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Faculty

Lorna McCrae, Co-Chair

Lorna McCrae pictureECE, BA (ENG), PDAD (Elementary Education, University of Alberta), M.ED (UBC)

Lorna has enjoyed working in direct care and education for over 20 years in a variety of settings including kindergarten, preschool, daycare and lab schools in the Yukon Territory, and British Columbia.  She has also instructed in Post Secondary Early Childhood Education Programs in Langley, Castlegar and Nanaimo.  She has been teaching at VIU since 2004.  Lorna served as Director of Conference for the provincial professional association (ECEBC) (2004, 2005) and is active in her local ECEBC Branch. Lorna expresses strong interest and commitment to professional development and practice, curriculum planning and development. She especially enjoys teaching these subject areas. Recently Lorna has had opportunities to be involved in internationalizing ECEC courses through her work with visiting Japanese students in Nelson, BC and in Indonesia.

Sheila Grieve, Co-Chair

Sheila_GrieveECE, BPE, BA (University of Manitoba), MA (Athabasca University).

Sheila Grieve enjoyed working as a frontline educator, floor supervisor and centre director for almost twenty years (1987-2006).  In that time she gained experience in a wide variety of ECEC settings including multi-age care, nursery, school age care, head start and at a “paivakoti” in Finland. She has been able to utilize that experience as a post secondary instructor since 2006.

Sheila’s research involves a combination of child development and ethnobotany. She has partnered with early childhood care and education settings adding culturally relevant plants to the outdoor classroom of each setting.  Sheila is passionate about working with students and community members to enrich the field of Early Childhood Education and Care, with a particular focus on nature interactions.

Linda McDonell

Linda McDonnell PictureECE September 1974; BA 1991; MA 1998  

Linda McDonell has worked in Early Childhood over the past three decades in a variety of capacities including: twenty years as a frontline Early Childhood Educator (1971-1991); child care researcher (1988-present time) and as a post-secondary instructor (1994-present time). Throughout her career, Linda has been a strong supporter of the professional association, Early Childhood Educators of BC serving in many capacities on local and provincial board of directors (including two terms as president of ECEBC). Her research has focused on two specific areas including the history and development of the early childhood profession and the training needs of Canadian and international early childhood development practitioners. Over the past several years Linda has taught primarily in First Nations contract programs. She has visited Indonesia many times working in partnership with other VIU ECEC, Child and Youth Care, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Widya Mandala Catholic University (in Surabaya, Indonesia) faculty as part of a Canadian International Development Agency funded project.

Linda McDonell has recently been appointed to BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development (AECD). While this new role has its own responsibilities and activities Linda will continue to have teaching responsibilities in the ECEC program and/or other programs within the Faculty of Health and Human Services. More information about the BC Regional Innovation Chair for Aboriginal Early Childhood Development.

Jamie Covey, Practicum Coordinator-ECEC & CYC

ECE Dip (Grant McEwan); B.Phys Ed & Sports Study (University of Alberta); M.A.(UVic)

Jamie Covey has worked as a Child and Youth Care Professional for the past 20+ years in a variety of capacities including: school-based, day care, residential care, orphanages, and physical activity based programs. She has a particular interest in physical activity and sport for children & youth and continues to do collaborative research in this area. Jamie has been a contract instructor in the ECEC Programs at VIU since 2006 and has been the Child and Youth Care and Early Childhood Education and Care Practicum Coordinator since 2011.  When not teaching she can be found in the outdoors trail running and hiking or working in her yard.