Crandall University is pleased to welcome Dr. Cathlene Hillier as the newest member of the Faculty of Education.
Dr. Hillier completed her doctoral studies at the University of Waterloo (Ontario). She also has graduate degrees from OISE/University of Toronto (MEd) and Wilfrid Laurier University (MA). More recently, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Nipissing University, and taught at both Wilfrid Laurier and Waterloo.
Also a former elementary school teacher, Dr. Hillier taught grades three to eight for eight years in both public and private schools in Ontario. With this background in teaching, she is interested in school processes and ways in which schools can be compensatory (or partially compensatory) institutions for disadvantaged students. She is also interested in family-school dynamics and how parents and students engage in schooling.
Her earlier research also examined teachers’ responses to policies on religious inclusion and religious accommodation. Her doctoral research was a mixed-methods study exploring the effect of parent engagement and how lower-SES parents and children engage teachers and schooling processes in developing children’s early literacy skills.
Dr. Hillier hails originally from Windsor, Ontario and has lived throughout Southwestern Ontario. She comes to Moncton with her husband, three children, and an adorable Schnoodle puppy; altogether, they are very excited to embrace life in the Maritimes!
Welcome to Crandall University, Dr. Hillier!