Part 1

CLRiE Episode Summary:

In this (October 6, 2023) episode of ‘I Can See CLRiE Now’, we take a closer look at the ‘Thriving on Campus‘ project, which is a comprehensive study being conducted across Ontario to examine the experiences, wellbeing, and academic development of 2SLGBTQ+ university students. We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Michael Woodford and his team to explore the project’s findings and the potential impacts it could have on the 2SLGBTQ+ community. This study fills a significant knowledge gap in Canada by providing a comprehensive understanding of the 2SLGBTQ+ student population, which has long been underrepresented in large-scale national studies. Ultimately, this project aims to contribute to the development of postsecondary education policies and programs that will improve the academic and overall wellbeing outcomes of 2SLGBTQ+ students. Today’s conversation focuses on the research methodology, survey design, participants and key findings from the study.

Part 2

CLRiE Episode Summary:

In this (October 20, 2023) episode of ‘I Can See CLRiE Now’, we explore the ‘Thriving on Campus‘ initiative in greater detail, with a particular emphasis on the crucial knowledge mobilization component of the project. Through this discussion, we aim to provide our listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the various ways in which the knowledge gained from this project is being disseminated and applied in real-world settings, ultimately benefiting individuals and communities on and off campus.

Guest Speakers

Michael Woodford (he/him); Professor, Faculty of Social Work; Université Wilfrid Laurier

Michael is a Professor at Laurier’s Faculty of Social Work and the Associate Dean for the PhD in social work program. He is a gay, cisgender, white settler living and working on the Haldimand Tract within the territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee people. His research addresses the inclusion/exclusion, wellbeing, and resilience of 2SLGBTQ+ people and communities. Michael specializes in the study of contemporary 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination, including microaggressions and campus climate, and their effects on 2SLGBTQ+ students’ mental health, social belonging, and academic success. His work on resilience explores multi-level factors, including social policies and programs that can protect individuals from the negative effects of discrimination. His research is interdisciplinary, utilizes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method designs, and is informed by an array of theories and frameworks, such as minority stress, socio-ecological theory, intersectionality, positive psychology, and community-based research. Dedicated to fostering 2SLGBTQ+ responsive services, Michael also engages in research related to inclusive healthcare and social work practice. His work is funded by various sources, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and he is a Fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research. Michael is the Principal Investigator for Thriving On Campus study and mobilization project. 

Eric Van Giessen (he/they); PhD Candidate; Université York

Eric is a sixth-year doctoral student in Sociology at York University. His SSHRC-funded dissertation, Queer Religious Futures: Exploring the Lives, Stories, and Practices of Mainline Protestant Queer Clergy in Canada, examines how queer clergy navigate religious institutions, reorient heteronormative religious spaces, and imagine alternative queer religious futures. Grounded in queer phenomenology, lived religion, and queer utopianism, Eric’s research explores how queer clergy’s embodied experiences and spiritual practices challenge and reconfigure Christian traditions. Using narrative and arts-based methodologies, his work highlights the anticipatory and transformative dimensions of queer religious life. Eric has been involved with the Thriving On Campus project since 2019, first as an Interviewer and later as a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator, contributing to webinar projects, podcasts, and the 2022-2023 Virtual Conference Series.

Tin Vo (he/they); Assistant Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work; Université de Toronto

Tin is an assistant professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph, a Master of Public Health from the University of Alberta, and PhD in Social Work from Laurier. As a Credentialed Evaluator, Tin has over 12 years of research and evaluation experience in the Ontario public health, social services, and higher education sectors. Tin’s equity-focused and interdisciplinary research program explores social exclusion and belonging as determinants of health for marginalized communities to shape socially and culturally responsive systems of care. Tin contributed to the Thriving On Campus study as a member of the BIPOC workgroup that focused on findings related to BIPOC students’ experiences and as a collaborator on the Virtual Conference Series that mobilized research findings and supported change on campuses.

Glossary of Terms:
  1. SSHRC Insight grant: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grants aim to build knowledge and understanding about people, societies and the world by supporting research excellence in the social sciences and humanities research initiatives.
  2. SSHRC Connection grant: Connection grants support events and outreach activities geared toward short-term, targeted knowledge mobilization initiatives
  3. Knowledge mobilization: Knowledge mobilization refers to the process of promoting and facilitating the use of research by knowledge users such as decision-makers, policy-makers, practitioners, and community members. The primary aim is to help users engage with research findings as they make informed decisions regarding policies, programs, practices, and behavior.
  4. Interdisciplinary: Interdisciplinary research integrates perspectives, concepts, theories, and/or methods from multiple disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline. Research is truly interdisciplinary when it is not just pasting two disciplines together to create one product but rather is an integration and synthesis of ideas and methods.
  5. 2SLGBTQ+: The acronym 2SLGBTQ+ is used to refer to people who identify as Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer, or with other diverse gender and/or sexual identities. To learn more about these particular identity terms, please see Egale’s 2SLGBTQI Terms and Definitions.
  6. Mixed method study: Mixed methods research combines elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e.g., use of qualitative focus groups with a quantitative survey) for the broad purposes of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration.
  7. Microaggressions: Microaggressions refer to often subtle, unintentional discrimination against a member of a marginalized group, such as a Black person, a trans person, or a disabled person. They can include insensitive or rude comments or actions that degrade the targeted person (i.e., microinsults), dismiss or erase their experiences (i.e., microinvalidations), or often blatantly attacks that purposefully aim to cause harm (i.e., microassaults).  Regardless of the type, microaggressions convey a negative message about the targeted group and serve to other and marginalize the group. Microaggressions occur interpersonally in exchanges between individuals and environmentally through social policies, practices, and norms.
  8. Intersectionality:Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how individuals’ various social identities (e.g., race, gender) in the context of related systems of oppression (e.g., race, sexism, cisgenderism) result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage, including gender, race, ethnicity, class, sex, sexuality, religion, disability, weight, and physical appearance. Depending on the intersecting identities one holds, a person can experience privilege, oppression, or both within society.3
  9. Cisgender: Someone is cisgender when their gender identity aligns with their sex assigned at birth. For instance, a cisgender woman is an individual who identifies as a woman and was assigned female at birth.
  10. Campus Climate: Broadly, campus climate refers to the experiences and treatment of marginalized students on campus. Campus climate includes experiential aspects (such as discriminatory actions from others and systems), psychological aspects (for example, perceptions of belonging and perceptions of university inclusion policies and practices), and structural aspects (for instance, policies and resources specifically for students from marginalized communities).
  11. BIPOC: The acronym stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. It is a term used to encompass groups that are racialized and are harmed by racism and white supremacy. By centring Black and Indigenous communities, it acknowledges that these communities are particularly impacted by racism and white supremacy.
  12. Nonbinary: Refers to a spectrum of gender identities that do not exclusively align with a binary understanding of man/masculine or woman/feminine. A nonbinary person may identify outside of these binary categories entirely or may experience gender in a fluid or multifaceted way. The term “nonbinary” encompasses a diverse range of identities, including but not limited to agender, genderfluid, and genderqueer.
SHOW Contributors:
  • Michael Woodford
  • Eric Van Giessen
  • Tin Vo
  • Simon Coulombe
  • Kristen Renn
  • Lauren Munro
  • Sound Design & Editing: Craig Galbraith
  • Host of the episode: Shawna Reibling
  • Music Credits Shadows of Motown by Olive Musique
  • Support & Funding from The Centre for Leading Research in Education

About I Can See CLRiE Now

I Can See CLRiE Now is a podcast produced by the Center for Leading Research in Education (CLRiE), where they dive into the latest findings in the field of education research. The podcast involves talking to faculty members and researchers about their research activities and discussing the impact of their work, including how it can inform practices in education across the lifespan. The goal of the podcast is to explore new insights into teaching and learning and to discuss how these findings can be applied in the classroom. You can find more information and episodes ici.

If you have any questions or comments about the podcast please contact us at mwoodford@wlu.ca