ABOUT ACDE

Mission

The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) is an association of Deans, Directors, and Chairs of Canadian Faculties, Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education committed to pan-Canadian leadership in professional and teacher education, educational research, and policy in universities and university-colleges. ACDE is a constituent association of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.

 

ACDE’s mission is therefore to foster professional and teacher education, engage in educational research, and participate in educational policy development. ACDE supports access, participation, and success in education for all. ACDE supports the professional development of educators through undergraduate study, initial teacher education, graduate study and continuing professional development. ACDE is committed to high quality educational research and to developing policies and initiatives in conjunction with other educational partners such as provincial governments, colleges of teachers, teacher organizations, and professional societies and organizations.

 

ACDE members meet twice per year, once during the annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education and once in the fall.

ACDE’s mission rests on five underlying assumptions:

that high quality professional and teacher education together with robust and responsible educational policy are the foundations of a civil society and of Canada’s future in the global context

that the role of the educator in a civil society is that of a public intellectual

that quality professional and teacher education and sound educational policy are essential for individual and societal development

that the affirmation and advancement of cultural diversity depends on a well developed educational system and well-educated teachers

that research and practice are mutually constitutive

History

The Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE), originally known as the Canadian Association of Deans of Education (CADE), was created in 1969. In 1972, CADE, along with several other associations, amalgamated as constituent associations within the newly formed Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE). CADE was comprised of deans, directors, and chairs of education from faculties, colleges, schools, and departments of education across Canada.

During the 1970s, CADE played an important role in the establishment of CSSE, and was one of the financial backers of the CSSE Secretariat. The deans’ financial support was also instrumental in launching and supporting the Canadian Journal of Education.

The Association francophone des doyennes et des doyens, des directrices et directeurs d’éducation du Canada (AFDÉC) applied for and was approved for CSSE membership in 1990. CADE and AFDÉC operated as parallel associations within CSSE until 2006, when the two associations merged. At that time, a new association name was chosen: Association of Canadian Deans of Education/Association canadienne des doyens et doyennes d’éducation. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, CADE’s primary purpose was to bring deans together to discuss issues of common interest. Initiatives intended to engage CADE members in coordinated approach to educational issues met with limited success. At that time, CADE had no constitution or mission statement.

During the period 2002–04, several incoming CADE members saw the potential to develop the association into an organization with national influence in the sphere of education. Early activities included the development of a constitution, which was ratified in 2004. The process of building consensus among member institutions took several years, culminating in the release of the General Accord in 2006. The General Accord, which was unanimously ratified, signaled a new era of collaboration and cooperation among the deans, representing agreement among the signatories to work together toward the goal of continuing to provide a meaningful, influential, and positive voice for education in Canada. Today, ACDE is committed to national leadership in professional and teacher education, educational research, and policy in universities and university-colleges.

Five more accords followed the General Accord, including the Accord on Initial Teacher Education (released in 2006), the Accord on Indigenous Education (released in 2010), the Accord on Research in Education (released in 2011)), the Accord on Early Learning and Early Childhood Education (released in 2013), and the Accord on the Internationalization of Education (released in 2014).

The accords allow ACDE to contribute to national discourse on the importance of public education in developing and sustaining a civil society. ACDE members use the documents primarily at three levels: a) within their own faculties b) with other deans and senior administrators at their respective universities, and c) with external partner organizations such as government and teachers’ federations. The accords are used as foundational documents in framing discussions in order to influence policy within these three levels.

Five Year Plan

ACDE advocates for quality education in Canada, focusing on priority issues within the educational landscape. ACDE’s Five Year Plan outlines its priorities for 2020 to 2025.

PDF for download

Constitution

ACDE’s constitution was drafted by ACDE member Michael Manley-Casimir, Dean of Education at Brock University. The constitution was ratified in October, 2004. Amendments and their respective dates are noted in the constitution.

PDF for download

Executive Members

President

 

Dr. Dianne Gereluk

 

Dianne Gereluk is Dean and Professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, serving her second term in this leadership role. Previously, she served as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs in Education at Werklund. She currently chairs the Association of Alberta Deans of Education and is an engaged member of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education. Her leadership and scholarship are widely recognized in the areas of rural education, the polarization of education, and the deprofessionalization of the teaching profession.

 

 

 

Treasurer

 

Dr. Allyson Jule

 

Dr. Allyson Jule is Dean of the Faculty of Education, Community and Human Development at University of the Fraser Valley. Dr. Jule’s main area of research is gender and education — in particular, the area of gender and language use in the classroom. She has written extensively on the topic of gendered performances as revealed in speech patterns in varying contexts and exploring teachers’ use of “linguistic space.” Dr. Jule is currently the Co-Chair of the Association of the BC Deans of Education which connects to the BC Teachers Council. She is past President of Women’s and Gender Studies et Recherches Féministe. Allyson completed her PhD in London, England and is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s International Gender Studies Centre (at Lady Margaret Hall). She is on the editorial board of Gender and Education, Women and Language Journal, and the Contemporary Journal of Religion. 

 

Member-at-Large

 

Dr. Amy Burns

 

Dr. Amy Burns is Dean of the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University. Amy’s research centres on the lived experiences of those in educational systems, particularly on the narrative experiences of those who identify as women in formal leadership positions within those systems.  In addition, she examines teaching and leadership in unique educational environments including rural and remote education, community-based education and non-traditional educational sites.

Member-at-Large

 

Dr. Miles Turnbull

 

Miles Turnbull is Dean of the Faculty of Education (since July 2023) and a professor of education at the University of Prince Edward Island. He previously served two terms as Vice-Principal, Academic and Research, at Bishop’s University, and as Dean of Education at UPEI from 2011-2013. His research focuses on French as a Second Language teacher education, including teaching practices and minority Francophone experiences. A strong advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion, he has led initiatives supporting gender diversity and Indigenous student success. He has received national recognition for his contributions to second language education and holds degrees from UPEI, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto.

Member-at-Large

 

Dr. Anabelle Viau-Guay

 

Anabelle Viau-Guay is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Education at Université Laval, a position she has held since 2022. Previously, she served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Technological Development from 2020 to 2022 and has also held positions as program and department director at various points in her career.

She holds a Ph.D. in ergonomics, which she earned in 2009, along with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in industrial relations. Her research focuses on beginning teachers induction, lesson and curriculum planning, and analyzing work activity and learning in the workplace—especially among teachers.

Secretariat

Katy Ellsworth, ACDE’s Executive Director, holds a Master of Arts degree in history from Queen’s University. She began her work in educational publishing with the Third International Mathematics and Science Study at the University of British Columbia. She is co-author along with ACDE members Kris Magnusson and Blye Frank of “The ACDE Accords: A Case Study in Democratic Leadership” (in Shultz & Viczko, Eds., Assembling and Governing the Higher Education Institution, 2016).

 

Katy works with the ACDE Executive to plan strategic directions for ACDE, organize the annual meeting, and plan ACDE’s program for the annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE).

 

Contact ACDE: information <@> acde-acde.ca