Dr Tanya Manning-LewisAssociate Teaching Professor | Faculty of Education & Social Work

Interests

Dr. Tanya Manning-Lewis is an Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work. She has served the education sector for over 20 years as a secondary school teacher, teacher educator, community-engaged researcher, school leader and advocate for vulnerable populations in local, multicultural and international contexts. Dr. Manning-Lewis is a social justice researcher and educator whose work is driven by a profound sense of empathy, social consciousness and a strong belief in the transformative power of inclusive education. Dr. Lewis is an experienced racialized scholar with a rich and diverse background, having served as an educator, researcher, and youth advocate in numerous countries across the globe. Her international experience has equipped her with a breadth of knowledge and deep understanding of various educational systems, cultural nuances and diverse needs in university contexts.

Before joining TRU in August 2022, Dr. Manning-Lewis was an adjunct professor, research associate and Equity Educator in Residence at the University of Victoria in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She worked alongside faculty and university leaders to start the first anti-racism initiative in the faculty. She is currently working with educators and parents across BC to develop a Black curriculum.

Research Interests

Dr. Manning-Lewis's research interests lie at the intersection of education, diversity and inclusion, specifically focusing on the experiences of racialized folks in educational settings. Her work is grounded in social justice and examines the complexities of race, gender, class, sexuality and identity in multicultural, international and post-colonial contexts. She is currently one of the AERA's 2023 recipients of the Outstanding Research Paper award. As a racialized Afro-Caribbean post-colonial researcher, her work focuses on decolonizing teaching pedagogies, educational structures, curricula and research to create pathways for inclusivity and equity within educational spaces. She often engages in feminist and post-colonial research using visual research methods (graphic novels) that privilege the voices of under-represented groups. Through this lens, she often works with marginalized folks, particularly inner-city youth, migrants and international students, to deepen understanding of their lived experiences. In the era of globalization and internationalization, Dr. Manning-Lewis embraces multi-modal and multiliterate research practices and pedagogies. With a rich background in language, literacy and linguistics, she relishes research work that explores students' language experiences in bilingual, multilingual and transnational contexts.

Education

Ph.D. Language and Literacy Education
University of Victoria, BC
Title: My Time to Speak: Four Jamaican Boys??? Narratives of Jamaican Creole???s Influence on their Identities, Gendered Practices, Perceptions, and Attitudes Toward English Language Learning.
Supervisor: Prof. Kathy Sanford

M.Ed. Language and Literacy Education (Distinction), School of Education.
University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Title: Effects of Writing Workshops on Grade Ten Students??? Narrative Writing Skills Supervisor: Dr. Sheila Garcia-Bisnott

B.Ed. Language and Literature, School of Education
University of the West Indies, Jamaica

Diploma (Honours) Secondary Education
Mico University College, Jamaica

Publications

Recent Publications

Recent Publications
Manning-Lewis, T. (2025). In J. De Four-Babb & S. Fraser-Burgess (Eds.), Enacting epistemic freedom: Visual methodologies and methods for Caribbean research. Pearman Press.

Vicars, M., Manning-Lewis, T., Maddalozzo, F., Kilano, D., & Savage, R. (2024). Metissage: Somewhere between hope and happening. Qualitative Research Journal, 24(5), 602???611. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-03-2024-0052

Sanford, K., Bruno de Oliveira, J., & Manning-Lewis, T. (2024). Adult (Multi)Literacies for global equity/social justice in challenging times. Australian Journal of Adult Learning. https://ajal.net.au/downloads/

Manning-Lewis, T. & Robertson, K. (2023). Liberating Our Anti-Racist Selves: A Collaborative Self-Study. In A. Cameron-Standeford, B. Bergh, B, &C. Edge, C. (Eds), Pausing at the Threshold: opportunity Through, With and For Self-Study of Teacher Education. Self-Study in Teacher-Education. DOI 10.59668/558

Manning-Lewis, T. (2023). Keynote: Education for the future: Nurturing inclusive environments for a new generation of learners. The 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Teaching and Education. Helsinki, Finland

Manning-Lewis, T. & Sanford, K. (2022). Reimagining Multiliteracies for Science and Mathematics Teacher Candidates during the Pandemic. Language & Literacy: A Canadian Education E-Journal

Manning-Lewis, T. (2022). Critical Discourse Analysis as Methodology for Graduate Project Research. In (Eds.) Clover, D., Sanford, K. & Allen, W. (2022). Project designs and methods: From professional development to critical and creative practice. University of Victoria

Manning-Lewis, T. (2022). Manning the boundaries: Unpacking hetereomasculine complexities among Jamaican inner-city boys. Journal of Gender Studies, 1-13.

Manning-Lewis, T. (2022). The Language Conundrum for Jamaican Boys Living in Inner-city Communities. Journal of Education and Development in the Caribbean. 19 (2), 1-28.

Manning-Lewis, T. (2022). Strategizing new pathways for Jamaican Creole in the Language Arts Curriculum. In (Eds.,) Devonish., H & Farquharson., J. (2021). The Stones the Builders refused: Language Ideologies in Jamaica. Berlin: Language Science Press.

2025 Peer-Reviewed Conferences

Manning-Lewis, T., & Fovet, F. (2025). Liberatory pedagogy: Where UDL meets anti-racism. Workshop presented at the Australian Conference on Disability
(ADCET) ??? UDL Symposium 2025, Sydney, Australia.

Manning-Lewis, T. (2025). Transcending borders and building local community for international university students. Presented at the Asian Conference on Education & International Development (ACEID), Tokyo, Japan.

Manning-Lewis, T. (2025). Exploring the nexus of belonging, EDI implementation, and mental well-being among international graduate students in a Canadian university. Presented at the American Educational research Association(AERA), Denver, USA.

Manning-Lewis, T., Osuntade, O., & Kanywuiro, L. (2025, June 1). Mapping racialized international graduate students??? sense of belonging in a Canadian university. Presented at the CSSE Conference.

Manning-Lewis, T., Kazmi, N., Namili, H., Nair, S., Sanford, K., & McLeod, K. (2025). The emerging rhetoric of DEI hires and the implications for women of colour in education. CSSE Conference

Manning-Lewis, T., Romero, O., & Tomar, B. (2025). Confronting the complexities of trauma-informed pedagogy for racialized faculty and students. CSSE Conference

Sanford, K., Jayme, B., & Manning-Lewis, T. (2025, June 2). Post-qualitative research and innovative methodologies: Frontiers and possibilities. CSSE Conference, Toronto, Canada.

Employment History

Dr. Manning-Lewis has worked in several countries in various educational roles. She has highlighted her more significant educational employment.

Adjunct Professor& Research Associate
University of Victoria
School of Education

Equity Educator in Residence
University of Victoria
Faculty of Education

Teacher on Call
Victoria School District 61

Senior Lecturer
International University of the Caribbean & University of Technology

Senior Teacher
Port Antonio High ( 15 years)

Courses Taught

Dr. Manning-Lewis has taught over 25 undergraduate and graduate courses across multiple faculties in Canada and the Caribbean in the last two decades. These courses ranged from education to research to language and linguistics.

Courses Taught at TRU

Learning about Learning. EDUC 5000
Research Colloquium EDUC 5990
Diversity: Constructing Social Realities EDUC 5040
Writing in the Graduate Context EDUC 5990
Activating Antiracist Pedagogy, Education and Activism EDUC 5990 (Developed by Dr. Manning-Lewis)
Research Methods EDUC 5010
Capstone EDUC 5280

Professional Affiliations

2026- Board Director, Scarborough Charter
2005- Canadian Association for the Study of Women in Education, President-elect
2023-Present Canadian Association for Social Justice Education, Vice President
2017-Present Canadian Association for the Study of Women in Education, Program Chair
2021-Present Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (SSTEP) AERA
2020-Present Language and Social Processes (American Educational Research Association)
2020-Present American Educational Research Association
2020- Present Caribbean and African Studies in Education (AERA) Program Chair
2017- Present The Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada Association, Co-chair Masters Research Award
2017- Present Canadian Society for the Study of Education
2018-Present Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies
2020- Present Board member (International Conference on Advance Research in
Teaching & Education)
2017-Present British Columbia Teachers Federation