Education
2008 SSHRC Post-doctoral Fellowship (Education), University of Ottawa
2006 PhD (Educational Studies), University of British Columbia
2002 MA (Theory and Policy Studies in Education), Ontario Institute for the Studies in Education, University of Toronto
2000 BEd, Queen’s University
1999 BA (Hon.) (History), Queen’s University
Research and teaching interests
Equity and Education; Oral History; History/Social Studies Education; History of Education; Gender History; Citizenship Education; Restorative Approaches to Education; Feminist Pedagogies; Teachers and Teaching; Virtual Reality and Education.
Courses taught in SDS
SDS 205R History of Education in Canada
SDS 220R Changing Concepts of Childhood
SDS 415R Gender and Education
SDS 425R Equity and Education
To learn more, please watch this short video about my research.
I am available for limited additional supervision of undergraduate and graduate students with projects that align with my current research projects and grants.
My interdisciplinary research tackles vital questions about education and justice. My current focus is on oral history as a path for the redress of historical harms through education (e.g., schools and museums). I am the author and co-editor of four books, including Democracy’s Angels: The Work of Women Teachers and the award-winning Oral History, Education, and Justice. I am a regular media commentator on education issues, promoting nuanced understandings of policies and practices related to teaching and learning for an equitable society.
Published Books
Llewellyn, Kristina R. and Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, eds. Oral History, Education, and Justice: Limitations and Possibilities for Redress and Reconciliation. New York, NY: Routledge, 2019. (219 pages)
Llewellyn, Kristina R. and Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, eds. Oral History and Education: Theories, Dilemmas, and Practices. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. (396 pages) [Book awarded the Canadian Oral History Association Prize]
Llewellyn, Kristina R., Alexander Freund, and Nolan Reilly, eds. The Canadian Oral History Reader. Montreal-Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015. (401 pages)
Llewellyn, Kristina R. Democracy’s Angels: The Work of Women Teachers. Montreal-Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012. (218 pages)
Current research projects
Digital Oral History for Reconciliation: The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children History Education Initiative (DOHR)
DOHR is a community-driven project, supported by SSHRC, that has created a history curriculum unit about the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. The curriculum includes a virtual reality experience centered on the oral histories of former residents of the Home. The project takes a restorative approach to the redress of historical harms in education. The curriculum was featured on CBC’s The National. Currently, the research team is working with the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre to create an exhibit around DOHR, including a school resource kit. The team has also expanded, supported by a New Frontiers grant, to explore the use of haptics for storytelling in the museum exhibit.
Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future
This national project, supported by a SSHRC partnership grant, is studying the state of history education in Canada. The team is identifying and developing evidenced-based practices for engaged history teaching and learning. The project will provide recommendations for reforms and innovations in history education. Currently, the research team is engaged in a comprehensive analysis of history curricula and textbooks/resources across Canada. In addition, I am co-editing with colleagues a collection on Women, Gender, and History Education in Canada.
Select awards, grants, and media engagements
Awards
2022-2029 - Membership, The Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists (RSC).
2022 - Postsecondary Teaching Award, Oral History Association (OHA).
2021 - Outstanding Book Award, Society of Professors of Education.
2021 - Publication Award for Edited Book, Canadian Association of Foundations of Education (CAFE).
Grants
2023-30 SSHRC Partnership Grant ($2,500,000) (Co-Director). Staging Better Futures, Co-Director (PI, Dr. Jennifer Roberts-Smith, Brock University)
2022-27 Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (Co-Applicant) ($125,000): Cave Automatic Virtual Environment Research Nodes (CAVERNs), Collaborator (PI, Dr. Neil Randall, University of Waterloo)
2021-23 New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) – Exploration (Co-Applicant) ($250,000): Incorporating Social Justice into Haptic VR Storytelling, Co-applicant (PI, Dr. Oliver Schneider, University of Waterloo)
2020-23 SSHRC Partnership Development Grant ($199,998): La ville extraordinaire: Learning from older Montrealers' urban knowledge through oral history research-creation, Co-applicant (PI, Dr. Cynthia Hammond, McGill University)
2019-26 SSHRC Partnership Grant ($2,500,000): Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future, Co-applicant, Executive Committee. Member, and Co-lead for Curriculum and Resources Cluster (PI, Dr. Carla Peck, University of Alberta)
2019−20 SSHRC Connection Grant (Collaborator) ($45,866) Project: Design for Peace (Tumaco) Exhibition and Workshop, Collaborator (PI, Dr. Jennifer Roberts-Smith, University of Waterloo)
2016−19 SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (Principal Investigator) ($199,027) Project: Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation: The Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children History Education Initiative (DOHR), Principal Investigator (with community partners)
Media engagements
2022 - Interview with Robert Williams, The Record. 15 October. The Waterloo public board is really at the centre of the current culture war in Canadian education systems.
2022 - Interview with Casey Taylor, 19 July. City News. Nearly one-in-four local public school kids self-identify as part of 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
2022 - Interview with Mike Farwell, 19 July. CityNews 570 Radio. Provincially mandated student census offers glimpse into who is attending public schools in Waterloo Region.
2022 Interview with Robert Williams, 18 July. The Record. One in four public school students in the region identifies with at least one 2SLGBTQIA+ orientation, census finds.
2022 Interview with Johanna Weidner, 16 May. The Record. Educators focus on closing pandemic learning gap for Waterloo Region students.
2022 Interview with Maan Alhmidi. The Canadian Press. 25 January. University students struggling with impact of online classes as pandemic wears on. (+ other outlets, such as Windsor Star).
Llewellyn, K. R. “A Focus on Human Flourishing: Restoring a relational purpose of education in a post-pandemic Canada,” Education Canada Magazine, 18 November 2021.
Llewellyn, K. R., and J. Llewellyn. “Connection, not real-time teaching, is priority for crisis education,” The Star, 14 May 2020. (Print and Online)
Llewellyn, J. and K. R. Llewellyn. “A restorative approach is key for a new normal after COVID-19,” Policy Options (IRPP), 15 June 2020.
Other positions
- Special Projects Advisor and Member, Games Institute, University of Waterloo
- Member, Department of History, University of Waterloo
- Member, Ontario College of Teachers
- Past-President, Renison Association of Academic Staff