Mary Breunig
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Social Justice and Equity Studies | Brock University
St. Catharines, ON, CANADA
Mary Breunig is an expert in experiential education and social justice pedagogy, an educational consultant, and professor
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Biography
Mary Breunig PhD has been involved in outdoor and experiential education with a focus on social and environmental justice for 20 + years. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies and Graduate Program Director of the Social Justice and Equity Studies program, Brock University, Canada. Mary is past-president of the Association for Experiential Education, a research consultant, former Outward Bound instructor, and National Outdoor Leadership School instructor. She is both an outdoor enthusiast and urban flaneur. Visit her website @ marybreunig.com
Industry Expertise (3)
Education/Learning
Professional Training and Coaching
Research
Areas of Expertise (12)
Environmental Education
Experiential Education
Pedagogy
Qualitative Research Methods
Social Justice
Schoolground Greening
Outdoor Education
Outdoor Leadership
Freiran Praxis
Educational Philosophy
John Dewey
Critical pedagogy
Accomplishments (1)
Dr.
Graduate Program Director, Social Justice and Equity Studies and Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock University, Canada. Past-Present, Association for Experiential Education
Education (1)
Canada: PhD in Education
Links (1)
Languages (2)
- English
- French
Media Appearances (1)
Nature deficit disorder and the potential of school-based environmental education
Green Majority radio
A radio interview about my environmental education research
Event Appearances (4)
Experiential Education- Experience it !
University of North Troendelag Levanger, Norway
Canoes and Waterways: Paddling the Canadian landscape
Transcultural European Outdoor Studies Program Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway
(en)Lighten Up? : Humour in the Workplace
Keynote Address for Biennial Meeting of the Burlington, Ontario Parks and Recreation Department
Counterhegemonic Teaching and Leadership as a Form of Social Activism
4th Annual Rebecca L. Carver Institute on Experiential Education Greensboro, North Carolina
Research Grants (3)
“Greening” Niagara’s Schoolyards
Niagara Community Foundation
Designed and installed outdoor classrooms in the Niagara region of Canada
Evaluating the Impact of Integrated Environmental Studies Programs in Ontario on Students’ Environmental Actions, Behaviours, & Professional Pathways
Social Science and Humanities Research Council
The purpose of this multi-site case study is to: 1. analyze the impact of integrated Environmental Studies Program (ESP) participation on student learning about the environment; 2. analyze the impact of ESP participation on students’ attitudes to and relationships with and to the environment and how that relationship informs pro-social and pro-environmental behaviours; and 3. longitudinally examine the impact of ESP participation on students’ environmental attitudes, knowledge, actions, and professional pathways over time.
Sense of Community & Leadership Styles in Outdoor Pursuits Trip Groups
Brock University
A primary purpose of one form of leisure experience – outdoor pursuits programs – is the development of positive interpersonal relationships and group experiences that lead to an enhanced sense of community. The purpose of this ongoing scholarship study is to understand the relationship between university students’ participation in outdoor pursuits trips and changes in their perceptions of sense of community, group cohesion, and sense of place over time. Data collection includes both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Partnerships (1)
Research Consultant
Outward Bound Canada
Outcomes-Based research collaboration funded by the Mcconnell Foundation
Articles (9)
Relationship matters: Duo-narrating a graduate student/supervisor journey
Journal of Education and Training StudiesCo-authored paper
The transformative potential of learning through service while “doing” classroom-based research
The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and LearningPaper based on experiential education course
Students’ experiences with/in integrated Environmental Studies Programs in Ontario.
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor LearningPaper based on environmental education research
Social justice in experiential education: Past, present, and future
Journal of Experiential EducationInvited paper submitted to special issue
Food for thought: An analysis of pro-environmental behaviours and food choices in Ontario environmental studies programs
Canadian Journal of Environmental EducationPaper based on environmental education research and issues of food security
Environmental sustainability and environmental justice: From buzzwords to emancipatory pro-environmental behaviour change
Journal of Sustainability EducationPaper based on environmental education research and behavioral impacts and change
A qualitative exploration of sense of community through reflective journals during wilderness outdoor education curricula
Research in Outdoor EducaitonA paper based on sense of community research
Problematizing critical pedagogy
International Journal of Critical PedagogyA paper based on my critical pedagogy research
Teaching for and about critical pedagogy in the post-secondary classroom
Studies in Social JusticeA paper exploring critical pedagogy praxes
