Meet Our Researchers
This project spans three countries: Canada, the UK and Finland. Researchers from Memorial University, Leeds Beckett University and the University of Lapland came together to collaborate on this project.
Principal Investigator
Memorial University
Dr. Anne Burke
Dr. Anne Burke is a Professor in Literacy Education and Digital learning and the project lead for the Discovery Play Centre at Memorial University. An expert in sociocultural perspectives, she combats social justice issues through teacher education and pedagogical practices. She researches children’s rights, voice and agency; play-based learning; digital literacies; and STEAM in children's education and informal learning spaces. Dr. Burke has been funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada alongside Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement on several research projects. She is an active researcher with the UArctic's Thematic Networks, an international initiative that fosters issues-based cooperation within networks that are focused to respond quickly to topical Arctic issues. She is active on a number of Boards and has a strong passion for community engagement.
Memorial University
Dr. Tony Fang
Dr. Fang is an economics professor and the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the J. Robert Beyster Faculty Fellow at Rutgers University and sits on a World Bank's Expert Advisory Committee on Migration and Development. He has published in leading economics and management journals on topics such as labour economics, applied econometrics, global and local cultures, immigration, diasporas, demographic change and strategies for population growth and immigration retention and integration.
Memorial University
Dr. Sylvia Moore
Dr. Sylvia Moore's community-based research is in the areas of Indigenous-led education and decolonizing/Indigenizing education at all levels. In her role as the Atlantic Canada Research Co-lead for the National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education, Sylvia has contributed to the establishment and growth of the organization. She is a member of the University of the Arctic's Thematic Network for Teacher Development, Diversity, and Social Justice. She presents and publishes on decolonizing pedagogies, Indigenous teacher education, land-based learning, language rejuvenation, Indigenous identity, and policies impacting inclusion in the Circumpolar North.
PI - Leeds Beckett University
Professor Mhairi C Beaton
Professor Mhairi C Beaton has extensive expertise in leading high profile international research projects. Mhairi's research focuses on the interface of teacher education, student voice and inclusion and is an internationally recognized expert in these fields, giving invited keynotes across the globe, such as the AERA invited keynote symposium in San Diego in 2022. Professor Beaton is a native speaker of Scottish Gaelic and retains connections with this minority heritage community through research and cultural activity.
Leeds Beckett University
Professor Steve Burton
Dr Steve Burton is Head of Subject for Digital Transformative Education in the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University, in the United Kingdom. He writes on the use of digital technology in education, safeguarding and protecting children in education, and digital safety, in addition to undertaking research into the use of immersive reality in education. He teaches on the MSc Digital Pedagogy and MA Transformative Education, and supervises doctoral candidates in the area of digital learning.
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PI - University of Lapland
Professor Tuija Turunen
Professor Tuija Turunen is a leader of the teacher education programme at the University of Lapland, Finland. Turunen holds the UArctic Chair in Education for Social Justice and Diversity and leads the UArctic and the UNESCO/UNITWIN networks on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity. Professor Turunen is an internationally recognized expert in these fields and has given invited addresses throughout the globe in both scientific and popular arenas, speaking at the UNESCO Teacher Task Force in Jamaica, IICBA in Ethiopia, and various forums in Europe. She has published widely and leads several national and international projects. Professor Turunen’s current research interests focus on teacher education, indigenous education, professional development in higher education, educational transitions (especially starting school), multi-professional work in schools, and preventative school welfare work.
University of Lapland
Pigga Keskitalo
Dr. Pigga Keskitalo is an Indigenous (Sámi) scholar and Professor in Education, specifically in Arctic perspectives in education at the University of Lapland, Faculty of Education. She is a Title of Docent at the University of Helsinki. Previously, she worked for 20 years at the Sámi teacher education in Norway.
University of Lapland
Satu-Maarit Korte
Ph.D. Satu-Maarit Korte is a researcher and University Lecturer of Media Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland. Satu-Maarit is a planning group member of the UArctic Thematic Network on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity in Education and leads the Online and Rural Education Group in the UNITWIN/UNESCO Network on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity in Education. Her key research interests are human-computer interaction and learning, embodied cognition, neural foundations of learning and memory, Arctic and multicultural pedagogical approaches together with social learning. Satu-Maarit is involved in several research and development projects globally and nationally regarding online education, technology-mediated education and technology integration in education. More information: https://satumaaritkorte.webnode.fi.
Students
Students and educators are key participants in this project. To see the incredible work they are producing, check out their films.
Or visit one of our events, and get to know the researchers and students in person!