1.11 "God love your cotton socks: Public education in Newfoundland & Labrador" with Dr. Joelle Rodway

In our eleventh episode of Public Good, Shannon and Stephen are joined by Dr. Joelle Rodway Dr. Joelle Rodway is an assistant professor in Educational Leadership at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her primary research interests focus on the role of social capital in educational change in K-12 contexts. Specifically, she examines the ways educators’ social networks mediate the ways in which they develop, understand, and implement educational policy and how these processes affect school improvement outcomes. In this episode Dr. Rodway speaks about the specific political and historical context of Newfoundland & Labrador, and the way this context has impacted public education, public attitudes, and public education advocacy. In particular, Dr. Rodway speaks about the way scarcity in the province has impacted the response to marketization and privatization in/of schools. Dr. Rodway outlines the moves to centralize public education. Stephen & Shannon also ask Dr. Rodway about the government's recommendations for education, and the response of the N & L Teachers' Association. Although the goal of Public Good is to reveal the parallels between provinces in the fight for public education, Dr. Rodway reminds us that the rich histories of each province can result in distinct experiences and responses.