Steve Sider

I am currently Principal Investigator on two SSHRC-funded studies examining how school principals support students with special education needs in their schools. I am also involved in two other major SSHRC-funded studies examining inclusive education in Canada and Ghana. Please see my research site for more information on these projects.

My research interests include inclusion and school leadership in international contexts. I travel regularly to Haiti, Ghana, and Egypt where I am involved in school leadership capacity-building. Recent research studies have been published in Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, Journal of Research on Leadership Education, International Studies in Educational Administration, Comparative and International Education, Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, Journal of Teaching and Learning, and Planning and Changing.

• Donald F. Morgenson Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence in Internationalization (2019).

• Wilfrid Laurier University Residence Academic Partnership Award (2015).

• Wilfrid Laurier University Merit Award (2019, 2015, 2014, 2013).

I have research assistantship opportunities available for undergraduate and graduate students interested in special education, school leadership, and comparative education.

I am willing to supervise graduate students in the areas of special education, school leadership, and comparative education.

• FitzGerald, C., MacCormack, J. & Sider, S. (2022). Perspectives of school leaders on supporting learners with special education needs during the COVID-19 pandemic: An ethic of care analysis. Journal of School Leadership. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10526846221133997
• Sider, S., Beck, K., Eizadirad, A., & Morvan, J. (2022). Canadian perspectives: Performative commitments on equity, diversity, and inclusion by educational institutions. Global Comparative Education Journal, 6(1), 15-28. https://www.theworldcouncil.net/uploads/8/6/2/1/86214440/final_gcejournal-wcces_vol6-no.1-sep.2022.pdf 
• Anderson, D., MacCormack, J., & Sider, S. (2022). “I have learned so many things out of this pandemic”: Exploring school principals’ experiences as a way to reimagine education. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 200, 37-48. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjeap/article/view/73798
• MacCormack, J., FitzGerald, C., Whitley, J., & Sider, S. (2022). How principals and parents made sense of home-school collaboration for students with SEN during emergency remote teaching in Canada. Leadership and Policy in Schools. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2022.2081217 
• Sider, S., Maich, K., Morvan, J., Villella, M., Ling, P., & Repp, C. (2021). Inclusive school leadership: Examining the experiences of school principals in supporting students with special education needs. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 21(2), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12515
• Sider, S. Maich, K., Specht, J., Treadgold, C., & Winger, H. (2021). “Choose your own adventure”: Creating web-based case studies of inclusive education as a form of professional learning for school principals. Journal of Research on Leadership Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19427751211046978 
• Sider, S., Morvan, J., & Borner, M. (2021). Partnerships to support quality education in Haiti: A case study addressing the Sustainable Development Goals. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057925.2021.1941771
• Sider, S., Maich, K., Morvan, J., Villella, M., Ling, P., & Repp, C. (2021). Inclusive school leadership: Examining the experiences of school principals in supporting students with special education needs. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12515
• MacCormack, J., Sider, S., Maich, K., & Specht, J. (2021). Self-determination and inclusion: The role of Canadian principals in catalysing inclusive-positive practices. International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, 17(2). https://journals.sfu.ca/ijepl/index.php/ijepl/issue/view/213
• Sider, S. (2020). School principals and students with special education needs in a pandemic: Emerging insights from Ontario, Canada. International Studies in Educational Administration, 48(2), 78-84.
• Sider, S. & Ling, P. (2020). Setting the context for a conference to explore intersectionalities for school leadership and inclusion. Exceptionality Education International, 30(2), 4-11.
• Maich, K., Sider, S., Morvan, J., & Smith, D. (2020). Making the unknown or invisible. accessible: The collaborative development of inclusion-focused open-access case studies for principals and other school leaders. Exceptionality Education International, 30(2), 68-79.
• Wettlaufer, J. & Sider, S. (2019). The importance of trust in school improvement professional learning communities. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 22(2), 3-14.
• Sider, S. (2019). Peer coaching in a school in Cairo, Egypt: Implementation, barriers, and pathways to effective adoption. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 8(1).
• King, A. & Sider, S. (2018). Incarceration, relationships, and belonging: Insights into the experiences of two male youth recently released from custody facilities. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 10(1), 235-258.
• Maich, K., Sider, S., Hall, C., & Henning, M. (2017). Making the iPad an accessible tool for students with exceptionalities: Assessing and teaching its essential prerequisite skills. DADD (Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities) Online Journal, 4(1), 110-122.
• Sider, S., Maich, K., & Morvan, J. (2017). School principals and students with special education needs: Leading inclusive schools. Canadian Journal of Education. 40(2).
• Sider, S. & Fegan, R. (2016). Reworking global engagement experiences: lessons learned from Haiti and El Salvador. A world of learning: Canada’s performance and potential in international education. Canadian Bureau for International Education.
• Sider, S. (2016). Supporting a student with a vision impairment in secondary school. In K. Stegemann, & A. Aucoin (Eds.) (2016). Inclusive education: Stories of success and hope in a Canadian context. Toronto: Pearson.
• Jean-Marie, G., Sider, S. & Desir, C. (Eds.). (2015). Comparative international perspectives on education and social change in developing countries and indigenous peoples in developed countries. Book Series: International Advances in Education: Global Initiatives for Equity and Social Justice. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Sider, S. (2015). Supporting a student with a vision impairment in secondary school. In K. Stegemann, & A. Aucoin (Eds.) (2015). Inclusive education: Stories of success and hope in a Canadian context. Toronto: Pearson.
• Sider, S. & Belcher, C. (2015). Teacher candidates’ involvement with reading interventions in high needs schools: Wrestling with the everyday. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 9(2).
• Sider, S. & Jean-Marie, G. (2014). Educational leadership in Haiti: A case study of innovative and exemplary leadership in a fragile state. Planning and Changing, 45(3/4), 261-284.
• Sider, S. (2014). Virtual school leadership: Professional development using digital technologies in Canada and Haiti. The On-line Journal of Distance Education and e-Learning, 2(4), 177-186.
• Jean-Marie, G. & Sider, S. (2014). Educational leadership in a fragile state: Comparative insights from Haiti. Canadian and International Education, Special Issue on Leadership, 43(1), 1-16.
• Sider, S. & Maich, K. (2014). Assistive technology tools to support literacy learning for all learners in the inclusive classroom. Research into Practice, 50(1).
• Sider, S. & Jean-Marie, G. (2014). The intersection of poverty and education in Haiti: A case analysis. In E. L. Brown & P. C. Gorski (Eds.) (2014). Poverty and social class (pp. 329-347). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Sider, S. (2014). School leadership across borders: Examining a Canadian-Haitian partnership to support educational capacity-building in Haiti. International Studies in Educational Administration, 42(1), 75-87.

Education provides the tools for young people to achieve diversified career options, higher income levels, sustained health, and active citizenship. How do children access a quality education that leads to these outcomes? Through skilled and competent teachers and school leaders who have the capacity to foster these abilities.

The Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Education, in partnership with schools in Haiti, Nepal, and Egypt, has developed the Educator and Leadership Institute (ELI) to foster teaching and leadership capacity. The first ELI took place in August 2016, in northern Haiti. The focus of the summer institute is to support the capacity of educators in science, mathematics, critical literacy, early learning, special education and school leadership.

Our vision is founded on a Haitian Creole expression: Piti piti, ti pay pay, zwazo fe nich – little by little, straw by straw, the bird builds its nest. Our goal is to leverage our outstanding school partnerships and solid track record to maximize professional development for  teachers and principals in the three countries, thus impacting 100,000 students. The summer institute provides the primary means for this professional development work. In tandem with the face-to-face courses, and with the support of Desire2Learn, we are also developing online resources that support and extend the learning that occurs in the summer institute.

As part of the summer institute, leading educators from Ontario, and up to 10 Laurier students, travel to Haiti, Nepal, and Egypt to provide courses and engage educators in professional learning. The courses occur each morning for three to four hours followed by an afternoon teaching practicum. This unique aspect of the summer institute provides an opportunity for educators to practice the learning that they are experiencing from the morning courses. 

• The Conversation: Every child matters
• Case study booklet on inclusive practices: Ontario College of Teachers
• TEDx Talk (video): Re-Imagining Education in Haiti: Steve Sider at TEDxSixteenMileCreek 
• CBC: How a Wilfrid Laurier University connection to Haiti is helping locals rebuild post-hurricane
• Group led by Laurier professor explores potential entrepreneurial incubator system in Haiti