Dr. Townsend has a dual professional and academic background in adult education and occupational therapy. With an M.Ad.Ed. from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and a PhD in education (adult) from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, she looks at the world broadly, with teaching and learning interests focused on the social organization of knowledge. Her main concerns are with the reproduction of disempowerment and exclusion from meaningful 'occupation' (very broadly defined as everything people do to occupy life) of those with mental health issues. Drawing particularly on the theory and method of institutional ethnography, she specializes in critical analysis of the regulatory structures that govern what people do everyday, and strategic action for social change. She came to PEI in the mid-1960's and lived here on and off until the 1980s when she left to found and become the Director of the only School of Occupational Therapy in Atlantic Canada at Dalhousie University. She is happy to be back in her farm home in Belfast, PEI.
Please see the attached poster for details on what promises to be an afternoon of provocative dialogue.
The CER and Island Studies Press, in collaboration with AIMS on Campus (Halifax, NS), are pleased to facilitate Michael Zwaagstra's lone public appearance on PEI during his Canada-wide book tour.
Dr. Lyle has extensive experience in both education and business. She has taught in college, in university, and in the private sector. She has also held senior and executive positions in global corporations. Deeply committed to applied learning, she works hard to create spaces for learners to engage meaningfully with their studies. She champions critical thought and positions education as change agent. Her current research interests include: reflexive narrative; transdisciplinary approaches to improving praxis; critical pedagogy; adult education; organisational learning; and leadership.
Centre For Education Research
