(2018). Working on the "Frontline" of Education: Full Day Kindergarten Working and Learning Conditions Survey. BCTF Research. British Columbia Teachers' Federation In Spring 2018–almost a decade into province-wide implementation of Full-day Kindergarten–the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) Research Department and British Columbia Primary Teachers' Association (BCPTA) investigated who the K/K-1 teachers are, how they teach and learn, and whether they have the resources and supports needed to effectively carry out their professional work. This report presents highlights from the BCTF/BCPTA 2018 Full day Kindergarten Working and Learning Conditions Survey. With a response rate of almost 50% of current K/K-1 teachers in the province, the survey provides a reliable snapshot of K/K-1 teachers' classroom spaces and teaching approaches, professional learning experiences, and advice for creating better learning and working conditions for themselves and their students…. [PDF]
(2018). Aboriginal Learners in British Columbia's Public Post-Secondary System. Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training The report provides an overview of Aboriginal learners (First Nations, Inuit, and M√©tis peoples) in British Columbia, Canada. Section 1 examines the data on transitions from K-12 to the post-secondary system. Section 2 discusses recent trends in the B.C. public post-secondary system including headcount, full-time equivalents and credentials. Section 3 analyzes the Aboriginal learner data by institution, program area and credential type. Section 4 highlights demographic characteristics of the Aboriginal learner population including differences by gender and age group. Section 5 focuses on the results of the student outcomes surveys of recent graduates from baccalaureate, certificate, diploma, associate degree, and apprenticeship programs. It also compares the experiences and outcomes of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadian learners attending public schools and public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia…. [PDF]
(2013). Community Engagement, Globalisation, and Restorative Action: Approaching Systems and Research in the Universities. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, v19 n2 p94-102 Aut. It is clear that there is a wide range of arguments that reflect varying degrees of disaffection with the university worldwide. A great deal of understandable effort is directed at the impact of globalisation, especially the way it is making universities engage in academic capitalism (Slaughter and Leslie, 1997). The alternative arguments emphasise democratic internal governance and external community service driven by the goals of social equity, democratic values, and concern for the public good. Currie and Subotsky (2000) referring to the South African situation, caution that without exploring the basis upon which reconstructive community development can be institutionally operationalised, the twin goals of global and redistributive development will remain unsolved. They point out the overinvestment in accounting for the new organisational and epistemological features of the "market" university, policy and academic debates that are silent on the corresponding features of… [Direct]
(2012). Working Together: Intercultural Leadership Capabilities for Both-Ways Education. School Leadership & Management, v32 n4 p309-320. This article explores the concept of interculturalism and its complementary relationship with the Aboriginal Australian idea of "both ways". The need for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff to learn to be intercultural teachers and leaders, as well as the needs of the system to work interculturally to achieve educational outcomes, is emphasised. This article suggests that in order for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educational leaders to work within an intercultural world, new leadership capabilities must be learned and acquired. (Contains 4 notes.)… [Direct]
(2016). International Education Is a Broken Field: Can "Ubuntu" Education Bring Solutions?. International Review of Education, v62 n1 p101-111 Feb. "Ubuntu" is an African philosophy of human kindness; applying it in the Global South would fundamentally alter the design of the education sector. This essay argues, however, that the field of international educational development is not, in fact, structured to support an education influenced by "ubuntu" ideals. Specifically, the educational development milieu includes donors, implementers and academicians who do not sufficiently question the power dynamics which underpin education development. This creates a field where the power imbalances between donors and host governments are not interrogated, where development workers place too much faith in their own knowledge rather than that of local education experts, and where development practitioners rarely appreciate the privilege of working in countries which are not their own. An "ubuntu" education would alter the educational development field in myriad critical ways, a few of which are suggested in this… [Direct]
(2016). Admissions Indicators and Practices Leading to the Success of Mature Students. British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer A 2013 British Columbia Council of Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) research report suggested the need to continue research on mature students for the sake of ensuring access to postsecondary education (PSE) for adults and other categories of non-traditional students. The 2013 report laid a basis for this study which investigates key elements of undergraduate mature student admissions in BC. The study objectives included the following: (1) To review existing practices in assessing mature applicants for admission; (2) To identify indicators of mature (non-traditional) student preparedness that are not related to high school grades; (3) To identify subcategories of mature students that may require different means of assessment; (4) To identify successful practices in creating opportunities for access; and (5) To identify areas for future research and, if appropriate, the development of suggested practices. Research literature recognizes that mature student admission characteristics… [PDF]
(2019). Enriching Children through a Culturally Specific Summer Learning Program: 2019 Evaluation of Hmong Karen Youth Pride. Wilder Research Minnesota has a persistent and substantial student achievement gap based on race and family income. There are also substantial achievement gaps between native English speakers and English learners (Minnesota Compass, n.d.). In 2019, Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) worked with Hmong American Partnership (HAP) and Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) to offer a summer learning program called Hmong Karen Youth Pride (HKYP). The six-week program included a literacy curriculum and cultural enrichment activities. The literacy curriculum was taught by SPPS teachers using the district's Hmong dual language program curriculum. The enrichment activities were taught by HAP's academic support workers and were designed to educate and inspire cultural pride in Hmong and Karen students. Wilder Research conducted an outcome evaluation of HKYP. The evaluators examined student reading assessments and conducted a student survey and parent focus groups. This report describes HKYP and highlights the… [PDF]
(2014). Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Science Education and Its Integration in Grades 7 and 8 Canadian Science Curriculum Documents. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, v14 n4 p311-329. Though science education has been prominent in the Canadian educational system, researchers increasingly recognize the scientific and educational value of integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into their curriculum. Despite national strategies to integrate TEK, Canada has yet to initiate a comprehensive study of its prevalence and representation within the curriculum. This study is the first to explore the current status of TEK in provincial Grade 7 and 8 science curricula and to make recommendations for further research. The results from a mixed methods content analysis of the official curricula reveal a high variation in the prevalence and representations of TEK…. [Direct]
(2014). Early Impacts of the Victorian Training Guarantee on VET Enrolments and Graduate Outcomes. Research Report. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) The impact of the first round of Victorian demand-driven reforms, referred to as the Victorian Training Guarantee (VTG), on enrolments and training outcomes is the focus of this report. The VTG reforms were introduced to create a more responsive training market and were implemented between July 2009 and January 2011. Subsequent reforms introduced in Victoria in 2012 are not part of this analysis. A particular focus of this report is on impacts for Indigenous students, those from a non-English speaking background and students with a disability. The impact of the VTG on enrolments and training outcomes for students from different age groups is also considered. Key messages in this report include: (1) For 15 to 19-year-olds, the Victorian Training Guarantee is estimated to improve the likelihood of being in full-time employment six months after training; this group was also satisfied with their course. The outcomes were not as positive for those aged 20 to 24 years, however, possibly… [PDF]
(2016). Up Close and Personal: Theorising Care Work in Adult Education. Research Papers in Education, v31 n3 p337-351. How do we account for the close personal bonds and deeply caring relationships forged by educators with learners in many adult educational encounters? The literature is relatively silent on the emotional and relational basis to adult educator work. This is a serious silence, given the stressful nature of adult education in developing contexts such as South Africa and the relative vulnerability of such educators. This article addresses this gap by exploring a range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks which may help navigate the relational and affective landscape of adult educator work as care work. Here the frameworks of African perspectives on learning, feminist perspectives on learning, expanded conceptions of transformative learning and Freire's pedagogy of love are considered. The second part of the article shares some findings on adult educators' emotional and relational bonds with learners from a study of the Human Rights Democracy and Development project and discusses… [Direct]
(2014). Inheritance as Intimate, Implicated Publics: Building Practices of Remembrance with Future Teachers in Response to Residential School Survivor Testimonial Media and Literature. Canadian Social Studies, v47 n2 p110-126. In this article, I contextualize and outline my use of testimonial literature, including orature, by residential school survivors in a preservice course focused on building practices of witness- ≠as-study (Simon & Eppert, 2005). My theorization of the course curriculum and pedagogy draws on key texts by Roger Simon as a means of proposing pedagogical strategies that teacher educators and teachers in Canada might bring to their classrooms as we take up the invitation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to engage the broader Canadian society in the task of publicly witnessing and commemorating the testimonies of First Nations, Inuit and M√©tis (FNIM) residential school survivors…. [PDF]
(2014). "With" Not "About"–Emerging Paradigms for Research in a Cross-Cultural Space. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, v37 n4 p376-389. This paper will examine questions and considerations regarding research design and methodology. For researchers working within an Indigenous domain, it is important to recognize the historical legacy left by researchers of the past as well as the impact of a new generation of Indigenous researchers who are speaking back to the Academy about emerging Indigenous research paradigms. This paper will seek to locate an appropriate methodological approach for a Doctoral study within this discourse. It will explore ideas such as the post-colonial legacies of research for Indigenous people and the emergence of a generation of Indigenous researchers and how this has impacted on the choices being made around research and in particular research methodologies. It will examine what other methodologies and research processes are being proposed and used in these emerging paradigms and then attempt a careful examination of what the most appropriate type of methodology might be for research focused on… [Direct]
(2016). Challenging Transitions: Trades and Trade-Offs for Racialised Youth in Canada's Mining Industry. International Studies in Sociology of Education, v26 n2 p121-137. This article examines the precarious learning-to-work transitions experienced by aboriginal youth in the Canadian oil sands mining industry. Drawing from an empirical case study of a mine-sponsored, pre-apprenticeship training programme, challenges experienced by programme participants, as well as their socialisation into the world of work are examined. As a group that is considered "at-risk," aboriginal youth in resource rich regions are also vulnerable to being targeted as a source of racialised labour by companies who want to appease local resentment over land dispossession and environmental pollution occurring on traditional lands. Informed by the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the concept of "vocational habitus," the inquiry critically examines the sets of dispositions that become embodied in training participants, which I argue align with the reputational risk management objectives of the sponsoring company…. [Direct]
(2015). Memoir Pedagogy: Gender Narratives of Violence and Survival. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, v27 n2 p31-45 Mar. Through our reading of the memoirs of women political prisoners in Morocco, Iraq, and Iran, this article explores the transnational feminist praxis of building solidarity. We cross-read these memoirs in the context of Aboriginal women's encounter with state violence in Canada. This cross-reading and contemplation are intended to trouble the liberal notions of multiculturalism, settlement, and integration and to connect transitions in the lives of women who deal with war, militarism, racism, violence, and poverty. Therefore, the question we address is how to read the memoirs in the context of history and find the missing links between, for instance, colonization and migration, militarization and liberal democracy, racism and multiculturalism? How can we read them in the context of Canadian history and contemporary geopolitical positioning? In this article, we discuss the memoir genre in relation to public pedagogies, describe the memoirs on which we focus, discuss their main themes… [Direct]
(2017). Play in Early Childhood Education: Learning in Diverse Contexts. Second Edition. Oxford University Press This book demonstrates clear links between play and Australian education policy and framework documents, including the Early Years Learning Framework and National Quality Standards. It provides clear and in-depth coverage of essential theories, including good coverage of the Reggio Emilia approach and provides real life examples of professional practice provided throughout the text. Case studies and questions in each chapter encourage critical reflection on both the theory and practice of children's play. The text includes cross-cultural perspectives, including examinations of curriculum issues and children's play in Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia and Tanzania. Each chapter is accompanied by unique photographs providing authentic documentation of children's learning through play in a variety of social and cultural contexts. This book covers a range of topics highly relevant and of interest to today's educators, including: developing early childhood curriculum; assessing… [Direct]