In her Educational Psychology PhD dissertation, What is Social Justice? Implications for the Field of Education, Dr. Erin Thrift sought to make sense of frequent and often vague references to “social justice.” Her research linked historic political events and shifts in sociopolitical thought to contemporary divergent views of, and confusion about, social justice.

Thrift’s SSHRC-funded research focused on the meaning and practices of social justice in education to help educational practitioners defend its place in educational settings and address challenges to competing conceptions of social justice

Further testament to the value of Dr. Thrift’s work is her work is published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at several academic national and international conferences.

Thrift’s supervisor, Dr. Jeff Sugarman has nothing but praise for her academic work. “Her oral defense was an event marked as among the most intense and vigorous intellectual examinations of a student’s ideas I have witnessed over my career as a university professor. I thought Erin acquitted herself most admirably.”

“I have had a wonderful experience studying at SFU and am grateful and honoured to receive this award. I am indebted to my committee, and especially my supervisor, who supported my dissertation question and research, even though a conceptual history of social justice is not a traditional topic in Educational Psychology”, says Thrift

Dr. Thrift works as a Lecturer in Counselling Psychology at SFU.