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Edward Shizha

Professor, Youth and Children's Studies
eshizha@wlu.ca
Waterloo, Ontario
Faculty of Liberal Arts
Edward Shizha is an expert in Black African immigrants in Ontario (especially youth), discrimination in education/schools, education and postcolonial theory, globalization/migration/transnationalism, immigrant and refugee mental health, immigrant settlement and integration, Indigenous knowledges in the global context and supports/resources/programs/services for immigrants.

Areas of Expertise

  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Education
  • Immigration, Migration and Refugees
  • Indigenous Studies and Decolonization
  • Mental Health
  • Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies

Biography

I received my PhD in sociology of education from the University of Alberta in 2005 and my MEd in educational sociology from the University of Zimbabwe in 1996. I was awarded the Michel Laferriere Award for the best Doctoral Thesis in 2004 by the Comparative and International Education Society of Canada. Prior to joining Laurier, I was a research associate at the Social Support Research Program at the University of Alberta.

The main focus of my research is migration and transnationalism. My recently completed study was on investigating factors that enhance or frustrate access to postsecondary education for male African immigrant youth transitioning from high school in South Western Ontario. The other was an environmental scan of mental health resources, programs, and services accessible to newcomers in Alberta. The studies aim to benefit immigrants and refugees by improving access to quality services, as well as better inform service mapping for service providers, policy makers and other organizations involved in the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada.