Knowledge Synthesis Cluster

The Knowledge Synthesis Cluster is co-led by Barry Freeman (University of Toronto Scarborough and the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies) and Marie-Eve Skelling-Desmeules (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi).

In general, the Knowledge Synthesis cluster of SBF/MSMA supports the objectives of the Partnership around gathering and sharing existing and emergent new knowledge relevant to EDI-focused transformation in post-secondary theatre education in Canada. In contrast with Knowledge Mobilization, which focuses on external communication, Knowledge Synthesis is focused on internal knowledge exchange in and between participants and projects within the Partnership. Ultimately this work helps support new efforts and initiatives that benefit minoritized students and educators as the primary beneficiaries of the Partnership.

In year one of the SBF/MSMA Partnership (2023-24) those working on Knowledge Synthesis clarified at least three specific areas of focus for the work of this cluster:

• Gather and synthesize the knowledge being generated among the clusters of the Partnership
• Bring together and categorize relevant resources for sharing among parts of the Partnership and ultimately on the website and Archive
• Help bring together both existing and emerging knowledge in English and French networks and scholarship

The work of Knowledge Synthesis surfaces many questions, asking how the Partnership will generate knowledge, whose interests are or are not represented in what we produce, and how knowledge can be mobilized to spur change. Examples of questions we have posed include:

• How can we represent a diversity of voices in what we produce?
• How can we lift and validate sources of knowledge not normally accessed or included in scholarly or institutional discussions?
• What knowledge do we already possess, given the history of dialogue and debate about issues in education in our field?
• How do we pose questions appropriately and sensitively, including being mindful of issues of translation and differences in professional or cultural context?

In Year Two of the Partnership (2024-25) co-Directors Freeman and Skelling-Desmeules are spearheading two parallel efforts.

Freeman is conceptualizing a new knowledge-gathering exercise about cluster and project-level activities. Initially imaged as a survey, the process is likely to shift to involve a series of interviews or small-scale focus group discussions. Dialogue will focus on how clusters are articulating issues and problems in their local or regional contexts, to share what interventions have or are planned to take place, and what outcomes they aspire to. This knowledge gathering exercise would be carried out in Year 3 (2025-26), with an expectation that it would be repeated again in Year 5 or 6 of the Partnership, providing a point of comparison.

Skelling Desmeules is working alongside Geneviève Bélisle on a literature review on collaborative autoethnography. It is hoped that this work and the knowledge gleaned about these methodologies will prove valuable to SBF/MSMA’s regional clusters. This work is being completed in three steps: 1) Creation of a Zotero bibliography on collaborative autoethnographic methods looking at what knowledge exists, how these methods have been used, and what has been written about them. 2) Targeting works that are particularly pertinent to SBF/MSMA’s case and developing an annotated review. 3) Writing a document based on this literature review.

Finally, the Knowledge Synthesis cluster manages a relationship to at least two affiliated projects: Belongings: On the Virtues and Values of Post-secondary Theatre Education in Canada, led by Freeman at the University of Toronto, which is a landscape review of all college and university programs across the country; and REPTcan, a research project run by Skelling Desmeules with a mandate to encourage knowledge sharing between English and French teachers and learners through ethnographic study of specific school contexts. It is expected that additional affiliated projects will emerge over the timespan of the Partnership.