Veronika Elizabeth Bohac-Clarke profile photo

Dr. Veronika Elizabeth Bohac-Clarke, PhD

Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Associate Professor

Werklund School of Education, Specialization, Curriculum and Learning

Contact information

Phone number

Office: 403.220.3363

Location

Office: EDT710

For media enquiries, contact

Clayton MacGillivray
Content and Media Specialist


Email: clmacgil@ucalgary.ca
Twitter: @UCalgaryEduc

Email : bohac@ucalgary.ca

Background

Educational Background

PhD Education Administration, University of Alberta, 1989

M.Ed. (thesis) Education Administration, University of Alberta, 1985

B.Ed. Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 1979

B.Sc. Biological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 1978

Biography

Prior to joining the academic community at U of C, I taught science, math and art in a public high school and junior high school in Alberta. Later, between graduate degrees, I accrued some real-life organizational experience working at Alberta Education in the area of policy and finance. After completing my PhD at University of Alberta in policy studies, I joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary. My study of policy led me to the inquiry of values, in educational policy and practice. I found Integral Theory to be an excellent tool a coherent and systematic study of the human condition. The Integral Model helped me integrate my science and policy training with my life-long interests in philosophy, transpersonal psychology, spirituality, and art. Beginning in 2001, I taught a graduate course on Spirituality in Postmodern Age, using Ken Wilber’s Integral Model as its foundational framework, for 10 years. In 2010, I was the Co-Organizer of a conference at U of C, spearheaded by my PhD student Marc Ross, titled “Integral Education: Emerging Possibilities for Sustainability and Pedagogical Wellness”.

After 16 years of using Wilber’s Integral Model in teaching, as well as in supervision of 20 of the 30 successful doctoral dissertations based on the Integral Model, I continue to be enthusiastic about its usefulness as a conceptual framework for transdisciplinary research.

The Integral doctoral graduates include:

  • Dana Fraser, EdD, 2022
  • Meagan Lehman, EdD, 2019
  • Brenda Mansfield, PhD, 2018
  • David Ikenouye, EdD 2017
  • Natalie Prytuluk, EdD, 2017
  • Roy Norris, EdD, 2017
  • Garette Tebay, EdD 2017
  • Kathleen Kellock, EdD 2016
  • Bernita Leahy, EdD 2016
  • Janice Beler, EdD 2016
  • Kimberley Holmes, PhD 2015 (CATE Doctoral Dissertation Award 2015)
  • Chris Yuen, EdD 2013
  • Krystyna Laycraft, PhD 2012
  • Laurie Alisat, PhD, 2012
  • Marc Ross, PhD, 2011
  • Laura Vilness, EdD, 2010
  • Daniel McKinnon, PhD, 2009
  • Carol Suddards, PhD, 2004
  • Paul Jerry, PhD, 2003
  • Scott Bryant, PhD, 2002

I developed, and was the Coordinator of, two cohorts of the MEd Specialist program “Integral Curriculum Development” (2010-2014). Subsequently, I co-developed an EdD program - Curriculum  “Integral Theory”  -  with my colleague Dr. Brent Davis (2012-2017). The students from this cohort have contributed chapters from their dissertations to my book Integral Theory and Transdisciplinary Action Research in Education (2018).

Professional & Community Affiliations

While the use of Integral Theory is still relatively new in traditional academic settings, there is a growing interest among scholars and practitioners in the US, Australia and Europe, as well as Canada.

This was clearly demonstrated in the Integral Education Conference, which I co-organized in 2010 at the University of Calgary, keynoted by a prominent US Integral scholar.

In terms of application in the real world, the model has proven to be very useful for analyzing findings, for example, in a longitudinal study of several character education programs and in planning professional development for the participating school staffs.

I am actively engaged with the biennial Integral European Conference series, where academics and practitioners from all over the world come to exchange ideas on Integral education with European colleagues.

Research

Areas of Research

Scholarly Activity

I have been using the Integral Model for research design, data analysis, as well as for course and program development. The Integral Model, as designed by Ken Wilber, has been shown to be useful as a transdisciplinary research framework as well.

Quick Chat about Integral Theory:

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My current Integrally informed research activities focus on individual and societal reorientation to the suddenly ubiquitous context of unpredictability and trauma in the social (financial, political) and natural systems. Of course, related to this overall focus is Integral leadership.

Other research, carried out as service to the community:

Crawford, Donna, and Bohac Clarke, V. (2016 -2018). The implementation of the Alberta SPCA AnimalTales book loan program in elementary schools in Alberta. Current research project, sponsored by the Alberta SPCA Education Department, Edmonton, Alberta.

Crawford, D. and Bohac Clarke, V. (2012). Inside the Cruelty Connection: The Role of Animals in Decision-Making by Domestic Violence Victims in Rural Alberta. Research report to the Alberta SPCA. Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. pp. 105. http://albertaspca.org/neglect-abuse/cruelty-connection/resources.html

Interests:

·       Integral theory

·       Integral leadership in education

·       Integral learning communities

·       Integral theory and transdisciplinary research

·       Complexity studies and education

·       Contemplative pedagogy

·       Mind body integration

·       Spirituality within various workplace contexts

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Awards

  • 2017 WSE Distinguished Supervisor Award , Werklund School of Education. 2017
  • Honorary Visiting Fellow, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. 2017
  • • Faculty of Graduate Studies Great Supervisor Award 2016, University of Calgary. 2016
  • Finalist, Graduate Students’ Association Supervisory Excellence Award 2011, University of Calgary. 2011

Publications

  • Learning metaphors and classroom enactments: Understanding webs of association and their entailments for school mathematics. Davis, B., Francis, K., Towers, J., Markle, J., Boháč-Clarke, V., & Takeuchi, M. A. . Asian Journal for Mathematics Education. 0(0). (2023)
  • Integral Theory and Transdisciplinary Action Research in Education. Veronika Elizabeth Bohac-Clarke. IGI Global. 458. (2018)
  • Legitimizing Integral Theory in Academia: Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Integral Theory Through Its Application in Research. . Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. . Pp 45-63. (2018)
  • An Integral Analysis of Teachers' Attitudes and Perspectives on the Integration of Technology in Teaching.. Ikenouye, D., & Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. . pp. 81-114. (2017)
  • An Integral Analysis of Labeling, Inclusion, and the Impact of the K-12 School Experience on Gifted Boys. . Alisat, L., & Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. pp. 355-381. (2017)
  • An Integral Analysis of One Urban School System's Efforts to Support Student-Centered Teaching. . Goodfellow, S., & Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. pp. 45-68. (2017)
  • Cultural Self-Study as a Tool for Critical Reflection and Learning: Integral Analysis and Implications for Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs. . Pitre, N. J., & Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. pp. 76-100. (2017)
  • An Integral Approach to Active Learning in Mathematics.. Yuen, C. and Bohac Clarke, V. . IGI Global. pp. 177-194. (2016)
  • Engaging the Noosphere: An Integral Approach to Teaching Spirituality Online.. Bohac Clarke, V. . Wilfrid Laurier University Press. . pp. 141- 164. (2012)
  • Double indemnity: Integral analysis of the culture of fear inside academia and how it fails its members and its greater community.. Bohac Clarke, V. . Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry. pp. 90-102 . (2019)
  • A Subversive Role for Collaborative Inquiry in Academia Today.. Bohac Clarke, V. . Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry. Pp 78-89. (2018)
  • The Cycles of School Change: Toward an Integrated Developmental Model. Goddard, T., Bohac Clarke, V. . Journal of Educational Thought.. pp. 105-123.. (2007)
  • Integral Vision for Restorative Justice in Education. . Nesbitt, J. and V. Bohac Clarke.. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning. Volume 8, No 13. . (2004)