EDCP faculty

Research Interests

Biography

Since studying moral philosophy in the seventies and teaching primary students through the eighties, Dr. Farr Darling’s professional interests have been in the ethical dimensions of teaching and learning. Her research and classes reflect these preoccupations whether she is designing a course in social studies curriculum, investigating dispositions of aspiring teachers, or exploring ways in which six-year-olds respond to moral conflicts. She was awarded a Killam Teaching Prize by the Faculty in 2000.

Her recent work in the teacher education program is with a well-established project in the West Kootenays in the southeastern corner of British Columbia (WKTEP). This is an exciting time to be preparing teachers for careers in rural settings. As new media and electronic technologies become more common in teacher education and schools, possibilities for program delivery to off-campus sites increase, as do opportunities to work creatively with local educators. Dr. Farr Darling acts as academic coordinator for the project as well as teaching foundations courses each year to a cohort of elementary and secondary teacher candidates.With the support of a TLEF she has developed a new course focused on rural teaching.

She is also interested in pursuing research in this setting which prides itself on its rural traditions. Some challenges of teaching in such contexts are well-documented (e.g. lack of access to certain resources) but we know less about the attitudes and expectations of teachers who work in small schools and communities far from urban centres. Fuller understanding of teachers’ beliefs and their experiences of rural life and work should contribute to the development of teacher education programs that build on the strengths of these small and scattered communities and respond to their educational needs.

Selected Publications

Selected publications:

Farr, Darling, L. (2008) Learning the Art of Inquiry through Artifacts. In Case, R. and Clark, P. (Eds.) Canadian Anthology of Social Studies (Second Edition). Vancouver: Pacific Education Press.

Farr Darling, L., Erickson, G. & Clarke, A. (2007) Collective Improvisation in a Teacher Education Community. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Press (253 pp.)

Farr Darling, L. (2007) Becoming a Philosopher of one's own education: A review essay. Paideusis: Journal of the Canadian Philosophy of Education Society.

Farr Darling, L. (2006). Teaching social studies as if it mattered: Young children and moral reasoning. In Ross, W. (Ed.) The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems and Possibilities. Albany: SUNY Press. (Second Edition.)

Erickson, G. Farr Darling, L., Clarke, A. (2005) Constructing and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry in Teacher Education.In Garry Hoban, (Ed.) The Missing Links in Teacher Education. Kluwer Press.

Farr Darling, L. , Wright, I (2004) Critical thinking and the social in social studies. In Sears & Wright (Eds) Prospects and Challenges for Canadian Social Studies. Vancouver: Pacific Educational Press.

Erickson, G. Farr Darling, L., Clarke, A., Mitchell, J. (2005) Creation d'une communaute reflexive dans un programme de formation a L'ensiegnement. In Bednarz et Jonneart (Eds) Paradigmes socio-constrctivistes et informations des intervenants. Montreal: Les Presses d'Universite du Quebec.

Farr Darling, L. (2002). Moles, porcupines, and children’s moral reasoning: Unexpected responses.  Early Years: An International Journal of Research & Development. 22: 2 (91-103).

Farr Darling, L (2002) The Moral dimension of citizenship education: What should we teach? Journal of Educational Thought. 36:3 107-121

Courses Taught

2006-2008

EDST 314 Social Issues in Education

EDST 428 Social Foundations of Education

EDCI 508 Research in Early Childhood Education

EDCP SSED 320 Elementary Social Studies

CCFI 601 Doctoral seminar

Graduate Students Supervised

Current students:

Anita Sinner, PhD. (Graduated May, 2008) EDCP
Christine Higgins: Ph.D. candidate. CCFI
Bo Sun Kim:  Ph.D. candidate EDCP
Barbara Radford: M.A. CCFI
Kathy Brunetta: M.A. EDCP
Angela Lee : M.A. ECE
Helen Carmichael: M.Ed. EDCP
Younsung Park: M.Ed. CCFI