Graduate Student Academic Assistant
Email: eced.gaa@ubc.ca
Sessional Instructor
Email: shirina.aktar@ubc.ca
Shirina Aktar is a BC-certified Early Childhood Educator (ECE), Infant Toddler Educator (ITE), and Special Needs Educator (SNE). She holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Sociology, as well as a diploma in Early Childhood Education, graduating with high honours and distinction in leadership.
She is currently completing her thesis research for a second Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education at UBC, where she gratefully acknowledges living, working, playing, learning, unlearning, and relearning on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People. Her research focuses on knowledge mobilization in early childhood education, specifically exploring immigrant educators’ experiences of connecting social and emotional learning (SEL) research to practice.
Shirina was inspired to become an educator by her father, a respected teacher in her community, and began her own career in 2008 as an elementary school teacher in Bangladesh. With over 16 years of experience in early childhood education, she has worked in schools and childcare settings in Bangladesh, Toronto, and Vancouver. Since 2022, she has been part of the UBC Child Care community.
In addition to her role as a sessional lecturer in ECED at UBC, Shirina works as a Graduate Academic Assistant at UBC and serves as a mentor in the Learning Outside Together (LOT) program offered by ECEBC and the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society. Her research interests include social and emotional learning (SEL), knowledge mobilization, outdoor learning, and multilingual approaches to early childhood education.
Beyond her professional work, Shirina is the mother of three children, who continue to inspire and teach her in countless ways. She enjoys gardening, nature walks, swimming, traveling, and cooking and baking for family and friends.