Emma Harden-Wolfson

Teaching

Courses taught at McGill University
Courses taught at University of Toronto
Keynote speeches and guest lectures
Teaching expertise and teaching philosophy

Courses taught at McGill University

In 2023/24, I’m teaching the following graduate courses:

  • Introduction to Higher Education Leadership and Policy (EDEM 677)
    • This is a new course for McGill and the Faculty of Education’s first higher ed specific offering! It’s so new that there isn’t a webpage listing for it yet, but here’s the overview: Explores higher education leadership and policy as part of education and broader policy processes. Examines higher education leadership and policy at different levels including Quebec, Canada and internationally. Develops students’ professional skills in policy analysis and applies learning to the design of policy solutions that aim to improve equity in higher education.
  • Policy Studies in Education (EDEM 695)
    • Focuses on issues in the field of policy studies with specific reference to the formulation, analysis, and assessment of educational policies. Particular focus on strategic policy implementation, analysis of unintended policy consequences and responsive policy-making.
  • Educational Leadership Issues (EDEM 606)
    • Focuses on the critical analysis and appraisal of leadership issues across geographic, linguistic, racial, gender and cultural contexts from a comparative perspective. Students will analyze their own experience. This is a co-constructed course designed to speak specifically to students’ realities and address areas of learning identified by the practitioner-learners in the class.

In 2024/25, I’ll be teaching these graduate courses:

Courses taught at University of Toronto and guest lectures

Systems of Higher Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Winter 2022 & Winter 2023 (Instructor)

  • Graduate course, ~25 students, in-person.
  • Course description: This course examines higher education systems in Canada and around the world. During the course, students explore how different jurisdictions define, organize, and provide higher education. The course describes and analyzes features of higher education systems as well as topical issues relating to higher education systems and the societies in which they operate. Students also investigate how higher education systems change through policy reform and broader societal shifts.

Introduction to International Development Studies, Centre for Critical Development Studies, University of Toronto, Summer 2020 (Instructor); Fall 2018 & Fall 2019 (Teaching Assistant)

  • Undergraduate course, 100 students, online.
  • Course description: History, theory, practice and key actors of international development; current approaches and debates in international development studies. Covers key development issues and the academic discourses that surround them.

International Academic Relations, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Fall 2017 (Teaching Assistant)

  • Graduate course, ~20 students, in-person.
  • Course description: International relations; examination of higher education’s role and responsibilities in an international arena. Critical challenges to accepted views of knowledge. Academic freedom in a global context.

Comparative Education: Theory & Methodology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Fall 2016 (Teaching Assistant)

  • Graduate course, ~25 students, in-person.
  • Course description: An overview of the evolution of comparative education as a field of study. Central themes of the course are the purpose of comparative education, the impact of diverse views of social change, and the idea of scientific method.

Keynote speeches and guest lectures

I give keynote speeches and invited presentations on topical higher education issues to academic, policy and practitioner audiences around the world. I’m an engaging public speaker with expertise in higher education backed up by over 20 years working in the field across four continents.

Recent speaking engagements include:

  • Harnessing the era of artificial intelligence in higher education – Brazil
  • Internationalization and regionalization of higher education – Uzbekistan
  • The futures of higher education – Kazakhstan
  • The future of international cooperation in higher education – Norway

I regularly give guest lectures about my research for public universities and colleges in Canada and beyond, and enjoy the opportunity to engage with students and professors.

Teaching expertise and philosophy

My areas of teaching expertise include:

  • Higher education systems
  • Comparative and international (higher) education
  • Education policy
  • International development
  • Organizational, institutional and societal change
  • Politics of higher education
  • Qualitative research methods

In my teaching and mentoring, I have been able to put into practice my longstanding commitment to sharing knowledge about education policy, in doing so connecting theory and practice and innovating to improve students’ experiences. I put students at the centre, supporting them to build their own bridges between their lived experiences, the course material, and the real world application of their learning. I use active learning processes that encompass opportunities for reflection and developing self-awareness. Student feedback on my teaching has been consistently positive.

I have developed my skills as a coach and mentor over the past 15 years, working particularly with women and with international students. I frequently mentor students and colleagues on research projects, publications, and conference presentations.

In my previous career, my commitment to professional development led me to co-author the first UK book on careers in higher education administration with two colleagues. The book, Managing your career in higher education administration, was designated a Book of the Year in 2014 by the Times Higher Education (UK) and the Chair of professional body the Association of University Administrators called it “the go-to text for anyone working in or thinking about working in higher education administration”.