Workshop on 'Sprituality in formal educational context and research approach': Prof. Neree St-Amand, University of Ottawa, Canada

Neree St-Amand, professor, school of social work, University of Ottawa, Canada presented a workshop at the conference hall in Kathmandu University, School of Education, Balkumari, Lalitpur. Professors of KU, students of Phd, Mphil, M.Ed and research scholars were present in the program. The discussions focused on the different dimensions of spirituality and implications in

formal education and in research approaches.

Main Intentions

a)      Explore the role of spirituality within a formal educational context;

b)      Explain Canadian projects and programs to appropriate people in Nepal;

c)      Discuss my experiences in implementing spirituality and religion within academic settings in Canadian universities;

d)     Explore Nepalese experiences in relation with my research and publication projects.

Activities

:

a.       Talk about spirituality and religion in Western world;

b.      Link with Neree's participations and presentations at The Parliament of World Religions (Melbourne 2005, Barcelona 2000, Montreal 1996)

c.       Talk about spirituality and western cultures; integrate one of my students thesis – 2012

d.      Talk about diverse spiritual experiences in the Ottawa area: Tone magazine as being an illustrator of such diversity and openness;

e.       Talk about spirituality and social change: emphasis on Sulak Sivaraksa, Thai author

f.       Discussion seminars with scholars on b, c, d, e and f. To be determined as the sessions evolve.

Professor Neree loves the natural diversity and beauty of Nepal and so he comes to Nepal frequently. He is keen in working closely

 

with KUSOED in developing  and fulfilling mutual interests and benefits.

Brief bio

-          PhD in Sociology, University of Nice, France; specialization: sociology of Mental Health;

-          Co-founder, School of Social Work University of Ottawa; professor since 1990 at this school;

-          Co-founder: Reflets, journal of social services in French Canada; still on board of directors;

-          Various administrative positions within government and within universities for past 30 years;

-          Many publications in referred journals; many books; 90% of publications in French.

-          Interest for spirituality in academic settings since 1990;

-          WWW: http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/svs/professor-profile?id=364

Nérée St-Amand, professor, School of Social Work, University of Ottawa

Ethnomodeling as a research theoretical framework on ethnomathematics and mathematical modeling: Presentation by Daniel Clark Orey

Daniel Clark Orey conducted a seminar at the School of Education, Kathmandu University on 23^rd December, 2013. This was his second visit to Kathmandu University. In his visit in 2007 he took a few classes with M.Ed students and involved in a trip to an ancient place in Sankhu. The trip was organized to study the incorporation of ethnomathematics in formal mathematics.

The topic of presentation was "ETHNOMODELING AS A RESEARCH THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ON ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING". Professors, lecturers and students of M.Ed, Mphil and the Phd were present in the program. He discussed how ethnomodeling can be an appropriate research framework for researches on mathematics. The program shed light on the need of incorporating ethnomathematics in formal mathematics learning/teaching. Further, the discussions emphasized on the benefits of ethnomathematical approach in teaching formal mathematics in promoting, cultural aspect of mathematics, empowerment, and developing mathematics learning as a fun and interesting activity. 

Daniel Clark Orey, Ph.D., is Professor of Multicultural and Mathematics Education and a frequent instructor in the Department of Learning Skills at Sacramento State.

In 2007, he served as a Senior Fulbright Specialist to Kathmandu University where he was invited to teach a course in ethnomathematics. Prof. Orey is the former Director of Professional Development at the Center for Teaching and Learning at Sacramento State. He earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in Multicultural Education from the University of New Mexico in 1988. During his doctoral work, he has served as a consultant at both the Colegio Americano de Puebla and to Apple de México.

Together with Milton Rosa, he has published numerous books, articles and chapters, and has given numerous workshops, talks and speeches in numerous countries. He speaks, writes and is published in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Reframing Teacher Emotion: A presentation by Samara Madrid at KU, Lalitpur

Dr. Samara Madrid, Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Educaiton at the University of Wyoming, USA is going to make a presentation at the Conference Hall, KU, Balkumari on 18th July 2013. Students of masters, mphil, phd and professors, researchers and individuals with interest in education can benefit from this presentation. 

If you are interested, please contact (for registration) the Reception Desk of KU School of Education, Lalitpur.

Bio: Dr. Samara Madrid is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at the University of Wyoming, USA. Her research examines the social and cultural aspects of teacher and child emotion within the school and peer cultures of classrooms.  She teaches undergraduate courses on oral and written language development and engaging families in education and graduate courses in qualitative research and the social aspects of early childhood education. She is co-Editor of the 2008 Teacher College Press volume, On Discourse Analysis and the 2011 Hampton Press volume, From Toddlers to Teachers: Learning to see and understand the school and peer cultures of classrooms. She also has a forthcoming co-Edited book with Routledge Press titled, Reframing the emotional worlds of early childhood classrooms. She has multiple journal articles, book chapters, and national/international presentations on the emotional life of teaching and learning.

Title: Reframing teacher emotion: Care as racialized, critical, and spiritual practice

Abstract: This presentation examines teacher care as a racialized, critical, and spiritual emotion and classroom practice. Models of teacher care will be presented and problematized illustrating how current white feminist and black feminist theories overlook the spiritual aspect of teacher care and its relation to social justice work when engaging with students whose social and cultural identities and histories differ from our own. This work draws from Dillard’s (2012) endarkened epistemology and Brooke Harris Garad’s (2013) model of spiritually-centered caring.

Date: 18th July 2013

Time: 4:30 to 5:30

Venue: Conference Hall, ground floor, KU School of Educaiton, Balkumari Lalitpur.