Biography

Professor Jeff Bale is an Associate Professor in the Language & Literacy in Education program (LLE)  in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning (CTL) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Research interests

In his research, Dr. Bale focuses on language policy and teacher education in Canada and Germany. Together with Professor Eve Haque (co-PI) from York University, he is currently PI on the SSHRC-funded research project “Language, Race, and Regulating Difference: The Heritage Languages Program in Ontario, 1977–1987” In this archival and oral-history research project, Professor Bale is investigating linguistic dimensions of systemic racism in Ontario’s publicly funded schools and how past experiences can inform current efforts to expand linguistic justice in Ontario schools. From 2017-2021 he was PI on another SSHRC-funded project with Professor Antoinette Gagné (co-PI) and Professor Julie Kerekes (co-PI) on teacher preparation for working with multilingual learners. The book from this project, More Than “Just Good Teaching”: Centering Multilingual Learners and Challenging Racism in Teacher Education will appear in July 2023 with Multilingual Matters. Professor Bale also serves as Vice President, University and External Affairs for the University of Toronto Faculty Association (2022–2024).