2 Personnel and Structure
The Inclusive Education Research Lab is led by a Lab Director and supported by a Lab Manager. It includes a team of graduate and undergraduate student researchers along with collaborators both internal and external to Brock University. Learn more about our projects by visiting the Research page on our Lab website.
Lab Director
Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani is the Vice Provost, Teaching and Learning at Brock University, where he holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Educational Studies and Psychology and is affiliated with the Social Justice Research Institute and the Social Justice and Equity Studies MA program. The architect of Canada’s first zero textbook cost degree programs, his scholarship focuses on open educational practices, student-centered pedagogies, and ethical approaches to educational technology. His publications include peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, three open textbooks in Psychology, and two co-edited volumes, Open: The Philosophy and Practices that are Revolutionizing Education and Science and Open at the Margins: Critical Perspectives on Open Education. Dr. Jhangiani serves on the Board of Directors of Open Education Global and on the British Columbia Ethical Educational Technologies Working Group.
The duties of the Lab Director include:
- Research Leadership: Developing the lab’s research agenda, grant writing, overseeing all research projects
- Research Oversight: Ensuring adherence to institutional, ethical, and legal regulations, standards, and protocols
- Team Management: Supervising the team, fostering collaboration, supporting conflict resolution
- Financial Management: Budget oversight and resource allocation
- Dissemination of Research: Publishing findings, presenting work, engaging with the public
- Mentorship: Coaching and providing career guidance and professional development opportunities for lab members
- Academic Supervision: Guiding and formally evaluating the work of students working with the lab via independent study courses, research apprenticeships, Match of Minds grants, etc.
Lab Manager
Oya Pakkal is a PhD student in Brock University’s Psychology Department and a graduate student member of the Inclusive Education Research Lab. She received her Honours BA in Cognitive Science of Language and Honours BSc in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University, and her MA in Psychology at Brock University. Oya’s research primarily focuses on the intersection of social power, emotional dynamics, and cognitive processes, exploring how one’s position in the social hierarchy influences their emotional experiences, perceptions of self and others, and behavior in different contexts. She is particularly drawn to studying how subjective social status and negative status-relevant experiences such as social exclusion, victimization, and microaggressions impact self-concept, social identity, as well as their learning experiences such as sense of belonging. She believes that understanding the impact of social power and emotional dynamics on learning experiences is crucial for creating equitable educational environments that provide all students with equal opportunities to succeed. As a 2023-2024 Open Education Research Fellow, Oya actively contributes to projects involving Open Educational Resources (OER) and advocates for inclusive education.
The duties of the Lab Manager include:
- Project Management: Ensuring that research projects advance as planned and providing the Lab Director with regular progress reports
- Research Support: Drafting components of REB and grant applications, keeping abreast of reporting deadlines, creating and managing lab projects in the Open Science Framework (including pre-registration of hypotheses)
- Supervision: Providing directions, feedback, and mentorship to undergraduate student researchers
- Administrative Support Requests: Liaising with the Office of the Vice Provost as needed for necessary administrative supports
- Website Updates: Keeping the lab website up to date, including with details concerning projects and personnel
Graduate Student Researchers
Doctoral and Masters student researchers work in collaboration with the Lab Director and with the support of the Lab Manager to envision, design, conduct, analyze, and disseminate the findings of research projects.
Undergraduate Student Researchers
Undergraduate student researchers work directly with the Lab Manager and/or graduate student researchers and under the indirect supervision of the Lab Director to support specific tasks associated with research projects. This may include tasks associated with literature reviews, citation management, participant recruitment, data collection, and data analyses, in addition to contributing to research project discussions and at lab meetings.
Collaborators
Collaborators may include faculty or staff at Brock University or external colleagues. Typically, collaborators are attached to one or more research projects and so are also part of the associated project teams.
Administrative Support
Limited administrative support is provided to the lab by the Office of the Vice Provost, Teaching and Learning. This includes assistance with processing contracts, procurement, printing, room bookings, and expense reimbursements.