Sara Carpenter, PhD, MA

About

I came to the University of Alberta following four years of teaching at the University of Toronto. Prior to teaching at UofT, I received my doctoral degree in Adult Education and Community Development (2011, OISE/University of Toronto) and a master's degree in Community Education (2005, University of Minnesota). I have worked as an adult educator in both community organizations and higher education and my research interests are informed by my work with refugee and migrant populations as well as feminist, anti-poverty, and immigrant rights campaigns. 

Research

As a critical education scholar, I consider my work to involve two inner-related lines of inquiry. In one respect, I work with a wonderful group of feminist collaborators to develop the line of Marxist feminist theoretical analysis of education, learning, and social change. In another regard, my training in institutional ethnography leads me to 'study up' into institutions, examining organizational processes in order to better understand the reproduction of capitalist social relations. My research interests include:

• Marxist Feminist theories of state, civil society, democracy, and social reproduction
• Young adults, precarity, and social crisis
• Politics of not-for-profit sector, civil society, and NGOs
• Reproductive labor in not-for-profit sector
• Capitalism, neoliberalism, and imperialism
• Marxist and feminist critical pedagogies and popular education

Current Research Projects

1. The Edmonton Literacy Coalition: Developing a Justice-Based Approach to Foundational Adult Education (SSHRC Partnership Development 2025-2029)

2. Postsecondary Education as Prerequisite: Understanding University Access and Bridging Initiatives for Adult & Non-Traditional Learners (SSHRC Insight 2018-2024) 

3. Youth in Transition: War, Migration, and 'Regenerative Possibilities' (SSHRC Insight 2015-2022)

Manuscripts:

2022, Marxism & Migration. G. Ritchie, S. Carpenter, & S. Mojab (Eds). Palgrave.

2021, The Ideology of Civil Engagement. SUNY Press.

2017, Revolutionary Learning: Marxism, Feminism, & Knowledge. with S. Mojab. Pluto Press.

2017, Youth in/as Crisis: Young People, Public Policy, and the Politics of Learning. S. Carpenter & S. Mojab (Eds). Sense.

2011, Educating from Marx: Race, Gender, and Learning, S. Carpenter & S. Mojab (Eds). Palgrave

Teaching

I teach a variety of courses in Adult, Community, and Higher Education, including foundations, social movement learning, popular education, and learning and work. I also teach graduate courses in research methodology and contribute to our undergraduate program through teaching and learning about the sociology of public schooling. A large portion of my graduate teaching takes place through thesis supervision and mentorship. I work with students with whom I share subject area, theoretical, or methodological interests. Thus, my students work on a wide range of projects from critical theoretical orientations, including access to education, transformation of cultural institutions, migration justice work, and feminist institutional analysis. 

EDPS 506 - Individual Directed Reading and Research in Educational Policy Studies

Students will develop and complete an individual study plan under the guidance of an instructor. Prerequisite: consent of the program.

EDPS 545 - Learning and Work

This course will focus on critical analysis of theories, trends, policies, and issues related to informal and formal learning of adults in, for, and through the experiences of labor and work. Topics include critical analysis of theories of labor, human capital, and workplaces, with special focus on experiences of race, gender, and class.

EDPS 578 - Learning through Struggle: Social Movements, Resistance, and Popular Education

This course deals with historical and contemporary theories and practices of adult education as it is practiced in social movements and social action both locally and internationally. The study of the pedagogical dimension includes theories of experiential learning and emphasizes the role of popular education and theories of conscientization in diverse social movements.

EDPS 681 - Research Frameworks and Qualitative Methodologies

This course explores the philosophical/epistemological underpinnings of selected research frameworks as well as relevant qualitative methodologies within the specializations in Educational Policy Studies. Students may receive credit for only one of EDAL 611, EDPS 611 and EDPS 681.

EDU 100 - Contexts of Education

This course focuses on the diverse contexts of professional practice within education. It critically examines the complex social relationships among educators as professionals and learners as participants in educational institutions. Students will learn about the relationships between education and practice that are nested in social relations of learning and impacted by economic, political, and cultural factors. This course may not be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained in EDU 300 or equivalent.

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