Teacher Education

Our department is situated on the homelands of the Stó:lō (River people) in what is now referred to as Abbotsford. The Stó:lō have an intrinsic relationship with Stó:lō Temexw (our world; our land); therefore, we express our gratitude and respect for the honour of living and working in this place. We strive to support Indigenous learners, and we seek to incorporate Indigenous Ways of Knowing into the curriculum.

Social Justice/Anti-racism

Social Justice, as one of the five Department Values, is a tenet that all faculty, staff, and teacher candidates are expected to uphold. This value will be demonstrated through the ways in which we work together, and the ways in which we work with K-12 students. We will create inclusive learning environments that are ethical and safe by using individualized and equitable approaches that engage learners and include their voices, and by exposing gaps in schooling and curriculum that serve to minimize or marginalize students and teachers.

However, social justice also requires us to become knowledgeable about racism and discrimination, challenging status quo, power, and privilege within education and schooling. We all hold prejudice and discriminate against others -- this is built into the way that we are hardwired as human beings. Our job as educators is to acknowledge and push against this within all aspects of our daily lives -- to become antiracist educators.This means interrogating ourselves, our experiences, and our practices, and wrestling with the discomfort that will emerge. It also means engaging in critical discourse, acknowledging and examining our own biases, and having courageous conversations about injustice and our own experiences with it.