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Promoting diversity in the classroom: 21 UTM research projects awarded funding

Carla DeMarco

As education continues to dominate headlines, one UTM researcher is looking beyond teaching methods to explore how linguistic and cultural diversity has shaped education.

Marie-Paule Lory, an assistant professor with the Department of Language Studies, is one of 21 UTM researchers recently awarded funding during the eighth Research and Scholarly Activity Fund competition.

The annual funding opportunity is run through the Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and has been supporting researchers at UTM since 2014.

“Our researchers and their work reflect an impressive range of scholarly pursuits taking place across the U of T Mississauga campus,” says Vice-Principal, Research Kent Moore. “We are delighted to provide support to UTM faculty members through the Research and Scholarly Activity Fund, and are inspired by the originality and innovation that propel these research programs forward.” 

Lory’s project focuses on understanding social representations of linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom.

“For the past 30 years, there has been a lot of research focused on pedagogical approaches to linguistic and cultural diversity at schools, and it has highlighted the positive impacts on students on many levels,” Lory says. “However, there hasn’t been a lot of branching out in terms of exploring the variety of languages and cultures that are currently present in our local classrooms.”

For the past three years, Lory has highlighted the relevance of promoting linguistic and cultural diversity in schools. Last year she launched a plurilingual artistic competition for over 300 students. She has also established partnerships with the Ministry of Education of Ontario’s French division and French school boards in Ontario. Lory said she hopes to expand her project and extend her collaboration with Ontario’s French schools to provide students and teachers with a more diverse framework from which to learn and share.

For a full list of researchers awarded RSAF funding, including past winners, visit the RSAF Results page.