New journal launched with focus on community-engaged learning in New Brunswick

A research group out of Mount Allison University is launching a new collaborative journal with a spotlight focused on transformational education initiatives in New Brunswick.

The Research Partnerships for Education and Community Engagement (R-PEACE) recently co-released the first issue of Learning Futures, a twice-yearly journal designed to keep the conversation going about educational initiatives in the province.

“Learning Futures is intended to be a place to collect essays, opinion pieces, and reflections about the sustainability and transformation of public education in New Brunswick,” says Fiona Black, one of R-PEACE’s founders and professor of Religious Studies and Community-Engaged Learning at Mount Allison. “Our hope is that this will become a collaborative forum for new ideas and debate and that it might serve as a voice for change in education in our province. It is intended for anyone interested in community education in our province, teachers and professors of course, but also parents, students, and community members.”

Contributors to the journal include provincial educators, academics and researchers, and educational administrators. Black also plans to involve Mount Allison students in future issues through the University’s Community-Engaged Learning program, which was established as both a degree minor and certificate program in 2020.

“This journal is without a doubt unparalleled in its locality, intelligence, and passion for educational transformation. At iHub Learning Inc. we ardently support R-PEACE and the many initiatives that it undertakes for our province and our collective futures,” says Ross Leadbetter, CEO iHub Learning Inc. “We all must take the time to read and think and collaborate if we are to have anything nearing the transformation of education that other highly successful jurisdictions the world over have had by working together, facing the difficulty and fear of change together.”

The online journal is one of many initiatives undertaken by R-PEACE since its establishment in 2018. That year, Mount Allison faculty and students partnered with staff and students at Marshview Middle School to launch Project Engage!. The program saw students from both schools working with teachers and community members on a number of projects, from bird studies, robotics and coding, to creative writing, and the environment. The initiative has continued virtually this year through the University’s Community-Engaged Learning program.

In 2020, Mount Allison University, the Three Nations Education Group and R-PEACE announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will work towards the establishment of the Institute for Transformational Education. The MOU seeks to create a space for partners to plan, develop, and implement strategies to better support education and community-based projects for Indigenous youth from kindergarten to post-secondary across the province.

The Learning Futures journal and additional information on R-PEACE projects and initiatives can be found at: https://www.rpeace.org/learning-futures