Self-Reg Media

Dr. Stuart Shanker is a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology from York University, in Toronto, Canada and the Founder & Visionary of the MEHRIT Centre, Ltd. He is best known as one of the world’s leading authorities on self-regulation and child development.

An internationally acclaimed speaker, educator and author, Dr. Shanker has written many influential books and articles including, Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators co-authored with Susan Hopkins and Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society where he explores self-regulation in wider, social terms. Whereas his two previous books, Calm, Alert, and Learning and Self-Reg, were written for educators and parents, Reframed, the final book in the trilogy, unpacks the unique science and conceptual practices that are the very lifeblood of Self-Reg.

In 1975, Dr. Shanker, who had studied English literature at the University of Toronto, received a scholarship to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. At Oxford he won the Marian Buck Fellowship at Christ Church, where he received his B Phil in philosophy and his D Phil in the philosophy of mathematics. During his post-doctoral fellowship at Oxford he studied Wittgenstein’s critique of Alan Turing’s mechanistic theory of learning, which resulted in his 1998 book Wittgenstein’s Remarks on the Foundations of AI. During this period Dr. Shanker became highly interested in child development, which he studied under the eminent developmental psychologist, Jerome Bruner. This led to a burgeoning interest in the the role that emotion and social engagement play in language development. Shortly after Dr. Shanker accepted a position at York University, in 1986, he was cross-appointed in both the philosophy and psychology departments, which allowed him to pursue his interests in child development.

During the 1990s Dr. Shanker worked and collaborated with many prominent academics, scientists and clinicians, including the anthropologist Barbara King, the primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, and the linguist Talbot Taylor. In 1998 Dr. Shanker began an intensive training in child psychotherapy under the late Stanley Greenspan. He went on to write the award-winning The First Idea with Greenspan (2004).

In 2005 Dr. Shanker received a $7 million grant from the Milton and Ethel Harris Foundation to establish a state-of-the-art cognitive and social neuroscience centre at York University. From 2007 – 2012 he served as director of the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative (MEHRI), which undertook a major study of an adapted version of DIR therapy for children on the autism spectrum. This study showed that the MEHRI version of DIR, called MEHRIT, greatly increased the children’s capacity to share and initiate joint attention and reciprocal interaction with their parents, and to develop important functional language skills.

In 2007, Dr. Shanker became the first President of the Canadian Council of Early Child Development. He worked closely with J. Fraser Mustard for the next two years and the two of them, together with Margaret McCain, published Early Years Study II in 2007.

Along with his work as a professor at York University, Dr. Shanker has served as an advisor on early child development to government organizations across Canada and the US and countries around the world, including. Australia, Bosnia, Colombia, England, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Peru, Romania, and Serbia. Most recently he served as the 2012 Thinker in Residence for Western Australia, and then returned two years later to follow up on the work that had been initiated during his tenure in Perth. He also served as Director of the Council of Human Development for ten years, an interdisciplinary dynamic systems think tank; and as the Director of the Canada-Cuba Research Alliance for six years.

Throughout his career, Dr. Shanker has studied the role of self-regulation in mental and physical wellbeing. He has focused on the beneficial role that stress plays in children’s development and learning and the worrying effects of excessive stress. Over the past five years he developed Shanker Self-Reg®, his five-domain model for understanding, recognizing and alleviating the negative impact of excessive stress. In 2012 he founded The MEHRIT Centre to promote and teach the practice of Self-Reg on a broader scale to teachers and parents. In 2016 he founded The Self-Regulation Institute (SRI) with its mission to enhance the health and wellbeing of children, youth, adults, and communities through integrative research steered by the innovative Self-Reg model. In 2020 he founded Self-Reg Global Inc. to establish Self-Reg on an international level, facilitating the development of Self-Reg initiatives around the world.

Degrees

D.Phil., Oxford

B.Phil., Oxford. First Class

M.A., English Literature, University of Toronto. First Class

B.A., Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Oxford. First Class

B.A., English Literature, University of Toronto. First Class

Awards

Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship and Postdoctoral Fellowship

Calgary Institute for the Humanities Fellowship

University of Alberta Mactaggart Fellowship

Izaak Walton Killam Fellowship at the University of Alberta

Walter L Gordon Fellowship at York University

Restoring Resilience (2025)

Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society (2020)

Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators co-authored with Susan Hopkins (2019)

Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (And You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life (2016), with Teresa Barker

Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2012)

Early Years Study 2: Putting Science into Action (2007), with Fraser Mustard and Margaret Norrie McCain

Human Development in the 21st Century (2007), with Alan Fogel and Barbara J. King

The First Idea: How Symbols, language and intelligence evolved from our primate ancestors to modern humans. (2004), with Stanley Greenspan.

Books

Shanker, S. (2020) Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society University of Toronto Press

Hopkins S., & Shanker, S, (2019) Self-Reg Schools A Handbook for Educators  Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

Shanker, S., Barker, T. (2016)  Self-Reg: How To Help Your Child (And You) Break The Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage With Life. Penguin Random House Canada (foreign editions German, Korean, Polish, Czech, Japanese, Chinese, UK, USA)

Shanker, S. (2012). Calm, Alert, and Learning: Classroom strategies for self-regulation. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

Fogel, A., King, B. J., & Shanker, S. (Eds.) (2008). Human Development in the Twenty-First Century: Visionary ideas from systems scientists. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Greenspan, S. & Shanker, S. (2004). The First Idea: How symbols, language, and intelligence evolved from our primate ancestors to modern humans. Boston: DaCapo Press.

Greenspan, S. & Shanker, S. (2002). Toward a Psychology of Global Interdependency: A Framework for International Collaboration. Washington: ICDL Press.

Chapters

Shanker, S. & Hopkins, S. (2017). On becoming a self-reg haven. In W. Steele (Ed.), Optimizing learning outcomes: Proven brain-centric, trauma-sensitive practices. (pp. 30-57). New York: Routledge.

Shanker, S. & Casenhiser, D. (2013). Reducing the effort in effortful control. In T. Racine & K. Slaney (Eds), A Wittgensteinian perspective on the use of conceptual analysis in psychology (pp. 214-232). New York: Palmgrove Macmillan.

Shanker, S. (2012). Emotion regulation through the ages. In A. Foolen, U. M. Ludtke, T. P. Racine, & J. Zlatev, Moving ourselves, moving others (pp. 105-138). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Shanker, S. & Downer, R. (2012). Enhancing the potential in children (EPIC). In L. Miller & D. Hevey (Eds), Policy issues in the early years (pp. 61-76). London: Sage.

Greenspan, S. & Shanker, S. (2006). A developmental framework for depth psychology and a definition of healthy emotion functioning. In PDM Taskforce, Psychodynamic diagnostic manual (pp. 431-482). Silver Spring, MD: Alliance of Psychoanalytic Organizations.

Greenspan, S. I. & Shanker, S. (2005). Developmental research. In E. S. Person, A. M. Cooper, & G. O. Gabbard (Eds), The American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of psychoanalysis (pp. 335-360). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Psychology Today

Looking at ADHD With a Self-Reg Lens

Self-Reg: The Nature of Stress

Self-Reg: Self-Regulation vs. Self Control

Caught in a Stress Cycle

“Lumos Solem” Breaking Free from a Stress Cycle

Reframing Temperament “Difficult” vs “Stressed”

The Truth About Lying

Self-Reg and Holiday Stress: Restoring the Balance

Why is my Child so Mentally Lazy?

Reframing IQ

Journal Articles

See all of Stuart’s Publications Here

Shanker, S. (2018). Reframing High Math Anxiety: Avoiding the Perils of a Victorian Paradigm: Stemming the Divide. Reframe: The Journal of Self-Reg, 1(1), 1-18.

Hopkins, S., Shanker, S. & Leslie, R. (2017). Self-regulation, self-control, and the practice of Shanker Self-Reg. Reframe: The Journal of Self-Reg, 1(1), 58-75.

Burman, J. T., Green, C. D. & Shanker, S. (2015), On the meanings of self-regulation: Digital humanities in service of conceptual clarity. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12395

Casenhiser, D., Binns, A., McGill, F., Morderer, O. & Shanker, S. (2014). Measuring and supporting language function for children with autism: Evidence from a randomized control trial of a social-interaction-based therapy, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(3). DOI:10.1007/s10803-014-2242-3 ·

García Domínguez, L., Stieben, J. · Pérez Velázquez, L. ·Shanker, S. (2013). The imaginary part of coherency in autism: Differences in cortical functional connectivity in preschool children. PLoS ONE 10/2013; 8(10):e75941. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0075941 ·

Casenhiser, D., Shanker, S. & Stieben, J. (2011). Learning through interaction in children with autism: preliminary data from a social-communication-based Intervention. Autism, 17(2). DOI:10.1177/1362361311422052

Shanker, S.G. (2008). In search of the pathways that lead to mentally healthy children. Journal of Developmental Processes, 3(1),22-33.

Greenspan, S. I., Brazelton, T. B., Cordero, J., Solomon, R., Bauman, M. L., Robinson, R., Shanker, S., & Breinbauer, C. (2008). Guidelines for early identification, screening, and clinical management of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Pediatrics, 121(4), 823-830. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3833

Greenspan, S. & Shanker, S. (2007). The developmental pathways leading to pattern recognition, joint attention, language and cognition. New Ideas in Psychology, 25(2), 128-142. doi: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2007.02.007

Shanker, S. (2004). Autism and the Dynamic Developmental Model of Emotions. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 11(3), 219-233. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Reports

Shanker, S. (2010). Foreword, Growing Miracles: The first six years with your child (2nd ed). Alberta Health Services.

Shanker, S. (2009). Foreword, Every Child Every Opportunity: Curriculum and Pedagogy for the Early Learning Program, Province of Ontario.

McCain, M. N., Mustard, J. F., & Shanker, S. (2007). Early years study 2: Putting science into action. Toronto: Council for Early Child Development.

Cordero, J., Greenspan, S. I., Bauman, M. L., Brazelton, T. B., Dawson, G., Dunbar, B., Mundy, P. C., Perou, R., Scott, K. G.,Shanker, S.G., & Stein, R. E. K. (2006). CDC/ICDL collaboration report on a framework for early identification and preventative intervention of emotional and developmental challenges. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control.

Greenspan, S. I. & Shanker, S. (2005). Developmental research. In E. S. Person, A. M. Cooper, & G. O. Gabbard (Eds), The American Psychiatric Publishing textbook of psychoanalysis (pp. 335-360). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Media Inquiries: media@self-reg.ca

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Canadian Presentation Inquiries: info@self-reg.ca

International Presentation Inquiries: info@selfregglobal.com

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Education

2014  – January – June   Project Management, Fast Track 1 and Fast Track 2 Programs

Continuing Education, University of British Columbia

2006 – 2011  Doctor of Educational Leadership, School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix.

Specialization: Curriculum and Instruction

Research: Lived experiences of resilience among Tłįchǫ high school graduates

2005 – 2007  Educational Leadership Program (GNWT and Acadia University partnership)

Part 1: Leading education in a culture-based system

Part 2: Educational leadership in the Northwest Territories

2004 – 2006  Master of Educational Technology

Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia

Specialization: Educational technology in Aboriginal community contexts

1997 – 1999  Bachelor of Education

Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia

Specializations: Elementary (K-7): Intermediate (grades 4-7); additional specialization in the expressive arts (drama, art, movement, music)

1990 – 1993  Bachelor of Arts

Faculty of Arts, St. Mary’s University 

Major: Political Science

Academic Work Experience

2012 – 2016 – Facilitator, Queen’s University Continuing Education

Facilitated additional qualification courses: Kindergarten Part 1 and Part 2

Non-Academic Work Experience

2019 – Present CEO – Self-Reg Global

2015 – Present Executive Director – The MEHRIT Centre

January – June 2017  Acting Executive Director – The Self-Regulation Institute

2014 – 2015  Executive Director – The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Edmonton, Alberta

2004-2014  Department of Education, Culture & Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories

2013 – 2014  Director: Planning, Research and Evaluation – Department of Education, Culture & Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories

2011 – 2013  Coordinator: Early Childhood and Kindergarten (territorial)  – Department of Education, Culture & Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories

2008 – 2011  Inclusive Schooling Coordinator (Regional: five schools, K-12) – Tlicho Community Services Agency, Government of the Northwest Territories

2004 – 2007  Vice Principal/ Classroom Teacher/Program Support Teacher – Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School, Tlicho Community Services Agency, Government of the Northwest Territories

2004  Classroom Teacher – Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, Big Trout Lake, Ontario

1999 – 2003  Classroom Teacher (Year 1- 5, British Curriculum) – St. Louis International School, Milan, Italy

Research Projects

A Stakeholder Analysis and Environmental Scan of “Safe and Caring” policies, programs and approaches across Alberta (2014 – 2015): Project lead of provincial research team including academics from the University of Alberta and University of Calgary.

Social phenomenological research exploring lived experiences of Resilience of Aboriginal high school graduates from Behchoko (2010 – 2011): The doctoral research study explored lived experiences of resilience to inform strength-based educational policy development. Three conference papers were presented on this study (IIQM and AERA) and two articles published (Pimatisiwin, 2012).

Phenomenological research with the Tlicho Community Action Research Team (CART, 2011): The first phase of this evaluation research project required documentation of the lived experiences of CART team members as CBRs. One conference symposium (with CART at the IIQM) and one article published (Pimatisiwin, 2012).

Kindergarten curriculum development (2011 – 2013): Completed literature review; pan-Canadian environmental scan.

Early Development Instrument (2011 – 2014): Led three waves of the EDI implementation to gather data on the developmental health of 1500+ kindergarten children across the NWT.

Co-developed the Sense of Identity Index, EDI supplement: Co-developed with Dr. Magdalena Janus, McMaster University (2011 – 2012). The Index is as an NWT-specific supplement to the Early Development Instrument implementation. The Index was implemented across the NWT in March 2012 alongside the Early Development Instrument. A second collection of data took place in March 2013 and again in 2014. Small- scale pilots using the Index are underway in BC and Alberta.

Books

Shanker, Stuart and Susan Hopkins (2019). Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators. Pearson. 

Book Chapters

Shanker, Stuart and Susan Hopkins (2017). Chapter 2 On Becoming a Self-Reg Haven. In Steele, William (Ed.) Optimizing Learning Outcomes: Proven Brain-Centric, Trauma-Sensitive Practices. New York, Routledge

Articles

Hopkins, Susan & Elizabeth Shepherd (2017) Masking stress with misbehaviour: A Shanker Self-Reg Lens. Reframe: The Journal of Self-Reg, 1(1), 40-57

Hopkins, Susan, Stuart Shanker & Rebecca Leslie (2017) Self-Regulation, Self-Control, and the Practice of Shanker Self-Reg. Reframe: The Journal of Self-Reg, 1(1), 58-75.

Martin, J. and Hopkins, S. (2012). Co-editors. Pimatisiwin, 10(2), 145-256. Editors of 11

articles from Northern researchers on the theme of: Restorying Northern Issues from Within. 

Hopkins, S. (2012). Relational Flow Frames: Conducting Relationship-based Research in an Aboriginal Community. Pimatisiwin, 10(2), 177-190. 

Hopkins, S. (2012). Situated social identities: The storied experiences of Tłįchǫ high school graduates. Pimatisiwin, 10(2), 231–248. 

Hopkins, S. (2012). The Tłįchǫ Community Action Research Team: Place-based

conversation starters. Pimatisiwin, 10(2), 191–205. 

Janus, M. and Hopkins, S. (2012). Constructing Measures of Northern Children’s Identity through Dialogue. Pimatisiwin, 10(2), 249-256. 

Hopkins, S. (2012): Relational Flow Frames: A Model for Non-indigenous Researchers

Working With Indigenous Populations. 18th Qualitative Health Research Conference Symposium abstract: Restorying northern issues from Northern Perspectives Symposium. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(5). 

Hopkins, S. (2011). Place-based resilience: Ecologically framed experiences of Tlicho high school graduates. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting, April 2012.

Hopkins, S. (2011) Situated Social Identities: The Storied Experiences of Tłįchǫ High School Graduates: 17th Qualitative Health Research Conference abstract. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 10(4), 502. 

Peer Reviewing

Reviewer (2013). Polar Commission State of Northern Knowledge Report.


Application for Tenure Reviewer (2013). Faculty of Extensions, University of Alberta.

Peer Reviewer (2012-2014). The Canadian Journal of Sociology.

Peer Reviewer (2010-2013). Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Health, an open access journal directed at both academic and community researchers.

Reviewer for Aboriginal Content (2007-2008). Pearson Education: Math Makes Sense, grade 4, 5, 8.

Reports

Government of the Northwest Territories (February, 2014). A Framework for Early Childhood Development in the Northwest Territories: Action Plan. Yellowknife, NT: Departments of Education, Culture & Employment and Health and Social Services. 

Government of the Northwest Territories (June, 2013). A Framework for Early

Childhood Development in the Northwest Territories: Right from the Start. Yellowknife, NT: Departments of Education, Culture & Employment and Health and Social Services. http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/files/publications/ecd_framework_-_web_sept_2013.pdf

Hopkins, S. (March, 2013). Kindergarten Entry Age in the Northwest Territories: An Options Paper. Department of Education, Culture & Employment. Government of the Northwest Territories.

Hopkins, S. (January, 2013). Raising the Quality of Early Childhood Education in the Northwest Territories: A Discussion Paper. Department of Education, Culture & Employment. Government of the Northwest Territories.

Porter, D. & Hopkins, S. (December, 2012). Training of Early Childhood Educators in the Northwest Territories: A Discussion Paper. Department of Education, Culture & Employment Government of the Northwest Territories and Aurora College.

Hopkins, S. (August, 2012). Integrated kindergarten curriculum: A holistic approach to children’s early learning. Territorial pilot 2012-2013. Government of the Northwest Territories.

Martin, J., Bell, M., Hopkins, S. and Shahbaglian, B. (Nov., 2010). A Tlicho integrated services model: Survey findings. Behchoko, NT: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (April. 2010). Tlicho assessment policies and practices: A review of existing expectations. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (March, 2010). Best practices in student assessment: A review of the literature. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (July, 2009). Hiring for quality instruction in Tlicho elementary schools.

Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (Aug., 2009). Evaluation and supervision of instruction: A model for Tlicho schools. Behchoko, N.T.:Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (July, 2008). English language arts curriculum in the Tlicho region: Towards better articulation and alignment. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (May, 2007). New foundations for the Tlicho schooling system: Rearticulating our educational philosophy. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (April, 2007). A school development plan for Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Hopkins, S. (Mar., 2007). School leaders and zero tolerance discipline policy: A deconstruction of beliefs. Behchoko, N.T.: Tlicho Community Services Agency.

Media Inquiries: media@self-reg.ca

General Self-Reg Inquiries: info@self-reg.ca

Presentation Inquiries: info@self-reg.ca

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