This study examines the status quo and issues of global competence education in North American universities. It starts with introducing the definitions of global competence developed in basic education sector, highlighting their transcendent nature via likening them to the stride from international education to global education. From there, this study goes on to identify a dozen cases of practicing global competence education in the US and Canadian universities. On this basis, it sheds light on the fact that basic education sector is currently leading the way of advancing and defining global competence in an Anthropocene epoch, which, however, is not yet matched and supported by developing and delivering the compatible curriculum; the university sector is more structural in offering global competence education, yet to a large extent utilizes existing inter/cross-cultural competence courses and thus engages rather outdated concepts and knowledge. As such, this study argues that global competence education in the university requires a profound transformation that draws on the progressive conceptualization in basic education sector, and a transformative epistemological framework. It then elaborates how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could serve as such an epistemological framework.

Qiang Zha is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, 91亚色. His research interests include Chinese and East Asian higher education, international academic relations, global brain circulation, internationalization of higher education, globalization and education, differentiation and diversity in higher education, theories of organizational change, and liberal arts education in China and elsewhere.

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Appointed for one year, each of the recipients will work to enhance collegial capacity at an institutional level to advance the priorities of the University Academic Plan (UAP) in demonstrable ways. The Provostial Fellowships also provide an opportunity for a diverse group of tenured faculty to gain hands-on experience in university leadership.

鈥淚 am thrilled to have these four faculty members dedicating some of their time and energy to help lead the implementation of our UAP. The University will benefit from their expertise and ideas, and I hope they too will find this a valuable opportunity to grow and develop as leaders and institution builders,鈥� said Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps. 鈥淭he launch of Building a Better Future: 91亚色 Academic Plan 2020-2025 established six exciting and important priorities for 91亚色. As a community, we now look to work together in advancing these.鈥�

Fellows will work with the provost and relevant members of the senior leadership on a project or initiative intended to advance one of the UAP priority areas at an institutional level. Each project also seeks to enhance and intersect with the University-wide challenge to elevate institutional contributions to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Qiang Zha
Associate Professor
Faculty of Education

Professor Zha鈥檚 project, 鈥淩eimagining and Transforming Liberal Arts Education with a Trans-Continental Partnership,鈥� looks to explore a new model for practising liberal arts education in the current contexts of mass higher education, knowledge societies and globalization, including the prospects for infusing the concepts derived from the SDGs and promoting global competence.

Burkard Eberlein
Professor, Public Policy and Strategic Management
Schulich School of Business

Professor Eberlein鈥檚 project, 鈥�91亚色鈥檚 Journey toward Carbon Neutrality,鈥� seeks to identify and advance specific and impactful initiatives that the University can take to reduce its carbon emissions.

Sapna Sharma
Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Faculty of Science

Professor Sharma鈥檚 project, 鈥淲orking Towards Equitable Access to Clean Water,鈥� looks to address the billions of people worldwide, including in Canada, who do not have access to clean freshwater. This project will seek student, faculty and staff collaborations across the University with a goal of raising awareness and identifying solutions to this critical issue, and will culminate with an event celebrating .

Cheryl van Daalen-Smith
Associate Professor, School of Nursing
Faculty of Health
Associate Professor, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies/Children, Childhood & Youth Studies Program.
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Professor van Daalen-Smith鈥檚 project, 鈥淢ore than Bees and Trees: Seeing the SDGs in our Curriculum 鈥� A Pan-University Community Development Initiative,鈥� seeks to track, weave, inspire and amplify curricular SDG initiatives and advance 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to interdisciplinarity.

Article originally published in the September 20, 2021 issue of .

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This past year witnessed not only a global health crisis but also a dramatic hit on China鈥檚 academic profession. There has been a U-turn with respect to academic appraisal exercises in Chinese universities.

A leading scientist in China, Shi Yigong, revealed a stunning reason for this behind the scenes: Chinese universities do not produce many original or breakthrough innovations. He further warned that the current campaign for boosting publications would not necessarily lead to a boost in science and engineering.

Qiang Zha, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at 91亚色, wrote this article which was first published in International Higher Education discussing why China is falling behind on breakthrough innovation.

Read the full article at

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91亚色 community members are playing a key role in a provocative four-part series on the challenges facing public schooling.

The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse 鈥� originally the site of Toronto鈥檚 first free school 鈥� is sponsoring a community conversation on a number of current educational concerns. Located at 106 Trinity Street between King Street East and Eastern Avenue in Toronto, Ontario. Canada. It is the oldest school standing in the city.

Coordinated by Paul Axelrod, emeritus professor and former dean of education at 91亚色 with 91亚色 PhD graduate Jason Ellis, the series, 鈥淥pening the Schoolhouse to All,鈥� poses a series of questions that panelists will take up in successive sessions beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 17 and concluding in January 2021.

 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a lineup of eminent speakers,鈥� says Axelrod. 鈥淐oncerns about education are front and centre these days, and this series will allow for a full airing of pertinent issues.鈥�

How has the pursuit of wider educational opportunity evolved historically? How do educational experiences vary by race, gender, neighbourhoods, and disabilities? What kinds of teaching and learning will best serve individuals and communities in the years ahead? How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting access to schools and the experiences of students, teachers, and families? These questions and more will be considered in this fascinating series of public events. 

The first session (November 17) explores The Promise of Equity: Race, Multiculturalism, and Indigenous Education, and features panelists: Carl James, Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora at 91亚色; Natasha Henry, President of the Ontario Black History Society; University of Toronto鈥檚, Rob Vipond, author of Making a Global City: How One School Embraced Diversity; and Ryerson University historian, Ian Mosby, a specialist in the study of indigenous health and the politics of settler colonialism. The session will be chaired by University of Toronto historian, Funk茅 Aledejebi, author of the forthcoming book, Schooling the System: A History of Black Women Teachers.

Session Two (November 24) asks Are We Moving Closer to Gender Equity in Education? Former Premier and Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne, will be joined on the panel by University of Waterloo Professor Kristina Llewellyn, author of Democracy鈥檚 Angels: The Work of Women Teachers; Toronto teacher Sachin Maharaj, a Toronto Star contributing columnist; and Jane Gaskell, former Dean of OISE-University of Toronto, and author of numerous publications on gender and education.

The third Session (January 12, 2021) is entitled: Doing the Right Thing: Disability, Autism and Special Education. Panelists include University of British Columbia Professor, Jason Ellis, author of A Class By Themselves: The Origins of Special Education in Toronto and Beyond; Natalie Spagnuolo from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and co-founder of Memory Witness and Hope: Sharing Stories About Surviving Institutions; Gillian Parekh, Canada Research Chair: Inclusion, Disability and Education at 91亚色; and Margaret Spoelstra, President of Autism Ontario. Sue Winton of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education will chair the session.

The final session (January 19, 2021) turns to higher education, and asks 鈥�Does Liberal Education Matter in the 21st Century?鈥� Lorna Marsden, former President of 91亚色, is joined on the panel by Paul Gooch, past president of Victoria University in the University of Toronto and author of Course Correction: A Map for the Distracted University; the University of Waterloo鈥檚 Ian Milligan, author of History in the Age of Abundance? How the Web is Transforming Historical Research; and Qiang Zha, 91亚色 professor, and co-editor of International Status Anxiety and Higher Education: The Soviet Legacy in China and Russia. The session will be chaired by Paul Axelrod, former dean of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education.

Through provocative questions and informed discussion, the series will probe the achievements, limitations and prospects of schooling and higher education in disquieting times.

The series, free of charge, and accessible online, is designed for a broad audience interested in the past, present and future of Canadian education. To register and to see the full program, go to聽.

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