Education Commons^™

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

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

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. …

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

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

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. …

Investigating Elementary School Food Programs: Impacts On Child Knowledge And Dietary Behaviours, Paige Colley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Good nutrition is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet can promote positive health outcomes, protecting against health problems caused by nutritional deficiencies. Canada has reported poor diet quality and high rates of overweight and obesity among children. Obesity has been linked to several non-communicable diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer. Efforts to improve lifelong, healthy eating behaviours must be implemented.

This dissertation investigated the impacts of school food programming on child nutrition. A Centrally Procured School Food Program (CPSFP) was implemented at 30 elementary schools in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. …

Environmental Changes Following The Implementation Of The Childcare Physical Activity (Play) Policy, Victoria Tran

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Environmental factors such as the infrastructure and equipment in childcare centres can influence the physical activity levels of young children. This study explored if implementing the Childcare PhysicaL ActivitY (PLAY) policy resulted in unintended environmental changes that were conducive to physical activity in childcare. Childcare centres were randomized to an experimental (n = 5) or control (n = 4) condition. Three Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation Self-Report (EPAO-SR) tools were used to measure 12 best practice items in relation to the childcare environment and early childhood educators’ (ECEs) practices. Descriptive statistics and mixed-effects logistics regression models were …