Dr. Randa Khattar has been described as a person who brings a “gentle strength” to the Early Childhood Studies (ECS) program as an instructor at the University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH). She leads with love inside and outside the classroom, inspiring her students and being a haven for those around her. She is known as someone who will always have your back.
The fact of the matter is that softness is Dr. Khattar’s superpower.
“Leading with love is not just a nice idea; it’s essential. It’s a deep ethical responsibility to others and the world we live in,” she said. “When we lead with gentle strength, we make the space to slow down, to listen more carefully, and to challenge systems that reward speed, control, and individualism.”
Her attentive approach to education and to life blossomed into receiving an Instructor Appreciation Award at the 2025 BLOOM Gala, which is a one-of-a-kind event in the Greater Toronto Area founded by ECS Associate Head and current Acting Chair Dr. Elena Merenda that honours professional excellence in the early childhood studies field. Here, Dr. Khattar was celebrated as one of the award recipients with her peers and ECS students for her gentle strength and thought-provoking lectures.
But Dr. Khattar is very clear: while she is “deeply moved” and immensely grateful for this recognition, the work she does to educate the next generation of early childhood professionals isn’t done to receive awards; it’s about uplifting her students and instilling unto them the importance of taking a gentle relational approach to working with children.
“My hope is that students feel a strong sense of care in my teaching, and one that's grounded in reciprocity and openness to learn together,” she said. “I see students as co-thinkers and co-dreamers, people I learn alongside to reimagine education.”
Although Dr. Khattar hasn’t been teaching at the U of GH for a long time (having started in Winter 2025), she’s already left an impact on her students, who’ve described her engaging lectures to be like the dialogical speeches delivered during TED Talks. Over the past semester, she taught the courses “Assessment and Intervention with Children and Families” and “Supporting Children’s Voices,” and is currently developing a course for the Infant Mental Health specialty – experiences she has found to be “rich and rewarding.” She also said she’s constantly inspired by the depth of thought, care, and commitment demonstrated by her students and the Guelph-Humber community, and added that this shows it’s not always about how long you’ve been part of a community, but how present and engaged you are with the people and the work.
“In a classroom where I'm teaching, I invite students to think deeply to question the narratives that are taken for granted in early childhood studies and in education to consider how we're all entangled within broader systems – colonial systems, ecological systems, economic systems. I truly try not to rush to answers with students. Instead, I lean into the uncertainty and the complexity that comes with collective inquiry,” she said of her approach to teaching.
But it’s not just about building connections and educating students inside the classroom. To Dr. Khattar, much of this work happens outside of the classroom. Whether she and her students connect through community work, or simply take a leisurely walk in the hallways, she always tries to be present in a way that’s “relational and reciprocal.” Making the decision to foster relationships with students through listening, keeping an open mind, choosing to be soft, and truly caring for them helps shape students to be child professionals one day who carry themselves with integrity, and are empathetic and emotionally attuned with children, she believes.
“Gentleness is one of the most transformative things we can offer in a world that prizes productivity, perfectionism, and control. Choosing to be soft, to really listen, to care deeply and remain open is incredibly powerful,” Dr. Khattar said. “I think soft strength is what allows us to be responsive and relationally relational,” she added, mentioning the metaphor of the willow – a tree that is big and powerful, providing us with shade, while bending and not breaking.
To learn more about the other winners of the 2025 BLOOM Gala awards, click here.