Understanding Student And Faculty Perceptions Of The Accommodation And Support Procedures For Students With Ld In Ontario Universities: A Mixed Methods Approach, Sarah Copfer Terreberry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

With recent advances in disability policies, practices, and inclusive education mandates, students with learning disabilities (LD) are choosing to attend higher education at a rate that is greater than ever before. Despite these positive advances, however, the transition from secondary to higher education and the adjustment to post-secondary environments for students with LD continues to present a number of unique academic, social, and emotional challenges for this population, especially as this relates to obtaining access to accommodation and support for their learning needs. This study investigated how the needs of students with learning disabilities (LD) are currently being met at …

Carrying On With Wayward Sons, Erika Simpson, Henrik Lagerlund

Political Science Publications

With their brains not maturing until their mid-20s, it's time to use a different approach to life and learning with our young men.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder And Youth Education: Caregiver Perspectives, Kyle Cleversey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to identify caregivers’ needs in helping youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) succeed in school, and services that caregivers believe would help youth with FASD succeed in school. Thirty-two caregivers raising a youth with FASD participated in telephone interviews that included two questions: “What do caregivers need to help youth be successful in school?” and “What services would help youth be successful in school?” Participants then sorted responses to these questions into piles they believed to be a conceptual fit with one another, and the data was analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster …

Educational Assistants Supporting Inclusive Education In Secondary Schools, Amy C. Kipfer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As school boards in Ontario move towards more inclusive models of learning, more students with disabilities are taught in regular classes instead of self-contained placements. This move results in a role change for the educational assistant (EA). Research is needed to determine the overall framework that will make the use of EAs a more effective practice for student and school. Fifteen EAs working in secondary schools within a school board in southwestern Ontario which was moving to a more inclusive model of education were individually interviewed. EAs chosen for the study had a background of supporting students with developmental disabilities …

Individual Education Plan (Iep) Development For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Ontario's Public Schools: A Narrative Case Study Inquiry, Karen P. Gregory

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

This qualitative study employs case study and narrative inquiry approaches to examine the beliefs, practices and experiences of elementary classroom teachers in Ontario, Canada, as they engage in the development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for children with Intellectual Developmental Disability (IDD). The study focuses on IEP development for students in both regular education and special education classroom settings. Attention is given to the ways of thinking about disability, IDD, and special educational needs that impact on current practices related to IEP development. In that there is limited research that offers a theoretical explanation of the IEP process, this …

Examining The Socio-Spatial Knowledge(S) Of Disabled And Mad Students In Higher Education, Mark A. Castrodale

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this study I draw on the perspectives and insights of self-identified disabled (n=14) and mad university students (n=3) at two Ontario universities. The perspectives of disability office workers (n=1) and instructors (n=3) are also included to offer triangulated accounts. I address the following research questions: (i) How are disabled and mad students constituted and represented in Ontario university settings? How do they understand and constitute themselves? (ii) What are mad and disabled students socio-spatial university experiences in relation to issues of access and academic accommodations? I draw theoretically on Foucault and other socio-spatial theorists such as Lefebvre and Soja …

Caregivers' Experiences Raising A Child With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Aamena Kapasi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to identify challenges and strengths of caregivers to a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Thirty-two caregivers raising a child with FASD participated in phone interviews that included the questions: "What challenges do you face in making your household function well?" and "What strengths do you have to make your household function well?" Responses to the questions were sorted by participants and the data was analyzed using multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis. In response to the question about challenges, seven concepts emerged: 1) Extra Responsibility on Caregivers, 2) Difficulty Keeping Daily Routine, 3) …

Creating A Comprehensive Search Strategy For Research On Learning Disabilities Using The Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework, Salsabel Almanssori

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The migration of libraries to the digital realm has created new opportunities for information sharing; however, the abundance of available literature has made locating relevant research studies on specific learning disabilities a difficult task, one that existing search strategies have not adequately addressed. Moreover, definitions of specific learning disabilities have evolved and the nature of this field is interdisciplinary, creating a confusion of possible search terms for the topic. The present investigation used the Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework to create a comprehensive search strategy for locating research on learning disabilities. The analysis produced four groups of harvested search terms …

Encouraging Diversity And Multiculturalism In London, Ontario: A Case Study Of Two Elementary Schools, Abhilasha Duggal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Elementary school students have diverse learning needs and their academic learning in particular varies between students especially so for students those from culturally non-dominant backgrounds. The focus of my research is on understanding the perceptions and practices of eleven teachers teaching in two schools within the London, Ontario school system, along with the perceptions of two principals and two vice principals in relation to the organizational learning opportunities provided for encouraging multicultural education. This study’s purpose was to explore what teaching strategies were used to support diverse students’ learning within the classroom setting. My data gathering sought to respond to …

Concept Mapping And The Cognitive Orientation To Daily Occupational Performance (Co-Op) Approach As An Intervention Framework For Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Jessie A. Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Individuals who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a range of difficulties that impact their daily occupational performance. The current body of research identifies the importance of occupational engagement and competence as fundamental elements in facilitating an individual’s social connections, development of personal autonomy and overall wellbeing. This dissertation explores the use of concept mapping embedded within the meta-cognitive framework of the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach, to engage adolescents with ASD in meaningful occupations.

This thesis contains three manuscripts, an introductory and a final reflection chapter. The first manuscript is a methodological paper that …

Voices Count: Employing A Critical Narrative Research Bricolage For Insights Into Dyscalculia, Diana E. Kuhl

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative study involved interviewing adult participants who were identified, or who self identified as having dyscalculia (also known as a mathematical learning disorder), with the objective of obtaining depth of perspective on how this phenomenon is interpreted, responded to, and managed by these individuals and those around them. This study utilizes a theoretical and methodological framework known as bricolage (Kincheloe, 2005) which involves the synthesis of narrative, auto-ethnographic, critical, feminist, neuroscientific, and psychometric perspectives, to explicate the constitution and experience of dyscalculia. This study also explores epistemological privilege within the discipline of educational psychology, and draws on the work …

Voices Of Youth In An Ethiopian Ngo's Educational Program: A Holistic View At Enabling Factors, Nathalie Piquemal

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

This paper explores the impact that a Canadian NGO’s supported educational programs in Ethiopia have had on orphaned and vulnerable young people, socially, emotionally, and academically, as experienced, storied and understood by the children and adolescents themselves. Using Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bio-ecological theory of human development as a theoretical framework and qualitative inquiry, specifically semi-structured interviews with 37 children and youths between 9 and 17 years old, as a methodological framework, this study explores factors that promote empowerment, resilience, and hope though students’ experiences and perceptions in these NGO’s educational programs. Discussion includes reflection gender, social justice, and implications for practice …

Education Under China’S Market Economy: A Case Study Of Urban And Rural Teachers In Hunan Province, Qing Li

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

The purpose of this article to investigate the working and living conditions of teachers under China’s market economy, with a focus on urban and rural schools. This paper is a case study of teachers in Hunan province, representing Central China. A total of eighteen teachers in seven different schools participated in the study.

The analysis of data shows that teachers experience change of teaching as reflected in the shift to learner-centred approaches, as well as changes of curriculum, textbooks and teacher evaluation. Under market economy, Chinese educational system still possesses urban rural inequalities, for the same or different reasons. The …

Black Students' Perspectives On Academic Success, Melanie-Anne P. Atkins

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the academic achievement of Black high school students. It employs a theoretical framework of social constructivism grounded in anti-racism to conduct five case studies of achieving black Canadian high school students to examine how these students managed to achieve in the midst of a system that predicts their failure. I asked three questions: (1) What factors do achieving black Canadian high school students identify as being helpful to their academic achievement? (2) How do these students perceive their racial identities? (3) What is the significance of these students’ racial identity at school? I found that these students …

Aids Stigma And Discrimination In Public Schools: A Case Study Of Hiv-Positive Children In Kenya, Maryanne N. Kamau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

The advancement of the antiretroviral therapy (ARV) has extended life expectancy for children born with HIV, allowing them to live longer, healthier lives and to attend school. Conversely, medical evidence indicates that it is unlikely for HIV transmission to occur during social interactions, and therefore exclusion of HIV-positive children (CLWHA) from school is unwarranted. Kenya’s education policy guarantees every child the right to education and protection from all forms of discrimination. However, due to social misconstructions about HIV/AIDS, CLWHA’s continue to face various forms of stigmatization. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the manifestation and experiences …

Straight Allies: Combating Homophobia And Interrogating Heteronormativity 'Straight' On, Alicia A. Lapointe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the experiences of five allies and their involvement in Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in secondary schools in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Drawing on both queer theoretical perspectives and Kumashiro’s (2002) framework of anti-oppressive education, I investigate what motivates or influences allies' decisions to become members of GSAs, and I explore their roles as allies in secondary schools. This inquiry portrays how allies play a critical role in facilitating social change in their schools, and how GSAs positively contribute to school communities. By investigating the experiences of allies, I wish to emphasize the importance of authorizing students' perspectives as a …

Miscommunication Between Aboriginal Students And Their Non- Aboriginal Teachers In A Bilingual School, Anne Lowell, Brian Devlin

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

A crucial question in cross-cultural education is how to bridge the cultural and linguis- tic differences between home and school so that a child’s identity can be supported without limiting his or her chances of academic success (Eades, 1991). Various models of bilingual education have been implemented in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia but the implementation of such programmes is often far from ideal. In the school where this ethnographic study was conducted, miscom- munication between Aboriginal students and their non-Aboriginal teachers was found to be commonplace. Even by late primary school, children often did not comprehend …