Mariel Gómez is a PhD candidate in the Human Development and Learning program in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education. The main focus of her work is the improvement of early childhood and primary teachers’ education. She is interested in exploring pre-service and in-service teachers’ education practices that have the power to prepare teachers for supporting children’s learning in areas that are critical to their development. Those areas include the role of play for preschool children, conceptual and emotional development in primary grades, and development of oral and written language in preschool and elementary school. Her approach to teachers’ education is theoretically informed by the work of Lev Vygotsky on mediation, Martin Buber on encounter, and Nel Noddings on ethics of care.
Mariel has an MA in Early Childhood Education from the University of British Columbia and a BA in Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She has professional experience in clinical and educational psychology as well as in research related to the education of young children.
Supervisor: Dr. Laurie Ford (ECPS)
Committee: Dr. Margot Filipenko (LLED) and Barbara Weber (ISGP)
