(2015). "Doing School": Cross Cultural Encounters. TESOL in Context, v25 n1 p4-15 Sep. In this paper, a series of vignettes is used to explore important current challenges in TESOL. These vignettes are drawn from many different settings, including Bengali-, Pahari- and Chinese-speaking children in UK primary schools, speakers of Aboriginal English in Australia and Chinese teachers of English on courses in Higher Education. A number of themes run through these different contexts: What counts as literacy and learning? What are the expectations of the students and, in the case of school children, their parents? How do these differ from those of their teachers? What power issues shape these expectations? In answering these questions, emphasis will be placed on the dangers of "othering" and the importance of syncretic approaches that recognize and build on student experience…. [PDF]
(2014). Reflections on School Engagement: An Eco-Systemic Review of the Cree School Board's Experience. in education, v19 n3 p17-46 Spr. The parameters are readily interesting: The Cree School Board experience over the past 25 years represents one of the first occurrences worldwide of a society having globally acknowledged that a curriculum, as a whole, did not necessarily fit a specific group, rather than the individuals not performing within a curriculum. As such, this represents a characteristically eco-systemic experiment where a move has been made from the simple–and not-so-unusual observation of poor school performance from a community as a whole–to the conclusion that a curriculum was poorly matched to the group it was set to serve. This assessment has led most notably to the adoption of Cree as the language of instruction in order to increase performance. Statistics for the Cree School Board (CSB), however, are not showing convincing signs of improvement and Cree parents appear increasingly divided in their assessment of how the curriculum now serves their children. The purpose of this article is to throw… [PDF]
(2012). \We Need to Talk about It!\: Doing CYC as Politicized Praxis. Child & Youth Services, v33 n3-4 p178-205. Like many others seeking to make room for alternative voices in the narrow canon of CYC theory and practice, our work is steeped in theoretical and activist perspectives on colonialism, neoliberalism, normativity, social power, and social change. This critical, multidisciplinary lens is too often cast outside the realm of authentic CYC. In this article, we share our simultaneous struggles with and passion for our work and the CYC field and consider what can be gained from a critical ethic of practice, research, and activism. Our transtheoretical framework, drawn from Indigenous, postcolonial, queer, feminist, and poststructural perspectives, helps us unpack how coming together critically, hopefully, productively enables us to trouble exclusionary notions of CYC. We present vignettes from our practice and research that explicitly challenge the assumption that critical practice is somehow less effective and less responsive to the realities of the diverse children, youth, families, and… [Direct]
(2012). Identity and Knowledge in Indigenous Young Children's Experiences in Canada. Childhood Education, v88 n5 p286-291. In Canada, as around the world, large numbers of Indigenous children encounter culturally dissonant learning environments in preschools and schools. Many of these children experience serious challenges, in part because of a striking mismatch between their early learning experiences in the family and community, and the expectations, perceptions, and task demands of non-Indigenous educators. These mismatches undoubtedly contribute to frequent identification of First Nations children as having learning disabilities, and to consequently high rates of early school failure and drop-out (Assembly of First Nations, 2005; Richards, 2008). Thus, it is crucial to understand the ways in which Indigenous children are ready to learn, and to acknowledge the skills, interests, and knowledge they have developed in their families and communities during their early years. This article highlights First Nations children's participation in family and community activities in order to learn such… [Direct]
(2009). Recentering the Philosophical Foundations of Knowledge: The Case of Africa with a Special Focus on the Global Role of Teachers. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, v55 n3 p269-283 Fall. The historical and actual marginalizations of African thought systems and knowledge constructions have been expansively responsible for the effectiveness of the dominant educational and governance systems imposed on Africa. The idea as well as the practice of these realities would conform to what Said (1993), Fanon (1967, 1968), and Memmi (1991) have called the cultural and psychosocial colonizations of both the physical and mental spaces of the conquered. The reality also speaks about the role of Europe's most important thinkers such as Kant, Hobbes, and Voltaire, who all directly or indirectly paved the way for the projects of "de-philosophization" and "de-epistemologization" that still affect people's lives. With the emergence of new cosmopolitanisms now creating highly multicultured societies in especially the so-called liberal democracies of the West, new contexts have also emerged of what one might counterintuitively call the "multiculturalization of… [Direct]
(2009). The Influence and Enlightenment of Confucian Cultural Education on Modern European Civilization. Frontiers of Education in China, v4 n1 p10-26 Mar. Confucianism, not only is the core of Chinese cultural educational thoughts but its influence has been identified in the West by the European scholars. And with the impact of Confucianism civilization, the theological authority in the Dark Ages wavered. The human-based ideas of Confucianism that people are the foundation of the country, the governing way of \Governance with virtue\, the way of personnel placement that men of great virtue and talent are elected who will cultivate mutual trust and promote universal understanding, the nationwide education thought that there should be education for everyone without distinction and the imperial examination system under the idea that those who excellently learned should serve (in the government), have exerted beneficial influences on the European modern civilization. Looking back at the course of Confucian influence in the West and the influence on the Enlightenment and modern civilization, it is easy to find that Confucianism education is… [Direct]
(2011). (Re)constructing and (Re)presenting Heritage: Education and Representation in an American Indian Homeland Preservation Project. Online Submission, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia. Experiences of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (Occaneechi) in constructing a heritage revitalization initiative known as the Homeland Preservation Project and organizing related educational programming were analyzed through an ethnographic case study. The purpose of the study was to understand the importance of the heritage museum as a site for organizing educational initiatives. Scholarship in museum studies treats heritage museums as sites for the construction of identity through the portrayal of culture and history, but focuses largely on display rhetoric and visitor interpretations. I used ethnographic methods to develop a case as an example of a local tribal museum and its significance, as explained by those involved in organizing and executing related educational initiatives. Having achieved state recognition only in the past decade, the Occaneechi are in the midst of a concerted effort to educate tribal members and descendents, other area tribes, and non-Indigenous… [PDF]
(2008). Indigenous Knowledges and Native Science as Partners: A Rejoinder. Cultural Studies of Science Education, v3 n3 p787-791 Sep. In this response to commentators on our article entitled, \How might Native science inform 'informal science learning'?,\ we offer elaboration on the role of Indigenous Knowledges (IK) in informing Native Science. In the response, we argue that IK is not only pertinent to the conversation of Native Science, but that it is a necessary piece in the conversation. Rather than addressing the commentaries directly, we attempt to point to the ways that the commentaries support and challenge our original arguments. [For the article, \How might Native science inform 'informal science learning'?,\ see EJ804175.]… [Direct]
(2010). Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Attitudes and Use among Health Educators in the United States. American Journal of Health Education, v41 n3 p167-177 May-Jun. Background: Interest in and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is increasing. However, CAM remains an area of nascency for researchers and western practitioners. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. health educators' attitudes toward CAM and their use of common CAM therapies. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among members of a professional health educator listserv. Results: Health educators generally have positive attitudes toward CAM and about 90% have used at least one CAM therapy in the last 12 months. Differences in CAM attitudes and use were significant, with females reporting more positive attitudes toward and use of CAM. Discussion: Health educators' overall positive attitudes toward CAM are consistent with the limited extant literature. However, important differences were found by various demographic characteristics, not previously identified. Translation to Health Education Practice: The results of… [PDF] [Direct]
(2013). A Review of Canadian Mental Health Research on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, v6 n2 p106-126. This article summarizes Canadian research in "dual diagnosis" spanning the past 20 years and places this research within a historical and policy context. Canadian researchers have made important contributions with regard to understanding inpatient and outpatient mental health services, families, autism, specific disorders and behaviors, aboriginal mental health, forensics, and emergencies. In this article, we aim to summarize several of these contributions. Following a summary of recent research findings, we offer some suggestions and directions for future research in our country…. [Direct]
(2013). A Phenomenological Study of Teaching Endangered Languages Online: Perspectives from Nahua and Mayan Educators. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of South Florida. Language and culture teaching has always been a complex and challenging task. For many educators, their teaching experiences are rooted in their earlier preparation, their classroom situations and their curriculum. In this study, indigenous educators recount their lived experiences with teaching their language and culture at a distance. These educators belong to either Nahua or Mayan speech communities where endangered languages are maintained. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, my participants described and explained their perspectives and experiences with teaching, studying, and integrating technology. I focused the interviews, the reflective writing tasks and their artifact sharing on their experiences in an online environment for a predominantly US audience through distance learning platforms. In the case of the Nahuas, they taught synchronously through Skype while the Mayans taught asynchronously through a socially mediated network (i.e. a Ning powered network)…. [Direct]
(2010). Degree Completion for Aboriginal People in British Columbia: A Case Study. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, v36 n1 Spr. This article presents a case study of a First Nations educational initiative in British Columbia. Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Integrated Studies Program created two unique adult education programs in response to a request from the Aboriginal-operated Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT); this request involved the two institutions establishing a partnership and then collaboratively developing degree-completion programs for Interior Salish peoples living on their traditional lands, which surround NVIT's Merritt campus. The Aboriginal Community Economic Development (ACED) Program and the Aboriginal Community Economic Development and Business Studies (ACED-Bus. Studies) Program were successfully offered at NVIT over a four-year time frame. A student's completion of either program resulted in the conferring of a Bachelor of General Studies degree from SFU The ACED program curriculum (2002-04) was designed to enhance Native student knowledge of Aboriginal community economic… [Direct]
(2012). Using the CREDE Standards for Effective Pedagogy in a Greenlandic Settlement School. Multicultural Perspectives, v14 n2 p65-72. In this case study the authors investigate how a Native Greenlandic teacher planned and implemented the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence Standards for Effective Pedagogy, an instructional model that builds upon students' cultural and linguistic strengths. Researchers and educators interested in transformative education may find this article helpful in bridging multicultural education with practical teaching methods…. [Direct]
(2011). Vocational and Higher Education in Australia: A Need for Closer Collaboration. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, v33 n6 p583-594. An important way to improve access for groups that are under-represented in tertiary education is to facilitate the movement of students from vocational education and training to higher education institutions. However, there is substantial evidence of rigidities and obstacles to such a closer integration between these two sectors. This paper discusses the problems experienced by students currently articulating from vocational education and training to higher education institutions, identifies impediments to collaborative pathways and suggests measures for overcoming such obstacles…. [Direct]
(2012). The Deep Politics of War and the Curriculum of Disillusion. Policy Futures in Education, v10 n3 p340-351. This article examines the historic uses of the phenomenon recently defined as \Deep Politics\ to shed light on the underlying realities of the contemporary War on Terror. Deep Politics describes the multiple uses of misinformation to marshal public sentiment in directions desired by dominant political and economic forces. Facing the reality of Deep Politics today can be a disillusioning experience for those wedded to the rhetorical tropes of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. However, as the article attempts to illustrate, drawing on indigenous knowledge practice, disillusionment can be the first step in a longer process of cultural healing, away from naive realism to an appreciation of the sacredness, or wholeness, of life, and the courage to face and deal with the broader truth of things. (Contains 8 notes.)… [Direct]