Professor Susan Rodger

Counselling Psychology

My research focus is on the person – the learner. I want to create a contextual picture of how who we are as people influences who we are as learners. Everybody arrives in the classroom as individuals, so treating them all similarly doesn`t serve the learner or education.

The research I do is grounded in feminist approaches, social justice and participation. We`ve had great success with funding and are now seeking to expand on our work to examine the influence of culture, language and violence on women`s experiences in the classroom.

The Bridges project is a SSHRC funded project aimed at encouraging women to continue in their education using a strength based approach http://www.edu.uwo.ca/Bridges

We are proud of the 'Sharing the Flame' award given by the Canadian Council for Learning –
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Newsroom/PracticallySpeaking/20080229BridgesProgram.htm

Selected Publications:

• Rodger, S. , Murray, H. G., Cummings, A. L. (2007). Teacher clarity and student anxiety: An
aptitude-treatment interaction experiment. Teaching in Higher Education, 12 (1), 91-104.
• Rodger, S., Murray, H. G., Cummings, A. L. (2007) Gender differences in cooperative learning with university students. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53(2).
• Dowling, K. B., Rodger, S. Cummings, A. L. (2007).Exploring attitudes of future educators about sexual minority youth. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53 (2).
• Rodger, S., Cummings, A., Leschied, A. (2006). Who is caring for our most vulnerable children? The motivation to foster in child welfare. Child Abuse Neglect: An International Journal, 30, 1129-1142.