2000• Young Woman of Distinction Award

DOLANA MOGADIME

Dolana Mogadime was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and emigrated to Canada with her family in 1970.  Over the past decade Dolana has been producing academic work dedicated to issues of importance to black communities in Toronto.

Her research interests focus on the marginalized experiences of black children and youth in the Canadian school system.  Doing graduate work In the Faculty of Education at York University, Dolana studied the practices of teachers who merge educational policy in the area of antiracist education with classroom pedagogy.  

Her professional knowledge and experience as a trained educator prepared her to work toward a much needed transformation in teacher education, curriculum and pedagogy.

Dolana's MA degree research was an innovative study of the life history of a South African / Canadian teacher (Goodie Tshabalala Mogadime) and how her Zulu roots in apartheid South Africa informed her teaching in multi-racial Canadian schools.

Taking a global perspective on Black feminist research and theoretical writings, Dolana's thesis did much to fill the void in the field of Canadian education, that of the experiences of Black female immigrant teachers.

Now working on her PhD, Dolana also teaches special topics in inclusive education and supervises student teachers internships in schools located in Toronto's culturally diverse communities. 

The focus of her doctoral research is on successful teacher practices and will contribute toward teachers understanding of how to engage the interests of students from culturally diverse backgrounds while providing academically enriched programs of study.

Dolana has published in several international women's journals.