McDowell Foundation Award Recipients

David Friesen
2003 McDowell Foundation Award for Contributions to Educational Research

David Friesen describes himself as "a teacher first". He has a strong teaching identity that was forged early in his career as a science teacher, and later a guidance counsellor, in La Ronge.

He began teaching in the north in 1969, where he quickly became involved in his professional organization as President of the Northern Area Teachers' Association and then as the first chairperson of the STF Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Certification. He was also involved during this period in a collaborative curriculum project that was influential in shaping his role as a teacher-researcher and was reported in the journal of the former Saskatchewan Education Research Association. Rooted in these early experiences may be found the beginnings of David's lifelong concern for equity and his enduring beliefs about the student as a person and the teacher as the curriculum.

In 1979, David became a faculty member and Field Experience Coordinator with NORTEP, the Northern Teacher Education Program. His responsibilities included the supervision of education students in over 35 northern communities as well as the Educational Professional Studies component of the program. He also continued his academic studies, adding an M.Ed. degree from the University of Oregon to his education and science degrees from the University of Saskatchewan.

In 1987, David moved to the University of Regina as the Coordinator for Professional Development and Field Experiences in the Faculty of Education. He has remained at the university ever since, taking on roles as the chair of Educational Professional Studies, chair of the secondary program, and Director of the Saskatchewan Instructional Development and Research Unit. In 1993, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta for doctoral work focussing on the place of action research in the internship. He became a full professor in 1998, and is currently serving as the Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education.

David's accomplishments in the Faculty are extensive. Not only has he provided leadership to the internship and pre-internship programs for teachers in training, he has developed a graduate course in Action Research, provided consultation on field experiences to several universities, acted as special consultant to the province's ground-breaking study on the Role of the School, led a major project focussing on the integration of technology into teaching, designed a doctoral seminar for the Faculty of Education's new Ph.D. program, and participated in the Cameroon, West Africa project. In 1999, he received the Saskatchewan Middle Years Association President's Award for his leadership to the Middle Years component of the elementary program. He has also produced scholarly research and publications related to Aboriginal education, teacher education, instructional communications technology, and action research projects.

After the McDowell Foundation was created in 1991, David found yet another avenue through which he could pursue his educational interests. He has received two grants from the Foundation, one for a project in which he and Jeff Orr conducted research that gave voice to Aboriginal teachers in northern Saskatchewan, and the other for a collaborative research project in which teachers from a number of Regina schools worked with university researchers to explore their work with at-risk students. His enthusiastic support for the Foundation has been evident in his willingness to serve the Foundation in a variety of roles. He has been a member of the Foundation's Project Selection Committee, given the keynote address at the Learning from Practice conference, and provided advice and support at a variety of informal meetings and events. He has also encouraged numerous teacher-researchers to undertake action research projects and seek financial support through the McDowell Foundation.

David is now in the 35th year of a career that has emphasized the importance of research as a means of enhancing the teaching profession and the calling of teaching. It is for the exemplary body of educational research that he has produced, his ability to convey the potential of action research, his steadfast support of the McDowell Foundation, his integrity and insight as a teacher and a researcher, and the incredible energy and commitment that he has consistently provided to the educational community that the McDowell Foundation is proud to present David Friesen with the 2003 McDowell Award for outstanding contributions to educational research.

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