Stavros Stavrou

Dr. Stavrou began his professional journey in mathematics after earning his B.Sc. (2010) and M.Sc. (2012), initially serving as a sessional lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. His early research focused on tensors and quantum entanglement through abstract and multilinear algebra.

Following completion of his M.Ed. (2015), Dr. Stavrou expanded his academic and teaching pursuits within the College of Education. His research interests evolved toward anti-oppression and decolonization in Indigenous mathematics education. His Ph.D. (2020) dissertation used narrative inquiry to explore the lived experiences of Cree school teachers navigating Indigenization mandates. This award-winning work received the University of Saskatchewan Graduate Thesis Award (2021) and was honored as the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year (2021) by the Narrative Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association. He contributed to the scholarly community as Program Co-Chair (2021) and Program Chair (2022) of the Narrative Research SIG.

Between 2015 and 2025, Dr. Stavrou took on the role of Online Facilitator and Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He developed, managed, and taught online courses, notably transitioning them to open-source materials—a shift benefiting over 3,820 students by saving between $450,000 and $800,000 in textbook costs. His work also supported mathematics education for teachers and students in rural and reserve communities. His service extended to union leadership as a member of CUPE 3287, including participation on its Negotiation Committee.

In January 2025, Dr. Stavrou joined the Department of Educational Foundations as a Lecturer. In this role, he serves on thesis and doctoral committees, presents original research at national and international conferences, mentors students, and designs both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Dr. Stavrou’s scholarship weaves narrative research and qualitative methodologies with commitments to equity, decolonization, and pedagogical innovation. He uses narrative inquiry with a philosophical stance that honors lived experience across K-12, higher education, and professional learning settings. His research attends to the complexities of classroom and professional life, where identities intersect with social justice, culture, racism, queerness, giftedness, mental health, and psychosocial dynamics. By illuminating these narratives, he reveals how personal and institutional stories shape identity and educational realities.

His work in anti-racism and Indigenous mathematics education critically examines how curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment practices can sustain or dismantle colonial legacies. His scholarship in teaching and learning emphasizes relational course design, culturally responsive assessment, and the potential of online learning environments to foster inclusive engagement.

Dr. Stavrou also explores fiction-based research design as a form of public scholarship. He transforms autobiographical and narrative data into fictionalized accounts that foster empathetic understanding and extend the impact of qualitative inquiry. This integrative approach bridges rigorous academic research with narrative imagination to advance educational equity and methodological innovation.

Dr. Stavrou welcomes connections for collaborative teaching and research initiatives, as well as graduate supervision opportunities.

• Ph.D., University of Saskatchewan, 2020, Department of Educational Foundations.
  • Stavrou, S. G. (2020). A narrative inquiry into my experiences co-teaching alongside Cree educators: Indigenization and school mathematics [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Saskatchewan. http://hdl.handle.net/10388/12973
• M.Ed., University of Saskatchewan, 2015, Department of Educational Foundations.
  • Focus was anti-racism and decolonizing education.
• M.Sc., University of Saskatchewan, 2012, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
  • Stavrou, S. G. (2012). Canonical forms of 2x2x2 and 2x2x2x2 tensors [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of Saskatchewan. http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2012-08-588
• B.Sc., University of Saskatchewan, 2010, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
  • Majored in mathematics; minored in economics

Undergraduate Teaching:

• Math 99 Math Readiness (SUNTEP)
• Math 100 Mathematics for Education Students
• Math 102 Precalculus Mathematics
• Math 104 Elementary Calculus
• Math 110 Calculus I
• Math 121 Mathematical Analysis for Business and Economics
• Math 258 Euclidean Geometry
• Math 364 Number Theory
• INTS 102 Studying in Science: Essential Skills and Strategies
• ECUR 163 Mathematical Content Knowledge for Teaching School Math
• ECUR 265 Teaching for Reconciliation in K-12 Curricula
• ECUR 311 Methods in K to 9 Mathematics I
• ECUR 312 Methods in Elementary Mathematics
• ECUR 315 Pedagogies of Place: Context Based Learning Secondary
• ECUR 316 Methods in K to 9 Mathematics II
• EFDT 265 Foundations for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Teaching and Learning
• EFDT 411 Inquiry Project and Community Learning Field Experience
• EFDT 450 Aboriginal Epistemology and Pedagogy

Graduate Teaching:

• ERES 800 Introduction to Research Methods
• ERES 805 Data Analysis of Qualitative Methodologies
• ERES 810 Indigenous Research Epistemology and Methods
• ERES 824 Reconsidering Experience: Narratives of Time, People, and Place
• ERES 845 Qualitative Methods

Special Topics Graduate Teaching:

• ERES 898 Introduction to Reading, Evaluating, and Using Research
• ERES 898 Research Using Relational Methodologies

Special Topics Cross-Listed Courses:

• EFDT 498/ERES 898 Teacher as Critical Researcher

• Narrative inquiry and qualitative research in K-12 contexts, higher education, and professional education
• Current trends and practices in K-12 and post-secondary mathematics education attentive to anti-oppressive education, decolonization, and Indigenous education
• Scholarship of teaching and learning: course and curriculum design, relationality, assessments, and online learning environments
• Fiction-based research design: transforming narrative and autobiographical data into fictional realities attentive to experiences of oppression, empathic engagement, and public scholarship
• Complexities in classrooms: identities shaped by narratives of oppression, giftedness, mental health, and psycho-social dynamics
• Abstract, linear, and multilinear algebra: classification of tensors, rank, and canonical forms over finite fields

• Theses and Dissertations Completed:
• Current Graduate Students:

• Stavrou, S. G., & Murphy, M. S. (2024). Experiences Indigenizing school mathematics through place-based education. in education, 29(2), 98-118. https://doi.org/10.37119/ojs2024.v29i2
• Stavrou, S. G., & Murphy, M. S. (2024). The four 4s challenge: A narrative inquiry into the mathematical curriculum making of a child. Journal of Educational Thought, 57(1), 95-120. https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jet.v57i1.79416
• Cardinal, T., Stavrou, S. G., Murphy, M. S., & Huber, J. (2023) Ethical relationality, TribalCrit, and autobiographical narrative inquiry: Imagining coming alongside Indigenous children. Frontiers in Education, 7, 1 -11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.1051339
• Stavrou, S. G., & Murphy, M. S. (2021). Methodological landscapes: Mapping narrative inquiry, critical race theory, and anti-racist education. Journal of Critical Race Inquiry, 8(1), 1-21.
• Stavrou, S. G. (2021). A narrative inquiry into Indigenizing school mathematics through miyō-pimōhtēwin and kamskénow. Frontiers in Education. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.679087
• Stavrou, S. G., & Low, R. M. (2020). The maximum rank of 2x...x2 tensors over F2. Linear and Multilinear Algebra, 69(3), 394-402.
• Stavrou, S. G. (2014). Common errors and misconceptions in mathematical proving by education undergraduates. Issues in the Undergraduate Mathematics Preparation of School Teachers, 1. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1043043

• Stavrou, S. G. (January 2023). A narrative inquiry into my understanding of social justice in school mathematics. Hawaii International Conference on Education (HICE), Honolulu, HI.
• Stavrou, S. G., & Murphy, M. S. (April 2020). Narrative inquiry and Critical Race Theory. American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA. (Accepted but cancelled due to COVID-19).
• Stavrou, S. G., & Murphy, M. S. (June 2019). What comes after nēwāw. Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Annual Conference at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Stavrou, S. G. (March 2019). School mathematics and miyō-pimōhtēwin. Provoking Curriculum Conference 2019, University of Regina, Regina, SK.

• Nominated for the Sylvia Wallace Sessional Lecturer Award, February 2025
• ASPA Merit Award for outstanding contributions in helping faculty/staff transition to remote learning during pandemic, June 2021.
• University of Saskatchewan Graduate Thesis Award, Social Science Recipient, May 2021.
• Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award by the Narrative Research SIG of the American Education Research Association, February 2021.
• Nominated for USSU Teaching Excellence Award, September 2016 and 2019
• USSU Young Alumni Excellence Award, University of Saskatchewan, April 2013.