Effective teaching nurtures students’ capacity for critical engagement in a diverse society and inspires them to work towards collective liberation and communal care. My career includes over a decade of secondary teaching at the Toronto District School Board and undergraduate teaching at the University of Toronto and York University.
I currently teach in the department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, in the Educational Leadership & Policy Program at OISE, University of Toronto. My courses focus on critical approaches to theory and method, enacting policy in schools, and critical approaches to education technology. Students in the program share a broad range of experience, local and international, from diverse professional and personal backgrounds.
Graduate students I supervise study many topics (often in K-12) from teacher leadership and discipline, restorative and transformative justice in schools; Black and Indigenous education, to assistive technology and Generative AI in schools. Often, projects are critically focused, aiming to change the social and structural conditions they are studying.
My supervision interests are grounded in my professional experience as a secondary school teacher and in my current research on surveillance technology and online education. While I value work on online teaching practice, pedagogy, and program delivery, my focus is on the political economy of online education—examining power, markets, governance, and inequity in digital learning environments. This is what I mean when I describe my approach as critical.
Students who are interested in working with me are encouraged to email me directly at beyhan.farhadi@utoronto.ca and follow up 2-3 weeks later if there isn’t a response (it doesn’t happen often, but I’m human!). Please note that I am unable to supervise all students who express interest, even when there is alignment. I am also unable to commit to supervision in advance of the application deadline.
Due to the volume of requests, I cannot meet with every student who reaches out, but I do try to offer a brief conversation (15–20 minutes) when my schedule permits. Please feel free to ask—especially if you have experienced barriers to accessing the system—but do not take it personally if I am unable to meet. A meeting is not required for you to list a faculty member in your application, and I often encourage students to list more than one potential supervisor who could support their work.
It is important to me to help demystify the university, which can pose real barriers to many students. In line with my values and politics, I intentionally make space for students who have been historically excluded from higher education, including disabled students; queer and trans students; Black, Indigenous, and racialized students; and students impacted by economic injustice and poverty. Systems of oppression often shape our sense of belonging and entitlement to public institutions like universities. I encourage prospective students to let faculty say “no” rather than deciding on our behalf. In other words: if you’re unsure, ask anyway
My approach and perspective is grounded in my lived experience as a queer and racialized cis woman, raised in a Muslim household by a disabled, single parent in poverty. I share this because my history shapes my commitments, and those commitments matter to some prospective students—particularly those untrusting of institutions. Naming my social locations is an act of responsibility and solidarity. I also recognize my access to social mobility (across poverty, working class, and professional class positions) in a colonized, English-speaking country confers institutional privilege, alongside the security and legitimacy of my role within the university. My aim is to dismantle, to the extent possible, structural barriers so that students can maintain their integrity and thrive relative to the uneven conditions they navigate.
“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision – then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
― Audre Lorde