Hannah Chestnutt

Title: 
Dr.
Academic title(s): 

Faculty Lecturer | Program Director, Teacher Education Programs

Hannah Chestnutt
Contact Information
Address: 

 

 

Email address: 
hannah.chestnutt [at] mcgill.ca
Phone: 
514.398.1490
Degree(s): 

PhD, Education (University of Glasgow)

MEd, Education (University of Glasgow)

BEd, Concurrent Education (Trent-Queen’s University)

BSc, Physics and Mathematics (Trent University)

Research Interests

  • Social network analysis; collaboration; mentoring/accompaniment of educational professionals; mathematics and science education; knowledge co-production; educational equity
Areas of expertise: 

Social network analysis, knowledge brokering, educational equity, science education, mathematics education

Group: 
Departmental Leadership
Faculty Lecturers
Current research: 

Accompaniment: Practice and Research, https://lceeq.ca/en/accompaniment/update-page

Principal investigator: Dr. Trista Hollweck

Funding: LCEEQ

The second phase of this research project will be led by Dr. Hannah Chestnutt from McGill University. It applies a social network approach (SNA) to examine schools (elementary and secondary) from each of the nine English school boards in the province of Quebec. The purpose of the SNA is to obtain a picture of how educators in a school collaborate within and across their networks. The guiding questions for this phase of the study are:

  • To what extent do social network structures foster access to support for educators?
  • To what extent do social network structures constrain access to support for educators?
  • Over time, how do the support networks of educators vary?

Data will be collected through an online SNA questionnaire to examine the social networks in each participating school. Recommendations on ways to align and strengthen accompaniment structures in the English Educational Network will be highlighted in the project’s final report. Throughout the process, preliminary data will be shared with the Design Team and LCEEQ steering committee in order to develop professional development opportunities.

Selected publications: 
  • Winkler, K.J., Bennett, E. and Chestnutt, H.R. (2021), Mapping social structures for sustainability transformation at McGill University, Canada, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-04-2021-0164
  • Gonsalves, A. and Chestnutt, H.R. (2020) Counterspaces that support identity work in physics. Physics in Canada.
  • Gonsalves, A. and Chestnutt, H.R. (2020) Networks of support: Investigating a counterspace that provides identity resources for minoritized students in post-secondary physics. The Physics Teacher, 58, 324. doi.org/10.1119/1.5145526
  • Chestnutt, H.R. (2020) Tensions and choices: The value of the relationship between SNA researcher and researched. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2020.1759655
  • Chapman, C., Chestnutt, H.R., Friel, N., Hall, S. and Lowden, K. (2018) Teachers leading educational reform through collaborative enquiry in Scotland. In A. Harris, M. Jones, J. Huffman, (Eds.) Teachers leading educational reform: The power of professional learning communities (3-22). London: Routledge.
  • Chestnutt, H.R. and Chapman, C. (2017) Lessons the US Can Learn from England’s Experience with Specialist Schools. In: Fox, R. and Buchanan, N. (eds) Handbook of School Choice: A Handbook for Researchers, Practitioners, Policy-Makers and Journalists. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
  • Chapman, C., Chestnutt, H.R., Friel, N., Hall, S., and Lowden, K. (2016) Professional capital and collaborative inquiry networks for educational equity and improvement? Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 1(3), pp. 178-197. doi/10.1108/JPCC-03-2016-0007
  • Chapman, C., Lowden, K., Chestnutt, H.R., Hall, S., McKinney, S. and Friel, N. (2016) The School Improvement Partnership Programme: Sustaining Collaboration and Enquiry to Tackle Educational Inequity. Report to Education Scotland. Education Scotland, Livingston.
Selected talks and presentations: 
  • Chapman, C. and Chestnutt, H. (2016, June). An international perspective on raising attainment. Scottish Government National Learning Event. Glasgow.
  • Chestnutt, H. (2016, April). Strategic alliances. Invited panelist. Columbia University.
  • Chestnutt, H. (2016, March). Using Social Network Analysis to examine educational change. Social Network Analysis in Scotland, Edinburgh.
  • Chapman, C. and Chestnutt, H. (2015, October). Closing the gap: Realising the power of partnership and collaboration. Keynote session at the Scottish Government’s Launch of the Scottish Attainment Fund Schools Programme, Dunfermline.
  • Hoey, M., Chapman, C., Chestnutt, H., Lowden, K., Brown, M., Black, A. (2015, September). Making Education Work For All: A coalition for equity and innovation. Scottish Learning Festival Interactive Professional Discussion, Glasgow.
  • Chestnutt, H. (2014, October). Generating and transferring knowledge and understanding to tackle educational inequity. Social Network Analysis feedback session paper presented at the Network for Learning, Duisburg, Germany.
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 
  • Educational PhD Research Scholarship, College of Social Sciences, University of Glasgow (2014-16)
  • Principal’s Early Career Mobility Fund, University of Glasgow (2016)
  • William Boyd Award, University of Glasgow, Most distinguished Master of Education graduate (2012)

 

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