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Exploring Translanguaging And Identity Among Jordanian Graduate Students In Ontario, Mohamad Almashour

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the use of translanguaging strategies by Jordanian graduate students in Ontario, Canada, as a means of adjusting to the local language and culture. It further scrutinizes the influence of these practices on their identities. The study also probes into the potential opportunities and impediments that these students may encounter in higher educational establishments in Ontario.

Data collection was accomplished through semi-structured online interviews, which were subject to qualitative analysis to respond to the research queries. The analytical process was grounded in a theoretical framework combining sociocultural theory, critical literacy, and language ecology, thereby offering a profound understanding …

SahuhlúKhane’ UkwehuwenéHa They Learned To Speak It Again: An Investigation Into The Regeneration Of The Oneida Language, Rebecca Doxtator

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the significance of the Oneida language to two groups of Oneida speakers and learners in the Onʌyota’á:ka’ Oneida Nation of the Thames community. This study’s research questions included: (1) What is the significance of Oneida language to Oneida adult language learners who are seeking to acquire the language and what are they doing to regenerate the language? (2) What is the significance of Oneida language to Oneida adults who are conversationally fluent in Oneida language and what are they doing to regenerate the language? (3) What does an investigation into my personal relationship with Oneida language reveal? …

Social Transformation And Investment In Spanish Language Learning Through International Service Learning: A Case Study, Jennifer Kozak

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the current era of globalization, universities strive to internationalize their curriculum. One popular method, is the addition of an international service learning (ISL) component to the curriculum. ISL programs focused on language learning often aspire to encourage social transformation as well as language competence. While this option is gaining popularity and has been the object of some research, the role of language in universities’ internationalization process remains under-researched, as does the role of ISL as a tool for language learning. This dissertation examines a week long ISL program involving a Canadian-Cuban university partnership. It is guided by the following …

Leadership Strategies For Adapting To Changes In Ontario Colleges: Tensions, Dilemmas, And Opportunities For Continuing Education Deans/Administrative Leaders, Susan C. Cluett

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This exploratory case study explores unique leadership challenges facing Ontario college Continuing Education leaders as they navigate institutional responses to contemporary changes in the higher education landscape. Nine Ontario college deans/administrative leaders participated in semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using a modified version of constant comparative analysis. Adopting the theoretical perspectives of sensemaking and identity from an Interpretive stance, the analysis leads to the presentation of a conceptual model that represents the interpretation of these leaders’ experiences.

The conceptual model that emerged from this study adopts the position that sensemaking resolves identity ambiguities and is triggered by leadership challenges. These …

Motivation, Identity And L2 Reading: Perceptions Of Chinese Esl Students In Canada, Binru Zhao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study was conducted to explore and examine whether there are different motivational tendencies among Chinese English as a Second Language (ESL) students with different reading proficiency levels, and the identity transformations they may have experienced during the process of their ESL learning. The quantitative results demonstrate statistically significant differences between two groups of participants (high proficiency vs. low proficiency), and participants’ reading motivation levels are positively correlated with their previous reading proficiency levels. Furthermore, the qualitative semi-structured interviews indicate that participants’ self-perceived motivation toward reading in English is mainly academic, and they are experiencing a certain level of identity …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Medical Students’ Reflective Writing: Social Accountability, The Hidden Curriculum, And Critical Reflexivity, Stacey Ritz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years, many medical schools have adopted a ‘social accountability’ approach, implementing a variety of activities and curricula aimed at developing a sense of social responsibility in medical students. The research of this thesis uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to scrutinize the writing of senior medical students, with a view to uncovering how identity, ideology, and social position are expressed by students who have undertaken a curriculum designed with social accountability in mind. The analysis examines the conditions of discourse practice, student orientations to a professional medical identity, and ideologies of community, rurality, indigeneity, and gender. I discuss these …

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 …