Loving Difference: Embracing Critical Love and Art in Anti-Oppressive Teacher Education

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Published: Oct 14, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/crae.v52i1.2527
Keywords:
Critical love, Artist-in-residence, arts integration, Teacher Education, Anti-Oppressive Education, Emergence, Critical Practitioner Inquiry

Main Article Content

Kristen Schaffer
Mount Royal University
Kodie Rollan
Chromatic Theatre
Daniela Quintero
Mount Royal University
Reggie San Jose
Mount Royal University

Abstract

We share findings from a critical practitioner inquiry into a new arts-integrated anti-oppressive education course in a teacher certification program. The course responds to pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) desire for more learning opportunities around equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Co-designed and co-taught by an arts educator and artist-in-residence with two student participant research assistants, the course foregrounded themes of critical love, unsettling “cancel culture,” and emergence. We focus our inquiry on the instructors’ practices, reflexively storying joyful moments, creative tensions, missteps, and emergent insights experienced throughout the course.

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How to Cite
Schaffer, K., Rollan, K., Quintero, D., & San Jose, R. (2026). Loving Difference: Embracing Critical Love and Art in Anti-Oppressive Teacher Education. The Canadian Review of Art Education, 52(1), 98–114. https://doi.org/10.26443/crae.v52i1.2527
Issue
Vol. 52 No. 1 (2026): Reconnections: Art, Education, and Inclusive Futures
Section
Articles
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Author Biographies

Kristen Schaffer, Mount Royal University

Kristen Schaffer is a White, non-Indigenous scholar from Silver Spring, Maryland, who teaches and researches as a settler in Alberta’s Treaty 7 region. An assistant professor at Mount Royal University, she is moved by relational and Fluxus traditions, Allan Kaprow’s happenings, and her community-based work in informal education. Her research includes asset-based approaches, critical pedagogies, love and desire in education, and transdisciplinarity.

Kodie Rollan, Chromatic Theatre

Kodie Rollan is a Philippine-born, Scarborough-raised, Mohkinstsis (Calgary)-based playwright, Kodie Rollan is a Philippine-born Canadian playwright, dramaturg, lyricist, arts leader, and producer. Raised in Scarborough and based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary), he supports marginalized communities as the Artistic Director of Chromatic Theatre and aims to create spaces for shared storytelling and arts equity within the nonprofit sector. His work explores justice within racialized bodies and more abolitionist futures, and he teaches drama at the postsecondary level.. 

Daniela Quintero, Mount Royal University

Daniela Quintero is a Venezuelan-Canadian and loving mother of two sons. With a background in sociology and early childhood education, she advocates for children’s right to play and learn on the land. She is passionate about breaking barriers student mothers experience in postsecondary education and exploring how institutions can create family policies that honour the roles and responsibilities mothers juggle to reach their destination.

Reggie San Jose, Mount Royal University

Reginald San Jose is a Philippine-born Canadian graduate of Mount Royal University who is approaching his first year of teaching Grades 7 and 8 English language arts. His interests include critical reflection, cultural humility, land-based learning, and interdisciplinary approaches. Reginald is committed to supporting learners of English as an additional language and honing his skills as a caring and inclusive educator.

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