Bridging equity gaps in teacher education – EDUC

Researching social justice and health education

Over the summer between her third and fourth year of study, Rylee completed her directed study in the form of a literature review. She analyzed existing research to see if anyone had studied the ways that social justice intersects with physical and health education. She was surprised by the lack of research that focused on including diverse perspectives.

After completing the literature review and illuminating this gap in curricula, Rylee was eager to share her findings. “I was determined to address the issues that I saw reflected in my program and in the literature through tangible change,” she says.

Proceeding the literature review, Rylee and Tim explored ways that they could further amplify and integrate Indigenous perspectives into physical education curricula. Rylee’s research focused on how non-Indigenous teachers could better engage with Indigenous students by incorporating equity and social justice principles into their teaching.

“Physical education has historically been such a Eurocentric, ableist field,” Rylee explains. “I wanted to explore how we could make it more inclusive, particularly for underrepresented groups.”

This work has not only shaped Rylee’s studies but also led her to present her research at national and international conferences, including the 2024 UVic Association of Graduate Education Students (AGES) Conference and the 2024 World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE) conference. 

Her efforts have already made an impact, with EPHE 352 now incorporating her revisions to foster a more inclusive learning environment. She and Tim have co-authored a chapter on their research called ‘Promoting Inclusion in PHE Teacher Education Through Emerging Decolonizing Practices: A Case Study from Canada,’ which was published in November 2024.