Ardavan Eizadirad, Wilfrid Laurier University
Assistant Professor Waterloo, Ontario aeizadirad@wlu.ca
Expert In
Community safety and roots of violence
Critical pedagogy
Critical race theory
Decolonization in teacher education
Education around racism, discrimination
Education for incarcerated youth
Equity, diversity, inclusion and Indigenization
Equity, equality and social justice
Oral culture in education
Physical education
Restorative practices
Standardized testing
Violence prevention and intervention
Youth activism
Bio/Research
I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Exercise Science and a Bachelor of Education from York University at the Intermediate/Senior level in Health and Physical Education and Social Sciences. Later, I completed a Masters of Education in Equity and Social Justice and a PhD from the Onta...
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Bio/Research
I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and Exercise Science and a Bachelor of Education from York University at the Intermediate/Senior level in Health and Physical Education and Social Sciences. Later, I completed a Masters of Education in Equity and Social Justice and a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in 2018.
Prior to being at Laurier, I was an instructor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University and in the Master of Teaching and Bachelor of Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto. I am an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) where I previously worked for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and taught in the field of Child and Youth Care at Humber and George Brown College.
I am the Chair of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization (EDI&I) Coalition in the Faculty of Education. You can learn more about the Coalition via the 2023 Year in Review Report. I am the author of Decolonizing Educational Assessment: Ontario Elementary Students and the EQAO (2019), and co-editor of Equity as Praxis in Early Childhood Education and Care (2021 with Drs. Zuhra Abawi & Rachel Berman), Counternarratives of Pain and Suffering as Critical Pedagogy: Disrupting Oppression in Educational Contexts (2022 with Drs. Andrew Campbell & Steve Sider), The Power of Oral Culture in Education: Theorizing Proverbs, Idioms, and Folklore Tales (2023 with Dr. Njoki Wane), Enacting Anti-racism and Activist Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Canadian Perspectives (2023 with Drs. Zuhra Abawi & Andrew Campbell). I am also working on 3 forthcoming coedited books: Activist Leadership for Inclusive Schools: Canadian Insights (Canadian Scholars Press), Community Safety in Canada: Challenges and Future Possibilities, and a major international handbook with approximately 60 chapters titled The International Handbook of Anti-Discriminatory Education (Springer). Many of my research and publications can be accessed at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ardavan_Eizadirad
I am a former member of the Race and Identity-Based Data Collection Community Advisory Panel with the Toronto Police Service (2021-2023), a past Board of Directors member for Amadeusz which provides educational programs and services for incarcerated youth and young adults, and a community activist with the non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education (YAAACE) in the Jane and Finch community in Toronto. I am also a cerified national basketball official at various levels including high school, prep, college, university, and an international basketball official representing Canada for wheelchair basketball.
As part of helping others navigate the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) space in alignment with best practices, I started EDIcation Consulting (www.edication.org) which offers equity, diversity, and inclusion training and cpacity building supports to organizations and corporations.
Upcoming book projects:
- Abawi, Z., Eizadirad, A., Tuters, S., & Campbell, A. (forthcoming 2025). Activist leadership for inclusive schools: Canadian insights. Canadian Scholars Press.
- Eizadirad, A. (forthcoming 2025). Community safety in Canada: Challenges and future possibilities.
- Eizadirad, A., & Trifonas, P. (forthcoming 2025). International handbook of anti-discriminatory education (60 chapters). Springer.
Research Grants:
Hawes, Z. & Eizadirad, A. Leveraging Children's Interest in Basketball to Improve Access, Understanding, and Attitudes Towards Mathematics (2023-2024). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24, 948.15 (under review).
Oliver, V., Beals, A.M., Eizadirad, A., Liu, V., & Sherifali, Y. (Co-Investigator). Wants and Needs: Engaging Young People in Community Sex Education (2022-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engage Grant. $24,692 funded. November 2022.
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Racialized Trauma in BIPOC Youth; Healing and Increasing Civic Engagement through Storytelling (2022-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24,957 funded. May 2022.
Masakure, O., Wilson-Forsberg, S., & Eizadirad, A. (Co-Investigator). Paths Less Traveled: Experiences of Young African Immigrant Entrepreneurs (2021-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Insight Grant. $48,283 funded. April 2021.
Eizadirad, A. & Sider, S. (Principal Investigator). COVID-19: Closing the Achievement Gap through Remote Learning for Children and Youth in Racialized and Under-Resourced Communities (2020-2021). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24,946 funded. December 2020. Final Report of Findings: Eizadirad, A., Abudiab, S., & Baartman, B. (2022). Addressing the social determinants of learning: The Community School Initiative closing the achievement gap for racialized under-resourced communities. https://www.communityschoolinitiative.com/final-report
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Look at My Life: Access to Post-Secondary Schooling and The Credit Transfer Experience of the Remand Population in Ontario. Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer. $15,000 funded. April 2020.
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Assessment as Stereotyping: Experiences of Racialized Children and Parents with the Grade 3 EQAO Standardized Testing Preparation and Administration in Ontario. Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program. $15,000 funded. 2017-2018.
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Prior to being at Laurier, I was an instructor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University and in the Master of Teaching and Bachelor of Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto. I am an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) where I previously worked for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and taught in the field of Child and Youth Care at Humber and George Brown College.
I am the Chair of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenization (EDI&I) Coalition in the Faculty of Education. You can learn more about the Coalition via the 2023 Year in Review Report. I am the author of Decolonizing Educational Assessment: Ontario Elementary Students and the EQAO (2019), and co-editor of Equity as Praxis in Early Childhood Education and Care (2021 with Drs. Zuhra Abawi & Rachel Berman), Counternarratives of Pain and Suffering as Critical Pedagogy: Disrupting Oppression in Educational Contexts (2022 with Drs. Andrew Campbell & Steve Sider), The Power of Oral Culture in Education: Theorizing Proverbs, Idioms, and Folklore Tales (2023 with Dr. Njoki Wane), Enacting Anti-racism and Activist Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Canadian Perspectives (2023 with Drs. Zuhra Abawi & Andrew Campbell). I am also working on 3 forthcoming coedited books: Activist Leadership for Inclusive Schools: Canadian Insights (Canadian Scholars Press), Community Safety in Canada: Challenges and Future Possibilities, and a major international handbook with approximately 60 chapters titled The International Handbook of Anti-Discriminatory Education (Springer). Many of my research and publications can be accessed at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ardavan_Eizadirad
I am a former member of the Race and Identity-Based Data Collection Community Advisory Panel with the Toronto Police Service (2021-2023), a past Board of Directors member for Amadeusz which provides educational programs and services for incarcerated youth and young adults, and a community activist with the non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education (YAAACE) in the Jane and Finch community in Toronto. I am also a cerified national basketball official at various levels including high school, prep, college, university, and an international basketball official representing Canada for wheelchair basketball.
As part of helping others navigate the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) space in alignment with best practices, I started EDIcation Consulting (www.edication.org) which offers equity, diversity, and inclusion training and cpacity building supports to organizations and corporations.
Upcoming book projects:
- Abawi, Z., Eizadirad, A., Tuters, S., & Campbell, A. (forthcoming 2025). Activist leadership for inclusive schools: Canadian insights. Canadian Scholars Press.
- Eizadirad, A. (forthcoming 2025). Community safety in Canada: Challenges and future possibilities.
- Eizadirad, A., & Trifonas, P. (forthcoming 2025). International handbook of anti-discriminatory education (60 chapters). Springer.
Research Grants:
Hawes, Z. & Eizadirad, A. Leveraging Children's Interest in Basketball to Improve Access, Understanding, and Attitudes Towards Mathematics (2023-2024). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24, 948.15 (under review).
Oliver, V., Beals, A.M., Eizadirad, A., Liu, V., & Sherifali, Y. (Co-Investigator). Wants and Needs: Engaging Young People in Community Sex Education (2022-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engage Grant. $24,692 funded. November 2022.
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Racialized Trauma in BIPOC Youth; Healing and Increasing Civic Engagement through Storytelling (2022-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24,957 funded. May 2022.
Masakure, O., Wilson-Forsberg, S., & Eizadirad, A. (Co-Investigator). Paths Less Traveled: Experiences of Young African Immigrant Entrepreneurs (2021-2023). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Insight Grant. $48,283 funded. April 2021.
Eizadirad, A. & Sider, S. (Principal Investigator). COVID-19: Closing the Achievement Gap through Remote Learning for Children and Youth in Racialized and Under-Resourced Communities (2020-2021). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada Partnership Engagement Grant. $24,946 funded. December 2020. Final Report of Findings: Eizadirad, A., Abudiab, S., & Baartman, B. (2022). Addressing the social determinants of learning: The Community School Initiative closing the achievement gap for racialized under-resourced communities. https://www.communityschoolinitiative.com/final-report
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Look at My Life: Access to Post-Secondary Schooling and The Credit Transfer Experience of the Remand Population in Ontario. Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer. $15,000 funded. April 2020.
Eizadirad, A. (Principal Investigator). Assessment as Stereotyping: Experiences of Racialized Children and Parents with the Grade 3 EQAO Standardized Testing Preparation and Administration in Ontario. Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program. $15,000 funded. 2017-2018.
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