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Judith Bernhard

Judith K. Bernhard

Professor and Associate Director, Field Education
EducationPhD
Phone416-979-5000 ext. 557507
Areas of ExpertisePrecarious migration status; Migrant and refugee family interventions; Latinos in the educational system; Cross-cultural early childhood development.

I am a tenured full professor with over 25 years of university teaching and research experience in the areas of diverse children and families in early childhood education settings. I also serve as associate director of field education. Along with my colleagues at Toronto Metropolitan University, we set up the MA program in Early Childhood Studies, and I am also affiliated with the MA program in Immigration and Settlement Studies.

Three of my interdisciplinary projects: The first is a critique of the view that the stages of child development described in standard text-books are universally (cross-culturally) valid. My work examines styles of parenting, degree of child dependence on the parents, methods of discipline, where common approaches assume Western norms are universally applicable, resulting in children being labelled as in need of remedial programs. My second research area explores migrant and refugee families with precarious legal status (e.g., a parent facing deportation) and how they may be empowered to deal successfully with the educational system. Finally, my third area is supporting bilingualism, helping parent and teacher groups with interventions inspired by methods from the Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

  • Cross-Cultural Child Development
  • Families and Educational Equity
  • Cognitive Development
  • Human Development
  • Field Supervision

  • Bernhard, J.K., Menon, N. & Mehta, S. (In Press, 2025).  From parenting “expert” to parenting ally: Re-examining the role of the ECE through a family-centered framework. In A. Davies, Z. Abawi & B. Richardson.  Canadian Scholars – Women’s Press.
  • Bernhard, J.K, Young, J.E., & Goldring, L. (Under review). Negotiating multiple borders: Precarious Status Families’ Access to Early Childhood Services in a Sanctuary City: The Case of Toronto, Canada. In H. Bauder and M. B. Setrana (Eds). Solidarity City: International Perspectives on Migrant Inclusion and Refugee Protection. SpringerNature Publishers.
  • Bernhard, J.K, Young, J.E.E, & Goldring, L. (2023). Access to early childhood services by precarious status families: Negotiating multiple borders in a sanctuary city, Toronto Canada. Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement and CERC in Migration and Integration Working Paper 2023/02.
  • Bernhard, J. K. (2013). Immigrant parents taking part in their children’s education: A practical experiment. In V. Pacini-Ketchabaw and L. Prochner (Eds.), Re-Situating Canadian Early Childhood Education. Peter Lang Publishing, pp. 106-124.
  • Young, J.E.E., & Bernhard, J.K. (2013). Confidentiality and “risky” research: Negotiating competing notions of risk in a Canadian university context. In L. Goldring & P. Landolt (Eds.), Producing and negotiating non-citizenship: Precarious legal status in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 305-316.
  • Bernhard, J.K. (2012). Stand together or fall apart: Professionals working with immigrant families. Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publications. 131 pages.

  • Sarwan Sahota Toronto Metropolitan University Distinguished Scholar Award
  • Lifetime achievement award, George Brown/OISE Summer Institute on Early Childhood Development.
  • Advisor, Early Learning and Care Expert Panel, Ontario Ministry of Ministry of Children & Youth Services, Strategic Initiatives Branch.
  • Toronto Metropolitan University Research Award
  • Fulbright Foundation, International Scholar