Education Commons^™

Becoming A Cosmopolitan Teacher: Empirical And Theoretical Inquires, James S. Budrow

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The contemporary conditions of the world are largely defined by global interconnectivity, heightened mobilities and super-diversity. Teachers and students are increasingly immersed in these conditions that prompt the heightened calls for internationalization of curricula and culturally relevant and inclusive school pedagogies. Teachers are also mobile, taking on positions beyond their local educational jurisdiction, where they must learn to navigate the intercultural and/or transnational conditions of unfamiliar locales and school communities. In turn, teacher education must respond by preparing teachers for both the super-diversity they may encounter in ‘local’ schools as well as for teaching ‘beyond their local.’ To better understand …

Education, Migration And Development Panel, Henri Boyi

Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020

8 graduate students/recent graduate presentations on education, migration and development. Moderated by Dr. Henri Boyi. Reporting of panel done by current GHS students of the 2021 class. Abstracts can be found under "Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020 Abstracts". Presenters as follows:

Jemima Nomunume Baada, "Experiences of Social Reproduction among Migrant Women in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana"

Elmond Bandauko, "This is a Good Place to Live! Narratives and Counternarratives on Territorial Stigmatization in Harare's Informal Settlements"

Chinelo Ezenwa, "A History of 19th Century European Missionaries in Colonial Africa with Specific References to the Impact of Missionary Schools"

Rebecca Jackson, Jade Rozal, …

University Partnership Of The Confucius Institute: A Case Study In Canada, Yinan Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study aims to explore the university partnership of the Confucius Institute between its partner from Canada and China. Drawing on organizational theory through the lens of higher education partnerships, the study uses a qualitative research method with a case study approach. Taking the Confucius Institute in a Canadian university as a case, the study probes into research questions regarding the nature and characteristics of the partnership built via the Confucius Institute as the platform, the key stakeholders involved in the partnership of the Confucius Institute, and in what ways have the key stakeholders shaped the partnership. Data were collected …

What Are We Saving? Tracing Governing Knowledge And Truth Discourse In Global Covid-19 Policy Papers, Lynette Shultz, Melody Viczko

Education Publications

As the world went into a swift lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sending individuals to their homes and shutting businesses and institutions, the closing of schools posed big problems. The majority of the world’s children were out of school leading to the largest period of school closures in history. We saw educators turning towards responses, not aimed at collegial and community-engaged strategies for education in an emergency but to online learning cast as education/business as usual. This study explores the logic driving this global response through the policy papers released by three key global education actors: 1) the OECD …

Tracing Controversies In Internationalization: National Actors In Canadian Higher Education, Melody Viczko

Education Publications

No abstract provided.

Learning Experiences In International Exchange Programs: Perspectives Of Chinese Undergraduate Students In Canada, Xue Ji

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this study, I explore the learning experiences of Chinese-origin undergraduate who completed an international exchange programs in Canada. Specifically, I use transformative learning theory and J.W. Berry’s (1987; 1997; 2006; 2008) acculturation model to examine how Chinese undergraduate students interpreted their learning experiences and how these learning experiences may have altered their perspectives and practices. I applied an interpretivist qualitative case study by collecting data from semi-structured interviews with six female Chinese-origin undergraduate students after the completion of their exchange program. in Canadian HEIs provides me insights into their learning experiences. The findings show that despite experiencing some challenges …

Practical Measurement For Strategic Growth In An International School District, Daryl Stevens

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The accountability era of the past three decades failed to produce significant educational change, yet the standardized measures of student performance in primarily cognitive domains that epitomized that era continue to consume a disparate amount of energy and influence a disproportionate degree of decision-making in education organizations. That strategic-growth-crippling perseveration on standardized assessments is compounded by a general lack of change-process training, understanding and purposeful use in education contexts, and particularly exacerbated by the inability of education organizations to institutionalize effective innovations. The purpose of this study was to understand how a school district’s leadership team might move beyond a …

Challenges And Social Supports Of Chinese Parachute Kids In A Canadian Secondary School: A Case Study, Yueyi Su

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigates the experiences of Chinese parachute kids: secondary school international students who ‘parachuted’ to Canada without parental accompaniment, with a focus on the relationships between their faced challenges, social supports, and well-being. The researcher applied a qualitative case study by conducting face-to-face interviews with eight participants, aimed to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences through analyzing their narratives under the concept of Bourdieu’s capital theory. Compared to existing studies, the results indicate similar challenges faced by Chinese parachute kids. However, those who had participated in a higher standard ‘study abroad’ program enjoyed a higher degree of social …

Supporting Teacher Retention In A Proprietary Asian School, Andrew Shutsa

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how best to support Green Planet Academy (GPA; a pseudonym), an international school in a large Asian city, in improving teacher retention beyond initial two-year contracts. The problem of practice that is addressed is the current low retention of teachers and lack of a plan to retain them. Through a variety of lenses, including a social constructivist worldview, self-determination theory, distributive leadership, and transformational leadership, the specified problem of teacher retention problem is framed and analyzed. Teachers moving around to various international schools is not out of the ordinary, indeed it is almost expected, …

Supporting International School Student Social-Emotional Well-Being, Matthew Boomhower

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

International school students face challenges to their well-being that are unique to their context. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) aims to support the social-emotional well-being of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and English Language Learners (ELLs) at a private, for-profit, international school in South East Asia. It is framed around a Problem of Practice (PoP) based on the need to address the lack of strategically-aligned policies, programs, and systems to support the social-emotional well-being of a diverse and international student body. Foundational to this OIP are leadership approaches and lenses of servant leadership, shared leadership, and systems thinking. Bolman & Deal’s …

Policy Transfer Across Borders: An Actor Network Analysis Of Standards For Principals And Vice-Principals In China, Wei Wei

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adopting a critical approach to policy analysis, this qualitative comparative case study uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) to explore the transfer of the global discourse on leadership standards to China, the adaptations of the discourse as observed in the Professional Standards for Compulsory Schools Principals (PSfP) (MoE of the PRC, 2013), and the enactment of the PSfP in schools. While most studies researching the PSfP are limited to related background in China, this dissertation situates the policy in the global convergence of leadership standards, and highlights the nature of policy transfer, which is multi-directional and political. Focusing on the notion …

India’S Right To Education Act: Parents’ Perceptions On Involvement In Private Schools And School Responsiveness, Namarpreet K. Rodrigo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

India enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) (Government of India, 2009) for elementary education, reserving 25% of seats in private schools for socially and economically disadvantaged groups starting from grade 1 or pre-primary depending on the school setting. However, some studies show it may not be implemented and there is exclusion among students (Kaushal, 2012; Mehendale, Mukhopadhyay, & Namala, 2015; Noronha & Srivastava, 2013; Srivastava & Noronha, 2016). Furthermore, there is little research on how parents’ involvement in the school milieu plays a role in their children’s education, and whether private schools …

Improving International Teacher Retention In São Paulo International Schools: What Can Leaders Do?, Christiaan Rombaut

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The exponential growth of international schools worldwide has created a high demand for native English-speaking teachers around the world. São Paulo international schools are not exempt from this increase in demand for these expatriate teachers. As international schools typically offer short-term contracts of two years to expatriate teachers that are often not renewed, international teacher retention becomes a significant factor in improving teaching and learning in international schools. High teacher turnover is even more a concern in South American international schools, where teachers tend to stay at their schools for less time than in international schools in other regions and …

Best Practices In Graduate Education At Western, Carol Beynon

Purple Guides

At Western, we believe that best practices in graduate education require the development of healthy and productive working relationships between supervisors and graduate students. This document provides important information for both graduate supervisors and students and is intended to support the development of that productive working relationship. Graduate students and supervisors are encouraged to read the contents carefully and to use the suggestions provided below as you begin and progress throughout your graduate journey together.