UPEI researcher wins grant to explore how education can best equip students for a perpetually evolving economy
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, recently announced that 45 social sciences and humanities research projects have been awarded federal funds to assess and mobilize knowledge in the areas of emerging technologies, energy, and natural resources in Canada. Among the successful projects is one by Dr. Sean Wiebe, associate professor of education at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Wiebe’s proposal, “Re-Envisioning Education for Individual, Community and Societal Well-being in a Digital Era,” will be supported by a $25,000 Knowledge Synthesis Grant (KSG) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Dr. Wiebe will work in collaboration with the Learning Partners Advisory Council and other education stakeholders to explore how education can best prepare students for the realities of the perpetually evolving and potentially enigmatic knowledge-based economy.
“UPEI’s Faculty of Education has been at the forefront of digital economy research for some time,” said Dr. Wiebe. “This work builds on important efforts initiated by Dr. Martha Gabriel, Dr. Ron MacDonald, Dr. Sandy McAuley, and Dr. Barb Campbell.”
This project is in response to a changing economy that is increasingly difficult to create strategies to educate and train workers for. Gone are the days where higher skills earn better jobs creating a better economy. As domestic labour trends move towards part-time, contract, and precarious work, and decreased unionization, education needs to focus on a new set of skills, unlike those required for 20th century success.
“Dr. Wiebe is an internationally recognized leader in innovative approaches to education in the digital age and, as such, it is encouraging and appropriate to have his work supported by SSHRC,” said Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Academic and Research at UPEI.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs, SSHRC contributes to innovations that will improve the lives of Canadians, and works to develop talented leaders for all sectors of society. SSHRC disburses more than $345 million in funding annually to support more than 8,300 research projects.
