معرفی
Nicholas Ng-A-Fook is a Full Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, where he has served as former Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Director of Teacher Education and Indigenous Teacher Education Programs. His work is deeply engaged with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action, working in partnership with Indigenous communities and school boards to disrupt colonialism, systemic racisms, and inequalities in educational curricula.
Dr. Ng-A-Fook's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University (2006), an M.A. in Education (Multicultural Education) from York University (2001), a Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary Science and History) from the University of Western Sydney (1998), and a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of Ottawa (1996).
His research interests span Curriculum Studies, History of Education (particularly oral history), Life-writing research (autobiography and narrative inquiry), Critical Youth Studies (focusing on first-generation immigrant and Indigenous youth), Community-based research, and Contemporary perspectives in philosophy, science and technology including AI, genomic education, and anti-racist science education. Dr. Ng-A-Fook approaches his work as a curriculum theorist who draws on life writing research methodologies to co-create culturally responsive, relevant, and relational curriculum with educators.
Dr. Ng-A-Fook's publications reveal a strong focus on reconciliation education, decolonizing curriculum, and addressing systemic racism in educational contexts. His work increasingly engages with digital technologies and artificial intelligence from a critical, decolonial perspective, examining how these technologies intersect with historical and ongoing colonial structures. His research shows a clear evolution toward more interdisciplinary work connecting curriculum studies with Indigenous knowledge systems, technology studies, and social justice movements.
Among his notable honors are the 2024 Coutts Prize, the Ted T. Aoki Distinguished Service Award (2018), and the R.W.B. Jackson Award for an outstanding article in the Canadian Journal of Education. He also serves as Director of the EdCan Network and was Past-President of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.
As a supervisor, Dr. Ng-A-Fook currently mentors several graduate students including Melissa Daoust, Lisa Ambaye, Bahareh Samsamiardekani, and Madelaine McCracken. He created the FooknConversation podcast to address educational challenges with colleagues, community activists, artists, education leaders, teachers, and politicians, and maintains the Canadian Curriculum Theory Project website as a resource for his research.
