People

Renira Vellos

I am a Master’s student in the HDLC program at UBC. My areas of interest include early school leaving, kids in high-risk environments, and play as mediation and engagement. I believe that discourse is the key to understanding human behavior across culture, age, and social and economic levels. It is my hope that conducting research that focuses on how individuals, especially early school leavers, experience their environment can help us to find ways to reengage them in school and society as a whole.

My work with LEAP has allowed me to look at dropout rates in the United States and Australia, and I have realized that “dropout” is more a matter of social and economic needs than it is of individual choice. It has also made me aware of options available for persons who decide that the school system, in its present state, is not for them. I have also been involved in evaluating pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their needs as they enter into present day classrooms.

Jennifer Vadeboncoeur

I am an Associate Professor in Human Development, Learning and Culture in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education. I am interested in the intersection of two fields of research:

1. research with young people who leave school prior to graduation and the lessons that we can learn from their experiences
2. research on teacher education and teacher education reform that engages preservice teachers in knowledge building in contextually relevant ways.