Dr. Donna Chovanec

Assistant Professor

Ph. D.
International/Intercultural Education
University of Alberta
2004

M. Ed.
Adult and Higher Education
University of Alberta
1994

B.S.W.
University of Calgary
1978

Tel: (780) 433-9797
Email: chovanec@ualberta.ca

 

I am a new part time faculty member at Athabasca University and I am very excited to be teaching MDDE 611 this term for the second time.

I spent the previous six months writing my Ph.D. dissertation. My dissertation is entitled Between Hope and Despair: Social and Political Learning in the Women’s Movement in Chile. For this project, I spent nine months in a small city in the north of Chile (Arica) conducting ethnographic research. My findings are mostly based on almost sixty interviews with women between 25 and 78 who had all participated in many aspects of the women’s movement during the years of Chile’s military dictatorship (1973-1989). It was a very challenging and rewarding project. In 1994, I completed my master’s thesis entitled The Experience of Consciousness-raising in Abused Women. For that project, I collaborated with women in the Beverly Drop-In Centre for Abused Women in Edmonton. In both cases, what motivated me was understanding how women learn their way out of victimization and violence to become advocates or oppositional agents.

During my years of graduate work, I was a research assistant for various projects: research on teaching philosophies, planning committee for the 1995 Adult Education Research Conference, assistant to the editors of the adult education textbook Learning for Life, and the Intercultural Education Undergraduate Program Student Advisor.

I am also a part time senior research officer for the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC). I have been at AADAC since 1996, working on a variety of research and information system projects. In the past two years, I have concentrated on the issues faced by women who use substances. This year, I will be conducting a qualitative research project looking at the outcomes of women who have participated in a specialized AADAC program for pregnant women.

Prior to this, I participated in four evaluation projects for Community and Family Services (City of Edmonton) that investigated the processes and outcomes of different services offered by the agency: counselling, services for abused women and their children, and a program for the female partners of violent offenders.

I started my career in social work. After obtaining my B.S.W., I spent 12 years working in pediatric rehabilitation at the Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton, mostly with families of pre-schoolers with development disabilities. My favourite assignment was coordinating an outreach program that made linkages to establish services in the children’s home communities.

I am most interested in research, education, and learning for social change. My interests include social movements, qualitative research, feminist and critical pedagogy, women’s issues.

On a personal note, I have a young daughter, teenage son, and dog at home. Two older daughters live on their own. All my children are bright and talented. I enjoy yoga, picnics, movies, and reading.

Selected Publications

AADAC. (2004). Windows of Opportunity: A statistical profile of substance use among women in their childbearing years in Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Author. (Prepared by: Poole, N., Horne, T., Greaves, L., Chovanec, D. M. & Watkins, M.)

Chovanec, D. M. (2004). Learning power from the margins: Analyzing action and reflection in a social movement. Proceedings of the Joint International Conference of the Adult Education Research Conferenceand the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria.

Chovanec, D. M. & Harvey-Jansen, Z. (2003). Ethnographic fieldwork: Navigating unknown waters. Paper presented at the Fourth International Interdisciplinary Conference, Advances in Qualitative Methods, Banff AB.

Chovanec, D.M. (2000). Latin American Feminism. In L. Code (Ed.) Routledge Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories, 289-291. New York: Routledge.

Chovanec, D. M. (1998). Self-directed learning: Highlighting the contradictions. In S. M. Scott, B. Spencer & A. M. Thomas (Eds.), Learning for life: Canadian readings in adult education, 300-312. Toronto ON: Thompson Educational Publishing.

Chovanec, D. M. (1997). Review of [Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 42 (2), Theme Issue: Education and Development]. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, 2 (1), 121-124.

Chovanec, D. M. (1996). Doing interpretive research in a technocratic age. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Adult Education Research Conference. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida.

Scott, S.M., Deneff, B. & Chovanec, D. M. (August 1996). Self-directed learning in the classroom: Final Report. Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, Excellence in Teaching - Research Project Award.

Boles, B. & Chovanec, D. M. (1995). Out on a Limb: Learnings from the evaluation of a children's program. Paper presented at Evaluation 1995, International Evaluation Conference, Vancouver BC.

Chovanec, D. M., Young, A., Riopel, D. & Fisher, S. (1995). Making connections: Women against violence. Paper presented at Alberta Association of Social Workers Annual Conference, Calgary AB.

Evaluation and Service Development, City of Edmonton, Community and Family Services, Edmonton AB. (1995).

• Generalist Social Work in Action: An Evaluation of the I&FS Counselling Service (D. M. Chovanec & K. Kerr)

• Evaluation of Group Services to Children of Abused Women (B. Boles and D. M. Chovanec)

• Women's Support Program (for female partners of federal parolees)Evaluation (in conjunction with Corrections Services Canada) (D. M. Chovanec)

• Conflict Management Program Evaluation (in conjunction with Youth Services Canada) (D. M. Chovanec and K. Kerr)

• Contributing to interactive learning at EC&FS: A summary of evaluation and service development projects, 1994 -1995 (D. M. Chovanec)

Chovanec, D. M. (1994). Feminist research methods in adult education. Proceedings of the 13th Annual Conference for the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, Vancouver BC: Simon Frazer University. >

Scott, S. M. & Chovanec, D. M. (1994). Critical philosophy-in-action: Power and praxis. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 8 (1), 31- 40.

Chovanec, D. M. (1993). Looking at the woman learner: What can we learn from Women's Studies?. Paper presented at Northwest Adult Education Association, Annual Conference, Saskatoon SK.

Scott, S. M, Chovanec, D. M. & Young, B. (1994). Philosophy-in-action in
university teaching. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 24 (3), 1-25.

Scott, S. M., Chovanec, D. M., Young, B. & Brook, P. (May 1993). Philosophy-in-action in university teaching. Report for University Teaching Services, University of Alberta.

CDE - Last Updated by MK December 03, 2010