undermines these values and reinforces restlessness, isolation, injustice, and oppression. By critically examining toxicity in educational contexts, educators and learners can identify and understand the effects of harmful relationships and work toward more equitable and supportive learning and work environments.
SSL Recognition and Appreciation Award for Exemplary Service to the Student Community
At the event, the SSL Recognition and Appreciation Award for Exemplary Service to the Student Community was presented to outstanding members of the EDST community. We are delighted to share that Prof. André Elias Mazawi received the award in the faculty category, Genoveva Mendoza was recognized in the staff category, and Ginette Vallée received the award in the student category.
Genoveva Mendoza receives the award
Prof Nadena Doharty’s Keynote Presentation
Prof Nadena Doharty delivered the keynote address at Research Day via a recorded talk titled “Toxicity in Academia.” She explored the harmful culture in neoliberal universities and highlighted the need for collective care, relationships, and more inclusive ways of thinking about time and productivity in academic life. Drawing on Plotnikof and Utoft’s (2021) concept of the “greedy university,” she described how universities are shaped by values such as marketization, competition, audit culture, and constant pressure to be productive. These systems push people toward extreme individualism and create settings where staff and students are always judged as either successful or failing, even during crises like the pandemic. Doharty argued that toxicity in academia is not just a problem in one place, but a widespread issue built into the structure and culture of neoliberal universities.
To address these problems, Doharty referred to Gilligan’s feminist ethics of care, which focuses on relationships, shared responsibility, empathy, and understanding inequality and human vulnerability. She explained that care is not just about self-care routines, but is a political and collective practice rooted in real-life experiences. Doharty stressed the importance of recognizing different care needs, reducing isolation, and building supportive academic communities where people can share grief, struggles, and vulnerability. She also talked about the idea of crip time from disability and crip studies. Crip time challenges the usual, linear, and productivity-focused ways of thinking about time that come from ableist beliefs. Instead of forcing everyone to follow strict schedules and expectations, crip time encourages institutions to adapt to individuals’ different abilities and needs, rather than adhering to the individualizing and harmful structures of the neoliberal university. By openly sharing vulnerability, emotional struggles, and lived experiences, academics and students can push back against toxic cultures and help create more caring, inclusive, and compassionate academic environments.
Daniel Gallardo in the Role of Facilitating Discussion Session
We were fully engaged in the opening session, and the discussions led by the glorious and colorful Daniel Gallardo, along with their talks, jokes, and examples, helped us reflect on reality while laughing, reminding us of how inequality and injustice can persist in our everyday lives.
Presentation Sessions
Throughout the afternoon, participants presented and discussed pressing educational issues in both local and global contexts. Topics included arts education in Canada, China, and India; the experiences of Asian Canadian women leaders in BC public schools; educational leadership in offshore schools; decolonization in geography education; ethics and consent; curriculum critique; philosophy in education; and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in education. More details of the session can be found on the Research Day EDST website.
The sessions were chaired by Prof. André Mazawi, Dr. Glory Ovie, Dr. Kapil Dev Regmi, Prof. Robert VanWynsberghe, and Dr. Jude Walker. Their leadership and thoughtful facilitation fostered active discussion, encouraged questions, and heightened participant involvement in both the presentation and QA sessions.
The event also offered opportunities for interdisciplinary connection through roundtable discussions, a book launch titled Unschooled Futures: Pluriversal Speculations, and group conversations. Attendees and authors discussed how harm is built into educational systems and how new and creative approaches could lead to fairer, more open futures.
Social Event
EDST Research Day is more than an academic event. It offers a thoughtful, community-focused space where both emerging and established scholars exchange their ideas and knowledge; a space in which they critically examine assumptions and practices in education, and imagine a more even, more just, and inclusive future. The day wrapped up with a social gathering at Koerner’s Pub, offering the opportunity to continue discussions, make connections, and build networks beyond the formal sessions.
Winners of the EDST 2026 Research Day Blog Publication Award
This year, we are very delighted to announce that Mahfida Tahniat received the EDST Research Day Publication Award in the category of reflection of Research Day, 2026. She is the three-time winner of this award! It’s a great pleasure to congratulate her on her consistency and on her contributions that demonstrate her understanding, thoughts, and reflections about the Research Day. Here is the details of her writing.
This year, for the very first time, Sai Manjari Kaladindi, Stephen Sarmento, and Zhuqing Mei won the award in the presenter’s blog publication category. We are delighted to receive and share their blog publications, which demonstrate how these researchers make their work accessible and engaging for a broader audience. Here is the details of their writing.
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