Associate Professor

Background

Dr. Fernando Nunes holds a Ph.D. (Education and Community Development), and a M.Ed. (Applied Psychology), from the Multicultural Focus of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

His prior individual and collaborative research activities have focused on minority academic underachievement, at-risk immigrant children, youth ethnic and cultural identity, critical pedagogy, and the integration of Portuguese- and Luso-Canadians. He also participated in a collaborative project, which explored the effectiveness of Canada’s model of provision of immigrant settlement and integration services. His current research is exploring the relationships between young Lusophones in Canada and their Portuguese-Canadian neighbours.

Dr. Nunes has also acquired over 35 years of employment, consultancy and volunteer experience in the immigrant settlement, education and child and youth care sectors. He served as a Board member in non-profit organizations such as the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress and the Portuguese-Canadian Coalition for Better Education, which worked for ten years with the Public and Catholic School Boards in Toronto, in developing strategies to combat this community’s high dropout rates. He also co-founded the scholarly group, the Lusophone Studies Association. He further helped to advance the field of Child and Youth Care education by serving on the Board of the Child and Youth Care Educational Accreditation Board of Canada (CYCEAB).

Selected Publications

Vazquez, L. M., Khanlou, N., Nunes, F., Khan, A. & Nielsen, L. S. (2024, May 10). ‘My multiple cultural backgrounds are pulling me in all directions with my identity:’ Asian and Latino Canadian youth experiences of cultural identity. Identities, DOI:10.1080/1070289X.2024.2353465

Sawchuk, S. & Nunes, F. (2024) Portuguese-Canadian women: A snapshot from the 2021 Census. In M. Marujo (Ed.), Proceedings of the VIII Congresso Internacional: A Vez e a Voz da Mulher Imigrante Portuguesa: Mobilidades e Interculturalidades [Proceedings of the VIII International Conference: The Voice and Choice of Portuguese Immigrant Women: Mobilities and Interculturalities]. University of Toronto, (pp. 48-62). Editora Alma Letra.

Nunes, F. (2021). Critical and intersectional perspectives on immigrant youth cultural identity. International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, 19(3), 606-615. http://DOI.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00093-2

Theunissen, S., Anderson, K., Thoms, J., Bearden, J. & Nunes, F. (2020). Collectively exploring youth criminalization: A collective response to culpable-categorization. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 33(4), pp. 17-33.

Kenedy, R. & Nunes, F. (Eds.) (2020). Identities in the Lusophone World [Special Issue]. Portuguese Studies Review, 28 (2). ISSN 1057-1515

Nunes, F. (2020). O Mau [The Bad Man]. In A. Baptista & M. Marujo (Eds) Antologia Passos de Nossos Avós (segunda edição) [Anthology: The Steps of our Grandparents, (second edition)]. Lisboa: Editora Alma Letra.

Nunes, F. (2019) Reminiscences on the formation of the Lusophone Studies Association. Portuguese Studies Review, 27(2), 263-276.

Nunes, F. (2018). The education of first- and second-generation immigrant youth in Canada. In A. Robinson & S. Wilson-Forsberg (Eds.) Immigrant Youth in Canada: Theoretical Approaches, Practical Issues, and Professional Perspectives. (pp. 151-171). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Nunes, F., Ari, E., VerCetty, Q. & Branco, B. (2018). Contested integration: Class, race and identity of second and third-generation minority youth, through the prism of Critical Pedagogy. In S. Pashang, N. Khanlou & J. Clarke (Eds.). Today’s Youth and Mental Health: Hope, Power and Resilience (265-283). Springer.

Elbl, I., Dodman, M.J., Nunes, F., Kenedy, R. (2017). Exploring Crossroads and Perspectives of Lusophone Studies II, [Special Issue, in celebration of the founding of the Lusophone Studies Association in 2013]. Portuguese Studies Review, 23(1).

Jean-Pierre, J. & Nunes, F. (October 2015). From integration to empowerment: Multicultural education in the Board of Education of the City of Toronto, from 1960 to 1975. In Guo, S., & L. Wong (Eds.). Revisiting Multiculturalism in Canada: Theories, Policies and Debates (pp. 271-288) Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Nunes, F. (2014). The underachievement of Portuguese-Canadian youth: An ongoing phenomenon. INYI Journal: International Network on Youth Integration, 5(1), 4-9.

Nunes, F. (2012). Current perspectives and future directions in Portuguese-Canadian Studies. Portuguese Studies Review, 20(2), 7-31.

Kenedy, R., Nunes, F., & Beja-Horta, A. (Eds) (2012). Identity, civic engagement and multiculturalism: Portuguese-Canadian immigrant descendants in Canada and Portugal [Special Issue]. Portuguese-Studies Review, 20(2).

Kenedy, R. & Nunes, F. (2012) An analysis of civic identity and participation among Portuguese-Canadian youth in Quebec and Ontario. Portuguese Studies Review, 20(2), 101-141.

Lo, L., Nunes, F. & Trache, M. (2012). Pod 1: Effectiveness and coordination of integration and settlement programs. In A. Meinhard & I Hyman (Eds.), Immigrant Integration and Inclusion: Investigating the Canadian Partnership Model from a Complex-System Perspective. Final Report (pp. 43-124). SSHRC-Metropolis Project. Unpublished report submitted to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Jean-Pierre, J. & Nunes, F. (2011). Multicultural education before and after the federal Multiculturalism Policy: A case study of the Board of Education of the City of Toronto from 1960 to 1975. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 43(1-2), 153-174.

Nunes, F. (2011). Social, cultural and existential considerations in the schooling choices of working-class, immigrant youth: One minority youth’s story. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 24(4), 5-20.

Nunes, F. (2011). Barreiras e factores de apoio à escolarização de jovens Luso-Canadianas [Barriers and support mechanisms to the schooling of young Luso-Canadian women]. In Andreazza, M. L. & R. Boschilia (Eds.), A voz e a vez da mulher imigrante portuguesa na diáspora: Brasil e outros lugares.[The voice and time of the Portuguese immigrant woman in the diaspora: Brazil and other locations]. Curitiba, Brazil: Universidade Federal do Paraná

Ilda, J., Marujo, M. & Nunes, F. (2010). The Portuguese-Canadian Coalition for Better Education: A decade of community activism in education (1995-2005). Toronto: Toronto Portuguese Parents Association.

Nunes, F. (Spring 2008). Striking a balance in Canada’s diversity dialogue. Canadian Diversity, 6(2), 121-125.

Nunes, F. (2005). Gender differences and commonalities in the integration of Luso-Canadians. In Marujo, M., Baptista, A. & Barbosa, R. The Voice and Choice of Portuguese Immigrant Women, (pp. 149-155) University of Toronto, Canada: Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Nunes, F. (June 2004). (Guest Editor). Canada, The Portuguese and Luso-Canadians [Special Issue]. Portuguese Studies Review, 11(2).

Nunes, F. (June 2004). Portuguese-Canadian youth and their academic underachievement: A literature review. Portuguese-Studies Review, 11(2), pp. 41-87.

Nunes, F. (2004). Marginalization, social reproduction and academic underachievement: the case of the Portuguese community in Canada. In de Abreu, G., Cline, T. & Lambert, H. (Eds.), The Education of Portuguese children in Britain: Insights from the research and practice in England and overseas (pp. 167-210). Portugal: Ministry of Education.

Nunes, F. (2003). Integration or return? Towards an effective emigration policy and practice for a neglected diaspora. In Sakic, V., Duncan H. & Sopta, M. (Eds.), Immigrants and Homeland (pp. 229-255). Institute of Social Sciences IVO PILAR, Zagreb.

Koc, M. & Nunes, F. (2001). Newcomer youth at risk in the school system. In K. M. Kilbride & P. Anisef (Eds). To Build on Hope: Overcoming the Challenges Facing Newcomer Youth at Risk in Ontario (Appendix E). Toronto: Joint Centre of Excellence for Research and Immigration and Settlement and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Nunes, F. (2000). Portuguese-Canadians: A profile from the 1991 Canadian Census. Gávea-Brown, 21, pp. 80-107.

Nunes, F. (1999). Portuguese-Canadians and academic underachievement: A community-based, participatory research project. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

Nunes, F. (1998). Portuguese Canadians From Sea to Sea: A National Needs Assessment. Toronto: Portuguese-Canadian National Congress. (The first national study on the Portuguese in Canada).

Nunes, F. (1986). Portuguese-Canadian women: Problems and prospects. Polyphony, 8, 00. 61-66.

Nunes, F. (1986). Problems and Adjustments of the Portuguese Immigrant Family in Canada. Porto, Portugal: Secretaria de Estado dans Comunidades Portuguesas.

Interviews

Andrew-Gee, E. (2012, September). What’s Eating Little Portugal? Forget Africentric schools: Toronto’s Portuguese community has the highest dropout rate in the city. Maisonneuve, 45.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin – The Portuguese Paradox – Tuesday, April 15, 2008