Shanti Fernando
PhD
Associate Professor
Political Science
Faculty of Social Science and Humanities
Contact information
Bordessa Hall - Room 509
Downtown Oshawa
55 Bond Street East
Oshawa, ON
905.721.8668 ext. 3809
Background
Dr. Shanti Fernando received her PhD degree in Political Science from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 2003. Her thesis on Chinese American and Chinese Canadian community development, was the subject of her subsequent UBC Press book, entitled Race and the City. Her concentration has been on Canadian public policy that can decrease inequalities in accessibility and educational and employment opportunities.
She had taught at York University in Toronto, Ontario and Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, before joining Ontario Tech University in 2008. In addition to her role as an Associate Professor at our university, she also served at Director of the University-Community Link Unit (providing links in research and education between the university and the outside community) from 2011 to 2014.
Education
- PhD, Political Science Queen's University 2003
Courses taught
- Community Development Policy
- Urban Development
- Rural-Urban Fringe
- Equity Policy
- Canadian Politics
- Theories of Policy Analysis
Research and expertise
Research background and interests:
- adult education
- mental health advocacy
- community development policy
- community organizations
- Canadian anti-poverty policy
- racialized minorities and advocacy research
Research supervision areas:
- anti-poverty activism
- anti-racism
- mental health policy
- community group activism
- urban and rural development
- education policy
- equity policy
- immigration policy
- labour market integration
- political economy
Research areas of specialty:
- community development and public policy
Dr. Fernando has worked with students conducting research in areas including:
- community organizations
- anti-poverty policies
- issues surrounding the experiences of recent immigrants and youth
- Aboriginal women
- educational policy
- government social support policies
- agricultural policy
Ontario Tech graduate student research:
- Benjamin Earle: Structural Violence and Anti-Poverty Strategies in Northumberland County: A Social Harm Criminology Analysis - completed 2014 (co-supervisor)
2016: Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada: 5 Year Insight Grant; "Increasing Literacies through Supported Education and Policies of Inclusion". Total Award: $169,389. Dr. Shanti Fernando (PI); Ontario Tech Co-Investigators Dr. Alyson King; Dr. Allyson Earner; Dr. Tyler Frederick; Dr. Laura Pinto; Collaborators: John Rodnick- Waypoing Centre for Mental Health Care; Kathryn Kunkel — Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
2013: Supported Literacy Education for Persons Living with Mental Illness: Exploring Social and Economic Implications. Funded by the SSHRC Insight Development Grant. $50,926. (Fernando, S [Principal Investigator], King, A, Eamer, A, Stanyon, W (Co-Investigator))
Involvement
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Recent publications
Fernando, S., King, A., and Eamer, A. (2016). Supported Education practitioners: agents of transformation? Accepted for publication by Occupational Therapy in Mental Health.
Zaidi, A., Fernando, S., Ammar, N. (2015). An exploratory study of the impact of information communication technology (ICT) or computer mediated communication (CMC) on the level of violence and access to service among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors in Canada. Technology in Society. Vol 41. 91-97.
Fernando, S., King, A., Loney, D. (2014). Helping Them Help Themselves: Supported Adult Education for Persons living with Mental Illness. Canadian Journal for Studies in Adult Education. Vol.27 (1) 15-28.
Fernando, S, King, A: Winners and Losers: Literacy and Enduring Labour Market Inequality in Historical Perspective. Interventions Economique, 2013, 47. 2-20
Fernando, S and Earle B: Linking Poverty Reduction and Economic Recovery: Supporting Community Responses to Austerity in Ontario. Canadian Review of Social Policy. 65/66. 31-44.
Recent conference presentations:
Fernando, Shanti I. (2016) Adult Educators as Community Developers at 2016 Annual Conference of Canadian Association Studies of Adult Education. CASAE/ACÉÉA, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 29.
Fernando, Shanti I. and Rinaldi, Jen. (2016) De/Constructing Exclusionary Immigration Law and Policy, Past and Present. Annual Conference of Canadian Disability Studies Association, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May 30.
Fernando, Shanti I. and King, Alyson E. (2015). Education Interrupted: Learning Careers of Adults Living with Mental Illness. European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) Access, Learning Careers and Identities Network Conference. Seville, Spain. November 26.
Fernando, Shanti I. and King, Alyson E. (2015) From Patient to Student: Study of a Canadian Hospital Supported Education Program. 1st European Conference on Supported Education. Groningen, the Netherlands. November 16 to 17 2015.
Fernando, Shanti I. and King, Alyson (2015). Is Knowledge Power? An exploration of an historical normative framework for literacy policy, adult education and the economy in Canadian communities. Warwick Lifelong Learning Annual Conference, England (June 30).
Eamer, A., Fernando, S., and King, A. (April 2015) “Still on the margins: English language learning and mental health in immigrant psychiatric patients.” Proceedings of Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE-2015), April 20 to 22 in Dublin (Ireland) to be presented by Shanti Fernando and Allyson Eamer.
