معرفی
Tya Collins serves as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, leveraging 20 years of multifaceted experience across preschool, elementary, secondary, ESL/FSL, special education, and university contexts. Her interdisciplinary work bridges education, sociology, critical youth studies, Black studies, and disability studies to dismantle systemic barriers in educational pathways for marginalized youth.
Her academic credentials include:
- PhD in Education from Université de Montréal
- SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at McGill University
Professor Collins' research investigates critical intersections of Blackness, disability, language, and systemic trauma through Black-affirming theories and methodologies. She positions youth as knowledge producers while examining special education placement processes, postsecondary outcomes, and resistance to structural inequalities. Her francophone-anglophone bilingual research uniquely addresses Quebec's linguistic minority context, emphasizing racial justice and decolonial approaches in educational spaces.
Analysis of her 2021-2025 publications reveals consistent application of Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) to expose how special education systems perpetuate anti-Black racism and ableism. Her work demonstrates increasing focus on immigrant student experiences, postsecondary transitions, and methodological innovation through counter-narrative and ethnographic approaches. These contributions advance critical scholarship in educational equity, disability justice, and community-centered research within North American minority contexts.
Her scientific recognition includes:
- SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Professor Collins actively partners with community organizations including the Observatoire des communautés noires du Québec, Réseau de recherche sur les communautés québécoises d’expression anglaise, Avenues (supporting minority youth transitions), and serves as Ontario representative on Desjardins Foundation’s Research Advisory Council. Recent institutional announcements confirm her involvement in nationally funded projects as reported by the University of Ottawa in August 2024. She advises graduate students while teaching core courses including Introduction to Research in Education (EDU 5190), Inclusive and Special Education (EDU 5113), and Equity in Education: Theory and Practice (PED 3124).
