Dr. Mahtab NazemiAssociate Professor | Faculty of Education & Social Work

Email: mnazemi@tru.ca
Phone: 250.371.5736

Interests

Dr. Nazemi is an Associate Professor at Thompson Rivers University whose research draws on critical race, decolonial, anti-racist, and intersectional feminist frameworks to examine neoliberalism and institutional racism in education. Their scholarship centres counter-narratives and lived experiences to challenge inequities at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.

Dr. Nazemi brings extensive experience across K-12 and postsecondary education. They began their career as a secondary school teacher in mathematics, French immersion, and sexual health education and have since taught graduate and teacher education courses at McGill University, Antioch University, the University of Washington, Open Learning BC, and Thompson Rivers University, alongside consulting and coaching work.

Dr. Nazemi holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Mathematics Education from the University of Washington and is a trained mixed-methods researcher. They also were a researcher with the Middle School Mathematics and the Institutional Setting for Teaching (MIST) project at Vanderbilt University, earned an MA in Gender Studies from McGill University, and hold a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia.

Research Interests

Mathematics Education; Second Language Acquisition
Sexual Health & SOGI Education
Language and Literacy Across Content Areas
Critical Race Theory
Equitable & Decolonial Education
Sociocultural Theories of Learning and Identity
Critical, Anti-racist Feminist Studies
Mixed Methods Research & Institutional Ethnography
Curriculum Design, Development, and Teaching/Pedagogies for Social Justice/Equity

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); University of Washington (UW)
Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics Education & Critical Race and Mixed Methods
"Racialized Narratives of Female Students of Color: Learning Mathematics in a Neoliberal Context"
Note: Should have used term "Girls" instead of "Female"

Master of Arts (M.A.); McGill University
Education, Society & Gender Studies
"Beyond Racism: Mapping Ruling Relations in a Canadian University from the Standpoint of Racialized Female Student Activists"
Note: Should have used the term "Women" instead of "Female"

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.); University of British Columbia (UBC)
French Immersion, French as a Second Language, & Mathematics

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.); University of British Columbia (UBC)
Mathematics Major & French Language and Literature Minor

Erasmus Student Exchange; Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) & Universite de Lausanne (UNIL)

Publications

Tomal, J., Ahmed, E., Rahman, M., & Nazemi, M. (2026, June). Detecting attendance threshold in student academic performance: a statistical perspective. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 11, p. 1862903). Frontiers Media SA.

Hulko, W., Mirza, N., Christianson, T., Nazemi, M., Vicic, A., & Bartle, E. (2025). A scoping review of dementia education programs to assess for the inclusion of culture. Dementia, 24(6), 1177-1195.

Leyva, L. A., & Nazemi, M. (2024). Toward intersectional understandings of gender in mathematics education. Fourth International Handbook of Mathematics Education, 439.
Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-51474-6_18

Nazemi, M. (2022). Centring the Lives and Lived Experiences of Girls of Colour in Mathematics. In Re/centring Lives and Lived Experience in Education (pp. 141-151). Brill.

Nazemi M. (2020) Persisting Racialized Discourses Pose New Equity Demands for Teacher Education. In: Radakovic N., Jao L. (eds) Borders in Mathematics Pre-Service Teacher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44292-7_12

Nazemi, M. (2020). Issues of Institutional Racism at a Canadian University, revisited at a time Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives.

Keliipio, K, Clarke, W., Sivia, A., & Nazemi, M. (2019). Collaborative Self-Study by Teacher Educators of Colour: Resistance Narratives in Times of Truth and Reconciliation.

Wilson, J., Nazemi, M., Jackson, K., & Wilhelm, A. G. (2019). Investigating Teaching in Conceptually Oriented Mathematics Classrooms Characterized by African American Student Success. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 50(4), 362-400.

Nazemi, M. (2019). Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group. Des discours racialises persistants postent une nouvelle demande d'equite pour la formation des enseignants. (Also available in English), 157-176.

Henrick, E., Appelgate, M., & Nazemi, M. (2018). Instructional Materials as Tools for Instructional Improvement. In Cobb, P., Jackson, K., Henrick, E., & Smith, T., Eds. Systems for Instructional Improvement: Creating Coherence from the Classroom to the District Office. Harvard Education Press.

Employment History

Present:
+Associate Professor

Previous:
+Assistant Professor; Thompson Rivers University
+Coordinator of Graduate Programs in Education
School of Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work; Thompson Rivers University
+Chair, Gender Equity Committee, Thompson Rivers University Faculty Association (TRUFA)
+Chair, Women and Gender Equity Committee, Federation of Post Secondary Educators (FPSE)
+Research Conference Reviewer; American Association of Educational Research (AERA)
+Research Conference Reviewer; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
+Education as Change Journal Reviewer
+Coordinator of Bachelor of Education (Elementary) Program
School of Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work; Thompson Rivers University
+Reviewer for Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal
+Adjunct Professor; School of Education, Antioch University
+Adjunct Professor; College of Education, University of Washington
+Adjunct Professor; Department of Integrated Studies in Education & First Nations and Inuit Education, McGill University (Montreal, QC & Kawawachikamach, QC)
+District Elementary Curriculum Evaluator and Consultant
Kahnawake Education Center
+Graduate Research Assistant; M2C3 Project, University of Washington-Tacoma
+Graduate Research Assistant; MIST Project, Vanderbilt University
+K-12 Instructional Coach & Graduate Teaching Assistant;
Secondary Teacher Education Program, University of Washington
+Curriculum Developer for Entrance Exams; Antioch University
+French Immersion Teacher; School District No. 43 (Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore, and Belcarra, BC)
+Secondary Mathematics & French Teacher; Vancouver School Board
+Secondary Mathematics & French Immersion Teacher; Langley School District

Courses Taught

Master of Education Program (M.Ed.); Thompson Rivers University
+EDUC 5040: Diversity: Constructing Social Realities
+EDUC 5010: Research Methods in Education

Bachelor of Education Program (STEM); Thompson Rivers University
+EDTE 3150: Diversity and Inclusive Education
+EDLL 3160: Language and Literacy Across Content Areas
+EDSM 4200: Mathematics Methods for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Specialty

Bachelor of Education Program (ELEM); Thompson Rivers University
+EDCO 3100: Communications I
+EDPR 3200: Practicum II
+EDMA 3100: Mathematics I
+EDMA 3200: Mathematics II
+EDCO 4200: Communications II
+EDEF 4200: School Organization

Masters in Teaching, Secondary Teacher Education Program; University of Washington, Seattle
+EDTEP 582: Teaching Mathematics in Secondary School I
+EDTEP 583: Teaching Mathematics in Secondary School II
+EDTEP 573: Assessment in Secondary Education
+EDTEP 575:Working with English Language Learners & Literacy Across the Curriculum (Humanities and STEM section)
+EDTEP 575: Working with English Language Learners & Literacy Across the Curriculum (STEM Section Only)

Master of Arts in Teaching Program; Antioch University, Seattle
+EDUC 557 Elementary and Middle School (K-8) Mathematics Methods I
+EDUC 559 Elementary and Middle School (K-8) Mathematics Methods II

First Nations and Inuit Education & Department of Integrated Studies in Education; McGill University
+EDEE 230: Elementary School Mathematics
+EDEE 332: Teaching (Elementary School) Mathematics

BC, K-12 Teaching Experience (various locations)
+Francais Langue Seconde (FSL) 11
+Francais Langue Seconde 10
+Les Sciences Humaines 10
+La Litterature Francaise 9
+La Grammaire Francaise 9
+Calculus AP
+Principles of Mathematics 12
+Mathematics 11 (Principles of, Essentials of)
+Mathematics 10 (Principles of, Essentials of)
+Mathematics 9 (Principles of, Remedial)
+Mathematics 8 (Principles of, Remedial)

Professional Affiliations

CMESG (Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group)
Canadian BIPOC Mathematics Educators
AERA (American Educational Research Association)
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)
CESA (Critical Ethnic Studies Association)
BCAMT (British Columbia Association of Mathematics Teachers)