Michael Kehler

Dr. Michael Kehler, PhD

Pronouns: He/Him

Positions

Professor

Werklund School of Education, Specialization, Curriculum and Learning

Contact information

Email

michael.kehler@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Masculinities Studies in Education

Phone number

Office: 403.210.8590

Location

Office: EDT704

Background

Educational Background

PhD. Teacher Education, Michigan State University, 2000

MEd Educational Studies (Curriculum), University of Western Ontario, 1992

BEd. , Queen's University, 1985

BA. Honours Sociology, Queen's University, 1984

Biography

Originally from Kingston, Ontario, Dr. Kehler completed his undergraduate degrees (BA. Honours, BEd.) at Queen's University. Following years of teaching high school English within Canada and abroad, Dr. Kehler pursued his PhD from Michigan State University. He taught at the Faculty of Education and Women's Studies at Western University, London, Ontario for 17 years before accepting the position as a Research Professor in Masculinities' Studies in Education at the University of Calgary, Werklund School of Education.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Dr. Kehler collaborates internationally and has recently developed a network of research between Canada, the UK, and Australia. He provides consultation and expertise in the area of equity, gender, homophobia, and sex education with a particular focus on addressing masculinities in education. He has been working actively addressing issues including: The Prevention of Violence Against Women (Western University Programming); Boys and body image-Thunder Bay District Health Unit; Big Brothers, Big Sisters Association-Working Group.

Research

Areas of Research

Masculinities Studies

Dr. Kehler’s research addresses the intersection of gender and education more broadly and specifically explores masculinities, schooling, literacies, men as change agents, counter sexist politics, body image, health education, bullying, homophobia and team sport. His ongoing research centres on the ways boys and men navigate school spaces and learn what it means to be a man. Largely drawing on masculinities scholarship and feminist research, Dr. Kehler has contributed to the field of study in education by challenging more static and linear arguments that conflate gender and sex. His research questions normative masculinity and the power, privilege and positioning of men within and beyond school settings. He contributes regularly to CBC, CTV, and local, as well as international, media outlets. He has co-edited several books, has numerous book chapters, in addition to publishing widely internationally in journals including: the McGill Journal of Education; Boyhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal; International Journal of Men’s Health, Culture, Society and Masculinities; The Canadian Journal of Education; Thymos: Boyhood Studies; and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

Interests:
  • Masculinities
  • Gender studies
  • Body, weight and appearance
  • Qualitative research
  • Critical youth studies
  • Critical pedagogy
  • Literacy
  • Body image

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
EDER 608 Research Methods in Education Fall 2021
EDUC 450 Diversity in Education Winter 2020
EDER684/787 Critical Pedagogy - Contemporary Themes Winter 2020
EDUC 450 Diversity in Education Winter 2019
EDUC 450 Diversity in Education Winter 2018
EDER 684/787 Critical Pedagogy - Contemporary Themes Fall 2018

Projects

Current: Ongoing Funded Research Projects
  • School spaces, school places: Shifting masculinities during the COVID-19 pandemic, SSHRC-PEG, 2021, 23.375$
  • Schooling masculinities in teacher education: Disruptive practices, transformative pedagogies in gender and education, 2021, SOTL funded, 19.250$
  • Learning and Leading for Equity Knowledge Network-KNAER 2017-2020
  • Moving forward: Schooled bodies, identities, sexting and the curriculum that frames us, SSHRC

Awards

  • Partnership Engage Grant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). 2021
  • Visiting Professor, University of Firenze - Department of Pedagogy, Languages, and Curriculum. 2021
  • Federal Government of Canada Grant, #MeToo: Moving Forward Conference - Reykjavik, Iceland. 2019
  • Queen's University Top 50 Influential Alumni in 50 Years, Queen's University. 2019
  • Teaching Excellence Award, University of Western Ontario. 2016
  • Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, University of Western Ontario. 2014
  • Travel Research Grant, University of Western Ontario. 2014

Publications

  • Examining Boys, Bodies and PE Locker Room Spaces.. Kehler, M.. Oxford University Press. 196-206. (2018)
  • “Holy gendered resource, Batman!”: Examining the broader application of comics and superhero fiction beyond their restrictive relationship with boys and struggling or disinterested readers. Cassidy, J., & Kehler, M.. Taylor & Francis. 79-92. (2018)
  • Behind locker room doors: Knowing why some boys “stay away from each other”. Kehler, M.. Open University Press. 155-168. (2016)
  • Examining boys, bodies and PE locker room spaces: “I don’t’ ever set foot in that locker room”. Kehler, M.. Rutgers University Press. 202-220. (2016)
  • When boys talk about their bodies: How boys learn “that persons useless”. Kehler, M.. Rowan & Littlefield Publishers. 55-69. (2014)
  • Examining the (em)bodied boundaries of high school locker rooms. Kehler, M., & Atkinson, M.. Palgrave Macmillan. 112-130. (2013)
  • Who will “save the boys”?: (Re)examining a panic for underachieving boys. Kehler, M.. Taylor & Francis. 121-130. (2012)
  • A close shave with masculinity. Kehler, M.. Boy culture: An encyclopedia. (2010)
  • Boy culture: An encyclopedia. Steinberg, S., Kehler, M., & Cornish, L.. Greenwood Press. (2010)
  • Boys, gyms, locker rooms and heterotopias. . Atkinson, M., & Kehler, M.. Peter Lang. 67-84. (2010)
  • Boys’ bodies: Speaking the unspoken. Kehler, M., & Atkinson, M.. Peter Lang. (2010)
  • Grunge fashion. Kehler, M.. Boy culture: An encyclopedia. (2010)
  • From boys to blue jeans. Kehler, M.. Boy culture: An encyclopedia. (2010)
  • Introduction: Why boy culture? . Kehler, M.. Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia. xiii-xxii. (2010)
  • Negotiating masculinities in PE classrooms: Boys, body image and ―want[ing] to be in good shape. Kehler, M.. Peter Lang. 143-165. (2010)
  • Television: An image of boys. Kehler, M.. Boy culture: An encyclopedia. (2010)
  • Boys, friendships and knowing “It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume I am gay”. Kehler, M.. Routledge Press. 198-223. (2009)
  • The problem with boys’ education: beyond the backlash. Martino, W., Kehler, M., & Weaver-Hightower, M.. Routledge Press. (2009)
  • The read and mis-read bodies of boys: masculinities and critical social literacy practices. Kehler, M.. Canada Scholars Press. (2008)
  • High school masculinities: Unheard voices among “the boys”. Kelher, M.. Althouse Press. (2007)
  • Men, masculinities and ethnography. Kehler, M., & Green, C.. International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities. 178-181. (2007)
  • The Literate selves: Reading or misreading the textuality of high school boys. Kehler, M., & Greig, C.. The Eleventh International Literacy and Educational Research Network Conference on Learning. (2004)
  • Boys and masculinities: Negotiating the contradictions and tensions of the practice of masculinities in schooling. Kehler, M., & Frank, B.. Hawaii International Conference on Education. (2003)
  • Masculinity, Violence, and Privilege: An examination of ongoing challenges within hockey and sport culture. Prepared and submitted to the National Hockey League. Kehler, M., Fowler, T., & Borduas, C.. (2020)
  • Body building or building bodies: Improving male body image through health and physical education. Kehler, M., & Chaudhry, U.. What Works? Research Into Practice - The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. (2018)
  • Locker room-low-down: Symposium is a launch-pad for addressing boys’ body image. Kehler, M.. CIHR Intersection-Newsletter. 14. (2011)
  • .) World Cup 2022: Men’s soccer must stop silencing activism and allyship. . Knott-Fayle, Gabriel & Michael Kehler . The Conversation. (2022)
  • Hockey Canada Sexual Assaults Scandal Highlights Toxic Masculinity. . The Conversation. (2022)

In the News

Podcasts and Webinars