About Our Lab
The Healthy Schools LAB was started in 2019 by Drs Doug Gleddie, Lauren Sulz and Hayley Morrison – all based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. This website is built on the foundation of Doug’s original blog – http://www.purposefulmovement.net.
Our Mission
The Healthy Schools LAB serves the public good as a community of researchers, students and partners who play a critical and collaborative role in supporting, creating and researching healthy schools. Our research and practice in Alberta, Canada and beyond encompass comprehensive school health, health and physical education curriculum and pedagogy, health and physical literacy, mental health, physical and health education teacher education, school-based physical activity, faculty/ institutional wellness and health promoting universities. We encourage and advocate for excellence across these areas in the following ways:
- Innovative and collaborative research
- Multi-faceted dissemination and knowledge mobilization strategies
- Professional development and education
- Leadership and advocacy
- Effective networks for collaboration
Our Team
Dr. Doug Gleddie
Dr. Doug Gleddie is a husband and father who also happens to be an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta. In a career filled with change, the only true constants have been physical education/ activity, working with students and how joy fills the spaces in between. This life-long journey of exploration into joyful and meaningful movement has enabled Doug to work with a wide variety of people and organizations across Canada and around the world.
He has published numerous articles in academic and professional journals and co-authored three books including the most recent – Healthy Schools, Healthy Futures. Doug’s research interests include: narratives of physical education; school sport; physical literacy praxis; meaningful physical education and; teacher education.
Doug takes care of his own wellness by being active with his family; improving his guitar picking and seeking new adventures.
Dr. Lauren Sulz
Dr. Lauren Sulz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta. Her primary research commitments focus on school-based strategies to promote active healthy lifestyles among children and youth. Through this research, Dr. Sulz aims to create a whole-school environment where student health is an essential foundation to schools’ core mission of learning.
Dr. Hayley Morrison
Dr. Hayley Morrison is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. Hayley teaches pre-service teachers their physical and health education (PHE) curriculum and pedagogy courses and Masters of Education students in the Health and Physical Education Cohort about inclusive PHE and educational research. Hayley’s teaching and research are very interconnected as she aims to support educative and inclusive experiences at all levels of teaching and learning in PHE. Hayley’s research areas include Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Education, Physical and Health Education Teacher Education, and Professional Development.
