The Master of Industrial Relations (MIR) program is a twelve month professional degree with a strong practitioner focus. As a result, the teaching requirements and pedagogical approach reflect an applied and practical approach to the subject of labour relations. My original motivation for returning to graduate school and pursuing a Ph.D. in industrial relations was to advance my work and career as a labour educator. During my years as a union staff representative, the most enjoyable aspects of the work included designing and conducting training workshops and leadership development seminars for union members, staff, and elected officers. While I deeply appreciate the strong theoretical foundation in the graduate program at Queen’s, analyzing real-life, complex workplace relations with professionals, practitioners and activists remains central to teaching.
Teaching philosophy
Developing analytic skills is the primary objective in my teaching. Specifically, I believe that analytical abilities are one of the most important core competencies of skilled practitioners, regardless if they are a union representative or labour relations manager. Indeed, advances in the field of industrial relations require that both parties are able to see and understand workplace issues from the other party’s perspective. For assignments and exams, students must draw from the course's core concepts and display an understanding of the theoretical foundations of industrial relations, but they must also show an ability to apply analytically to a real world situation.