Education In Canada Research Articles

An evaluation of Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns (ACoRN), a Canadian education program, in Chinese neonatal nurseries.

The Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns (ACoRN) program was developed in Canada to train health care providers in the identification and management of newborns who are at-risk and/or become unwell after birth. The ACoRN process follows a stepwise framework that enables evaluation, decision, and action irrespective of caregiver experience. This study examined the hypothesis that the ACoRN educational program improved clinical practices and outcomes in China. In a before-and-after study, ACoRN training was provided to physicians, neonatal nurses, and administrators in 16 county hospitals in Zhejiang, PRC. Demographic and clinical data were collected on babies admitted to neonatal units before (May 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009) and after (June 1, 2010 to April 30, 2012) training. A total of 4,310 babies (1,865 pre- and 2,445 post-training) from 14 sites were included. There were more in-hospital births (97.8% versus 95.6%, P<0.01) in the post-training epoch, fewer babies needing resuscitation (12.7% versus 16.0%, P=0.02), and more babies finishing their care in hospital (67.4% versus 53.1%, P<0.0001). After training, significantly more babies were evaluated as having respiratory distress at admission (14.2% versus 9.4%, P<0.0001); more babies had saturation, glucose and temperature measured on admission and at discharge; and more babies received intravenous fluids (86.3% versus 72.8%, P<0.0001). No significant improvements were noted in mortality (0.49% [post] versus 0.8% [pre], P=0.19 and adjusted odds ratio 0.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.23 to 1.29). ACoRN training significantly increased patient evaluations and changed clinical practices. However, we were unable to ascertain improvement in morbidity or mortality.

Silencing Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Analysis of Canadian Educational, Legal and Administrative Practice

As a result of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (or TRCC, 2015a, 2015b), calls to action concerning education and law reform have been made. Currently, there is an increase in reconciliation discourse in law, healthcare and education policy, curricula and pedagogy. In Canada, efforts to decolonize institutional structures compel scholars and activists to highlight the imperative of critical analysis of identity and place in answering the calls to action. Although it was developed by the Ministry of Education for the province of Ontario, more than a decade ago, prior to the TRCC, the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework continues to inform policy and administrative procedures. Informed by Indigenous knowledge systems embedded in restorative justice and peace-building practices, this paper presents a critical analysis of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework (2007) and finds evidence resembling discursive settler-colonial patterns of Indigenous erasure through the practice of silencing Indigenous participation and voice. Through this critical analysis, several themes emerged including colonialism, survivance, patriarchy, self-identification, notions of education, assessment, and “us versus them” binary narratives. In response, this paper argues for a trans-systemic and transdisciplinary approach to the critical analysis of discursive patterns of silencing and erasure in policy, law reform, and administrative processes. Further, through deepening interpretations and understandings of Indigenous theory and knowledge systems, it may be possible for settler-colonial stakeholders to more acutely discern the impact of settler-colonialism embedded in education, policy, administration, and legal discourses. These findings have implications for educators and administrators as well as administrative, law and policy reform.

Establishment and validation of a mental health literacy measurement in Canadian educators

We aim to create the first mental health literacy measure addressing mental health knowledge of educators and assess its psychometric properties. We developed a 30-item multiple choice measure, Mental Health Literacy Tool for Educators (MHL-ED), with experts in both mental health and education. We administered it to educators (n = 909) from 6 Canadian provinces. We analysed the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, construct validity and responsiveness to change of MHL-ED. Factor analysis resulted in 4 factors of MHL-ED addressing: general mental illness and related treatment; assessment and diagnostic tools and treatments; causes and risk factors of mental illness; and epidemiology of mental health and mental illness. MHL-ED demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability. The construct validity was established because the hypothesis was supported that school based mental health professionals scored significantly higher than classroom teachers and school administrators/school support staff; and further MHL-ED scores were positively related with stigma measures. We did not identify floor or ceiling effects of MHL-ED. MHL-ED is reliable and valid to evaluate mental health literacy levels among educators working in junior high and secondary school settings, and may be considered for use in future research in this field.

“My Family’s Weight on My Shoulders”: Experiences of Jewish Immigrant Women from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in Toronto

In dominant western society, we tend to interpret the experiences of immigrant women as emancipation and liberation, rather than as the complex experiences of subjects acting within several hegemonic systems. While intersectional and transnational feminism led to questioning this view through the discussion of the challenges faced by immigrant women from developing countries, their counterparts from socialist countries have been largely ignored. To address this gap, this article focuses on the employment and social reproduction experiences of 11 white, professional, heterosexual, immigrant Jewish women from the former Soviet Union (FSU) who are now living in Toronto, Canada. The data used in this article was collected as part of a study on lived experiences of Jewish immigrant couples from FSU in Toronto. This study utilized intersectional feminist analysis as a theoretical framework and combined the qualitative methodologies of Testimonio and Oral History. This data suggests that, for these women, immigration had mixed outcomes. Although the material conditions of their lives may have changed, the traditional moral associations between femininity, domesticity, and maternity remained strong. Apparent heterosexual privilege both challenged and reinforced their subordination, in that it facilitated their access to Canadian education and professional jobs and promoted their social legitimacy/status, while also resulting in greater subordination at work and home where they had more tasks to fulfill than in premigration life. These findings challenge the monolithic representation of immigrant women’s experience and enhance our ability to generate a more comprehensive theory of those experiences.

Facetiming common worlds: exchanging digital place stories and crafting pedagogical contact zones

ABSTRACTChildren, educators, and researchers at a child care center in Victoria, Canada and Melbourne, Australia have been collaborating on an early childhood education pedagogical inquiry project that grapples with children’s relations with place and technologies. Resisting narratives of environmental stewardship and instrumental digital education that dominate in the settler colonial contexts of contemporary Canadian and Australian early childhood education, this article shares stories, practices, questions, and tensions generated within the inquiry. After outlining how we think with Facetime on iPhone within a common worlds pedagogies framework, we detail two practices generated in the inquiry: (1) exchanging digital place stories and (2) crafting pedagogical contact zones with place and technologies. These practices, we argue, make visible how our collaboration reconfigures children’s relationships with place and technologies in consequential ways, and risks generating uneasy, unfamiliar, and tentative pedagogies that respond to messy entanglements within digital, more-than-human common worlds.

Excited by E-Moderation? A Canadian Educator Shares Her Best Hacks

Many of today's educators who seek new experiences are considering positions as electronic moderators (e-moderators). However, the transition from overseeing a physical classroom to managing a virtual learning environment can quickly become overwhelming and confusing. With limited supports and training opportunities available, e-moderators can struggle to find a balance between course content delivery and consistent candidate communication. This article has a twofold purpose. It first seeks to define and clarify the e-moderator role, particularly as it relates to online teacher professional development in Ontario. Next, the author outlines six strategies for success, targeting specific areas including setup, planning, time management, online presence and feedback. Through the sharing of these scaffolds and tips, the author?s goal is to present e-moderation as an exciting opportunity for both networking and learning.

Appropriation of affordances of multiliteracies for Chinese literacy teaching in Canada

Innovative literacy teaching and learning approaches have proved that multiliteracies enables teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. However, few studies have shed light on examining Chinese teachers’ understanding and practices of multiliteracies in Canada. To respond to this challenge, this qualitative case study aims to understand how Chinese teachers who pursued multiliteracies graduate studies perceive and implement multiliteracies in teaching young CLD children Chinese literacy in Canada. We investigated narratives of two Chinese teachers to provide useful insights into their lived experiences of multiliteracies for Chinese literacy teaching. A constant comparison approach was adopted to analyze three data sources through narrative analysis: interviews, reflective writings, and curriculum materials. Findings suggest that these teachers actively appropriated affordances of multiliteracies for Chinese literacy teaching in Canada drawing upon graduate courses in multiliteracies. The paper concludes with the pertaining implications to highlight the importance of teacher professional development.

Communication research and teaching in Canada

Communication research and teaching in Canada

Article 3 from Series of 5: Black-White Differences in Canadian Educational Attainments and Earnings

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED WITH THE INFORMING SCIENCE INSTITUTE. Aim/Purpose.................................................................................................................................................................................................... Data from two large Canadian surveys are used to analyze educational and earnings performance of Blacks and Whites. The main purpose of this study is to determine how well blacks perform relative to Whites in these two areas. Background........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Canadian researchers have been studying black performance in education and labor markets since the 1970’s. Much of this research was done before 2000. It showed that there was considerable discrimination in the way Blacks were treated in the labor market but fewer problems concerning their success in the educational system. Since then more data has become available and it is possible to re-examine this issue and explore new dimensions of black economic performance. Methodology..................................................................................................................................................................................................... Educational outcomes are categorical and are analyzed by ordered Beta probability models. Earnings functions are estimated by mixed linear regression models where the mixing procedure is used to account for unobserved differences in respondent ability. Contribution....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Our results update and expand what was known before 2016 using the most resent Canadian Census and Youth Smoking Survey of which the latter contains academic performance information for students in primary and secondary school. Findings.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. The main results show that while Black males are able to access the educational system without much racial prejudice, they are not treated fairly in the labor market. Black females do less well in both the educational system and labor markets. Blacks earn significantly less than Whites for all age groups, all levels of education, and in all occupations. They are more likely to be less than fully employed and more likely to be at the bottom of the income distribution. These findings are consistent with earlier studies but the amount of discrimination is larger and black/white earnings differentials are larger than those found by researchers using earlier surveys. Recommendation for Practitioners .................................................................................................................................................................. These results are disturbing and the persistence over long periods of time suggests that some form of expanded government intervention is needed. Recommendations for Researchers................................................................................................................................................................. The surveys used here provide inadequate information on the process of discrimination. More and better data is needed to understand why, for example, black students do less well than their white counterparts in primary and secondary school and yet overcome these problems in tertiary education. Impact on Society.............................................................................................................................................................................................. Discrimination of any sort is costly to the victims but is also detrimental to society as a whole since it represents a failure our institutions to deliver a fair and just society for all groups regardless of race or ethnicity. We hope our results will draw attention to the need to address this problem.

Enlightenment of Engineering Teaching in Canada on Design Experiment Courses in Local Colleges and Universities

Enlightenment of Engineering Teaching in Canada on Design Experiment Courses in Local Colleges and Universities

Academic challenges for the preterm infant: Parent and educators' perspectives

BackgroundLittle is known of educators' knowledge of the impact of preterm birth on academic achievement and nothing is known of parental perspective of this knowledge. AimsTo examine the knowledge of the impact of preterm birth on academic achievement amongst Canadian educators, characterize educators' attitudes towards these challenges, and examine parental perspectives of the educational system for their preterm child. Study design and methodsThis was a mixed methods study involving kindergarten to Grade 3 educators and parents of preterm children aged 4–8 years. Focus groups were conducted with 35 educators and surveys were collected from 138 educators and 174 parents. Thematic analysis was employed for focus group data and findings from surveys were summarized using descriptive statistics. ResultsThemes identified from focus groups included: educators' knowledge was experiential, limited information sharing by parents, and lack of resources. No consensus existed amongst educators on facilitators or barriers in the educational system to help children born preterm. On the parent survey, parental disclosure of medical history was more frequent with lower gestational age. Most parents (94.9%, 130/137) advocated for extended neonatal follow-up and only 59.9% (82/137) expressed confidence that the school was meeting their child's needs. The educator survey confirmed these themes, except educators advocated for disclosure of the child's medical history (91.7%, 100/109). Additional qualifications and experience enhanced educators' knowledge, being a parent of a child born preterm did not. ConclusionEducators are unprepared to address the academic challenges for the preterm child and training is needed. Parents and providers need to be prepared to advocate.

3.38 The Canadian Research and Education for the Advancement of Child Health (Canreach) Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) Continuing Medical Education: Evidence of Behavioral Change Based on Clinical Profiles of Referral

3.38 The Canadian Research and Education for the Advancement of Child Health (Canreach) Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) Continuing Medical Education: Evidence of Behavioral Change Based on Clinical Profiles of Referral

Teaching for Civil Society in Finland: A Canadian Perspective on Finnish Educators' Reflections

This article describes a study that took place in Helsinki, Finland in late 2015. A Canadian education professor conducted individual interviews with Finnish educators: six practicing teachers in Helsinki schools, two education professors at the University of Helsinki, and the advisor to the president of Finland’s teachers’ union. Although all five Nordic countries are known to support the social welfare state, Finland was chosen because it is considered to be the most economically left. The study is an exploration of how Finnish educators consider their role and the role of the school regarding civil society and the commons in Finland. The actual research question for the study was, “How do Finnish educators think about the school’s role in supporting the commons and in fostering social cohesion with immigration?” The nine participants were unanimous in their support of the commons and Finland’s generous social welfare state, apparently the result of a collectivist mentality in Finnish society. However, there appears to be growing social, economic, and political discrimination for immigrants and refugees who look different from White Finns. The six teacher-participants expressed uncertainty around how best to deal with these tensions, and were committed to attempting neutrality in their teaching of these social problems, or perhaps even ignoring them altogether. Despite the small sample set, I believe it represents a cross section of views of educators in contemporary Finland. Recent studies mentioned in the literature review support this position. Some comparisons with similar studies in Canada are briefly mentioned. Keywords: teaching for social justice; comparative education; Finnish education; controversial issues; Nordic social democracy.

Trends in Inclusive Education in the USA and Canada

Abstract This paper deals with foreign experience of implementing inclusive education for children with special educational needs in the United States and Canada. Legal documents on inclusive education in foreign countries have been analyzed. The most relevant topic of American and Canadian scholars’ researches on reforming special education is related to integration, that is gradual transition from exclusion of children with special educational needs to inclusion in comprehensive schools. Based on the analysis of American and Canadian researches on inclusive education it has been concluded that the changes in legislation and education policies of North American countries aim to achieve the highest level of progress in regular education and special education. It has been found that the development of inclusive education in Canada has undergone and is significantly influenced by the American education system. However, unlike the United States, Canada does not have a single legislative act that would standardize the introduction of inclusive education in the country. Each province has autonomous educational documents that specify the requirements for the inclusive education organization. It has been specified that in American schools, effective educational technology in inclusive education is a team approach when effective partner relationships are formed. A key to the successful integration of a child with special educational needs is the development of an individual curriculum. The Canadian education system, having its own national peculiarities that predetermine the differences in the course of education reforms, has always supported the democratic movement for civil rights and anti-discriminatory attitudes in US education. Foreign law and inclusive practice are an important source of ideas about possible ways to solve the problems of implementing inclusive education in Ukraine.

The Canadian Educational Association: The first 100 years 1891- 1991

The Canadian Educational Association: The first 100 years 1891- 1991

Essays on Canadian Education

Essays on Canadian Education

Canadian Education in the 1980's

Canadian Education in the 1980's

The Decima Research English Curriculum

ln this final decade of the millennium Canadian educators at all levels are being asked to justify their programs and instruction in terms of the requirements of business and industry. Curriculum development does not escape such scrutiny. In this paper I describe the struggle that occurred over conflicting ideologies when a new English language arts K to 12 curriculum was being developed. I describe what occurred when a personal growth model of English language arts was directly challenged with an academic rationalist model justified on the basis of appeal to public opinion and the needs and requirements of technologically-sensitive commercial and industrial sectors. The struggle that took place in one Canadian province over what many educators consider to be the central subject area curriculum suggests that this ideological clash is likely to characterize the most serious challenge for professional educators in the decade of the 1990s.

A Question of Aims and Assumptions in Canadian Education

This article deals with the OECD Report of 1976 on Canadian education. It reviews issues concerned with the planning, aims, and assumptions of Canadian education. The article focuses on a critique, occurring in Appendix B of the OECD Report, that attacks the most fundamental assumptions of the Canadian public school system. The criticism charges that the Canadian school system is organized along the lines of an old-fashioned industrial enterprise with children treated as raw materials that are processed through grade 12 where the best go on for further academic processing in universities. The article concurs with the view of the OECD Report.

Bilingualism in Canadian Education: Issues and Research

Bilingualism in Canadian Education: Issues and Research