Faculty of Education’s mission, nascent consultancy reflects these beliefs 

“When social justice issues are not addressed, there is a detrimental impact on society,” says Mark Beckles, a 2024 �첥��Ƶ honorary degree recipient and the recently retired vice-president of social impact and innovation for the Royal Bank of Canada. 

“Societies that understand the importance of social inclusion have more optimal economic outcomes. They understand the benefit of providing opportunities for all and the outcome is shared economic prosperity.” 

For Beckles, social justice refers to ensuring opportunities for all by improving conditions that erode social cohesion and prevent economic inclusion. This means addressing myriad social issues such as access to healthcare and education; poverty and inequality; racial equality; and gun violence. 

“When left unattended, these issues have a detrimental impact on society, particularly when those who see themselves inside these issues don’t have a voice or a place at the political tables where these issues are addressed or need to be addressed,” Beckles says. 

“We want to level the playing field; you can see that in prosperous societies, more and more people feel enfranchised and have access, regardless of how they look, worship, love or live.” 

Professor Robert Savage, dean of the Faculty of Education at �첥��Ƶ, says he was struck by the way Beckles brought social inclusion and education together in his October convocation speech, because it reflects the Faculty’s ethos that education opens doors to economic prosperity. As a place that educates the educators of the future, he firmly believes that the two constructs are connected. 

“York and our Faculty add value that changes and inspires lives,” Savage says. “So many of our students are the first in their families to attend university and they discover that education adds economic value.”  

“Strong economies are those where the quality of life for all meets a high standard, and we can see in them the cascading impacts of education,” Savage adds. “In a complex world of ideas, education is central to employment and leads to good health and economic prosperity. The economy needs people who can think critically, come up with ideas, are tenacious and have strong interpersonal skills and values to build success for all.” 

In fact, a new analysis of educational outcomes conducted by Universities United Kingdom makes the connection between education and economic prosperity clear, noting, “Across England, graduates outperform non-graduates by approximately a third ten years after graduation. Even for those working in sectors which are commonly perceived as not needing degree-level training, such as arts and entertainment, the salary premium is clear, standing at 42 per cent. While the earnings percentages may differ, it’s clear to Savage that the benefit holds true for Canadian graduates. 

In addition to educating the next generation of teachers and researchers, the Faculty of Education is “building pathways to take education out into the world in all kinds of ways,” Savage notes. 

The newest is ED Global, the Faculty’s newly launched consultancy dedicated to empowering future generations to uncover new possibilities in the advancement of education. 

“We’ve launched this consultancy in part as a way to contribute to the Faculty’s sustainability in the face of the financial crisis facing post-secondary institutions in Ontario,” Savage says. “Offering data analytics that can be used to analyze educational systems or creation of professional development programs for other jurisdictions is just one example of our services.” 

Savage has begun working with various Canadian trade commissioners whose purview is other parts of the world such as the Middle East and Africa, with aims for the Faculty to bring its expertise to bear elsewhere, improving education – and as a result, social justice – there. 

“We can work diligently with others and use our collective strength and expertise to impact both education and social justice.” 

The Faculty’s Five-Year Strategic Plan lays out guiding principles that echo Savage’s words: 

• Enact practices of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization; 

• Undertake research that is vital and sustainable; 

• Centre teaching in student experiences and wellbeing; 

• Generate knowledge that embodies social justice; 

• Develop innovative curriculum and programming; and 

• Commit to democratic governance 

Beckles’ experience in the corporate world illustrated that organizations that worked toward social inclusion also succeeded financially. 

“Most organizations with a profit motive intuitively understand that the more people [employees] who feel included, the better their bottom-line results,” Beckles says. “Diverse voices around the table lead to greater opportunities for innovation.” 

However, he makes it clear that working toward social justice requires hard work, work that has already begun at York and the Faculty of Education. 

“When you have systemic privilege, breaking down those systems can be long, arduous work, especially when people and systems have done something the same way for a long time,” Beckles says. “Some of Canada’s systems predate Confederation, so making space for others can be hard. But we must try to do the right thing, no matter how hard the work is.” 

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�첥��Ƶ’s Faculty of Education has created a consulting initiative called ED Global, which will work collaboratively with school boards, educational organizations, governments and diverse communities to help them maximize positive change.

ED Global began, as many ideas at �첥��Ƶ do, with a desire to have a positive influence in the world.

In 2022, Faculty of Education Dean Robert Savage was thinking about how to pursue new ways to make an international impact with existing resources. Savage found himself considering one of the Faculty’s most precious resources.

“It occurred to me that we have a great deal of expertise – both in terms of the scholarly side and experiences around running and managing complex aspects of educational systems,” he says. “I thought we could leverage that to think about the ways that we could support educational systems work around the world.”

The result is ED Global, a revenue-driving initiative that draws on participating community members acting as consulting specialists. These specialists will use their backgrounds in kindergarten to Grade 12 education to work collaboratively with clients from school boards, educational organizations, governments and diverse communities. They will develop and deliver custom solutions for clients’ respective needs in regions around the world.  

“Our broad advantage lies in the ED Global mix of thought leadership with practical expertise,” says Lorne Foster, who, in addition to being involved the initiative, is director of the Institute for Social Research and York Research Chair in Black Canadian Studies and Human Rights (Tier 1). “ED Global promises to adapt and implement best-practice approaches and strategies and develop global inclusive education that will serve to advance understanding, enable smart decision making and build stronger communities on the international stage.“

In addition to facilitating strategies to more efficiently manage complex educational systems, collaborate with government organizations, partner with other academic institutions, develop curriculums and more, Foster has another hope for ED Global. He sees it as a means for �첥��Ƶ to extend its pedagogical leadership and principles of decolonizing, equity, diversity and inclusion.

“I see ED Global as a special emissary of York’s long-standing traditions of social justice and its openness to a diversity of peoples,” Foster says. “For me, this means that ED Global is like an operating system with a mission to take the indelible ‘made at York’ social justice message out into the world.”

Something important to Savage, Foster and ED Global, however, is that its consulting efforts don’t impose solutions so much as guide them.

“We’re not coming in telling people what to do. We’re not saying we know it better. But we bring expertise and we’re bringing experience,” says Savage. “What I see as our core direction is helping other systems around the world become as strong and self-sufficient as they possibly can.”

ED Global launched its website earlier this year and has since been building out its roster of consulting specialists, as well as generating word of mouth around its offerings through faculty members representing it at conferences, research trips and more.

“We’re looking to build connections as a very globally connected Faculty with other Faculties and other groups around the world,” says Savage. The goal is for every individual partnership to lead to a network of potential new partnerships. 

Even though it’s still early days for ED Global, Savage has high hopes for the road ahead. “I’d like to see that in a number of different ways, with different projects, we are meeting different needs and have been able to use a principled, evidenced, highly experienced consulting approach to add clear value both to the partner we’re working with but also their constituents.”

Foster has his hopes for the initiative as well. “I am looking forward to ED Global’s leadership as a research and consulting service centre with recognized positive impact on education pedagogy, education policies and education outcomes,” he says.

Article originally published in the November 6, 2024 issue of Yfile

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