Connie Morrison
Connie Morrison
Connie Morrison is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Education, specializing in media education, social justice teaching and English as cultural studies. “I am researching the impact of media on youth here in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the impact that cultural influences have on pedagogical practices. I am particularly interested in the reasons behind the lack of attention that media education is given in this province especially since it has been graduation requirement elsewhere for quite some time.”
A native of Fredericton, NB, Connie also completed her B.A. (honors English), and a B.Ed. (secondary English education) there. “I’ve been calling St. John’s home since 1999, when I moved from Ontario where I had been working in athletics at Queen’s University and coaching their varsity figure skating team".
“After my little brother got his MBA, I had a nagging urge to go back to school and get my Masters, as well, but it took awhile before I was in the position to even entertain that possibility. I had returned to teaching high school after a ten-year absence, and in the fall of 2003 I finally began my Master’s in Education (Educational Leadership) at Memorial thinking that I would eventually work my way into school administration. However, that plan changed during my 4th term in a course called “teaching and reading popular culture” with Dr. Ursula Kelly. The ideas that she presented there and later in her course on “social and cultural difference in education” profoundly affected the direction of my life. It was then that I began seriously thinking about perusing doctoral studies, and I haven’t looked back since.”
“When I moved to St. John’s I recognized that Memorial was university with a fine reputation and I started thinking about studying here. I have a young family, and I wanted to remain in the province, so being able to pursue a Master’s and a PhD at Memorial was simply icing on the cake. The experience of studying here has been infinitely more rewarding than I could have hoped it would be.”
“Among the several advantages to studying at Memorial, been being able to remain in Newfoundland with my family has been the biggest. I absolutely love it here. The PhD program in the faculty of education is in its infancy, but you would never know it. There is such care and attention given to creating and directing programs which balance theory and practice in a way that will suit the individual students specifically. I anticipate that Memorial will become the university of choice for Education Ph.D. candidates across the country once the word gets out about this exceptional program. The people in the faculty of education have been welcoming, supportive and accommodating. And I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be able to find a better team of scholars than Drs. Ursula Kelly, Clar Doyle and Rosonna Tite anywhere.”
Connie has been awarded the F.A. Aldrich Fellowship, School of Graduate Studies, the Canadian Federation of University Women, St. John’s 60th Anniversary Scholarship, the Women’s Association of Memorial University Doctoral Student Scholarship and has been made a Fellow of Memorial University (MEd).
“My grandmother had been a huge influence and inspiration in my life, and she loved to hear all about the program and about my research. The first thing I had been planning to do once I graduate with my PhD was to take the degree home in order to show her. Sadly, she passed away last week, so I won’t be able to celebrate this with her – at least not in the way I had intended. Once I finish, I would like to teach media pedagogy to teacher-candidates, educational leaders and curriculum developers in this province. Being able to read the messages and images that bombard us every day through the media and being able to understand the impact that media has on our pedagogical practices is critical to existing in a society where our personal and cultural identities are influenced and formed by all that we see and hear. The media’s influence is inescapable, it’s not part of another world – it is our world - and we aren’t doing enough to critically understand it. I would like to help change that.”