Education touches every life.
Many become teachers.
Some become researchers.
And a few are called to lead.
Dr. Marianne A. Larsen brings all of these together.
She is an educator, researcher, author, public leader, and public educator whose work is grounded in the belief that education is a public good. Together these experiences have shaped her as an educational insider who wants to share her knowledge and understanding about education with you!
Educational Insider:
Dr. Marianne A. Larsen is an education insider. She’s worked as a teacher in K-12 schools, as a professor in universities, as a volunteer with local charities, and as a school board trustee and president of the board of an educational foundation she established. She knows how education works. She’s experienced it first hand. And she’s great at explaining how it works with others.
Dr. Larsen welcomes opportunities to contribute through media interviews, speaking engagements, research collaborations, and community dialogue.
Educational Expertise
Through Dr. Larsen’s experiences as an education scholar, teacher/professor, school board trustee and her community volunteer work, she has developed educational expertise that she would love to share with you. Here are the areas of educational expertise (or Media Lanes) she has developed over the course of her career in education:
PRIMARY LANES/AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERTISE
• Education Governance
• Education Policy
• Comparative and International Education
SECONDARY LANES/AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERTISE
• Higher Education Internationalization
• K-12 Education (Global Citizenship Education)
• Teacher Educations and Teaching
Public Engagement
Marianne's work challenges the traditional divide between academic scholarship and public life. While research provides the foundation for her thinking, she believes that knowledge has its greatest value when it contributes to public understanding and informed decision-making. Her career has therefore combined scholarship with direct experience.
Marianne believes that it is the role of a scholar to contribute to democratic society by engaging with the public in ways that are accessible and informed. She has actively contributed to public conversations about education through her keynote speaking engagements, media appearances, podcasts, conference presentations, and conference organizing.
Community Service
Marianne believes that the public good is best served by giving back to the community in which one lives. She currently serves as President of the JL Foundation and has sat on numerous boards for non-profit and charitable organizations. These experiences have provided her with the big picture lens of governance, accountability and policy-making.
Marianne also thrives in front-line, grass-roots settings. Her community work has included tutoring high school students and teaching English to Canadian newcomers. As an ally, she has worked with unhoused individuals and support families living below the poverty line. Her environmental work has included tree planting and cleaning up local parks.
And she has also volunteered abroad with Academics Without Borders on a project in Kenya working with Karatina University to develop their internationalization strategic plan,
Teaching Experience
Marianne's perspective is strengthened by her insider experiences across education systems. She has taught in elementary, secondary, and university classrooms in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
As a classroom teacher, she has specialized in teaching social studies, history, geography, and politics. As a university professor, she has prepared future teachers, taught graduate students, and supervised educational research.
At the heart of her teaching philosophy is the belief that each student is a capable, critical and creative learner, and they must be at the centre of the learning and teaching process.