Recent Publications
Behavior Analysts’ Relationship to Relating Relations: A Survey on Perceptions, Acceptability, Knowledge, and Capacity for Derived Stimulus Relations Research and Practice
The study and application of procedures that result in stimulus relations via relational frame theory (RFT) and stimulus equivalence (applied as equivalence-based instruction; EBI), have made tremendous strides in contemporary behavior analysis. However, applications at scale lag basic and translational research. We turn our attention to investigate potential causes. We replicated and extended Enoch and Nicholson (2020) by conducting a survey of behavior analysts (n = 129) to determine their perceptions, experiences, and barriers in carrying out research and practice based on RFT and EBI. Participants indicated an interest in RFT and EBI, and mostly perceive both within the scope of behavior analysis. A majority of behavior analysts reported formal education in EBI (78.3%), in contrast to a minority in RFT (15.5%). Adoption of procedures derived from RFT and EBI may be in proportion to formal education. Compounded with a lack of accuracy on basic knowledge questions, there is a potential gap in capacity in the field in addressing behavior related to complex verbal behavior.
The role of self-efficacy beliefs and inclusive education beliefs on teacher burnout
Our study investigated whether teachers’ beliefs about teaching & learning and their beliefs about their own self-efficacy predicted burnout. Data from 62 Ontario teachers found that while self-efficacy was associated with lower burnout, greater teacher-controlled beliefs, emphasizing grades and beliefs that learning ability is fixed were associated with higher burnout. Additionally, teachers who had higher self-efficacy and endorsed student-centered approaches reported less burnout. This study identified teacher belief profiles that are associated with level of burnout.
Indigenous refusals in educational leadership practices in Canadian universities.
Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released 94 calls to action in 2015, Canadian universities have responded in numerous ways. A particularly significant response has been the creation of Indigenous Initiatives Offices and the appointment of senior leaders to help lead transformative institutional change efforts. Many of these new administrative appointments report directly to presidents and provosts, and have been taken up by Indigenous women. In this article, I present five key findings from research that explored the experiences of 12 Indigenous women administrators working in Canadian universities. The study highlighted how these Indigenous women enact Indigenous refusals as part of a transformative decolonial leadership praxis in universities
A History of Islamic Schooling in North America: Mapping Growth and Evolution
I am a Ph.D. candidate, and my research focus is on the work and well-being of Islamic school principals in Ontario. In this paper, I review Memon’s (2019) book, "A History of Islamic Schooling in North America: Mapping Growth and Evolution", which I recommend for religious school researchers, practitioners, and community members. Readers can acquire a historical understanding of adapting a religious worldview to the theoretical sphere that contributes to academic knowledge within K-12 education.
Young People and Thinking Technologies for the Anthropocene
Faculty Authors include PhD student Adrianne Bacelar de Castro, Instructor Sarah Hennessy, PhD and Faculty member Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw. This collection, which is a companion volume to Young People and Stories for the Anthropocene (Kelly et al., 2022), aims to find, to explore, and to co-produce ways of ‘staying with the trouble’ (Haraway 2016) that are disruptive of orthodoxies in childhood and youth studies, and productive of new ways of thinking, and of being and becoming, in the circumstances that we (young and old) find ourselves in. Circumstances that have, problematically, been identified as the Anthropocene, and which have been characterised as being situated at the convergence of the climate crisis, the 6th mass extinction, and the ongoing crises of global capitalism as ‘earth system’ (Braidotti 2019, Moore 2015).
Educational Fabulations: Teaching and Learning for a World Yet to Come
Includes a collaborative publication by four Faculty PhD students. Co-authors: Sarah Hennessy, PhD; Malvika Agarwal; Adrianne Bacelar de Castro; Carla Ruthes. This highly original collection presents speculative fiction as fiction-based research to re-imagine education in the future. Given the particular convergence of economic and governmental pressures in educational institutions today, schools represent imaginative sites especially well-suited to interrogation through an SF lens. The relevance for education of the exploration and interrogation of themes related to technology, human nature, and social organization is evident; yet the speculative fiction approach is unique in its harnessing of creative capacities to envision alternatives. The contributions in this collection are generated from educational experience and research, drawing on scholarship in curriculum studies and teacher education and on the authors' experiences and imaginations as teachers, teacher educators, educational scholars, and human beings.
Ruth Nielsen Book Review: How school principals use their time
I am a PhD candidate in CPELS and my research focus is on educational leadership. In this book review, I assess the applicability of Lee, Pollock, and Tulowitzki’s (2021) edited book, "How school principals use their time: implications for school improvement, administration, and leadership", for education leadership researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. In addition to showing its usefulness, I also problematize the book’s format for perpetuating the false dichotomy between “Western” and “Other” contexts.
K’iche’, Mam, and Nahua Migrant Youth Navigating Colonial Codes of Power
This study examines how three recently arrived Indigenous male migrantyouth from Guatemala and Mexico in an urban high school in the Pacific Northwest understood and employed Spanish and English to navigate racial-ized and languaged interactions. Utilizing a Critical Latinx Indigeneities frame-work, findings from this study show that Spanish is a racialized and languaged system of power that traveled with youth.
Dr. Paul Tarc studies Chinese international secondary school students as flexible citizens
Researchers have been drawing on Aihwa Ong’s notion of flexible citizenship to illuminate the trajectories and strategies of transnational class-making of international students (and families) seeking a Western education. This paper engages these dominant understandings but troubles the transactional qualities of such ‘study abroad’ from the perspectives of secondary school international students from mainland China. With the ideal of ‘cosmopolitan learning,’ it seeks to elevate the potential educative possibilities of study abroad beyond transactional logics.
Dr. Isha Decoito publishes two chapters in co-edited book
Dr. Isha Decoito has published two chapters in her co-edited book "Research Approaches in Urban Agricultural and Community Contexts": "Urban agricultural experiences: Focusing on 21st century learning skills and integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education" and "Fertile ground for scientific research questions: The school garden as a context for student-directed inquiry"
Dr. Paul Tarc on the governing strategies of the OECD and the IBO
In the coalescing global movement to internationalize school curricula, two influential actors are the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). In 2018, the OECD included ‘global competence’ within its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) regime, expanding beyond its focus on more traditional academic literacies; the IBO as a non-state entity has been steering international curricula through testing and professional development since its creation in the late 1960s. This paper critically compares the governing strategies of these two transnational actors.
Dr. Barillas Chón co-authors chapter in "Handbook of Latinos and Education: Theory, Research and Practice" 2nd Ed.
This chapter aims to disrupt the invisibilization of Indigenous Latinxs in education by providing an overview of the diversity that Indigenous peoples represent within the larger Latinx demographic. Specifically, the chapter addresses issues of race and racialization, education and schooling experiences, and language that impact these communities.
Dr. Paul Tarc on "Education post ‘Covid-19’: Re-visioning the face-to-face classroom"
The Covid-19 pandemic sent vast numbers of educators into online environments provoking a whole set of challenges. The pros and cons of online learning have been increasingly debated in these new and changing conditions of the crisis. This article frames the swift move to the online environment as an opportunity to view from a new ‘vantage.’ It suggests that such a new vantage represents an opportunity to pause and re-vision the aims and approaches of face-to-face teaching. The author, in turn, presents an aspect of his own re- visioning or valuing in the context of his graduate education face-to-face classes.
Dr. Isha Decoito is lead editor of new book "Teaching and Learning in Urban Agricultural Community Contexts"
This book will cover such topics as how urban youth learn science while engaged in urban agriculture programs, how such programs support youth in becoming interested about healthy eating and science more generally, and how to design urban agriculture programs in support of STEM education. The chapters in this book are written by educational researchers and each chapter has been reviewed by researchers and practitioners. (excerpt from the publisher's webpage).
Dr. Wayne Martino examines the educative significance of YouTube as a space for transgender and non-binary youth
In this paper we examine the educative significance of YouTube as a space for transgender and non-binary youth to express themselves in ways that are unhindered by the more systematic forces at play in schools. We focus on one specific online project called "The Gender Tag Project", created by and for youth, which we argue serves as a space for fostering self-determination for trans youth. The pedagogical implications for teachers in schools are highlighted.
PhD student Shadan Attia reviews "The Sociopolitics of English Language Testing"
This publication is a book review of an edited book by Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini and Peter De Costa which is published in the Linguist List. The book reviewed is titled "The Sociopolitics of English Language Testing". The book was published in 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly The Continuum International Publishing Group).
Dr. Wayne Martino on policies and practices designed to support transgender and gender diverse students in schools
This article reports on research into policies and practices designed to support transgender and gender diverse students in schools. It focuses on a case study of one particular school in Ontario and includes the perspectives of teachers and their principal on how trans inclusion is understood and enacted in their school community. The study highlights the problem of focusing on individual rights rather addressing the systemic forces that contribute to educational inequalities for transgender students.
Dr. Barillas Chón on contexts shaping young Maya migrants’ lived realities
My research focuses on the racialization of Maya migrant youth and Indigenous youth from Southern Mexico in the U.S. I am interested in how the linguistic, race, labor, and migration experiences shape these youth’s indigeneities.
PhD student Shaden Attia reviews "The Transformative Power of Language, subtitle, From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa"
This publication is a book review of an edited book by Russell H. Kaschula and H. Ekkehard Wolff which is published in the Linguist List. The book reviewed is titled "The Transformative Power of Language, subtitle, From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa". The book was published in 2020 by Cambridge University Press.
Ed.D. student Megan Edgelow on return to work (RTW) programs for people with trauma-related mental health conditions
I am a 3rd year EdD student focusing on leadership in public safety organizations. This environmental scan of return to work (RTW) programs for people with trauma-related mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), maps the availability of targeted services for populations including veterans and public safety personnel. The scan found evidence of the partnership between Occupational Therapy and Psychology in RTW interventions for PTSD.
PhD student Mohammad Azzam on embedding IPE language into accreditation standards
I am a PhD student in Curriculum Studies and my research focus is interprofessional education (IPE). To enhance IPE in Canada, the Accreditation of Interprofessional Health Education (AIPHE) project (2007-2011) initiated efforts among accreditors of six health professions to embed IPE language into their accreditation standards. To understand AIPHE’s impact, this study examined the accountability of IPE language currently embedded in 13 Canadian professions’ documents and whether such language spanned AIPHE’s five accreditation standards domains.
PhD student Val Semovski on the negative consequences of inconsistent use of assessments across pediatric mental health service sectors
In Ontario, inconsistent use of assessments across pediatric mental health service sectors has contributed to the paucity of information surrounding factors that heighten a child’s need for urgent mental health services. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated such factors from 61,448 children and youth.
PhD student Mohammad Azzam on the use of retrieval practice on student performance
I am a PhD student in Curriculum Studies and my research focus is health professions education. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of retrieval practice (RP) on student performance on the final exam in an undergraduate Gross Anatomy course. RP occurs when students practice retrieving their consolidated semantic memories by testing themselves. Results indicated that RP effectively enhances learning and long-term retention of semantic memory. Thus, teachers are encouraged to implement RP in their classrooms.
Dr. Shannon Stewart's team develops and assesses the reliability and validity of the externalizing subscale on the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH)
Using data from 3,464 children and youth across Ontario, a scale to assess children with aggression and behavioural problems (e.g., externalizing subscale) for the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health instrument was developed. The final externalizing subscale exhibited strong precision and accuracy in assessing these children and youth.
Dr. Gus Riveros co-authored a chapter in "Understanding educational leadership: Critical perspectives and approaches"
We wrote a chapter for this edited book. The book provides a critical introduction to key topics, questions, and debates in educational administration and leadership. In the chapter, we discuss the relations between theory, methods, and methodology. We examine the consequences of assuming that theory operates independently of methods. We argue that this assumption relies on a misunderstanding about the role and importance of the generative principles of research in the articulation of a study.
Dr. Shannon Stewart's team addresses the care planning needs of traumatized children and youth experiencing interpersonal polyvictimization
Children and youth experiencing polyvictimization (e.g., exposure to multiple interpersonal traumas), compared to those who did not, are more likely to report attachment difficulties, lack of informal support, interpersonal conflict, substance use and harm to self or others. Additionally, sex differences had a significant impact on attachment and interpersonal conflict.
PhD student Shannon McKechnie reviews Archer & Schuetze's book "Preparing Students for Life and Work"
Book review of "Preparing Students for Life and Work: Policies and Reforms Affecting Higher Education's Principal Mission". I engage with scholarly work from Canada and internationally about the purpose of higher education and how students engage with higher education.
Dr. Shannon Stewart's team studies risk factors predicting school disruption in children and youth living in Ontario
School disruption places students at risk for early school departure and maladaptive mental health outcomes. The current study investigated risk factors associated with school disruption in a sample of 1,241 school-aged students. This study demonstrated that substance use, family functioning, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and experiencing bullying significantly predicted school disruption.
Dr. Deanna Friesen compares verbal fluency between monolinguals and bilinguals
In our previous work, we found that bilinguals can list more items in a verbal fluency task (e.g., name as many animals as you can in 60 seconds) than expected given their level of second language vocabulary knowledge. In our current study, we investigated the reason why this occurs by examining which abilities students rely on when they retrieve words from memory. We found that monolinguals relied only on vocabulary knowledge, whereas bilinguals utilized both their vocabulary knowledge and reasoning ability. Such findings indicate that bilinguals are drawing on cognitive resources in addition to language ability to retrieve words from memory.
PhD student Zhouhan Jin investigates the effects of word learning through listening to teacher talk
I am a PhD student in Applied Linguistics and my research focus is on teaching and learning vocabulary in second language acquisition. This study investigated the effects of word learning through listening to teacher talk. Because words consist of both single words and multi-word items, both types of items were tested. In order to make learners pay attention to keywords, teachers often use their first language (L1) to translate word meanings or repeat the words several times during the class. Thus, the effect of L1 translation and word repetition on word learning were also examined.
PhD student Shaden Attia reviews Khiara M. Bridges' book "Critical Race Theory: A Primer"
This publication is a book review of Khiara M. Bridges' book Critical Race Theory: A Primer. The review provides a summary of the book which discusses Critical Race Theory, its history and core concepts of the theory and offers an evaluation of the book as well
Dr. Jun Li on self-mastery and the Confucian concept of zhong-yong
Dr. Jun Li concludes that self-mastery in the Chinese context provides an additional form of autonomy which is rooted in the pragmatic Confucian concept of zhong-yong. With multilayered and multidirectional power relationships, this model of governance has enabled Chinese universities to radically transform themselves in a short period of time and will allow them to eventually become global leaders, although they may have to sacrifice autonomous freedom in some ways.
Dr. Deanna Friesen on reading comprehension in English-French adult bilinguals
Often when people struggle with second language reading comprehension, their performance is attributed to second language ability. We wanted to know if effective reading strategy use could compensate for lower language ability in reading. For English-French bilingual adults, specific strategies (e.g., generating inferences and utilizing text structure) explained reading comprehension success that was not explained by language knowledge. Our results suggest that combined emphasis on both language instruction and reading strategy instruction should produce gains in reading comprehension.
Dr. Barbara Fenesi on the positive link between physical activity and and academic achievment
Using data from 31,124 elementary and secondary school students across Ontario, we found that elementary students engaging in 7 days/week of physical activity had highest academic achievement, and secondary students engaging in at least 3-4 days/week had highest academic achievement. Interesting, these benefits occurred through reductions in attention and hyperactivity.
MA student Katie Hart assesses the support needs of caregivers of children with Down Syndrome
The study addressed the gap in the research field specific to assessing the support needs of caregivers of children with Down Syndrome (DS). Individual interviews with caregivers of children with DS were conducted and Concept Mapping analysis was employed generating eight thematic concept maps. Recommendations were provided to community services.
Dr. Isha DeCoito on the benefits of developing digital scientific timelines
Findings of this study indicate beneficial effects of developing digital scientific timelines including flexibility in achieving a variety of learning goals (including multi-scale analyses, visualizing different spatial and temporal arrangements, developing historical contexts, etc.), flexibility in application and actualization, and enhanced motivation and engagement.
Dr. Barbara Fenesi on the pros and cons of virtual reality anatomy instruction
This study demonstrated that learning anatomy using virtual reality models compared to standard physical models was detrimental to learning for those with lower visuospatial ability. This work underscores the need for more evidence-based research evaluating virtual reality anatomy instruction prior to widespread uptake in an increasingly technology-oriented education culture.
Dr. Anton Puvirajah on how a summer youth program supports self-perceived communication competence
Informed by previous qualitative research that revealed the importance of learner’s communication competence as a key focus and driver to gaining confidence, understanding, and supporting their STEM identification, the research drew on a survey strategy to examine the extent to which the summer youth program supported participants’ self-perceived communication competence.
Dr. Isha DeCoito uses digital scientific timelines and a video game to address several key nature of science targets
The author addresses several key nature of science targets (e.g., shared methods, law/theory distinction, tentative, durable, and self-correcting, limitations of science, creativity, subjectivity, and social and cultural influences) through digital scientific timelines and a digital video game.
Dr. Lynn Dare on the experience of students who skipped a grade
In this phenomenological study, we describe the experiences of young people between 17 and 28 years of age, who skipped a grade in Canadian schools. Participants shared their attitudes towards grade-based acceleration and offered their insights on factors to consider when deciding on acceleration.
Dr. Isha DeCoito on digital video games as a learning environment
The authors discuss the use of digital video games (DVGs) as a learning environment; one that engages learners through technology, provides opportunity for creative output, and promotes the intrinsic motivation for learning necessary to advance the development of twenty-first century skills and interaction with STEM content.
Dr. Nicole Neil compares methocs for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders to label objects
This study compared two methods for teaching children with autism spectrum disorders to label objects during behavioural intervention; The use of "what is it?" compared to presentation of the object alone. Children learned to label objects using both methods and demonstrated the skill during play.
Dr. Melody Viczko's invited chapter about how national organizations influence internationalization policies in Canadian higher education
In this book chapter, I was invited to write about national organizations that influence internationalization policies in Canadian higher education. Using research I conducted with digital methods, I examine the politics of universities' engagement with Mitacs, Universities Canada and an emerging innovation hub involved in the federal Innovation Superclusters Initiative. This book was recognized by the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) for bringing cutting-edge knowledge to the field of international education and the editors of the book (Tamtik, Trilokekar and Jones) received the Catalyst Award 2020 (https://cbie.ca/what-we-do/cbie-excellence-awards/2020-recipients/). https://cbie.ca/what-we-do/cbie-excellence-awards/2020-recipients/
Dr. Katina Pollock on how COVID-19 has changed school leaders' work
This edition of International Studies in Education Administration focuses on worldwide responses to the pandemic. In my article, I argue that school leaders' work has changed within the context of COVID-19 and that their work now has two prongs: (1) safe schooling and future schooling and (2) digital instructional leadership.
Dr. Pejman Habibie's edited the new book "Novice Writers and Scholarly Publication"
Drawing on the perspectives and experiences of authors, supervisors, reviewers, and editors, this book seeks to present a rich and nuanced picture of the practices and challenges faced by both Anglophone and English as an additional language (EAL) junior scholars in writing for publication.
PhD student Sarah Hennessy talks about Idea Station
Idea Station, the student portion of a research project to revitalize one urban Canadian school’s outdated playground helps to re-envision new approaches to education, environment and climate change, shifting the education ‘of children’ in favour of learning ‘with children’ – a shift that mirrors the language of common world pedagogies.
MA student Amira Hmidan examins how gender, sociosexuality and erotophilia influence sexual dreams
The study examined how gender, sociosexuality and erotophilia influenced sexual dreams. Men scored higher on sociosexuality and sex dream valence than women. Individuals who scored higher on sociosexuality and erotophilia reported experiencing more frequent sex dreams and evaluated them more positively. Additionally, erotophilia and sociosexuality significantly predicted sex dream valence.
PhD Student Shannon McKechnie presents her findings from her MA research with student affairs and services practitioners in higher education
In this article I present findings from my MA research with student affairs and services practitioners in higher education. I examine the issue of skills development and student employability through policy discourses and student affairs programs and services in the university.
PhD student Sarah Hennessy explores pedagogies of indeterminacy
What might pedagogies of indeterminacy do? As researchers and educators, we ask that question, inspired by common worlds pedagogies, exploring pedagogies of indeterminacy. Drawing on pedagogical inquiries using charcoal and cardboard in an early childhood centre we challenge dominant neoliberal constructs of productivity in early childhood education.
Dr. Gus Riveros advances the scope of research methods in educational administration and leadership
In this conceptual paper, we propose that a theorization of space can advance the scope of research methods in educational administration and leadership. We argue for the incorporation of the notion of ‘spatial justice’ to the research, analysis, and practice of educational administration and leadership in educational organizations and communities.
Dr. Karen Bax helps families living with epilepsy build resilience
This article describes the study protocol of a randomized control trial delivering a live online program intervention, Making Mindfulness Matter, (M3) to children living with epilepsy and their parents. M3 teaches mindful awareness, the neuropsychology of emotion and the benefits of positive psychology to help build resilience within the family.
Kelly-Ann MacAlpine studies how human and non-human relationships affect the development of children
With particular attention to early childhood education, my area of interest focuses on exploring how complicated human and non-human relationships affect how children develop an emerging understanding of the world around. This article explores the interplay of alternative perspectives in a critical look at Ontario, Canada’s newly released policy document Growing Success, The Kindergarten Addendum: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2016).
Wei Wei explores the introduction of professional standards for principals in China
I am a PhD candidate in the Critical Policy, Equity, and Leadership Studies stream. Using policy borrowing as an analytical framework, this study explores the introduction of the Professional Standards for Principals (Ministry of Education of the PRC, 2013) in China. Internationally, this study elaborates on the global leadership discourses that are evident in both leadership standards across jurisdictions and documents from international organizations. Nationally, it illustrates the ways in which the Chinese leadership standards have responded to this global policy convergence based on its local contexts.
Claire Crooks examines the effectiveness of culturally-relevant programming for Indigenous youth
Although there is increasing interest in strength-based, culturally relevant programming for Indigenous youth, there are relatively few published evaluations. In this study my team followed an entire cohort of Indigenous students for a two year period and conducted surveys and interviews and collected official school data. Our results showed that youth who participated in two years of our culturally-relevant mentoring program reported improved positive mental health, increased cultural connectedness, and better credit accumulation compared to their peers. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of culturally-relevant programming social, emotional and academic outcomes.
Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw investigates common world relations of children with places, materials and other species
My current research, within the Common World Childhoods Research Collective, traces the common world relations of children with places, materials, and other species. I currently direct two SSHRC-funded projects: SSHRC Insight - Transforming Waste Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education (2017-2021) and SSHRC PDG - Exploring Climate Change Pedagogies with Children (2017-2021).
