Critical Policy Research in Education Lab (CPREL)

Dr. Melody Viczko

Dr. Melody Viczko is an associate professor in critical policy studies in education at Western University. Her research examines multi-scalar governance in the study of how different levels of policy actors work together to make policy happen. Dr. Viczko has led international research partnerships, including a project on international refugee access to HE, and is currently leading a research project with a team of RAs and collaborators related to global policy issues and the post-pandemic university.

Dr. Viczko’s work is situated in the field of critical policy studies. Theoretically, her work draws on concepts of assemblage, multi-level and multi-scalar governance, governmentality, socio-materiality, policy enactment and controversies in education. Methodologically, her approach to critical policy studies research involves controversy mapping, post-structural discourse analysis and ethno-methodological studies of education policy.

Dr. Viczko received a PhD in Education Policy Studies from the University of Alberta, where she also worked as Program Coordinator for the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research (CGCER), co-directed by Dr. Lynette Shultz and Dr. Ali A. Abdi. 

Dr. Viczko’s involvement in various professional activities include commitments to socially just practices in education.

Selected service and professional activities

  • President, Comparative and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC/SCECI) 2021-2023, currently serving as Past-President
  • Board of Directors, World Congress of Comparative Education Societies
  • Board of Directors, University of Western Ontario Faculty Association
  • Editorial board, Canadian Journal of Education
  • Editorial board, Leadership and Policy in Schools

    Email: mviczko@uwo.ca

    Recent publications

    Books

    Shultz, L., & Viczko, M. (Eds.) (2016). Assembling and governing the higher education institution: Democracy, social justice and leadership in global higher education. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Viczko, M., & Riveros, A. (Eds.) (2016). Assemblage, enactment and agency: Educational policy perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge. [Re-publication of special issue in Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education.]

    Chapters and journal articles

    Matsumoto, R., & Viczko, M. (2023). Categorizations of crisis: Access to higher education in Canada as international students and forcibly displaced people. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(5), 1119–1132. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2216641

    Brunette-Debassige, C.*, & Viczko, M. (2022). Critical perspectives for educational leadership and policy in higher education. In Ali A. Abdi & G. W. Misiaszek (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook on Critical Theories of Education (pp. 261-282). London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.

    Viczko, M., & Matsumoto, R.* (2022). Problematizing access to higher education for refugee and globally displaced students: What’s the problem represented to be in Canadian university responses to Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian crises? Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 17(1), pp. 40-56. http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JCIE

    Viczko, M., Detourbe, M.A., & McKechnie, S*. (2021). Understanding networks of actors involved in refugee access to higher education in Canada, England and France: A digital comparative approach.  Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences (LATISS), 14(3), 22-51. doi: https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2021.140303 [Co-authored with doctoral student RA]

    Culp, B., Lorusso, J., & Viczko, M. (2021). Considering the state and status of internationalization in Western higher education kinesiology. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 5(2), 31-44, doi: 10.1080/24711616.2021.1881420.  Access the free eprint of the article

    Shultz, L. & Viczko, M. (2021). What are we saving? Tracing governing knowledge and truth discourse in global COVID-19 policy papers. International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-021-09893-y.  Open access to article

    Viczko, M. (2020). Tracing controversies in internationalization: National actors in Canadian higher education. In R. D. Trilokekar, M. Tamtik & G. Jones (Eds.), International education as public policy in Canada (pp. 313-335). McGill-Queen’s University Press.

    Viczko, M., Lorusso, J. & McKechnie, S. (2019). The ‘problem’ of the skills gap agenda in post-secondary education policies.Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 191, 118-130. [Co-authored with Doctoral and MA student RAs]

    Viczko, M. (2019). The historical context of higher education in Canada. In R. Heydon & W.J. Jacob (Eds.), Bloomsbury education and childhood studies.

    Viczko, M. (2018). Performing boundaries: Feminism entanglements in educational administration. In D. Wallin & J. Wallace (Eds.), Transforming conversations: Feminism and education in Canada since 1970 (pp. 144 – 164). McGill-Queen’s University Press.

    Viczko, M., & Shultz, L. (2016). Reflections on assemblage in the governance of higher education. In L. Shultz and M. Viczko (Eds.), Assembling and governing the higher education institution: Democracy, social justice and leadership in global higher education (pp. 439 – 443). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Shultz, L., & Viczko, M. (2016). Global social justice, democracy and leadership of higher education: An introduction. In L. Shultz and M. Viczko (Eds.), Assembling and governing the higher education institution: Democracy, Social justice and leadership in global higher education (pp. 1 – 7). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Viczko, M. & Tascón, C. (2016). Performing internationalization of higher education in Canadian national policy. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 46(2), 1-18. [Co-authored with Doctoral student RA]

    Viczko, M. (2016). Who needs mentoring so more women lead universities? University World News, 421.

    Viczko, M. (2016). [ Review of the book A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning, by M. Fullan & M. Langworthy (2014). London, UK: Pearson ]. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(2), 231-233. [Invited review; peer-reviewed].

    Viczko, M. (2015). Beginning in the middle: Networks, processes and socio-material relations in educational administration. In D. Burgess & P. Newton (Eds.), The theoretical foundations of educational administration (pp. 241-254) . New York, NY: Routledge.

    Viczko, M., & Riveros, A. (2015). Assemblage, enactment and agency: Educational policy perspectives. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36(4), 479 – 484.

    Riveros, A., & Viczko, M. (2015). The enactment of professional learning policies: Performativity and multiple ontologies. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36(4), 533-547.

    Wallace, J., Wallin, D., Viczko, M., & Anderson, H. (2014). The first female academics in programs of educational administration in Canada: Riding waves of opportunity. McGill Journal of Education, 49(2), 437-458.

    Viczko, M. (2013). Internationalisation of Canadian higher education: Troubling the notion of autonomy through an examination of policy actors, knowledge and spaces. Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences (LATISS), 6(1), 26-46.

    Viczko, M. (2012). Editorial introduction. Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, 4(1), 1-3. [Invited editorial for special issue]

    Riveros, G., & Viczko, M. (2012). Professional knowledge “from the field”: Resituating professional learning in the contexts of practice. McGill Journal of Education, 47(1), 37 – 52.

    Viczko, M. (2011). [Review of the book Canada’s universities go global, by R. D Trilokekar, G. A Jones & A. Shubert (Eds.)] Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 41(1), 77-79. [Invited review]

    Newton, P., Tunison, S., & Viczko, M. (2010). The school principal’s role in large-scale assessment. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy. 105.

    Viczko, M., & McClean, A. (2009). “The Sisterhood is watching”: Challenging identity and agency in citizenship. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 4(2), 29-41.

    Refereed journal special issues

    Culp, B., Lorusso, J., & Viczko, M. (2021). Guest editors: Internationalization in higher education kinesiology. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 5(2), 27-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/24711616.2020.1867488.   Access free article eprint

    Viczko, M., & Riveros, A. (2015). Guest Editors, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, special issue on Enactment, Assemblage and Agency in Educational Policy

    Viczko, M. (2012). Invited Guest Editor, Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry special issue on Global Citizenship Education

    Conference presentations and panel sessions

    Viczko, M. & Détourbe, M.A. (2020). Controversies of refugee access to higher education as a transnational issue in France, England and Canada. Paper accepted to be presented at the European Consortium of Political Research Workshop, Toulouse, France. [Cancelled due to COVID-19]

    Viczko, M. (2019, June). The politics of internationalization in Canadian higher education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Public Policy Association conference in Montreal, QB.

    Viczko, M. (2019). What can digital methods research offer to the study of internationalization in higher education? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Public Policy Association conference in Montreal, QB.

    Viczko, M., Gardiner, R., McKechnie, S., & Finn, H. (2019, April). The politics of sexual violence in universities as represented in policy documents and #metooPhD. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Toronto, ON. [Paper selected by Presidential Committee be presented on Cross-Cutting Session Panel; Co-authored with Doctoral Student RAs]

    Viczko, M., & Lizama Mue, Y. (2019, April). Political representation as justice in #WelcomeRefugees. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Toronto, ON. [Invited and peer-reviewed paper to panel representing Canadian research in international and comparative education; Co-authored with Doctoral Student RA]

    Viczko, M., Shultz, L., McKechnie, S., & Karsgaard, C. (2018, September). Tracing the politics of association in internationalization policies. Paper presented at the annual European Conference on Educational Research (ECER), Bolzano, IT. [Co-authored with Doctoral Student RAs]

    Shultz, L., Viczko, M., Karsgaard, C. & McKechnie, S. (2018, July). Digital methods as a decolonial approach to internationalization policy analysis. Paper presented at the tri-annual meeting of the World Educational Research Association, Cape Town, SA. [Co-authored with Doctoral Student RAs]

    Viczko, M., & Tascón, C. (2017). Mediating disconnection: Researching the connection between policy controversies. Paper presented at the 12th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Leicester, UK.

    Viczko, M., & Lorusso, J. (2015, November). The skills agenda and its network: Locating the “citizen sans skills”. Paper presented at the CGCER International Conference 2015: Global Education, Common Wealth and Uncommon Citizenships, Edmonton, AB. [Co-presented with a Doctoral Student RA]

    Viczko, M. (2015, July). Tinkering relations: The controversies of policy framing in internationalization of higher education. Paper presented at the 10th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Lille, France.

    Viczko, M., & Tascón, C. (2015, June). National policy in Canadian higher education internationalization: Comments and questions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Ottawa, ON. [Co-presented with a Doctoral Student RA]

    Viczko, M., & Tascón, C. (2015, May). Locating Science Without Borders in the Canadian higher education policy field. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Ottawa, ON. [Co-presented with a Doctoral Student RA]

    Viczko, M. (2014, July). Policy controversies of internationalization in Canadian higher education. Paper presented at the 9th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

    Viczko, M. (2014, May). Internationalization policy as assemblage: Studying what policies do. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, St. Catharines, ON.

    Riveros, A., & Viczko, M. (2013, June). Policies, practices, knowledges and other “things” in education: A panel on socio-material approaches to educational research. Panel convened for the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Victoria, BC.

    Viczko, M., Shultz, L., & Abdi, A. (2013, June). A conversation with social justice education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Victoria, BC.

    Viczko, M. (2012, July). Enacting global and local policy spaces in internationalization policies of higher education. Paper presented at the 7th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Tilburg, Netherlands.

    Viczko, M ., & Riveros, G. (2012, July). On the ontologies of professional learning. Paper presented at the 7th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Tilburg, Netherlands.

    Wallin, D., Wallace, J., Viczko, M., & Anderson, H. (2011, September). The experiences and contributions of the first female academics in Canadian educational administration programs. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the British Educational Research Association Conference, London, UK.

    Viczko, M. (2011, June). Selectivity in higher education governance: Policy actors, knowledge and spaces in discourses of internationalization. Paper presented at the 6th annual meeting of the Interpretive Policy Analysis Conference, Cardiff, UK.

    Viczko, M. (2010, October). Democratic and participatory spaces: Challenges and opportunities for higher education through policy networks. Paper presented at the 7th International Workshop on Higher Education Reform (HER), Vancouver, BC.

    Viczko, M., & Shultz, L. (2010, June). Re-bordering new possibilities in higher education: Considering policy actors, knowledge and spaces in discourses of internationalization. Paper presented at the XIV World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Istanbul, Turkey.

    Invited talks

    Viczko, M. (2021, February). Invited lecture on policy network research using digital methods. University of Alberta, virtual.

    Viczko, M., & Shultz, L. (2021, April). Invited lecture on international organizations’ responses to COVID-19. University of Manitoba, virtual.

    Viczko, M. (2019, October). Controversies of internationalization: Lessons from Canada. Invited paper at INSA, Toulouse, France.

    Viczko, M. (2019, October). Four frames of leadership in international contexts. Invited lecture to international cohort of Engineering students at INSA, Toulouse, France

    Viczko, M. (2012, May). Locating the governance of internationalization: Beyond the global/local problematic of policy and practice. Invited panel paper presented at the annual CIESC Pre-Conference, Internationalization of Higher Education at the Cross Roads: Charting New Pathways, Waterloo, ON.

    Viczko, M. (2011). Assembling autonomy in the globalized discourses of internationalization: Tracing the contestations and negotiations in policy networks. Invited paper at University of Alberta, Department of Educational Policy Studies, Edmonton, AB.

    Viczko, M. (2009, April). Comparative study of teacher professional learning in Alberta and the UK. Invited talk at Alberta Education to visiting cohort of UK school administrators, Edmonton, AB.

    Reports

    Viczko, M. (2012). Political and civic involvement of youth. Report submitted to Centre for Public Involvement, Edmonton, AB. [45 pages]

    Viczko, M. (2010). Report on teachers’ understandings of professional learning: Recommendations for policy and practice. Report submitted to Rivier Elementary School, SK. [20 pages]

    Newton, P., Tunison, S., & Viczko, M . (2009). Large scale assessment audit. Report submitted to Saskatoon Public Schools, SK. [31 pages]