The impact of scheduling on the implementation of the new Ontario curriculum: teachers' perceptions /

This qualitative study explored secondary teachers' perceptions of scheduling in relation to pedagogy, curriculum, and observation of student learning. Its objective was to determine the best way to organize the scheduling for the delivery of Ontario's new 4-year curriculum. Six participants were chosen. Two were teaching in a semestered timetable, 1 in a traditional timetable, and 3 had experience in both schedules. Participants related a pressure cooker "lived experience" with weaker students in the semester system experiencing a particularly harsh environment. The inadequate amount of time for review in content-heavy courses, gap scheduling problems, catch-up difficulties for students missing classes, and the fast pace of semestering are identified as factors negatively impacting on these students. Government testing adds to the pressure by shifting teachers' time and attention in the classroom from deeper learning to a superficial coverage of material, from curriculum as lived to curriculum as text to be covered. Scheduling choice should be available in public education to accommodate the needs of all students. Curriculum guidelines need to be revamped to reflect the content that teachers believe is necessary for a successful course delivery. Applied level courses need to be developed for students who are not academically inferior but learn differently.

Conversations with EFL teachers: toward an understanding of whiteness in the classroom /

Few teachers would question that teaching is a contextual and situational process, yet as Gay (2000) reminds us, too few teachers have sufficient knowledge of how teaching practices reflect dominant cultural values. This qualitative study explored whiteness in the EFL classroom and the relation between teacher identity and pedagogy. This research was shaped by the overarching research questions: How does being white influence teachers' educational practices? How can teachers successfully negotiate crosscultural teaching? Data included open-ended interviews, a content analysis of EFL training materials, and my research and personal journals. The experiences of five EFL teachers form the central focus of this study. My personal story, as a white EFL teacher, is also included throughout this thesis. This study offers a detailed description of the complex and dynamic ways in which these five teachers understood their racial identities, and the classroom decisions they made in response to their understandings. Included in the discussion are the strategies that my participants and I used to subtly resist the notion and exploration of racial privilege. Implications for teacher education programs and possible directions for further study are offered.

Perceptions of creativity in a fashion design course /

Creativity is important to the growth and development of society, to educational institutions, and to the personal growth of individuals. Students who are aware of their creativity are assumed to have innovative ideas and fresh insights. Limited research has been conducted to see if students can identify their own creative abilities. In this study, I explored the students' perceptions and experiences in a fashion design course. This study documented the creative journey from the concept stage of an apparel collection to the final product. Participants were asked to reflect and document their creative moments, describe a creative process, and identify a creative environment. The participants were students who were enrolled in a fashion design course and were asked to participate in this study because they experienced all stages of the design process. Data were collected through personal reflection surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews. Themes of creative moments that emerged from this study were experiences that the participants had as they proceeded through the stages of the fashion design process. All of the participants identified a creative process, but the stages varied for each participant The participants identified themes related to promoting creativity in an environment, including the atmosphere, creative people, teachers, reflection, student needs, and assignments. The participants identified potential barriers in an environment, including rules and guidelines, teachers, the classroom, deadlines and time, feedback, and other important issues. The results ofthis study suggest that there needs to be a better understanding of creativity and greater support and encouragement for creativity in the classroom. Instructors need to support environments that are conducive to creative development and lead to effective learning for students. Students need to learn how to enhance their creativity as well as understand the barriers that block their creative development.

Improving the oral health status of functionally independent and dependent seniors residing in long-term care facilities through dental hygiene education /

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health status of residents residing in 2 long-term care facilities and determine if dental hygiene education was required in order to improve their current oral health. The oral health status of 6 independent and 4 dependent individuals residing in 2 long-term care facilities was evaluated. In addition, the current oral health and disease prevention practices employed by 4 caregivers who were responsible for providing oral care to dependent residents in the long-term care facilities were evaluated. Furthermore, an evaluation of the oral care practices of independent residents who were responsible for providing their own care was conducted. Finally, the challenges that caregivers and independent residents faced when performing oral care were determined, and methodological changes were proposed. Using a generic qualitative research methodology, data collection was comprised of semi structured interviews, field observations, and documentation. The oral health status of the residents was reevaluated 3 months later. The findings of this study demonstrated an increase in plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and unhealthy gingival tissue colour changes among the residents over the 3-month period. The study revealed that poor oral health among the residents was a result of inadequate oral hygiene care techniques, difficulties accessing oral health care, financial limitations, insufficient care staff, insufficient time for personal care duties, lack of professional development, minimal interprofessional collaboration of health disciplines, and lack of perseverance on the part of the caregivers and residents. Overall, oral health is essential, and maintaining optimal oral health requires increased collaboration and communication between health care providers.

Teaching media literacy skills about commercials: a comparative analysis of media literacy instruction /

In this study, methods of media literacy instruction including analytic activities, production activities, and a combination of analytic and production activities were compared to determine their influence on grade 8 students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours towards commercials. The findings showed that media literacy instruction does improve media literacy skills. Specifically, activities that included an analytic component or an analytic and production component were significantly better than activities that included a production component. Participants that completed analytic or analytic and production activities were able to discern media-related terms, target audience, selling techniques, social values, and stereotypes in commercials better than participants that completed only production activities. The research findings also showed obstacles when teaching media literacy. When engaged in analytic activities, the difficulties included locating suitable resources, addressing the competition from commercials, encouraging written reflection, recognizing social values, and discussing racial stereotypes. When engaged in production activities, the difficulties were positioning recording stations, managing group work, organizing ideas, filming the footage, computer issues, and scheduling time. Strategies to overcome these obstacles are described.

Legal education in crisis: healing and humanizing Canadian law schools /

Western law schools are suffering from an identity and moral crisis. Many of the legal profession's problems can be traced to the law school environment, where students are taught to reason and practice in ways that are often at odds with their own personalities and values and even with generally accepted psychologically healthy practices. The idealism, ethic of care, and personal moral compasses of many students become eroded and even lost in the present legal education system. Formalism, rationalism, elitism, and big business values have become paramount. In such a moment of historical crisis, there exists the opportunity to create a new legal education story. This paper is a conceptual study of both my own Canadian legal education and the general legal education experience. It examines core problems and critiques of the existing Western legal education organizational and pedagogical paradigm to which Canadian law schools adhere. New approaches with the potential to enrich, humanize, and heal the Canadian law school experience are explored. Ultimately, the paper proposes a legal education system that is more interdisciplinary, theoretically and practically integrated, emotionally intelligent, technologically connected, morally accountable, spiritual, and humane. Specific pedagogical and curricular strategies are suggested, and recommendations for the future are offered. The dehumanizing aspects of the law school experience in Canada have rarely been studied. It is hoped that this thesis will fill a gap in the research and provide some insight into an issue that is of both academic and public importance, since the well-being of law students and lawyers affects the interests of their clients, the general public, and the integrity and future of the entire legal system.

Resilience factors of university and college students with learning disabilities as revealed through retrospective interviews /

This qualitative study examined resilience factors of eight university and college students with learning disabilities as revealed through retrospective interviews. This study has added to the existing literature surrounding resilience especially as it relates to individuals with learning disabilities. This study may provide additional insight into the emotional impacts of repeated and chronic risks on students with learning disabilities. The major themes that emerged using the interpretive phenomenological analysis method (Smith & Osborn, 2003) were organized under these four major headings: Challenges and Obstacles, Surviving Challenges, Supportive Conditions, and A Journey of Discovery and Hope. An adaptation of the listening guide analytical method (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003) was also utilized and offered a more personal depiction of the participants and an exploration of the unique contributions their stories made to this study. Specifically, a theme of feeling trapped/wanting to escape emerged as a reaction to adversity faced during elementary school years. Furthennore, this study has demonstrated that for several of the participants, the benefits of positive outlets extended beyond nurturing areas of strength and self-esteem to also include the provision of a short respite from their challenges and enhanced feelings of overall well-being. Additionally, this study may add to the existing literature surrounding character traits evident in resilient students, specifically highlighting the significance of optimism and selfacceptance.

Displaced women professionals: an exploration of perceived learning processes during workplace transition /

This study focused on obtaining a deeper understanding of the perceived learning of female professionals during workplace transition. The women's lived experiences were explored through a feminist interpretive lens (Bloom, 1998). The study also drew upon concepts from adult learning such as barriers and facilitating factors to learning, resistance, transformative learning, and multiple ways of knowing. Five women participated in a 1 -hour interview and a focus group activity. The findings are presented under the 2 broad themes of perceived learning and factors affecting learning. The most common theme of perceived learning was participants' experience of increased self-knowledge. Additionally, while learning was thought of as a struggle, it provided either an opportunity for a reexamination of goals or a reexamination of self. Reflection by participants seemed to follow two orientations and other types of perceived learning included experiential, formal, and informal learning. In the broad theme of factors affecting learning, contradictions and conflict emerged through the examination of participants' multiple subjectivities, and within their naming of many factors as both facilitating factors and barriers to learning. The factors affecting learning themes included personal relationships, professional communities, selfesteem, attitude and emotion, the gendered experience of transition, time, and finances. The final theme explored participants' view of work and their orientations to the future. A proposed model of learning during workplace transition is presented (Figure 1 ) and the findings discussed within this proposed model's framework. Additional developmental theories of women (Josselson, 1987; Levinson & Levinson, 1996), communities of practice theories (Wenger, 1998), and career resilience theories (Pulley, 1995) are discussed within the context of the proposed model. Implications to practice for career counsellors, people going through workplace transition, human resource managers and career coaches were explored. Additionally implications to theory and future areas of research are also discussed.

The nature of the highly artistic student in visual arts at secondary school /

This qualitative investigation examined the nature of 7 highly artistic visual arts students at 2 secondary schools in southcentral Ontario. Through interviews, questionnaires, observations, and artwork documents, this study attempted to understand these highly artistic students in terms of creativity, motivation, social and emotional perspectives, and cognitive processes. Data collection occuned over a 3-monlh period. and the data analysis program NVivo 7 was used for coding to develop themes and categories for organizing data. The findings of this study illustrate the significant place that \ isual arts can lake in the growth and development for the youth of today. Participants idcniificd dcxclopnig critical thinking and problem-solving skills, taking risks, and meeting challenges ilirouuh their engagement in the creative process. The transferability of these skills \\ as referenced to numerous aspects of their lives. By enhancing individual perspectives through the study of visual arts, their local and world connections were extended, and environmental and societal concerns evolved. In addition, the communicative opportunities that visual arts provided for these students in terms of personal expression provided emotional health and paths of personal discovery. Through the participants' production of artwork with the many stages this involves, combined with insight into their needs, the participants relayed miportant suggestions for programming enhancements and educational settmgs lor \ isiial arts classrooms. These suggestions are meaningful for educators and curriculum developers of the future.

Introducing e-learning in a large multisite academic health sciences centre: a case study of e-curriculum planning and educator support /

This qualitative study investigated how a team of 7 hospital educators collaborated to develop e-curriculum units to pilot for a newly acquired learning -r management system at a large, multisite academic health sciences centre. A case study approach was used to examine how the e-Curriculum Team was structured, how the educators worked together to develop strategies to better utilize e-leaming in their ovwi practice, what e-curriculum they chose to develop, and how they determined their priorities for e-curriculum development. It also inquired into how they planned to involve other educators in using e-leaming. One set of semistructured interviews with the 6 hospital educators involved in the project, as well as minutes of team meetings and the researcher's journal, were analyzed (the researcher was also a hospital educator on the team). Project management structure, educator support, and organizational pressures on the implementation project feature prominently in the case study. This study suggests that implementation of e-leaming will be more successful if (a) educators involved in the development of e-leaming curriculum are supported in their role as change agents, (b) the pain of vmleaming current educational practice is considered, (c) the limitations of the software being implemented are recognized, (d) time is spent leaming about best practice, and (e) the project is protected as much as possible from organizational pressures and distractions.

Wrap around analysis of the affordances and constraints for girls with physical disabilities participating in physical activities /

This is a qualitative study exploring the physical activity patterns of a group of women with physical disabilities through their lifespan. In-depth interviews were done with a group of 6 women aged 1 9 to 3 1 . The data were analyzed via content and demographic strategies. Participants in this study reported that their physical activity patterns and their experiences related to their physical activity participation changed over their lives. They were most physically active in their youth (under 14 years of age) and as they reached high school age (over 14 years of age) and to the present time, they have become less physically active. They also reported both affordances and constraints to their physical activity participation through their lifespan. In their youth, they reported affordances such as their parents' assistance, an abundance of available physical activity opportunities, and independent unassisted mobility, as all playing an important factor in their increased youth physical activity. In adulthood, the participants' reported less time, fewer opportunities for physical activity, and reliance on power mobility as significant constraints to their physical activity. The participants reported fewer constraints to being physically active in their youth when compared to adulthood. Their reasons for participation in physical activity changed from fun and socialization in their youth instead of for maintenance of health, weight, and function in adulthood. These affordances, constraints and reasons for physical activity participation were supported in the literature.

Adolescent girls and mathematics: classroom performance, attitudes toward mathematics and perceptions of parental attitudes /

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which gender differences exist in student attitudes toward mathematics and in their performance in mathematics at the Grade Seven and Eight level. The study also questioned how parents influence the attitudes of this grade level of male and female students toward mathematics. Historically, the literature has demonstrated gender differences in the attitudes of students toward mathematics, and in parental support for classroom performance in mathematics. This study was an attempt to examine these differences at one senior public school in the Peel Board of Education. One hundred three Grade Seven and Eight students at a middle school in the Peel Board of Education volunteered to take part in a survey that examined their attitudes toward mathematics, their perceptions of their parents' attitudes toward mathematics and support for good performance in the mathematics classroom, parental expectations for education and future career choices. Gender differences related to performance levels in the mathematics classroom were examined using Pearson contingency analyses. Items from the survey that showed significant differences involved confidence in mathematics and confidence in writing mathematics tests, as well as a belief in the ability to work on mathematics problems. Male students in both the high and low performance groups demonstrated higher levels of confidence than the females in those groups. Female students, however, indicated interest in careers that would require training and knowledge of higher mathematics. Some of the reasons given to explain the gender differences in confidence levels included socialization pressures on females, peer acceptance, and attribution of success. Perceived parental support showed no significant differences across gender groups or performance levels. Possible explanations dealt with the family structure of the participants in the study. Studies that, in the past, have demonstrated gender differences in confidence levels were supported by this study, and discussed in detail. Studies that reported on differences in parental support for student performance, based on the gender of the parent, were not confirmed by this study, and reasons for this were also discussed. The implications for the classroom include: 1) build on the female students' strengths that will allow them to enjoy their experiences in mathematics; 2) stop using the boys as a comparison group; and 3) make students more aware of the need to continue studying mathematics to ensure a wider choice of future careers.

The examination of predictors of success in two programmes requiring self-direction /

The new Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy programmes, based in the Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) are unique. The teaching and learning philosophies utilized are based on learner-centred and selfdirected learning theories. The 1991 admissions process of these programmes attempted to select individuals who would make highly qualified professionals and who would have the necessary skills to complete such unique programmes. In order to: 1 . learn more about the concept of self-directed learning and its related characteristics in health care professionals; 2. examine the relationship between various student characteristics - personal, learner and those assessed during the admissions process - and final course grades, and 3. determine which, if any, smdent characteristics could be considered predictors for success in learner-centred programmes requiring self-directed learning skills, a correlational research design was developed and carried out. Thirty Occupational Therapy and thirty Physiotherapy smdents were asked to complete 2 instruments - a questionnaire developed by the author and the Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory (Oddi, 1986). Course grades and ratings of students during the admissions process were also obtained. Both questionnaires were examined for reliability, and factor analyses were conducted to determine construct validity. Data obtained from the questionnaires, course grades and student ratings (from the admissions process) were analyzed and compared using the Contingency Co-efficient, the Pearson's product-moment correlation co-efficient, and the multiple regression analysis model. The research findings demonstrated a positive relationship (as identified by Contingency Coefficient or Pearson r values) between various course grades and the following personal and learner characteristics: field of smdy of highest level of education achieved, level of education achieved, sex, marital stams, motivation for completing the programmes, reasons for eru-oling in the programmes, decision to enrol in the programmes, employment history, preferred learning style, strong selfconcept and the identification of various components of the concept of self-directed learning. In most cases, the relationships were significant to the 0.01 or 0.(X)1 levels. Results of the multiple regression analyses demonstrated that several learner and admissions characteristic variables had R^ values that accounted for the largest proportion of the variance in several dependent variables. Thus, these variables could be considered predictors for success. The learner characteristics included: level of education and strong self-concept. The admissions characteristics included: ability to evaluate strengths, ability to give feedback, curiosity and creativity, and communication skills. It is recommended that research continue to be conducted to substantiate the relationships found between course grades and characteristic variables in more diverse populations. "Success in self-directed programmes" from the learner's perspective should also be investigated. The Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory should continue to be researched. Further research may lead to refinement or further development of the instrument, and may provide further insight into self-directed learner attributes. The concept of self-directed learning continues to be incorporated into educational programmes, and thus should continue to be explored.

Attitudes of second year diploma nurses in three community colleges toward the use of computers in the nursing role /

The effectiveness of various kinds of computer programs is of concern to nurse-educators. Using a 3x3 experimental design, ninety second year diploma student nurses were randomly selected from a total population at three community colleges in Ontario. Data were collected via a 20-item valid and reliable Likert-type questionnaire developed by the nursing profession to measure perceptions of nurses about computers in the nursing role. The groups were pretested and posttested at the beginning and end of one semester. Subjects attending College A group received a computer literacy course which comprised word processing with technology awareness. College B students were exposed to computer-aided instruction primarily in nursing simulations intermittently throughout the semester. College C subjects maintained their regular curriculum with no computer involvement. The student's t-test (two-tailed) was employed to assess the attitude scores data and a one-way analysis of variance was performed on the attitude scores. Posttest analysis revealed that there was a significant difference (p<.05) between attitude scores on the use of computers in the nursing role between College A and C. No significant differences (p>.05) were seen between College B and A in posttesting. Suggestions for continued computer education of diploma student nurses are provided.

Effect of combined care nursing on patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and quality of care /

This research evaluates the effect of combined care nursing on three outcomes: i) patient satisfaction; ii) staff satisfaction; and iii) quality of care. Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital was in the early planning stages of changing to combined care nursing from the traditional method of providing separate postpartum and nursery care to mothers and babies. The opportunity existed to evaluate formally the change to combined care. There were three hypotheses to be investigated. Data were collected from four sources: patient surveys, staff surveys, informal interviews, and internal hospital documents. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. The surveys were administered on three different occasions to patients and staff. Other sources of data included informal interviews with patients and staff who responded to the surveys, and chart audits.The study findings revealed that the majority of respondents had increased levels of satisfaction and perceptions of increased quality of care following implementation of combined care. These findings, related to combined care and the role of change in its implementation and evaluation, indicate that there are no right or easy answers about how to make new ideas become reality in a smooth, pleasant way.