Melanie Lawrence

Melanie Lawrence, PhD

Assistant Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies

MA in Comparative and International Policy in Education (Western University), PhD in Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies in Education (CPELS) (Western University)

Melanie Lawrence, PhD

Assistant Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies

MA in Comparative and International Policy in Education (Western University), PhD in Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies in Education (CPELS) (Western University)

Melanie Lawrence has an MA in Comparative and International Policy in Education, and a PhD in Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies in Education (CPELS) from Western University Canada. Dr. Lawrence is also a recipient of academic grants and teaching awards. As a sociologist, her academic research and teachings in education cover a broad and intersecting range of life experiences as they relate to international and comparative critical equity policy studies in education. Dr. Lawrence specific area of research focuses on neoliberalism as an economic, political, and social theory in higher education. Dr. Lawrence has dedicated past research to the study of higher education and the ways in which corporate-market influences are reshaping higher education in the Ontario, Canada context with regard to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Recent Publications

Paper Publications

Lawrence, M. & Rezai-Rashti, G. (in press). The neoliberal university: Investigating the experiences of faculty members in the era of neoliberal accountability and performativity in Ontario universities. In Ibrahim, A. (Ed.), Higher education, transformative leadership and EDIA. A volume in Steinberg, S., Desmarchelier, R. & Meiklejohn, C. (Eds.), SAGE Handbook of Critical Leadership in Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Lawrence, M. & Rezai-Rashti, G. (2022). Pursuing Neoliberal Performativity?  The slippery slope of performance-based funding and accountability in higher education in Ontario, Canada. In J. Zajda & J. Jacob (Ed). Discourses of Globalisation and Higher Education Reforms: Emerging Paradigms. Dordrecht: Springer. Lawrence, M. (2021). Investigating the Experiences of Faculty Members and Administrators with Quality Assurance and Accountability in Higher Education in Ontario. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7649. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7649 (Monograph published).

Lawrence, M. (2015). Beyond the neoliberal imaginary: Investigating the role of critical pedagogy in higher education. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 13(2), 246-286.  

Lawrence-Mazier, M. (2014). Beyond the neoliberal imaginary. (Monograph published).

Lawrence-Mazier, M. (2013). A critical consciousness. Academia.edu

Conference Paper Publications:

(R) Lawrence, M. (2023, March 24th). Going for Growth: Learning for a Sustainable Future [Keynote]. EGSS McGill University, Faculty of Education, 21st Annual Conference. National

(R) Lawrence, M. (2020, May 31st - June 3rd , 2020). The Intensification of Publish or Perish & Get Grants or Perish: A Canadian Case Study on Higher Education [Paper Presentation]. CSSE Annual Meeting London, Ontario (Conference cancelled)

(R) Lawrence, M. & Rezai-Rashti, G. (2020, Apr 17 - 21) Quantity Assurance? The Power and Possibilities of Higher Education: A Canadian Case Study [Roundtable Session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA (Conference cancelled) International

(R) Lawrence, M. (2019). A world in turmoil: Challenging Neoliberalism as an Economic and Political Tool in Canadian Higher Education. European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA). “Adult Education and Learning Policy in a World Risk Society”. Prague, Czech Republic. May 16-18, 2019. International

(R) Lawrence, M. (2019). Neoliberalism and the 'Dis-Imagination' of Higher Education. American Education Research Association (AERA), “Leveraging education research in a post-truth era: Multimodal narratives to democratize evidence”. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. April 5-9, 2019. International

Lawrence, M. (2018). How Faculty Members and Administrators enact policy: A case study on the neoliberal rationality in Higher Education. Robert MacMillan Western Graduate Research in Education Symposium (GRiES), “The Changing Face of Education”. London, Ontario. Institutional April 6th, 2018.

(R) Rezai-Rashti, G., Majhanovich, S. and Lawrence, M. (2018). Education Reform, Educational Accountabilities and Remaking Subjectivities. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), “Re-Mapping Education: South-North Dialogue”. Mexico City, Mexico. March 25-29. International
(R) Lawrence, M. (2017). Globalization, Neoliberal Rationality and remaking the Subject in Higher Education. Robert MacMillan Western Graduate Research in Education Symposium (GRiES). Identities in Education: Yours, Mine, Ours”. Institutional. April 7th, 2017