Dr. Allison Segeren

Assistant Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies

PhD (Western University), MEd, BEd, BA Honours (Queen’s University)

Dr. Allison Segeren

Assistant Professor - Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies

PhD (Western University), MEd, BEd, BA Honours (Queen’s University)

I am an Assistant Professor in the area of Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies in the Faculty of Education at Western University. I earned my Ontario Teaching Certification from Queen’s University in 2009 and have held a variety of positions in the K-12 education sector including as an occasional teacher, instructional designer, and department head. Prior to joining the Faculty of Education in a full-time capacity, I led the Data and Research portfolio at the Avon Maitland District School Board. 

My research interests lay at the intersection of in critical policy analysis, equity education, and leadership studies within the field of education. My scholarship seeks to critique oppressive educational policies, explore how school and system leaders enact education policy, and construct anti-oppressive policy frameworks for teaching and leading in K-12 and higher education environments. I aim to continue research on the evolving landscape of education policies in a post-truth, performative accountability context, with a focus on innovative strategies for promoting equity and human rights within K-12 and higher education institutions.

My teaching expertise is broadly in the areas of equity and social justice, sociology of education, and qualitative research. I have taught in the Teacher Education program as well as the professional and research-intensive Graduate programs at the Masters and Doctoral level. A highlight of my teaching experience has been providing supervision and mentorship to masters and doctoral students completing their Capstone projects in our professional programs. I have received multiple teaching awards during my tenure at Western.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Rezai-Rashti, G., Abdmolaei, S., & Segeren, A. (In-press). Equity, accountability and the experiences of teachers with large-scale standardized testing in urban schools in Ontario, Canada

Rezai-Rashti, G., Zhang, B., Abdmolaei, S., & Segeren, A. (2021). A critical policy analysis of the Ontario equity and inclusive: The dynamics of non-performativity. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 2(3)

Rezai-Rashti, G., & Segeren, A. (2020). The game of accountability: Perspectives of urban school leaders on standardized testing in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Leadership in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1808711

Rezai-Rashti, G., Segeren, A., & Martino. W. (2016). The new articulation of equity education in neoliberal times: The changing conception of social justice in Ontario. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1-15.  

Segeren, A. (2012). Mapping Geographic Education in Canada: Geography in the Elementary and Secondary Curriculum Across Canada. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 2(1).

Segeren, A., & Kutsyuruba, B. (2012). Twenty years and counting: An examination of the development of equity and inclusive education policy in Ontario (1990-2010). Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 136.

Chapters in books:

Segeren, A., Burt, J., Creery, K., & Marotta, L. (2024). Enacting transformative leadership at the system level: Leader narratives from a small district school board in Ontario. In Z. Abawi, S. Tuters, A. Campbell & A. Eizadirad (Eds.), From diverse to equitable and inclusive school leadership: Critical Canadian insights. Canadian Scholars Press.         

Hibbert, K., & Segeren, A. (2015). Secondary language instruction and student diversity. In J. Andrews & J. Lupart (Eds.), Diversity education: Understanding and addressing student diversity (pp. 482-497). Toronto: Nelson.

Rezai-Rashti, G., Segeren, A., & Martino. W. (2015). Race and racial justice in Ontario education: Neoliberalism and strategies of racial invisibility. In S. Majhanovoch & R. Malet (Eds.), Building democracy through education on diversity (pp. 141-158). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. 

Technical reports:

The Social Program Evaluation Group, Queen’s University (2010). Literature Review & Jurisdictional Benchmarking to Support the Curriculum Review in Social Studies Grades 1 to 6, Geography Grades 7 and 8, and Canadian & World Studies Grades 9 to 12.  Report prepared for and submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Education.

 

Conference Presentations:

Hirdes, H., Marotta, L., Laidlaw, D., & Segeren, A. (2023). Staying in the Zone: Mental health and well-being at Avon Maitland District School Board. Presentation at Learning and the Brain, San Francisco, CA.

Burt, J., Carr, H., Creery, K., & Segeren, A. (2022). Demonstrating A Desire to UnLearn in a Small Board: 

A multi-perspective social justice journey. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Ontario Principals’ Council, Toronto, Canada.

Marotta, L. & Segeren, A. (2022). Using Data to Dismantle Discrimination: How One Small Board in Ontario Enacts Data Equity. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Ontario Supervisory Officers’ Association, Toronto, Canada. 

Segeren, A. (2014). Where All Roads Lead to Mastery: Remediation and Enrichment Pathways in Online Competency Education Courses. Paper presented at the International Association for K-12 Online Education (iNACOL), Palm Springs, USA

Segeren, A. (2014). Assessment in the Competency-Based Classroom. Paper presened at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Atlanta, USA.

Segeren, A. (2014). Racial Justice in Ontario Education: PPM No. 119 as a Strategy of Racial Invisibility. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE), St. Catharines, Canada. 

Segeren, A. (2014). Social Justice by the Numbers: A Policy Historiography of Equity Education Policy in Ontario. Paper presented at the annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, USA

Segeren, A. (2013). Equity Policies as Responses to Justice Claims in the Global Policy Field: The Politics of Redistribution, Recognition, and Representation. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), New Orleans, USA.

Segeren, A. (2012). Complicating the Relationship between Equity and Excellence in Education Policy: A Critical Policy Analysis of Ontario’s Equity Strategy. Extended Abstract presented at the Canada International Conference on Education (CICE), Guelph, Canada.

Segeren, A. (2011). Twenty Years and Counting: The Development of Equity and Inclusive Education Policy in Ontario (1990-2010). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE), Waterloo, Canada.

Segeren, A. (2010). Surveying Geographical Education K-12 Across Canada’s Provinces and Territories.

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Ontario Association for Geographic and Environmental Education (OAGEE), Ottawa, Canada.

Teaching and Supervision

Courses taught:

EDUC 9711: Qualitative Research in Education

EDUC 9200: Social Context of Education

EDUC 9201: Introduction to Educational Research

EDUC 5476: Investigating Urban Schools

EDUC 5477: Urban Schools

EDUC 5007: Social Foundations

EDUC 2200: Perspectives on Schooling

EDUC 9445: Race and Ethnicity in Education

EDUC 9441: Gender Equity in Education

EDUC 9443: Anti-Poverty Education

EDUC 9435: Research and Evaluation in Schools

EDUC 9444: Researching Equity Issues in Educational Contexts

EDUC 9447: Capstone: Infusing Equity into Practice

EDUC 9706: Introduction to Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights in Education

EDUC 9773: Challenges of Governance in Higher Education Leadership

EDUC 9792: Comparative and International Perspectives on Educational Leadership

EDUC 9725: Researching for Leadership Improvement & Educational Reform

EDUC 9781: Dissertation in Practice

EDUC 9733: Planning and Developing the Organizational Improvement Plan

Supervision:

Committee member - PhD (Kathleen Sandy - Guidance Counselors’ Enactment of Educational Equity Policies: A Cross-Case Analysis of Ontario and Trinidad and Tobago)

Committee member - MA (Hillary Pugh - Gender Equity in Early Childhood Education: A Review of Literature)