Education

News Stories

Haley Healey head and shoulders with a forest background

Bringing to light the stories of trailblazing women

March 3, 2024

VIU Education grad Haley Healey writes books about boundary-pushing women A desire to share the stories of extraordinary historical women led VIU Education grad Haley Healey to become a published author in 2020. Four years later, the high school counsellor by day, author by night has published five non-fiction adult and children’s books highlighting boundary-pushing women as well as a fiction... Read more


Les Dickason wears a Nanaimo Museum shirt and leans on a car

Supporting the next generation of educators

February 26, 2024

Legacy donor Les Dickason shares his story When the opportunity to help set up a teacher education program at VIU (then Malaspina College) presented itself, Les Dickason left his job with the school district to be part of it. After his retirement in 1997, he established a bursary through the VIU Foundation. The fund has grown and now supports two students going into their second year of the... Read more


Mary Clare stands next to a lamppost with flowers trailing down it

Alum of the Month: Mary Clare Massicotte

October 20, 2023

A self-described lifelong learner, Mary Clare Massicotte enrolled in VIU’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program in 2020 at age 64. By this time, she had retired from her full-time career with the federal government and started her own consulting business. Completing a master’s degree had long been a goal for Mary Clare. She graduated from the program this past spring. We caught... Read more


Students sit at desks in a class listening to a teacher

Expert Q&A: BC government changes to reporting student progress

June 30, 2023

The 2023-24 school year will be the first year that all school districts in BC will implement a provincial proficiency scale instead of letter grades on report cards from kindergarten to Grade 9. Students in Grades 10 to 12 will still receive letter grades and percentages on report cards. Education Professor Dr. Paula Waatainen, a former high school social studies teacher, studies classroom... Read more


Ashley Kuramoto smiles with a natural and/or garden background

Alum of the Month: Ashley Kuramoto

May 20, 2023

From student to teacher to published author Since graduating from Vancouver Island University in 2011 with her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, Ashley Kuramoto has been working her dream job as a teacher. She’s also a mother and, most recently, a published author. In recent months, Kuramoto has written and illustrated two children’s books that encourage families to explore fun... Read more


A group of people in various cultural attire standing in front of a WorldVIU sign on the steps of the VIU library

VIU connects with local and global community at WorldVIU Days

October 25, 2022

What: WorldVIU Days When: October 31 to November 4, 2022 Where: See photo opportunity schedule below An annual, multi-day event that explores how culture influences the way people make sense of the world is returning to Vancouver Island University (VIU) this month. Taking place from October 31 to November 4, WorldVIU Days celebrates diversity in all its facets and brings people together to find... Read more


Portrait of Danielle in forested area

VIU Education Student Investigates How Women Experienced Trauma During the First World War

November 5, 2021

Danielle Cossey-Sutton’s project was funded by a Mitacs Research Training Award. A gap in First World War research is how women experienced trauma. Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bachelor of Education student Danielle Cossey-Sutton spent part of the last academic year investigating this aspect of history. “Historical scholars admit it is difficult to explore gender studies during the First... Read more


VIU Introduces Bachelor of Kinesiology Program

VIU Introduces Bachelor of Kinesiology Program

November 13, 2020

VIU professor reflects on the progression of a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree as well as his own evolution as a teacher in the program over the past four decades. Les Malbon, Professor of Kinesiology at Vancouver Island University (VIU) has fond memories of when he was a student in the Physical Education program in 1974 – when Malaspina College was operating out of the old Nanaimo hospital... Read more


VIU Teachers-in-Training Help Communities

Teachers-in-Training Help Communities

November 19, 2019

VIU Education program students who are about to become certified teachers, spend their final weeks at University creating or participating in projects that fill a need in local communities. Preserving a child’s dignity by giving them a suitcase, collecting feminine hygiene products for women in need and creating the curriculum for a local nature centre all have substantial impacts on people,... Read more


Dr. Amanda Wager becomes VIU’s new Canada Research Chair in Community Research in Art, Culture and Education

Creatively Advocating for Change Through Art

July 19, 2019

Using artistic expression to foster cross-cultural relationships, Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) new Canada Research Chair hopes to create a space for emerging youth leaders to connect and invoke change in their community.  VIU Faculty of Education Professor Dr. Amanda Wager’s new appointment as Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Community Research in Art, Culture and Education will provide... Read more