I am a in my final year of a PhD program in the Faculty of Education at Western University. My research interests span curriculum development, early childhood education, literacies, and gender and sexual identities. The intersection of these areas is where my current research has evolved.

My dissertation research is a Critical Discourse Analysis of Canadian kindergarten curricula, where I am exploring how these documents support meaning-making of gender and sexual identities in early childhood. Furthermore, the study will explore the null and hidden curriculum relative to gender and sexual identities, and the implications for students’ identity options, for gender and sexual minority youth, and for same-sex parented families. This research is being supervised by Dr. Rachel Heydon.
A teacher of ten years, I am qualified and have taught in all divisions from kindergarten through to graduate education. Over the past year, I have proudly volunteered with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, situated in Toronto, Ontario. As an active member of the See Different Team, I have assisted with curriculum development and facilitation of the See Different high school program offered throughout the GTA that educates youth about diversity, discrimination, conflict management, and peer inclusive leadership.

At Western, I have served as a Teaching Assistant for a variety of pre-service and graduate level courses, including the new online Professional Education (MPEd) program in Curriculum Studies, Early Childhood Education. I have also offered several self-designed workshops for pre-service professional development: What’s Safe for a Boy? and Gender, Sexuality, Curriculum, and the Young Child.

Outside of teaching, from 2013 to 2015, I served as the Editorial Assistant for Language and Literacy: A Canadian Educational E-Journal and remain a member of the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada.

Rachel Heydon, PhD

Supervisor