Kathleen Hughes, PhD
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kathmhughes.bsky.social
Kathleen Hughes, PhD
@kathmhughes.bsky.social
700 followers 1.5K following 410 posts
Developmental Psychology Associate Professor (Teaching), UCalgary. Child & Youth Advocate. The Sims, PWHL, Children's Media.
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kathmhughes.bsky.social
Kathleen Hughes, PhD @kathmhughes.bsky.social · Nov 24
Earlier this fall, OpenStax: Lifespan Development launched. This is a free, OER textbook. I'm proud to have contributed to chapters 4, 6, and 8. It aims to help reframe #devpsyc with a more inclusive, and contemporary voice, and to help reduce book prices.

openstax.org/details/book...
OpenStax | Free Textbooks Online with No Catch
OpenStax offers free college textbooks for all types of students, making education accessible & affordable for everyone. Browse our list of available subjects!
openstax.org
Reposted by Kathleen Hughes, PhD
pwhlsceptres.bsky.social
TAKING THE PWHL OUT EAST 🦞

See you at @scotiabankctr.bsky.social in Halifax on December 17 for the FIRST stop of the 2025-26 DoorDash PWHL Takeover Tour presented by the Province of Nova Scotia!
➡️ thepwhl.com/en/takeover-tour
November 10, 2025 at 5:03 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I'm trying to be patriotic for the blue jays, but white stripes and iron man music are getting redundant. Hockey is better. #cdnpoli #teamcanada
November 2, 2025 at 3:43 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I didn't write this; Ryan from the Calgary Common Good did. But I think it's good. Alt text is on the first two images for all the text.

#abpoli #cdnpoli #alberta @albertateachers.bsky.social @albertandp.ca @thebreakdownab.bsky.social
The decision yesterday to invoke the “notwithstanding clause” to force teachers back to work and accept an agreement that 89.5% of teachers had voted against is a gross removal of a fundamental right. Rights only exist in reality if people are willing to defend them. History has shown that when those in power violate the rights of one group, it is not long before the rights of other groups are also violated, unless people fight back. In 2015, the Supreme Court established that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects a right to strike. “The right of employees to strike is vital to protecting the meaningful process of collective bargaining,” wrote Justice Rosailie Abella in their decision. Collective bargaining, backed up by the ability to strike, have been the essential tools that enabled the labour movement to raise wages and improve working conditions. This allows the creation of a prosperous middle class, which we have enjoyed for decades, but now see being eroded. This right is what allows most of us to prosper, and the ease with which our government has chosen to violate this right threatens this shared prosperity. Rights, backed up by courts, are fundamental to democracy. Since the beginning of democracy, people have recognized that even the rule of a democratically elected government can become dangerous, especially to minority populations, if it is not held in check by legal protections (rights) backed up by the power of the courts. This is why the international movement of human rights grew out of the horrors of what was a democratically elected Nazi Germany. The notwithstanding clause overrides both these rights and the protection of these rights provided by the courts. Our government did not need to use the notwithstanding clause - they could have legislated the teachers back to work, because the strike is causing “irreparable harm,” which would then bring the settlement of this strike to binding arbitration, in which both sides would have to live with the decision of an objective third party. Why did our government choose to violate fundamental rights instead? This is a question that all Canadians need to be asking. What this means is that the teachers are not only fighting to preserve our public education system so that it can provide a quality education to our children, but they are also fighting to preserve the fundamental rights we all share. This is a fight that we all have a stake in. As a parent, I would rather have my children at home a while longer than have the rights we all rely on violated. Our strategy team met last night. As an Alliance, our first step is to call on all of our members to write their MLA and the premier to push back against this violation of our rights. This is only an initial response. We will engage with our labour partners to decide on a medium and long-term strategy. In the meantime, we are also calling on all of our members to: 1) Write your MLAs 2) Use your networks to ask others to write as well. 3) Educate your communities about why this is important and why they need to remember what our government is doing, not just in the coming weeks, but in two years when our government faces an election.
October 28, 2025 at 3:57 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Day 1 of Authoritarianism in Alberta

#abpoli #cdnpoli @albertateachers.bsky.social @albertandp.ca @naheednenshi.bsky.social @thebreakdownab.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/kathmhug...
Day 1 of Authoritarianism in Alberta
Last night’s proceedings at the Alberta Legislative Assembly were wholly and completely undemocratic, and so much worse than I expected.
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:44 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I try to break it down simply in my blogpost: Day 1 of Authoritarianism in Alberta.

open.substack.com/pub/kathmhug...

#alberta #abpoli #cdnpoli @albertandp.ca @naheednenshi.bsky.social @thebreakdownab.bsky.social @cmcalgary.bsky.social @albertateachers.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Happening right now #abpoli #cdbpoli
Today in the Alberta legislature, the UCP government will be introducing a back-to-work bill for public school teachers that will use the notwithstanding clause. I'm currently watching the live legislation feed. So far, they have successfully passed Motion 5, which allows for a bill to be passed in a day. They are working on motion 6 which will bypass debate on Bill 2, which is the back to work legislation. I just saw the Finance Minister speak and announce that Bill 2 will use the notwithstanding clause. The combination of Motions 5, 6 and Bill 2 will strip all Albertans of their bargaining rights. The government could have chosen to write back-to-work legislation using binding arbitration. Instead, they went nuclear, to see what they could get away with. If Bill 2 successfully passes tonight, the government will not long need to go to arbitration with unions in Alberta. Instead, they can simply legislate that workers return to work.
October 28, 2025 at 12:00 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Notes on the Alberta Federation of Labour meeting's tonight:
open.substack.com/pub/kathmhug...

#cdnpoli #abpoli #yyc @albertandp.ca @thebreakdownab.bsky.social
@albertateachers.bsky.social @naheednenshi.bsky.social
Unprecedented Responses
Tonight, I tuned into the Alberta Federation of Labour’s live Facebook meeting.
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:03 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
The Current Status in Alberta - my newest blog post on Smith and Alberta. #cdnpoli #abpoli #yyc
I left social media due to Trump. I came back due to Danielle Smith.
October 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Solidarity to Alberta teachers. If you feel the same, write your MLA & tell them you support public education & funding for education. #abpoli #cdnpoli #yyc
September 30, 2025 at 5:12 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Shana tova! #roshhashanah
Two loves of special round challah
September 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
My favorite thing about Stampede season is how quiet the YMCA & parks are. Outside of the festival grounds, it's like a ghost town. #yyc #calgary
July 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Kathleen Hughes, PhD
drdamienfair.bsky.social
Alert! ... for the child development world!

@fluxsociety.bsky.social @fitngin.bsky.social ‪

The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study has released its first data wave - it’s massive.

Check here:
docs.hbcdstudy.org

and here:
nbdc-datahub.org

Here’s why it matters 🧠🍼
June 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
First thing Carney has done that I don't like. Really takes the air out of Canada Day. #elbowsup #boycottusa #payyourtaxes #eattherich #teamcanada #cdnpoli
June 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
My first attendance at a protest was an Iraq war protest my anthropology professor invited the class to. I remember Bush's lies.
mollyknight.bsky.social Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · Jun 22
If you were too young in 2003 here is what Bush told the American people:

1) The Iraq War won’t cost a lot of money
3) We won’t need a lot of troops
4) We’ll bring peace and freedom to Iraq
5) We’ll find WMDs
6) We’ll be welcomed as liberators
7) It will be easy
8) It won’t take long

All lies.
June 22, 2025 at 3:56 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Hey world - I passed my Advanced First Aid Professional Responder course! It was an intense 80 hours. I learned so much, & gained so many new skills. A
#yyc #canadasky #teamcanada #academicsky
June 21, 2025 at 1:01 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I'm currently taking Advanced First Aid / Profession Responder with the Canadian Red Cross. We talked in class how women die because first responders are hesitant to access women's chests in emergencies. Yet the textbook nearly exclusively uses men in diagrams. 1/n
@redcrosscanada.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 6:09 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I'm sorry, Florida is booing our players. Canada boos the national anthems, not the players. Poor sports there Florida. #nhl #hockey
June 10, 2025 at 12:16 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Why does the Walter Cup look like the eye of Sauron? #pwhl #hockey
Two women carrying the Walter cup for presentation
May 27, 2025 at 12:32 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Noooo hockey is over for the year and Minnesota won the Walter cup again! #pwhl #hockey
May 27, 2025 at 12:28 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
I hope that if the King & Queen wear symbolic items, they consider Made In Canada items, such as Canadian diamonds, furs, leathers, & textiles. #cdnpoli
May 26, 2025 at 4:46 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Finally, some data on Canadians & US relations. I have so much anecdotal stories, but it's nice to see how the numbers add up.
This is a infographic about Canadians opinions of travelling to the US, showing that on average, 52% of Canadians no longer feel safe travelling to the US.
May 25, 2025 at 6:31 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Game 3 of the Walter Cup finals is going to triple overtime!
Can't spell Ottawa with OT! (Saw that on r/hockey) #pwhl @pwhlcharge.bsky.social
May 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Ughhh. I had a great 8 hour day of data set merging & cleaning yesterday & was so excited to start analysis today. But my work computer decided to restart last night & now can't open SPSS or connect online. #academicsky @ucalgary.bsky.social
The blue shut down screen that I stare at while tapping my foot.
May 23, 2025 at 3:26 PM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Game 2 was a nail biter. Oh my goodness. #pwhl #waltercupfinals
May 23, 2025 at 2:20 AM
kathmhughes.bsky.social
Woop! Game 1 of the Walter Cup finals goes to Ottawa in overtime! Was fun to watch, especially with friends in the crowd in person. #pwhl
May 21, 2025 at 2:10 AM