Adoptive Repository Service

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Exploring the voice and vision of the curriculum consultant : an ethnographic journey through leadership, learning community and change
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2006-03) Drawetz, Lori; Kirkwood, Kris; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to examine the cultural response by curriculum consultants to 3 major themes - leadership, learning community; and change during a 1 year period of intensive educational reform in a school district. As change agents of this reform yet participants in the change process themselves, this research study looked deeper into the adaptive leadership strategies used within this consultant culture, the strategies used by these individuals to work together to implement the initiative, and adaptive responses to the change itself. Personal interviews were used to honour the voices of the 5 participants, combined with biographical, personal reflections and observations by the researcher. The results were analyzed using a standard template for each participant's responses and then collated to develop a generalized profile of the curriculum consultant. These responses were then compared to the key words found in the literature review within these three themes. The findings include a set of clearly defined both common and unique characteristics of each leaders defined by their leadership style. The extensive strategies used by the members of this culture as members of a learning community are defined by both group size and characteristics of efficiency and effectiveness. The many change "survival" strategies of this culture are also described and explored within this research. This study concludes with a series of recommendations that resulted from an analysis of the ethnographic exploration of the responses of the participants within each theme area and offers some possible shortfalls and next steps for successful continuation of the Literacy Collaborative project.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and its budget concern : a descriptive case study
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007) Pascucci, Mario Gerard; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This qualitative thesis studies the events that led the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District school board submitting an unbalanced budget to the Ontario Ministry of Education in contravention of the education act. It also addressed the subsequent actions that led to the appointment of the Chair of the Co-Management Team by the ministry of Education. It studies the actions of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Trustees and stakeholders within the above context. This thesis draws its research from various media articles including reports from numerous public meeting minutes, articles, news releases, provincial and non government studies and including interviews with stakeholders, with and without children within the school system. The methodology used the qualitative, chronological, and analytical data collection technique. The thesis research includes information to February 07, 2007. This is a few days after the date that the Ministry of Education took over the Financial and Administrative control of the Board. The school board still maintained the issue of Denominational control. It will also draw on my personal experience of 24 years as Trustee on the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. It offers suggestions on how the Ministry of Education can minimize the impact of limited education budget dollars today and in the future. There is agreement with stakeholders that money is not the solution because the problems are inherently systemic.
WORKING WITH RATIONAL NUMBERS IN ONTARIO HIGH SCHOOLS
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-06) Lawrence, Meghan; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
The research questions examined grade 10 students' comprehension of rational numbers. The sample was comprised of grade 10 math students (N=125) from 3 schools in a large north-central Ontario school board. A survey research design was employed, which consisted of a survey and a quiz. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. The analysis included frequencies, percentages, descriptive statistics, and item analyses. The data collected from the quiz reflected a poor comprehension of, and ability to work with, rational numbers, by the students surveyed. The questionnaire revealed a slightly positive attitude of students towards mathematics. The research identifies factors that may impact a student's success with rational numbers and offers several recommendations to improve student success and attitude towards mathematics in general.
Cyberbullying : emerging concerns and solutions in an ever-increasing digital world
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-06) McLean, Alan Raymond; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
The relative ease by which the internet can be accessed has given way to a new form of bullying. Coined cyberbullying by Bill Belsey in 1999, victims of online abuse can be attacked via websites, chat rooms, instant messages, online journals, blogs, or cell phone text messages. Since these attacks can occur at all hours of the day to millions of people worldwide in an instant, cyberbullies can easily extend the network of abuse their victims experience in minutes. This study addresses the frequency of cyberbullying in a Northern Ontario public school board. With the call from the Safe Schools Action Team of Ontario for schools to implement mandatory antibullying programs, it was evident that there was little mention of cyberbullying. As students become more adept at accessing and navigating the internet, schools must become more active to help educate students, parents, and teachers about cyberbullying and how to help prevent such abuse. Furthermore, with the evolution of cell phone capabilities to record and download information and videos to the internet, schools face added pressure to combat cyberbullying, since such phones can record incidences at school that can be easily placed on the internet for many to see. As the technology advances, so must schools and school boards with respect to how they educate and prevent cyberbullying. A series of recommendation are listed at the end of the study to help schools and school boards take initial steps towards combating cyberbullying.
Implementing character education in elementary public schools in Ontario : a case study
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-07) Hardie, Cynthia L.; Ricci, Carlo; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This thesis is a case study concerning character education in Ontario public schools. For this thesis, I visited 2 elementary schools in eastern Ontario, where I interviewed principals and students to see how character education is implemented in their schools, what kind of impact it is having on the staff, students, and community, and what needs to be changed to make implementation more successful in the future. From the information gleaned from my research readings and interviews I have come to believe character education in Ontario is not having as much impact on students than it has in the US but I believe it is worth implementing in schools to assist students in their future lives as employees, employers, and citizens. I have also been able to use the information I gathered from these interviews to assist me in formulating a plan on implementing character education in the school where I am presently principal.
THE VALUE OF JOURNAL WRITING AS A MEANS OF FOSTERING CRITICAL REFLECTION IN ADULT LEARNERS
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-07-06) Graves, Cheryl A.; Ricci, Carlo; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This study evaluates journal writing to foster critical reflection in adult learners, specifically book club members studying fictional literature. It examines the history of book clubs and researches literature exploring journal writing to foster critical reflection. The subjects are 9 female book club members-6 finished. It is a qualitative study using emergent design. The method is content analysis using a 5-point reflective scale examining changes in critical reflection. Participants gave feedback by written questionnaire and interview discussing their feelings about journal writing for development of critical reflection. Sixty-six percent of the participants began writing at levels 4 or 5 while 33% moved from level 2 to level 5 Anecdotal reports discussed how the process affected areas of self-esteem, empowerment, metacognition, deeper levels of thought, and focus for study and learning. Further research is recommended as reflective journal writing may suit certain personality types, learning styles, or disciplines of study.
Nutrition and physical activity among grade 6 students in the porcupine health unit area : a comparison with the balanced school day
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-08) Horbul, Betty Ann; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
In recent years, childhood obesity prevalence has increased, and there are calls for action to reduce our obesogenic environment in the school, home, workplace, and community. Approximately 28% of children in the Porcupine Health Unit area are overweight or obese. This research attempts to determine local data on factors that contribute to overweight and obesity such as lack of consumption of vegetables and fruits, consumption of foods of low nutritional value, family meals, body image, and physical activity and inactivity. School boards in Ontario, including one in the Porcupine Health Unit area, are implementing the balanced school day schedule. Is there a difference in these factors among children in a balanced school day schedule compared to the traditional schedule? This research is of value for schools considering implementation of the balanced school day schedule and provides a greater understanding of local factors to generate solutions that will reduce our obesogenic environment.
Learner characteristics and perceptions of success in online e-learning environments
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-08) May, Jeffrey S.C.; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
Learner characteristics and their perceptions of success in corporate online e-learning environments have frequently been overlooked by corporate purchasers of online e-learning. Perceptions of efficacy with computers, perceived support from management, and perceived value in outcomes from completing e-learning courses can all contribute to enhancing organizational investments in e-learning initiatives. This study examined whether certain characteristics and perceptions of online e-learners in corporate environments lead to feelings of success or nonsuccess. A survey of e-learners was administered to determine approaches that can assist in creating positive learner experiences in online e-learning environments (N = 51). The results revealed 6 variables that contribute to e-learner perceptions of success. They are presented as a Strategy For E-learning Success model.
Teacher perceptions of the effects of removing the principals and vice-principals from the bargaining units in Ontario
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-08) Miller, Nicole; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
On January 1, 1998, Ontario's Conservative government, under Premier Mike Harris, enacted Bill 160 that effectively excluded principals from their bargaining units, thus separating contract negotiations between teachers and administrators and leaving administrators without their longstanding connections to, and support from, their unions. Today, Ontario boards of education have a looming principal shortage, and a report commissioned by the Ontario Principals' Council suggests that qualified, dynamic, and capable individuals are deciding not to become principals, at least in part because of this removal (Williams, 2001). This study gathered quantitative and qualitative data that relate specifically to Ontario and which explore the perceived effects of the administrator removal from the teachers' federations from the standpoint of the teacher. Findings suggest that despite long-standing contract and job-role conflicts for principals in a teachers' federation, both teachers and administrators would prefer to be united in collective bargaining and that there have been some wide-reaching consequences of this removal.
Developing self-esteem through connections to music : assessing effects on self-esteem in Grade 3 students through learning to play the ukulele
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-09) Murray, Maureen; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
The goal of this mixed method research is to determine the effects of learning to play the ukulele on the self-esteem of Grade 3 students. Administration of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, parent surveys, anecdotal evidence, and oral and written student reflections were used during the 6 month instruction period. The research also investigated the effect of instruction on academic abilities and attendance and questioned whether this instruction is possible for an average elementary teacher with no formal music background. Student and parental feedback indicated increased student confidence, risk-taking, pride and responsibility in addition to learning to play a new instrument. Although quantitative data did not substantiate the qualitative data, the pressure of the standardized testing appeared to affect student?s attitude towards school. Attendance improved significantly during the testing period. More research needs to be conducted to investigate the effects of standardized testing on self-esteem.
Mentoring professional educators
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-12) Mclean, Judith A.; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This thesis surveys the literature and provides a comparative perspective on the influence from mentoring on educators in postsecondary and health sectors. Context includes seven trends affecting both sectors: higher enrollments; more nontraditional learners and complex clients; more special needs learners; a growing need to manage behaviour of increasingly difficult or distant learners; a paradigm shift towards a learner-centred approach; an aging workforce; and the burnout facing college teachers and health educators. Data was gathered from 68 in one BC health authority and from 47 in 7 colleges in BC and Ontario. There is beginning evidence that there may be better strategies than mentoring to welcome professionals new to education. Training educators how to teach or train is a first priority. Health and postsecondary education need to find ways to more tangibly support mentoring of their potential leaders.
A document analysis of the education policies found in the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan national strategy for education development of the Republic of Tajikistan (2006-2015), Dushanbe, August, 2005
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2007-12) Bignell, Vern; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
The purpose of this thesis is to determine the degree of commitment which the document titled: Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan National Strategy for Education Development (NSED) of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT); 2006-2015 Dushanbe, August, 2005 demonstrates towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically MDG #2: to achieve universal primary education and MDG #3 : to promote gender equality. This document analysis should reveal if the government of Tajikistan is to meet the 2015 MDGs. Tajikistan survived a civil war. It is showing signs of economic growth despite abject poverty. There is a need to closely examine the policy of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT) regarding the achievement of MDGs in educaiton and its implementation of these policies to assess if RT can reverse the decreases in access and gender equity. This study should make a small contribution to the body of literature concerning Tajikistan.
It takes a village : elementary school teachers' perspectives on character education
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2008) Ricketts, Nicole S. Y.; Rintoul, Heather; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This qualitative investigation conveys the results of a study to determine the perspectives of five elementary school teachers regarding the teaching character education. With the numerous initiatives that arise in current day public education, particularly in Ontario, this study draws attention to issues concerning one specific program. Commonalities within the interview transcription data suggest that the teachers worked for the same school board and all were versed in its character education initiative, although to varying degrees. A key finding showed that each participant recognized the important role that teachers play in teaching values, however, each of the participants had differing perspectives on curriculum (what should be taught), rationale (why values should be taught), and methods (how these values should be taught). Despite the variance in perceptions, many of the participants' opinions are supported in the current literature.
Risk, resiliency and academic outcomes in the context of one individual's life : a self-study
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2008-03) Cameron, Kathleen H.; Richardson, Warnie; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
In this thesis, I examine my own balance of risk and resiliency factors in the context of my life, with emphasis on the clash that occurred between my values and those of the education system. This thesis is a self-study that describes my academic, psychological and spiritual journey from a child and youth at risk for poor academic outcomes, to a graduate student in a Masters of Education Program. To improve academic outcomes for children and youth at risk, it is important to understand that risk and resilience factors can be a delicate balance and unique to each individual. Risk and resilience must also be viewed through a sociological lens, with an understanding of the impact of underlying societal cultural expectations, values, social constructs and implied meanings and definitions of characteristics commonly associated with risk and resilience. The boundaries between risk and resilience can be blurred and ever changing.
Constructing self-efficacy : a case study of three secondary school vice principals
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2008-04) Goulais, Linda; Rintoul, Heather; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
In this qualitative case study I hoped to enhance appreciation of the subjective reality of the vice principalship through descriptive analysis of how three secondary school vice principals in northern Ontario construct self-efficacy. I used interviews and job shadowing to investigate how participants navigated the inherent ambiguity and challenges of the vice principalship, how they knew if they were making a difference, and what criteria they used to measure their success. Analysis of stories and metaphors was used to determine the relative importance given to individual sources of self-efficacy and how such decisions were affected by personal conceptions of the qualities of the ideal vice principal. I described the cognitive processes participants used to negotiate ambiguities and the principles they used to construct self-efficacy. Despite commonalities, each construct of self-efficacy was unique. I suggest that constructs of self-efficacy involve such factors as self-control, a positive outlook, self-forgiveness, humour, and balance.
A study on the effects of podcasting on student success and student attitude at one Northern Ontario College
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2009) Francom, Jeffrey R.; Kariuki, Mumbi; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
In this study, I investigated how weekly podcasts summarizing the content of each week of study would affect first-year college students at a small northern Ontario college. The weekly summary podcasts included the salient points of each week of instruction. They were posted on an Internet website in Windows Media format so they could easily be played by the students. After 4 weeks of podcasts, the students were tested and their results were compared to classes that did not use podcasts. The students filled out a questionnaire and were interviewed in order to capture their views on the usefulness of the podcasts. The teachers involved were also interviewed to gather their perspectives. Although not generalizable, the results of this study indicate that weekly podcast summaries were an effective teaching tool, which resulted in improved student outcomes and made the students feel better about test preparation and comprehension of course content.
Data-driven decision making in one Northern Ontario school : where are we now? what do we need to move forward?
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Education, 2009-05) Hedderson, Janet Louise; Kirkwood, Kristian J.; Nipissing University, Faculty of Education
This study examined teachers' perceptions in one school regarding data-driven decision making (DDDM) in their practice and what they identified as their needs to move forward. A questionnaire was used to determine the teachers' perceptions of their school's capacity to use DDDM, the teachers' own understanding of DDDM concepts, and what teachers identify as their needs to move forward in order to answer the questions guiding the study : Where are we now? What do we need to move forward? An action research methodology was used to examine the teachers' perceptions about their school's capacity to use data, their classroom assessment practices and knowledge about using data to guide instruction. In conclusion, the teachers perceived their school's capacity to use DDDM as limited to moderate. In order to move forward the teachers idenitifed the following needs : time, professional development, technology support and training, and trust. The findings in this study may give further direction to schools using data to improve student achievement.
'SHE NEVER DID COOK THE CANADIAN WAY' : immigrant women's changing relationship with food and cooking in postwar North Bay, Ontario
(Nipissing University, Faculty of Arts & Science, 2009-07) Evans, Jennifer Beatrice; Srigley, Katrina; Nipissing University, Faculty of Arts and Science
This paper uses the memories of ten immigrant women who lived in North Bay, Ontario between 1945 and 1975. It looks at the interrelationship between women's pre- and post-migration contexts as reflected in their food and cooking experiences. Women's homelands were connected with memories of food: what foods they cooked, who they cooked it with and times when it was not always possible to cook or even eat. When these women made their way to North Bay, their relationships with their self and others changed as did those with their sense of place and their earlier experiences with deprivations. How they cooked food, and what they thought of food in this small northern Ontario city, allows us to understand how they negotiated these changed relationships as well as the new relationships they were creating in their new context. For instance, German-born Elisabeth Meier decided to cook Canadian foods and in doing so, she also constructed a Canadian identity for herself and overcame the shame she connected with her German heritage. This paper brings categories of gender, class, ethnicity and race into conversation with women's pre- and post-migration contexts. It argues that immigrant women used food and cooking to express their changing relationships with their self and other people, with their sense of place in the physical spaces they occupied as well as with their experiences in their homeland and in their new home.
'She never did cook the Canadian way' : immigrant women's changing relationship with food and cooking in postwar North Bay, Ontario
(2009-07) Evans, Jennifer Beatrice
This paper uses the memories of ten immigrant women who lived in North Bay, Ontario between 1945 and 1975. It looks at the interrelationship between women's pre- and post-migration contexts as reflected in their food and cooking experiences. Women's homelands were connected with memories of food: what foods they cooked, who they cooked it with and times when it was not always possible to cook or even eat. When these women made their way to North Bay, their relationships with their self and others changed as did those with their sense of place and their earlier experiences with deprivations. How they cooked food, and what they thought of food in this small northern Ontario city, allows us to understand how they negotiated these changed relationships as well as the new relationships they were creating in their new context. For instance, German-born Elisabeth Meier decided to cook Canadian foods and in doing so, she also constructed a Canadian identity for herself and overcame the shame she connected with her German heritage. This paper brings categories of gender, class, ethnicity and race into conversation with women's pre- and post-migration contexts. It argues that immigrant women used food and cooking to express their changing relationships with their self and other people, with their sense of place in the physical spaces they occupied as well as with their experiences in their homeland and in their new home.
Cold columns : Anne O'Hare McCormick and the origins of the cold war in the New York Times (1920-1954)
(2009-08) Hunter, Yvonne L.
Anne O'Hare McCormick, the Pulitzer-winning political correspondent for The New York Times, might correctly be considered one of the first prominent intellectual Cold Warriors of the twentieth century. During her thirty-year career at The New York Times, she travelled the world, interviewed leading statesmen, and wrote three columns per week on European and American affairs. McCormick consistently advocated anti-Bolshevik perceptions which were common among members of the State Department, and which would become operational under the Truman administration. In 1928, she published a 300 page book negatively assessing the first decade of Bolshevik rule. In 1942, she served as a member of Roosevelt's secretive Post-war Planning Committee, where she pressed members of the State Department to prepare for "closed spheres" in postwar Europe. After 1945, she lobbied Congressmen and women's groups to support the Marshall Plan and military intevention in Greece and Turkey. In 1946 and 1948, she served as voting delegate to two UNESCO conferences, where she worked to breakdown international barriers to the western press for the benefit of Cold War propaganda programs. In her anti-Bolshevik columns and speeches, McCormick invoked vivid images from her travels in Russia and Europe, filtered through an elitist lens of Orientalism, Wilsonianism interventionism, and American exceptionalism. Blending romaticised images of a primitive Russian peasantry with anti-revolutionary critiques, McCormick argued that Russians were a childish, uncomprehending, and violent race. To McCormick, revolutionary "Slavs" had murdered and expropriated the wealth of the only class of property-owning, educated Russians who possesed the noblesse oblige required for responsible leadership. Soviet Russia's peasant-dominated empire remained prone to being "lashed into fury" if manipulated by Communist leaders more intelligent than themselves. To McCormick, Stalin was a cunning, immoral, and expansionist dictator, who would remain irrevocably committed to ideas of Soviet expansion and global Communist Revolution -- ideas which contradicted McCormick's cherished belief in the need for a Wilsonian world order modeled upon America as the ideal, liberal democratic state. Using biography, published writings, and voluminous private correspondences, this in-depth contextual biography helps to illuminate the role of civil society to the origins of the Cold War. More importantly, it explores how a prominent woman correspondent of the elite east coast media helped to shape foreign policy discourse -- and eventually, foreign policy itself.

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