Education Commons^™

The Implementation Of Tes: A Case Study, Ahlam Ayoub

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Palestine, the current teaching reforming trend towards international accountability, standards adoption and borrowing for presumed “best practice” in teacher education (development and teaching is grounded by economic globalization. The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has been committed towards attaining such a movement and objectives. Within the aim of qualifying teachers, a number of substantial policies have been launched, including the most important initiation of the national “Teacher Education Strategy” (TES). This study analyzes TES implementation process for reforming teacher education, particularly the rationality, dynamism, and complexity of …

Engagement Through Emancipation, Empowerment, And Equity: Heutagogy And The 21st-Century Classroom, Stephen R. Perchard

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Low student engagement has become a problem for Engagement Academy (a pseudonym), as well as for most schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. Data indicates that approximately 70% of graduating students are disengaged and feel their educational experience is not adequately preparing them for life in the 21st-century. Issues related to student engagement reflect the failure of the province’s school system to adapt to societal trends and remain relevant in the 21st-century. Although a 21st-century workforce values competencies such as creativity, critical-thinking, and collaboration, traditional school systems value and reward compliance and conformity. Worse, a critical examination of traditional education systems …

Improving The Professional Capacity Of Campus Administrators At A Multi-Campus College, Jennifer E. Strickland

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The institutional knowledge gap for campus administrators (CAs) across a multi-campus college is the Problem of Practice (PoP) to be addressed in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP). A multi-campus college has initiated a new professional development review (PDR) for CAs to improve professional excellence across the organization. The PDR launched to identify professional development needs for college managers, to improve operational efficiency, and to help the college achieve its strategic goals. CAs shoulder the responsibility for the campus-level implementation of college policies and procedures which necessitates a firm understanding of college operations and effective leadership and management skills. When there …

Self-Regulation In Early Writing Strategy Instruction, Perry Klein, Ashley Bildfell, Jill D. Dombroski, Christine Giese, Kristen Wing-Yan Sha, Serena C. Thompson

Education Publications

No abstract provided.

Creative Common Worlding With Research Creation In Early Childhood Education, Sarah M. Hennessy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Creative Common worlding with research-creation in early childhood education engages with provocations that disrupt dominant understandings of children and their relations with more-than-human and human others. Reconceptualizing alternatives through art, this dissertation contemplates the potent possibilities beyond human stewardship, underscores the influence of an uncommoning lens, and emphasizes the difficulties with humancentric notions of research. If, by disrupting how we understand ourselves and our role in place, we modify our actions and change our habits, then perhaps we can live differently and contribute differently to the planet. Through a common worlds framework together with research-creation, this dissertation considers climate education …

Guidance Counselors' Enactment Of Educational Equity Policies: A Cross-Case Analysis Of Ontario And Trinidad And Tobago, Kathleen Sandy-Thompson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examined the experiences of guidance counselors in enacting educational equity policies in one district school board and eight secondary schools in Ontario; and three school districts and eight secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). In Ontario, the enactment of educational equity policy in local district school boards is influenced by broader issues of neoliberal globalization and their impact on education equity, causing a shift in focus on reducing student gaps and increasing student achievement towards the marketization and commodification of education. Likewise in T&T, the issues in education and policy enactment are centred around the lingering effects …

Second/Foreign Language Learners And Narrative Film Comprehension: An Intercultural Reception Study, Natalie Killick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sociocultural concepts (Krashen, 1981; Vygotsky, 1978; Wood et al., 1976) and a constructivist narrative film theory (Bordwell, 1985) offer interdisciplinary insights for a study exploring second/foreign language (L2/FL) interpretations of two intercultural films (films made in linguistically and socioculturally diverse contexts) with English audio/dubbing (Chafe, 1980; Desilla, 2014; Erbaugh, 2010). A qualitative reception study examined the potential of intertextual (i.e., knowledge of other texts) and cultural information as learning scaffolds as well as style and narrative cues as forms of comprehensible input used by post-secondary international Chinese and domestic Canadian students as they watched sequences from Shaolin Soccer (Chow, 2001) …

Investigating The Perspectives Of Early Years Professionals’ Anti-Racist Practices, Amy Williams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative case study explored the perspectives and experiences of early years professionals engaging in anti-racist practices in Ontario licensed child care settings. Critical race theory and whiteness studies were the guiding theoretical frameworks for the study. The qualitative case study draws from semi-structured interviews with four early years professionals working in licensed child care settings. Based on the experiences of the early years professionals, there seemed to be an overall lack of in-depth continuous anti-racist practices among the participants. The findings highlight that the participants engage in anti-racist work using play materials, videos, and discussion-based learning with children. Some …

Critical Discourse Analyses Of Early Education-Land Assemblages Within Settler-Colonial British Columbia, Canada, Courtney A. Neidig

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

‘Outdoor’ education receives ample attention in early education, as land and dominant developmental discourses fuel promissory outcomes for children as future market driven citizens. What has not received sufficient attention are critical examinations of ‘outdoor education’ that account for persistent colonial-capitalist-neoliberal logics, especially in British Columbia, Canada where ‘outdoor’ education abounds. This thesis explores how early education perpetuates the ongoing creation of colonial pedagogies through a historical analysis of ‘outdoor’ education, and a Discourse-Historical analysis of the 2019 British Columbia Early Learning Framework (BCELF). Addressing three main discourses (quality, citizenship, and well-being and belonging), I underscore the need …

The Role Of The Principal In Supporting Learning For Students In High-Poverty Elementary Schools, Rose Anne Kuiper

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Students enter the school systems with a variety of needs and experiences, each unique to themselves. Unfortunately, many students and their families experience the effects of poverty, and these circumstances shape those school students’ unique needs. As the current times become more challenging, principals and teachers are faced with great demands to meet the needs of the students they serve. High-poverty schools need the expertise of successful principals who are aware of and acknowledge the impact of poverty on student learning; and are able to assist teachers to not only understand the impact poverty has on students’ social and academic …

A Strategic Plan For The Improvement Of Literacy For First Nation Students, Laverna H B Strongeagle

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Organizational change within an educational system is a multi-faceted endeavor that requires commitment and perseverance with a driven passion. The focus of the problem of practice (PoP) for this OIP is to examine underlying issues and contributing factors for the low literacy and numeracy rates for First Nation students through the lenses of collaborative leadership and intergenerational historical trauma. The achievement gaps in First Nation literacy and numeracy have been consistently widening these past five years according to data collection; however, for the purpose of this OIP, I will examine one school’s levels. The assessment tools utilized to compile data …

The Cultivation Of Systemness For Enhanced Equity, Diversity And Inclusivity At A Mid-Sized District School Board In The Province Of Ontario, Pino Buffone

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The cultivation of systemness for enhanced equity, diversity and inclusivity at a mid-sized district school board in the province of Ontario is addressed. The development of shared mindsets regarding a small number of ambitious goals (system coherence) and the implementation of administrative processes such as policies, procedures, practices and protocols (system alignment) that support the optimization of the multi-year strategic plan may, at times, prove difficult to achieve, especially as it relates to bias awareness and critical consciousness, as well as ameliorated fairness and impartiality throughout the organization. Viewed constructively as an opportunity for organizational improvement towards enhanced equity, diversity …

Addressing Issues Of Trust And Power Gap By Empowering Middle Leaders In An Asian International School, David R. Butler

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan explores trust, leadership, and power at True North Academy (a pseudonym), a Canadian-themed international school in Asia. The Problem of Practice (PoP) recognizes a gap between the school’s current collaborative practices and its aspirations being a cutting-edge learning organization. Recent events, especially the global pandemic, have highlighted the school’s reliance on traditional hierarchies and top-down decision-making. Unpopular decisions made without staff input have damaged teacher trust in the leadership, raised concerns of a staff exodus, and stalled ongoing improvement of school programmes. Within a theoretical framework of social constructivism, a plan is proposed to address the …

Cracking The Shell Of White Fragility: Priming Employees For Anti-Oppressive/Anti-Racist Learning, Martha Jansenberger

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Despite the adoption of AO/AR practice frameworks by most human service organizations, consistently integrating the practical elements of AR work into professional interactions continues to challenge many organizations (deFinney, 2011; Saraceno, 2012). This OiP considers the barriers to AO/AR praxis for staff in a crisis shelter, drawing from relevant leadership theory, CRT, change management research, and education research to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at building capacity among employees. With a focus on diminishing the impulse to deny or refute the impacts of systems of oppression on racialized and equity seeking groups, this project uses Kolb and Frohman’s model for …

Developing Comprehensive Indigenous Education Programs Through Meso Level Leadership To Promote Indigenous Student Success, Lynne Tomlinson

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Abstract

Annual reports to the B.C. Ministry of Education on Indigenous student progress in 2019/2020 indicated notable gaps in academic achievement, sense of belonging, and post-secondary transitions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous students. Meso level leaders are responsible for developing new programs and resources to support Indigenous student success. They do not yet have the skills and knowledge to address the gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents a collaborative inquiry approach to decolonize the K-12 system that promotes interwoven perspectives of Western and Indigenous epistemologies, pedagogies, and methodologies. A collaborative professional learning community …

Enhancing Cultural Awareness Policy And Pedagogy At A Bilingual Nursery School, Rola Touckly

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Globalization and migration have impacted the cultural demographics at educational settings worldwide. Families with young children relocating to new countries experience distress and a sense of cultural loss, in terms of language, beliefs, and values. Grounded in the social constructivist worldview, this organizational improvement plan proposes how to support cross-cultural kids and their families during the periods of transition and adaptation, at an international nursery school located in the Middle East. Influenced by the cross-cultural adaptation theory and a multidimensional ethical framework, the problem of practice addresses the need to develop a relevant policy and to enhance culturally responsive practices. …

Leadership Of Diversity In The Ontario Fire Service, Carol-Lynn Chambers

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The purpose of this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is to interrogate the problem of leadership and change management as related to addressing the problem of gender diversification in Ontario’s municipal fire departments. The goal is to identify appropriate leadership approaches and attributes that are helpful in cultivating a high-performing, respectful, and collegial environment in which qualified females can be accepted and successful in working alongside male firefighters. The current situation is fraught with complaints, premature resignations, illness, and highly publicized experiences of women encountering negative experiences while working in municipal fire departments. My Problem of Practice is focused on the …

Building Intercultural Capacity In School Teams To Support Refugee Students, Heather A. Young

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

In a period of globalization and forced migration, refugee numbers are increasing exponentially, and unprepared school systems embrace students as families settle in unfamiliar territory. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores the experiences of a school team at Calluna Elementary School (CES, a pseudonym) in Southern Ontario, where staff strive to build their collective intercultural capacity in order to best serve an influx of newcomers who have survived war and significant loss. The Problem of Practice (PoP) involves addressing staff struggles with trauma-informed pedagogy, early literacy instruction, and maintaining an asset-focused perspective, through a refugee critical race theory lens. To …

Supporting Curriculum Leadership Capacity Development At A Ministry Of Education, Jeannine A. Tremblay

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

The objective of this organizational improvement plan (OIP) is to assist one Canadian ministry of education close the gap between its curriculum leaders’ roles and capacities. Tasked with leading curriculum reform projects, they are asking the ministry for help. By further supporting their continued education in the areas of curriculum theory, critical education studies, and social foundations, the organization can help its curriculum leaders deepen their knowledge and strengthen their practice. From a systems thinking perspective, focusing the ministry’s collective domain on curriculum leadership capacity development will shift individual and system domains, thereby affecting the education system’s instructional capacity and …

Community Integration Through Cooperative Education (Cice): A Post-Secondary World Fit For All, Stephanie Kathleen De Franceschi

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Students with developmental disabilities are a growing and diverse population. Higher education landscapes are becoming increasingly complex. Despite academic and personal supports available to all Ontario college students through student services centers, Marshall College (a pseudonym) is experiencing a disconnect between the stated vision, mission, and values and the Community Integration Through Cooperative Education (CICE) program and its students. Diverse views have polarized senior administration, faculty, and staff on how to adapt to having students with developmental disabilities accessing post-secondary education through the CICE program. This Organizational Improvement Plan explores the organizational context of Marshall College and proposes an improvement …

Exploring The Effects Of A Chinese Heritage Language School On The Identity Construction Of Its Adolescent Students, Angela Dong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative case study examines the identities of four adolescent students in a Chinese heritage language school in Atlantic Canada using a combination of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and textbook analyses. Drawing from the conceptual approaches of reflexivity and translanguaging, this study explores the participants’ understandings of what it means to be Chinese, how Chineseness relates to feelings of Canadianness, and the role Mandarin plays in their overall identity constructions. Existing literature (e.g. Lu, 2001; Shin, 2010) has found that maintaining fluency in a heritage language has positive effects on speakers’ cultural identities. The findings of this study show that …

Adopting A New Service Delivery Model To Respond To Student Holistic Needs Within An Ontario University Setting, Andre De Freitas

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Post-secondary institutions are constantly working to improve their students’ on-campus experience. In this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), I address the registrar office’s service operations of an Ontario University’s opportunity to adopt a new service delivery model to improve the student experience. Many other Ontario universities, including John State University (JSU; a pseudonym), are facing an increasingly competitive landscape. Delivering a high-quality student experience through service is a strategy to distinguish the institution from its competitors as well as respond to performance metrics that the Ministry of Colleges and Universities reviews. The registrar’s office is implementing a new service delivery model, …

Learning Analytics In Post-Secondary Business Education: A Scoping Review Of Reviews Protocol, Jisu Kim Mr., Tiffany Bayley

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Learning Analytics is a growing discipline as educational institutions aim to exploit data and data analytics for several reasons, especially in higher education. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consensus on how learning analytics should be defined and what subjects fall under the purview of learning analytics. The blurred boundaries of what learning analytics encompasses have given rise to multiple studies and systematic reviews that have been published without any consistent agreement to develop the field in a particular direction. Consequently, we are outlining a protocol for a scoping review to map and summarize existing scoping reviews that have been …

Outreach Program, Cognitive Variables And Stem Identity: Mediation And Longitudinal Mediation Study Of Middle And High-School Students’ Career Aspirations, Abdulehed Kasim Yarkin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of the study was to investigate cross-sectionally and longitudinally the direct and indirect effects of a STEM outreach program in Ontario, Canada, on middle and high-school students’ STEM career intentions through STEM self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interest and identity. The STEM outreach program provided students with hands-on, investigative and exciting workshops aiming at increasing interest in STEM disciplines and careers. Mediation and longitudinal mediation analysis procedures were employed to analyze a secondary data to answer the following research questions: 1) To what extent did the STEM outreach program influence high-school students’ STEM career choice goals directly and indirectly through …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Undergraduate University Students With Part-Time Jobs, Miguel F. Bernard Bravo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored how the pandemic and the shift to online learning impacted university students’ experiences of learning and working, and how students’ capital and other resources impacted their university experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen undergraduate students who had paid employment in the last 12 months were recruited. In interviews participants were asked about their experiences with work, schooling and balancing the two with the pressures of the pandemic. Students cited financial concerns, as well as challenges with difficulties with online learning, motivation, and isolation. Importantly, this study found that students experiences differed in accordance with their capital and …

An Integrative Study Of The Effect Of Early Learning With Touchscreen Technologies Using Samr Framework: A Meta-Analysis And Systematic Review, Atefeh Taherian Kalati

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have brought about a remarkable shift in early childhood learning. Among different technological devices, touchscreens have attracted special interest among young children given their intuitiveness and interactive features. However, the existing empirical findings regarding the effect of this technology on young children’s learning are not consistent. Touchscreen technologies have been also postulated to have the potential for transforming learning experiences. However, there is a dearth of research explicating if the transformative potentials of touchscreens are benefited in early learning and examining the factors/conditions contributing to the improvement of young children's learning with touchscreens. To address these gaps in …

Mapping Governmental Engagement With Community Engaged Learning In Canadian Higher Education: An Environmental Scan Of Key Trends, Hannah R. Argiloff

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This is an environmental survey my supervisor and I conducted pertaining to the landscape of government engagement with Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities.

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a valuable type of experiential learning characterized by collaboration between student and community partner/ stakeholder for the creation of a mutual outcome.

Given the relations between provincial governments and their influence over publicly funded universities, compounded by a recent uptick in CEL programs across Canada, we wanted to survey government rhetoric, policy, and legislation across the country to create a picture of the interactions between provincial governments and CEL in the …

Making The Connection Explicit: Service Learning, The Sdgs, And The University’S Third Mission, Chloe Bissell

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Service learning (or community engaged learning) is a rapidly growing form of experiential education that results in mutually beneficial partnerships between students, institutions and local communities. SL (or CEL) is well-developed at European universities, and a variety of networks exist to further SL as a pedagogy. We examined how a range of universities consider SL a part of their institutional missions, and if explicit connections were made between SL and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (a universal framework of 17 goals to achieve by 2030) and the university’s third mission (an orientation toward the public good). This study will …

Enhancing Chemistry Education Through Team-Based Active Learning Strategies, Katelyn Helka

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Retention in STEM can be impacted by different psychosocial factors like sense of belonging, STEM identity, sense of community, and sense of support. The research conducted was used to design a study that will measures these psychosocial factors at the beginning and end of a first-year, general chemistry course. The research also aimed to determine the best active learning method to implement in the general chemistry course, that has over 2000 students enrolled in it, that could improve student feelings towards these psychosocial factors.

University Students With Disabilities, Accessibility, And The "Return To Normal", Kate M. Mahoney, Samuel A. Schneider, Anika Sebudde

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the context of the "return to normal" on university campuses in the ongoing pandemic, our research team wondered what students with disabilities could tell us about what makes university classes and services more and less accessible to them, and in that broader context, what pandemic modifications they hope continue. After two years of innovation, if we rush back to normal, we are at risk of squandering hard-won new skills, technology, and insights that are of broad value for all students. Disabled students' experiences and perspectives, as reported in 80 survey responses and 16 interviews, disrupt common assumptions about accessibility …