Hiring Criteria And Employability Of Esl/Efl Instructors In The Tesol Job Market In Canada And The United Arab Emirates, Shaden S. Attia

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This study investigated the hiring criteria and employability of ESL/EFL instructors in Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in higher education. It also explored challenges facing instructors and program administrators in today’s global TESOL job market, and how they both tackled these challenges. The study drew on intersectionality and Critical Race Theory and a qualitative methodological approach to answer the research questions. The research methods included an online questionnaire, analyses of online job advertisements and instructors’ journal reflections, and interviews with instructors and program administrators.

The findings indicate that educational qualifications, and teaching experience and certification constituted the primary …

Global Mindedness And Its Development Across Space And Time: Illumination Of Lived Experiences From Study Abroad Students And Global Educational Scholars, Haoming Tang

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This dissertation explores the phenomenon of ‘global mindednesses’ and its development as the idealized pedagogical outcome of global/international education. I consider how individuals become globally minded across their life journeys and through study abroad experience under larger conditions and forces. There are three discrete studies in this integrated dissertation format. In the first study, I examined the biographical and autobiographical accounts of thirteen US-based global scholars presented in the edited collection The global education movement: Narratives of distinguished global scholars (Kirkwood-Tucker, 2018). Through a thematic analysis, I identified five major themes in their development of global mindedness: (1) Experiencing war …

Higher Education Students And Digital Literacies: A Systematic Literature Review, Filipe Malafaia Cerqueira

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This study is a systematic literature review of digital literacies and students in higher education. It sought to identify the state of knowledge on digital literacies in higher education including what studies have been conducted in this nexus and what remains to be known. The deductive themes drew on two prominent concepts of digital literacies: the Seven Elements of Digital Literacies (Jisc, 2014), and the Charter for 21st Century Literacies (Burnett & Merchant, 2018). The review’s methodology identified 23 studies published in the last five years across 21 countries. The findings suggest that researchers demonstrated interest in discussing how students …

About Dying And Death: Thanatology's Place In Medical Curriculum, Jill Dombroski

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This study explored how healthcare providers engage in advance care planning and end-of-life care conversations. The research explored what shapes their understanding and the extent to which concepts from thanatology they intuitively bring in, explicitly bring in, and maybe fail to recognize. To achieve this, constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodology guided the design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the findings, which allowed for iteration across interviews and analysis with existing theories and data in the literature. The CGT design encouraged further engagement with the literature in an ongoing iterative fashion as well as with the analysis of the data. …

Latina Immigrant Women’S Experiences Of Higher Education And Leadership: An Intersectional Perspective, Isabella Alencar Maroja Chaves

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This study investigates the career progression of Latina immigrant women to achieve leadership positions in higher education. The purpose of this research is to examine, from an intersectional perspective, the career progression of Latina immigrant women in educational leadership roles in higher education in Southwestern Ontario. The central point of this research is the study of the lived experiences of Latina women navigating the obstacles of being immigrants and women attaining educational leadership positions. The intersectional perspective, via the lens of Latina feminist theory, serves as both a conceptual framework and a theoretical approach. Considering the methodological approach, this study …

Systemic, Institutional, And Teaching Factors In The Delivery Of Interprofessional Education Curriculum In Canada, Mohammad B. Azzam

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The Canadian federal and several provincial governments are currently collaborating to establish ‘team-based’ primary healthcare—or interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP), which can be effectively accomplished when interprofessional education (IPE) is sustainably delivered by health and social care (HASC) professional education programs. Indeed, achieving the intended patient/client-oriented outcomes of IPE and subsequent IPCP requires deliberate and purposeful considerations of several systemic, institutional, and teaching factors. Regrettably, the analyses of the extent to which these factors have influenced effective IPCP is currently under-researched. In this integrated-article dissertation, we took a purposeful and systematic approach to explore the extent to which these multi-tiered factors …

Disengaged Or Differently Engaged? Students’ Motivations, Expectations, And Engagement In The Multi-Expectational Undergraduate Experience, Clifford Davidson

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This thesis examines the undergraduate experience from the student perspective, specifically as it applies to the dominant engagement success narrative. is narrative articulates that, for undergraduate students to successfully navigate and gain the most from their time at university, they must engage in educationally purposive activities and enriching educational experiences. Research also connects students’ motivations for enrolling in university to engagement and suggests that intrinsically motivated students are more likely to engage according to the dominant narrative, leading to a successful undergraduate experience. Conversely, students who are more extrinsically motivated tend to not engage correctly or at acceptable levels and …

Bribery In Higher Education In Former Soviet Countries: A Systematic Review, Roya Karimli

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Corruption, such as bribery, exists in varying degrees in many countries around the globe. In some of them, it has become systemic due to a large proportion of the population engaging in it and accepting it as the normal way of solving daily issues. In some countries (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine), it is widely perceived by the general public as one of the biggest problems in education.

This research examines the existing scholarly literature on bribery, the most visible type of corruption, in the former Soviet Socialist Republics’ higher education space, focusing on social and economic reasons and common …

An Examination On The Role Of Culture And Socialization On South Asian Women’S Pursuit Of Stem Education, Kinza Shaukat

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This study examines the experiences of five South Asian women who aspire for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at the University of Western Ontario. It also analyzes the ways in which cultural and societal experiences shape their pursuit of a STEM degree. The research questions being investigated through this study are: (1) How has a South Asian woman’s experiences in the home influenced their own perception of education? (2) What types of experiences have South Asian women had in different levels of schooling? (3) How does cultural identity inform the experiences of South Asian women in their …

The Enactment Of Quality Assurance Policies In Ecuadorian Higher Education: A Case Study In The Public Universities In The Province Of Manabí, Diego R. Sornoza Parrales

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This study investigates how the administrators in the research and quality assurance offices in the regional universities in Ecuador enact the national research quality assurance policy. The massification and diversification of higher education and the internationalization, as well as globalization of higher education institutions create an increasingly competitive environment. Given this competition, resources are scarce, resulting in more frequent and more aggressive budgetary constraints. Government and national funding agencies are including the notion of “quality” in their policies to measure the performance and efficiency of universities and determine budget allocation, demanding universities to “prove their value” to remain operational. In …

The Development, Short-Term Efficacy, And Pilot Implementation Of An E-Learning Course In Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviour For Pre-Service Early Childhood Educators, Brianne Bruijns

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The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to develop an e-Learning course in physical activity and sedentary behaviour and test its short-term efficacy and implementation among pre- and in-service early childhood educators (ECEs). The Delphi approach was adopted for Study 1, wherein a panel of international experts in physical activity and sedentary behaviour suggested topics for the course and, together with a panel of ECE experts, rated their importance. Study 2 employed a pre-post design to explore the changes in pre- and in-service ECEs’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour-related knowledge, self-efficacy, behavioural intention, and perceived behavioural control following course completion. …

Peer Mentorship In An Undergraduate Health Professional Education Program: An Embodied Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Helen F. Harrison

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Student peer mentorship, in which a more senior student mentors a more junior student for at least one term, is on the rise in health professions education programs. The research presented adopts an embodied hermeneutic phenomenological approach to investigate student peer mentors’ perceptions of teaching, learning and relationships within peer mentorship interactions in the context of one collaborative nursing program in Ontario, Canada.

This dissertation is composed of five integrated manuscripts, in addition to introductory, body-map findings, and conclusion chapters. The first manuscript describes the theoretical foundations of the doctoral research, drawing on phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s concepts of embodiment, intersubjectivity …

Combating Racial Microaggression In Higher Education: A Case Study Of East Asian Students' Experiences On Campus Space, Vivian Leung

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In recent years, universities in Ontario have intensified their anti-racism efforts in response to calls for greater accountability in creating safer and more inclusive campus environments. This study investigates the experiences of East Asian students in higher education—a demographic that has traditionally been overlooked in studies of racism in education. Critical Race Theory was employed as the main theoretical framework and qualitative case study as the research methodology. Data was drawn from individual semi-structured interviews with five East Asian university students; all of whom reported having experienced various forms of racial microaggression on campus space. The findings highlight the gaps …

A Transformative Journey: The Lived Experience Of Healthcare Learners Participating In Pain Management Education, Zoe A. Leyland

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There is little emphasis on pain management education for healthcare providers. In September 2019, the Master of Clinical Science (MClSc) program in Advanced Healthcare Practice at Western University in London, Ontario introduced a new, “Interprofessional Pain Management” (IPM) field. The program follows a competency-based framework, and the learners are all practicing healthcare providers with a special interest in pain. Part of the purpose of this thesis is to describe the process of development and implementation. The objective is to provide educators and healthcare providers an in-depth look at how the pain education is experienced. This includes exploring the lived experience …

The Trickiness Of Settler Colonialism: Indigenous Women Administrators’ Experiences Of Policy In Canadian Universities, Candace Brunette-Debassige

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Since the release in 2015 of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, a plethora of new administrative policies has emerged in universities. A variety of interconnecting Indigenous administrative roles has also arisen, many of which have been taken up by Indigenous women who find themselves working in challenging and complex contexts steeped in settler colonialism. Studies of the challenges these women face—indeed of Indigenous educational leadership and policies in higher education in general—are, however, sorely lacking. The present study is a qualitative exploration of the embodied experiences of twelve Indigenous women administrators (including the primary researcher) …

Investigating The Experiences Of Faculty Members And Administrators With Quality Assurance And Accountability In Higher Education In Ontario, Melanie Lawrence

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The main objective of this qualitative case study was to explore the professional experience of six faculty members and three administrators in higher education during a time of increasing quality assurance and accountability policies so to gain a deeper understanding of how neoliberalism is changing their work experience as academics in Ontario, Canada. I have presented the research findings by employing policy sociology as both theory and methodology using the method of the qualitative case study. This form of qualitative inquiry provided an opportunity to explore how each interviewee navigated the current context of neoliberalism within their respective roles in …

Internationalization Of Regional Higher Education In China: A Critical Policy Case Study Of A Transnational Double-Degree Program, Hailiang Zhao

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Abstract

While internationalization is omnipresent in the Chinese universities’ policy rhetoric and internationalization initiatives have been widely carried out, current research of China’s higher education internationalization mainly concentrates on the top research universities. This dissertation shifts the focus to study the internationalization of higher education in regional universities in China. Situated in the critical policy analytical framework, this study used qualitative case study approach to investigate national and institutional level perceptions of higher education internationalization in the Chinese context with a focus on a specific internationalization initiative, a double-degree program (SNZDD), in one regional public university (RU). Bourdieu’s concepts of …

Call For Inclusion: A Study Of Global Citizenship Education And The Ses Achievement Gap In Chinese Higher Education Institutions, Yang Hu

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With China’s increasingly active role in the global arena, both government officials and educators acknowledge the necessity of education that promotes global citizenship. This study examines nine university students’ learning experiences of global citizenship at Chinese higher educational institutions; this study also focuses particularly on the impact of socioeconomic status in this educational model. I employed an indigenous Confucian framework adapted by Li (2010) to conceptualize the individual learning process. Li’s theory enabled me to better understand and interpret how Chinese university students perceive and participate in global citizenship education and identify gaps within this process. This qualitative case study …

The Flipped Spanish Classroom: Student Engagement, Satisfaction And Autonomy, Ana Garcia-Allen

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This dissertation investigates how the implementation of a pedagogical innovation in the foreign language (FL) classroom enabled me to explore student engagement, autonomy and course satisfaction and understand preferred practices for FL development. The ‘flipped classroom,’ formally known as the ‘inverted classroom,’ has become ‘the’ new phenomenon in pedagogical innovations in the last few years (Jensen, et al., 2015). In a Flipped Classroom, direct instruction is moved out of the classroom and takes place at home, by means of reading text or viewing a video or a digital presentation. This appears, at least superficially, positive in that it maximizes class-time …

Leadership-As-Disciplinary Stewardship: A Social Movement For Kinesiology’S Future Success In The 21st Century University, Jenna R. Lorusso

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Some scholars in kinesiology have advocated for the adoption of the leadership-as-disciplinary stewardship (LDS) construct as a way for the discipline to survive and thrive in the challenging 21^st Century university climate. Despite budding interest in LDS, there is a lack of empirical research on the construct and the limited conceptual literature lacks the specificity, practicality, and transformative quality necessary for realistic and fruitful application. This participatory research, informed by the social movement theory of collective action frames, investigated the meaning, need, development, and motivation of LDS in kinesiology by engaging 10 senior scholars from various countries and sub-disciplinary …

Evaluation Of The Basic Science Pre-Clerkship Curriculum In Medicine At Western University, Madeleine E. Norris

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Basic sciences are a cornerstone of undergraduate medical education (UME), upon which the clinical sciences are built, however, research indicates that students’ basic science knowledge is not well retained. Additionally, UME curricula vary with respect to which basic science content is delivered, the depth in which it is taught, and the employed instructional methods, which could influence trainees’ knowledge retention. Thus, there is a need for an educational model that ensures students are competent in the fundamentals prior to entering a clinical setting. This investigation provides insights into current strengths and potential areas for improvement with respect to basic science …

Investigating An Approach To Integrating Computational Thinking Into An Undergraduate Calculus Course, Erin Clements

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Computational thinking can be conceptualized as patterns of thinking which align with certain fundamental computer science processes. While this algorithmic way of thinking has always been integral to computer science, it has recently gained momentum as a valuable approach to problem solving in a wide variety of contexts. Education researchers highlight the potential of computational thinking to transform, enrich, and revitalize teaching and learning experiences, by providing a systematic framework for analysis and enabling powerful computational tools to be incorporated to further enhance problem-solving activities. Research suggests that in order to maximize the affordances of computational thinking, it should be …

What Do Students Say About Writing? How Student Experiences Can Inform Canadian Writing Studies Pedagogy, Christopher Eaton

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This dissertation focuses on Canadian Writing Studies by working with students as co-constructors of knowledge. It stems from my pedagogical and personal desire to understand how students built their knowledge of writing in my first-year writing classroom. By working closely with ten former students, the study explored how their experiences in my writing course at Conestoga College (otherwise known as COMM1085) could inform writing pedagogy. To accomplish this, the study combined Academic Literacies theory with Rhetorical Genre Theory as part of a larger Critical Narrative Inquiry into the students’ narratives of experience. Simply put, these theoretical and methodological frameworks enabled …

Racialized Women's Experiences Of Sexual Violence And Harassment In Canadian Higher Education: An Intersectional Analysis, Shirin Abdmolaei

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Conducted through a qualitative case study, this dissertation focuses on 15 racialized women’s experiences of sexual violence and harassment while attending a post-secondary institution in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on the notion of intersectionality as a conceptual and theoretical framework, this study investigates how the intersections of their identities shaped their experiences. Findings revealed a number of critical insights with respect to the racialized dimensions of sexual violence and harassment. The behaviours, comments, and actions participants received from men in inter-racial contexts illuminates the simultaneous experience of racialization, sexism, and fetishization which makes racialized women vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment. …

Knock On The Door: A Feminist Standpoint Theory Case Study Of Internationally Educated Chinese Females Finding Academic Positions In China, Chenzi Feng Zhao

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This study examines how gender shapes the experiences of internationally educated Chinese females in trying to obtain academic positions in Chinese higher education institutions from a feminist standpoint theory perspective. The interactions between education and gender in the contemporary globalized world have been an important theme in studies about education, gender, and social equity. Identifying the gaps in the statistic-based understandings of gender parity, this study adopts a qualitative narrative method and interviewed four female scholars who have applied and interviewed for academic jobs in China in the past four years. The findings are presented as four elaborate narratives. The …

Psychosocial Factors And Early Career College Faculty: Teacher Identity, Teaching Self-Efficacy, And Sense Of Belonging, Kathryn D. Hansen

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The purpose of this integrated article dissertation is to present my investigation into the roles played by teacher identity, teaching self-efficacy, and organizational sense of belonging in the early careers of Ontario college faculty. The first study presents a mixed methods investigation of the effects of employment status on these psychosocial factors. Using a quantitative survey developed from a series of instruments in the literature, I collected quantitative data from 424 college faculty who were in their first three years of teaching. I also conducted focus group interviews with 27 participants in eight focus groups. My thematic analysis revealed four …

The Experiential Learning Connections Between University And Community: Recent Ontario Experience, Emmanuel Asafo-Adjei

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Experiential Learning (EL), including a range of pedagogical approaches such as co-ops and community service learning, connect the university and its external community. Universities are considering such approaches to meet a number of needs and priorities both on and off-campus. As it unfolds rapidly at the present time, EL becomes the connection between the university and the community beyond its gates, both locally and more extensively. However, university-community or so-called town-gown (TG) connections traditionally focus on research and/or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This thesis focuses on the teaching and learning connections, especially in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences …

Who I Am Is Shaped By My Past And Impacts My Future: Exploring Antecedents And Outcomes Of Self-Views Across International, Immigrant, And Canadian Born Undergraduate Students, Anjana Balakrishnan

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This dissertation focused on how various self-views variables (self-esteem, self-concept, and self-concept clarity) differ across and within groups of university students, are influenced by internal and external factors, and predict academic and non-academic variables. Key models of self and group perceptions were used in deriving hypotheses (i.e., Shavelson, Hubner & Stanton, 1976; Bosson & Swann Jr, 2009; Stephan, Ybarra, & Morrison, 2009). Across the four studies, self-report questionnaires were used. Studies 1 and 4 were completed online by international, immigrant, and Canadian born students. Studies 2 and 3 examined only international students, involved an experimental manipulation, and were conducted in-lab. …

Collaborative Mind Mapping To Support Online Discussion In Teacher Education, Rosa Cendros Araujo

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Mind maps that combine text, images, colour and layout elements, have been widely used in classroom teaching to improve retention, knowledge organization and conceptual understanding. Furthermore, studies have shown the advantages of using mind-maps to facilitate collaborative learning. However, there are gaps in the literature regarding the use and study of collaborative mind-mapping in online learning settings. This integrated-article dissertation explores the implementation of online collaborative mind mapping activities in a mathematics teacher education program at a Canadian university. The studies were developed with participants enrolled in three different courses where at least two of the online activities used collaborative …

Development And Evaluation Of An Online University Readiness Course Furthered By Capturing The Lived Experience Of Students During This Transition: A Multi-Perspective Understanding Of The Transition To University, Cortney Hanna-Benson

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In the transition to university, students may hold expectations about university life: how their classes, friendships, and support networks would change in university. They may need to adjust their time management skills and study strategies to better suit the new self-directed learning environment, while grappling with psychosocial and emotional changes resulting from the new social and living environments. ‘University readiness’ provided the context and rationale for development of a pre-university online course, Leg UP: An Introduction to Health Across the Lifespan. This program was evaluated in a quasi-experimental study to assess its effectiveness at easing students’ transition to university …