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Mental Health Literacy And Ontario Secondary School Curriculum, Christine J. Manser

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Student centered mental health initiatives have seen a rise in implementation as the mental health risks for adolescents and young people are becoming more recognized. However, regardless of these initiatives, youth continue to demonstrate poor mental health which can result in stigmatizing attitudes and behavior, low self-esteem, poor help-seeking behavior, and increased suicide risk. To explore the disconnect between the goal of educational initiatives and their current demonstrated outcomes, this dissertation utilized social constructivist learning theory and school-based mental health literacy to conduct a content analysis of curriculum documents and textbooks in use within Ontario high schools. This case study …

A Language Barrier To Human Capital Development: The Case Of Guatemalan Students, Fidel Pérez Macal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Not being proficient in a school’s predominant language of instruction can represent a language barrier for students’ human capital development. In Guatemala, 24 languages are spoken apart from Spanish, which is the language of instruction in the majority of schools, and about 40 percent of the total population has a non-Spanish language as a mother tongue. National standardized tests show that non-Spanish mother tongue (non-SMT) students are outperformed by SMT students in elementary and secondary schools.

My thesis analyzes whether non-SMT students face a language barrier and traces its source. Two main findings emerge. First, non-SMT students are not yet …

Training, Barriers, And Self-Efficacy To Physical Education Instruction, Stephanie Truelove

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The overall purpose of this dissertation was to explore the physical education (PE) training that generalist and PE specialist elementary school teachers receive during their pre-service programs across the province of Ontario, and the differences between these two types of teachers regarding barriers faced and self-efficacy in instructing PE. Using an online survey, Study 1 aimed to examine and compare the PE teaching self-efficacy of generalist and PE specialist elementary teachers across Canada and the barriers to instruction faced. Study 2 qualitatively explored the experiences of elementary school generalist and PE specialist teachers when instructing PE, and the perceived barriers …

Understanding Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Perspectives Of Reconciliation: A Case Study, Kaitlyn Watson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Reconciliation in the Canadian context is difficult to define (Graeme & Mandawe, 2017; Martin, 2009), but is often linked to the residential school system (Chrisjohn & Wasacase, 2011; Nagy, 2012). This instrumental case study examines how reconciliation is understood and activated among a group of educators and community members involved with a professional learning event held in Southern Ontario inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Employing narrative inquiry, and informed by decolonizing methodologies, seven event organizers, four presenters, and five attendees participated in conversational interviews. Two main themes were uncovered from the interview data. The first, reconciliation …