Leading SFU education professors and Canada Research Chairs Kieran Egan (L) and Phil Winne (R)

CRC recognition of two leading education professors at SFU indicates the importance of education research in global competition.

The recent federal government announcement that it will allocate an additional $650 million over the next three years to the Canada Research Chair (CRC) program is good news for the Faculty of Education at SFU. Phil Winne and Kieran Egan, two leading education professors, are designated Canada Research Chairs in the faculty. While the additional investment in the CRC program by the government, which is administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counsel (SSHRC), indicates a commitment to secure Canada’s leadership in the global marketplace, the endorsement of two leading education professors speaks to the value of education research in ensuring Canada is a global competitor.

Phil, a professor of educational psychology and educational technology and learning design in the Faculty of Education at SFU, holds a Tier 1 CRC in Regulated Learning and Learning Technologies. His research focuses on self-regulated learning and software tools that can support effective studying while simultaneously advancing understanding of how students learn and study. He recently received a SSHRC grant as a co-investigator for “Researching self-regulation and socially-shared regulation of learning”. With $500,000 in grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, Phil is re-designing computer software  for this and other research projects. The system is a state-of-the art vehicle for representing advances in instruction and tracking processes in students’ studying.

Kieran also holds a Tier 1 CRC in Cognitive Development and Curriculum. His research involves a critique of the current educational system and development of a new educational theory. Kieran is also the founder and director of the Centre for Imaginative Education, whose theories, principles and practices in an imaginative approach to education has been adopted around the world. The approach involves actively engaging a student’s imagination in learning and the imagination of a teacher in teaching in order to make current and regular curriculum and knowledge meaningful.

Since inception, the CRC has established over 2000 research professorships across the country and invested $300 million each year to attract and retain some of the world’s most renowned and talented minds.

For more information about Phil’s research, go to: www.educ.sfu.ca/research/winne

For more information about the gSTUDY project, go to: www.learningkit.sfu.ca

For more information about Kieran’s research, go to: www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan

For more information about the Centre for Imaginative Education, go to: www.ierg.net