This thesis examines the role of epistemic cognition within the context of a Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI) curriculum for secondary science. The study employs a new form of design-based research, called Model-Based Design Research (MBDR), which first maps a formal pedagogical model onto the curriculum design, and then assesses how the enacted curriculum adheres to the design. The curriculum design was a ten-week Grade 11 Biology unit that met the Ontario Ministry requirements for evolution and biodiversity, and included activities situated within a unique immersive environment called EvoRoom. The thesis includes an assessment of students' epistemological views about science and science learning, and evaluates the epistemic commitments of KCI using a relevant theoretical framework of epistemic cognition. The analysis reveals the complex interconnections amongst the epistemological, pedagogical and technological elements of the design, resulting in recommendations for future design iterations as well as theoretical insights concerning the KCI model.

Abstract This study examines the holistic pedagogical practices of experienced teachers in alternative public schools. This study reviews holistic educational philosophy and ancient Eastern spirituality as they contribute to transformative learning. Feminist theory provides a framework for developing a holistic view of learning that embodies our full human potential. This research will share methods and strategies used to support developing a true awareness. It will provide functional and compassionate ways to implement holistic pedagogy. I will emphasize that teaching with acceptance and reverence for our human capacities will embed these values in students’ learning. The aim of this study is to contribute to contemporary visions of teaching by sharing experiences that are mindful of the mind-body connection. I wish to make the perceptions and approaches of teachers accessible and to inspire curiosity in others to extend their holistic beliefs into practice.

Abstract This study examines the holistic pedagogical practices of experienced teachers in alternative public schools. This study reviews holistic educational philosophy and ancient Eastern spirituality as they contribute to transformative learning. Feminist theory provides a framework for developing a holistic view of learning that embodies our full human potential. This research will share methods and strategies used to support developing a true awareness. It will provide functional and compassionate ways to implement holistic pedagogy. I will emphasize that teaching with acceptance and reverence for our human capacities will embed these values in students’ learning. The aim of this study is to contribute to contemporary visions of teaching by sharing experiences that are mindful of the mind-body connection. I wish to make the perceptions and approaches of teachers accessible and to inspire curiosity in others to extend their holistic beliefs into practice.

This dissertation is the product of both lifework and a 2007-2010 research study. Working, living and parenting in the largest First Nation community in Canada, the Six Nations Grand River Territory, I believe it imperative that any body of work I produce be of direct use to my community as well fill a needed area of research within the field of Ogweho:weh (Original/Indigenous) Education. In order to design a study that would yield results to both these ends, I spent a significant portion of this dissertation explaining Indigenous Theory and Praxis. Subsequent to the expansion of literature on Indigenous theory and Indigenous methodology is the primary document analysis and dialogues which were intended to answer the two research questions of: (1) What changes has the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) made to Ogweho:weh education in Canada; and (2) How does the community understand success at Six Nations? One hundred seventy-three documents (international, national, provincial, and local) and 52 dialogues with community advocates, educators and parents were analyzed using an original policy discourse web entitled Social Particle Webbing. Based on a sociological perspective of particle theory, Social Particle Webbing is a metaphor for identifying areas where marginalized groups can be platformed to enhance their ability to create social change. Social Particle Webbing is comprised of two-tailed threads, similar to a candle burning at both ends. The two competing themes of each thread may run polar or complimentary to each other, but are the embodiment of the written and oral documents which shape the discourse. The Discourse of Ogweho:weh Education was identified to have fourteen companion themes making up the seven threads of: (1)“Real” Self-Determinants; (2 Responsibility; (3)In the Spirit of Equity; (4)Choice in Education; (5)Rationale for Inaction; (6)Societal Opinion of Ogweho:weh; and (7)Success. Although Social Particle Webbing was created to answer the needs of Ogweho:weh education by creating an enculturated metaphorical image of Ogweho:weh Education, it is appropriately applied to all arenas of social change where a people are marginalized and not readily able to make change due to a lack of space, resources, or power.

This dissertation is the product of both lifework and a 2007-2010 research study. Working, living and parenting in the largest First Nation community in Canada, the Six Nations Grand River Territory, I believe it imperative that any body of work I produce be of direct use to my community as well fill a needed area of research within the field of Ogweho:weh (Original/Indigenous) Education. In order to design a study that would yield results to both these ends, I spent a significant portion of this dissertation explaining Indigenous Theory and Praxis. Subsequent to the expansion of literature on Indigenous theory and Indigenous methodology is the primary document analysis and dialogues which were intended to answer the two research questions of: (1) What changes has the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) made to Ogweho:weh education in Canada; and (2) How does the community understand success at Six Nations? One hundred seventy-three documents (international, national, provincial, and local) and 52 dialogues with community advocates, educators and parents were analyzed using an original policy discourse web entitled Social Particle Webbing. Based on a sociological perspective of particle theory, Social Particle Webbing is a metaphor for identifying areas where marginalized groups can be platformed to enhance their ability to create social change. Social Particle Webbing is comprised of two-tailed threads, similar to a candle burning at both ends. The two competing themes of each thread may run polar or complimentary to each other, but are the embodiment of the written and oral documents which shape the discourse. The Discourse of Ogweho:weh Education was identified to have fourteen companion themes making up the seven threads of: (1)“Real” Self-Determinants; (2 Responsibility; (3)In the Spirit of Equity; (4)Choice in Education; (5)Rationale for Inaction; (6)Societal Opinion of Ogweho:weh; and (7)Success. Although Social Particle Webbing was created to answer the needs of Ogweho:weh education by creating an enculturated metaphorical image of Ogweho:weh Education, it is appropriately applied to all arenas of social change where a people are marginalized and not readily able to make change due to a lack of space, resources, or power.

This dissertation reports a study exploring adult engagement with sustainability learning practices in EcoSchools-certified secondary schools in Canada, Lithuania and Sweden as a means towards shaping a liveable future. The study is situated in the area of education for sustainable development. The study design was initially based on an interest in revealing specific practices of sustainability education as a means of improving the relationship between environmental impact and wealth. While echoing findings in the existing literature, this research contributes to the development of the field through insight into the perspectives that adults bring to sustainability education. Primary data collected in the spring of 2006 were recorded (mostly single) semistructured interviews with 30 individuals (national coordinators, caretakers, teachers and administrators), including 10 Canadians from four schools, 14 Lithuanians from four schools, and six Swedes from two schools. Four phases of qualitative analysis were used on the data: initial transcript coding and trends; précis document trends; a six-stage model of interview responses allowing vertical (between question) and horizontal (between stage) comparisons; word maps of subthemes as a scaffold to detail participants’ four primary views (long, wide, deep, dynamic) regarding sustainability. Ultimately, the results of this study point less than expected to revealing specific transferable practices regarding success and challenge in EcoSchools. Rather, these findings provide some insight into a means of shaping a sustainable future through an individual’s sustainability perspective: a living responsiveness based on a sense of connection, supported by improved sustainability cognition, and realized through sustainability practice and considered engagement.

This thesis is a critical practitioner research study of an innovative teacher education initiative: the Diverse Schools (DS) Initiative. The DS Initiative fuses two pedagogical approaches - culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching - into an approach they call Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP). The DS Initiative uses CRRP as a theoretical framework for equity-based work in a university-school based partnership. This research considers the impact of the DS Initiative on teacher candidates’ and associate teachers’ practicum experiences. The twenty research participants (teacher candidates, associate teachers and administrators) interviewed reveal a spectrum of understanding of the DS Initiative, CRRP, and their overall implications for teacher education programs that extend beyond the DS Initiative. The research found that participants’ identities and practicum contexts greatly shaped their understandings and uses of CRRP. Many participants were unaware that the purpose of the DS Initiative was to create a shared theoretical understanding of CRRP among associate teachers and teacher candidates. However, most participants recognized the merits of an equity-focused university-school partnership for practicum, but believed it could be more effective if they were involved in developing the content of the DS Initiative. The participants’ narratives suggest that there is great value in creating a space to build on existing teacher candidate/associate teacher identities in equity-based initiatives. Participants emphasize the importance of delivering a university-school partnership program that is fluid and open to changing content, direction and goals to reflect the diversity of the participants. This study demonstrates the value and effectiveness of engaging participants in critical inquiry reflection to provide insight into content, goals, and clarity on teacher education initiatives. This research will be of interest to university faculty, administrators, and school staff wishing to examine practicum concerns in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs and seeking to address them using a collaborative university-school partnership model. Finally, this study contributes to the greater scholarly practitioner research conversations about equity and critical pedagogy, teacher identity, and the challenges stakeholders in teacher education need to note, reflect upon, and respond to in order to address the needs of our increasingly diverse students.

In trying to understand ecological identity within adult environmental education, I embarked on an arts-informed exploration of my life history. I realized that everything I know about the environment grew from what I experienced as a child. My childhood experiences are most vivid in my memories of the natural world. I wanted to know more about the relationship between childhood experiences and ecological identity. Based on a personal transformation, and journey toward restoring awareness of the senses and how we know as human beings, I chose my life as the focus of this research. Had my childhood experiences influenced how I relate to the environment? How had they done that? What was it about those childhood experiences? This thesis is the culmination of my inquiry. It is my story and an offering to travel with me to my childhood and make sense of your own experiences in the natural world.

Schools are sites of great power and influence where the “obesity” discourse is often taken uncritically as truth and reproduced, to the detriment of young people. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how theories of fatness can inform theories of culturally relevant pedagogy with the goal of helping teachers create spaces where increased size acceptance is possible for secondary students. Literature from both these areas of study was reviewed and applied to the Ontario secondary curriculum documents for science and physical education. This analysis demonstrated a body acceptance orientation in teaching these disciplines, and that doing so can mitigate many of the negative effects of living in a fat hating world.

This dissertation reports a study exploring adult engagement with sustainability learning practices in EcoSchools-certified secondary schools in Canada, Lithuania and Sweden as a means towards shaping a liveable future. The study is situated in the area of education for sustainable development. The study design was initially based on an interest in revealing specific practices of sustainability education as a means of improving the relationship between environmental impact and wealth. While echoing findings in the existing literature, this research contributes to the development of the field through insight into the perspectives that adults bring to sustainability education. Primary data collected in the spring of 2006 were recorded (mostly single) semistructured interviews with 30 individuals (national coordinators, caretakers, teachers and administrators), including 10 Canadians from four schools, 14 Lithuanians from four schools, and six Swedes from two schools. Four phases of qualitative analysis were used on the data: initial transcript coding and trends; précis document trends; a six-stage model of interview responses allowing vertical (between question) and horizontal (between stage) comparisons; word maps of subthemes as a scaffold to detail participants’ four primary views (long, wide, deep, dynamic) regarding sustainability. Ultimately, the results of this study point less than expected to revealing specific transferable practices regarding success and challenge in EcoSchools. Rather, these findings provide some insight into a means of shaping a sustainable future through an individual’s sustainability perspective: a living responsiveness based on a sense of connection, supported by improved sustainability cognition, and realized through sustainability practice and considered engagement.