This study investigates how the Canadian policy landscape toward international students has changed since the pandemic. It uses a policy mapping of 97 announcements made between January of 2022 and March of 2024 by the federal government, the governments of Ontario and Quebec, and three organizations with expertise in international or higher education. Using the “What’s the problem represented to be?” (WPR) approach, the article analyses the increasing attention being paid to (un)ethical practices as a lens through which policy bodies are constructing the role of international students in Canada. This highlights the differing representations of the “problem” of ethical practices, as well as the call-and-response nature of announcements between policy actors. The focus on ethical practices has created links between international students and national issues such as housing shortages and labour market needs, assigning responsibility to unscrupulous actors but also to students themselves for creating these challenges.

This study delves into the evolving landscape of post-secondary education in Ontario between 2012 and 2018, emphasizing accountability and transparency within public universities. Examining the provincial government’s funding formula (FF) and the introduction of strategic mandate agreements (SMAs), the research explores their impact on university strategy. This study investigates the introduction of a new FF, the process of its introduction, and its relation to SMAs. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with university administrators involved in the process, the research employs governmentality and the concept of calculative practices to connect accounting calculations with the governance of the post-secondary education sector. Despite FF adjustments, the study reveals minimal shifts in university behaviour, providing nuanced insights into the complex dynamics of university funding and strategic decision making.

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Cet article présente deux prototypes de démarches pédagogiques élaborées dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche visant à sensibiliser des personnes enseignantes et bibliothécaires en formation universitaire à la prise en compte de la diversité à travers un objet commun à leur pratique professionnelle : la littérature. Ces démarches ont été élaborées par l’équipe de recherche, puis mises à l’essai dans trois cours universitaires en sciences de l’éducation et en bibliothéconomie. Le présent article ne vise pas à analyser les retombées de leur mise à l’essai, mais plutôt à décrire en détail les fondements de ces démarches. L’élaboration de ces dernières et les suites à donner s’inscrivent dans un questionnement continu qui appelle à la responsabilisation, à l’authenticité et à la vulnérabilité de l’équipe de recherche. Plusieurs des outils présentés dans cet article et leurs fondements pourront être utiles pour les personnes formatrices universitaires de différents domaines des sciences de l’éducation.

Research highlights academic, mentoring, and personal characteristics students associate with ideal supervision. The Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) invited graduate students from all disciplines to share their views on the qualities and characteristics of ideal supervision. The quantity and diversity responses posed a challenge: How can we systematically analyze textual data from diverse graduate students across campus? In this article, we describe the creation and application of a qualitative coding framework—a systematic method for categorizing and coding textual data—to synthesize 824 student responses to an open-ended survey question. We administered the GSES in 2022 and 2023 and conducted a quantitative content analysis and qualitative interpretation of 993 data extracts. Findings are organized into five categories: personal characteristics, teaching/mentoring, relational trust, professional support, and academic support. This deductive approach to qualitative analysis enabled us to identify trends and patterns in the traits graduate students most frequently associated with ideal supervision. These findings have practical applications: researchers can adapt the qualitative coding framework to analyze textual data, graduate students can use findings to identify suitable supervisors, and university leadership can leverage findings to improve supervisory development.

The interplay between mental health and academic behaviours has been understudied. This study examined the relationship between foundational academic behaviours (e.g., attending class and meeting assignment deadlines), student mental health and well-being, and academic performance. Participants consisted of 229 students (52.6% female) who participated in a first-year introductory learning-to-learn course. Findings from structural equation modelling indicated: (a) higher levels of foundational academic behaviours predicted higher GPA, (b) higher levels of emotional well-being predicted higher levels of foundational academic behaviours and higher GPA, and (c) foundational academic behaviours mediated the relationship between emotional well-being and GPA. Findings affirm the integral role of mental health in academic performance and highlight the mediating role of foundational academic behaviours in this relationship. The association between emotional well-being and foundational academic behaviours underscores the multifaceted nature of academic performance and the importance of considering both mental health and foundational academic behaviours in academic success. Findings from this study suggest that managing behaviours that facilitate engagement in academic tasks, and mental health as a potential internal condition for learning, are both important pieces to the academic success puzzle.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is a leading framework for addressing social justice issues in Canadian higher education. After October 7, 2023, occurrences of antisemitic incidents have surged on campuses in Canada. Yet, antisemitism is often not included or minimally mentioned in the existing EDI frameworks. The task of the EDI policies and plans is to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion for all historically, persistently, or systematically marginalized groups. We examine the ways in which current EDI policies and plans include antisemitism and Jewish identity, analyzing EDI policies and plans collected from 28 universities across Canada. The content analysis reveals three patterns: (a) marginalization of antisemitism, (b) construction of Jewishness as a religious identity, and (c) coupling of antisemitism and Islamophobia. We argue that, at a time of growing divisiveness, politicization, and misinformation, universities who are committed to EDI should create a truly inclusive campus for people from diverse backgrounds and positions.