Our Work
Our work in policy research and design is informed by thinking about policy networks and assemblages. In our work we are intrigued by how policies come together through the ways different levels and sectors of actors engage in policy work.
Our Team
Our team includes scholars, PhD and Masters students, and collaborative research partners. We share an interest in critical policy studies. Each of our team members has their own expertise related to areas within the broader realm of education policy, such as multi-scalar policy, critical university studies, digital education platforms, critical internationalization studies, decolonization of education policy, and early years education and policy. We have unique personal and professional backgrounds and we invite you to know more about us through each of our researcher profiles.
Mara De Giusti Bordignon
Mara De Giusti Bordignon is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, Field of Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies (CPELS), at Western University, under the supervision of Dr. Melody Viczko. Her research focus is on open education and policy within the Canadian postsecondary context. Mara was born in Northern Italy and is of Friulano descent. She immigrated to Canada as a child and grew up in York region. She attended York University for an undergraduate science degree in Environmental Studies and then gained a graduate masters degree in Information Studies from the University of Toronto. She has worked in various support, administrative, and faculty librarian positions in public, corporate, college, and university libraries in Ontario and the Middle East. In her lengthy career as an academic librarian, Mara specialized in teaching information and digital literacy. She developed an interest in academic scholarship and open access, especially around issues of ownership, rights, and equity. For Mara, life is nothing if not an adventure, so she decided to push herself out of her comfort zone to currently pursue her research interests. Mara has two grown children who are also in university and lives on a country property in Tottenham with her husband and a small flock of heritage chickens.
Publications & Links
Rajender Singh
Rajender Singh is a PhD candidate studying critical studies of education technology at Western University. Specifically, his research investigates the novel strategies used by tech companies to enter and dominate the global education market while simultaneously positioning themselves as neutral and altruistic players. His other research involvements include platformization of education during COVID-19 pandemic, internet-based research methods, household experiences of education exclusion in Global south, and understanding pedagogy through teacher perspectives. Rajender earned an undergraduate degree in engineering and a practice-based MA in education from TISS Mumbai. He has 10+ years of professional background working in elementary education, EdTech management, software industry, and non-governmental sectors.
Publications & Links
Dr. Renata Matsumoto
Dr. Renata Matsumoto currently works as a Post-Graduate Research Assistant at Western University. Renata holds a PhD in Education in the field of Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies from Western University. Her research interests include policy, international education, higher education, immigration, and crises. As a Research Assistant, she has collaborated on multiple research projects with Dr. Melody Viczko since 2021, including a current research study on global migration and climate crises. In addition to her role as a Research Assistant, she currently works as an English as a Second Language Instructor at the Thames Valley District School Board. She also has experience as a Sessional Lecturer and has taught courses in the Teacher Education Program of the Faculty of Education at Western University.
Publications & Links
Sarah Sullivan
Sarah Sullivan (she/her) is a PhD student in the field of Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies in the Faculty of Education at Western University. Working under the supervision of Dr. Melody Viczko, Sarah’s doctoral research focuses on the impacts of Federal research securitization policies on STEM researchers working in Canadian universities.
Sarah completed her Master’s degree at the University of Toronto in Higher Education Leadership and completed her Bachelor of Arts at McMaster University in Anthropology with additional coursework completed in Labour Studies. Sarah has 12+ years of professional experience working in higher education administration. She’s very eager to merge her career experience and research interests through the shift from practitioner to scholar.