The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, renowned for its academic rigor, is also committed to forwarding the larger organization’s mission of creating “a better and more peaceful world” through education. This qualitative case study explores the conceptions of peace education held by three IB Diploma English A1 teachers, the factors that shaped those conceptions, and possible obstacles to teaching for peace in an international school. A framework of peace education as distilled from an extensive literature review and Johan Galtung’s definitions of peace provide the study’s theoretical foundation. Using observations, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews, this study examines teachers’ concepts of peace, pedagogical practices, and approaches to peace education within the context of an A1 classroom and an IB World School. The findings conclude that teachers’ conceptions of peace education are shaped by personal factors such as prior experiences and pedagogical content knowledge, and not by official IB documents.

This research aims to identify core elements of leadership development in children and adolescents. Initial focus groups with student leaders in elementary and high schools suggested key differences in students’ implicit theories of leadership and their identities as leaders. A follow-up survey was constructed to measure these differences. Findings suggest age-based distinctions in students’ implicit understanding of leadership, what constitutes leadership behaviour, who has the capacity to lead, and what kinds of leadership they would like to take on. These distinctions form the basis for a conceptual model illustrating four phases or “stories” of leadership identified by children and adolescents: the task-oriented “helper,” the responsibility-oriented “deputy,” the role-oriented “agent” and the identity-oriented “ambassador.”

This phenomenological study explores the digitally-mediated literacy practices of a group of students who have been unsuccessful with the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. More specifically, this study documents the out-of-school online literacy practices that are attractive to students who have failed to achieve dominant school literacy and explores the conditions that drive them. These practices are recognized as socially situated. Interviews were conducted at a Toronto school with 3 grade twelve students enrolled in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, an alternative method to fulfil the provincially mandated literacy graduation requirement. Three findings emerged: a) participants’ desire for “real” texts, defined as those that reflect their understanding of the world and connect them to the lives of others, b) the high value placed on visual and verbal semiotic resources and c) participants felt empowered by their online literacy practices but regarded in-school literacy as a site of resistance.

This phenomenological study explores the digitally-mediated literacy practices of a group of students who have been unsuccessful with the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. More specifically, this study documents the out-of-school online literacy practices that are attractive to students who have failed to achieve dominant school literacy and explores the conditions that drive them. These practices are recognized as socially situated. Interviews were conducted at a Toronto school with 3 grade twelve students enrolled in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, an alternative method to fulfil the provincially mandated literacy graduation requirement. Three findings emerged: a) participants’ desire for “real” texts, defined as those that reflect their understanding of the world and connect them to the lives of others, b) the high value placed on visual and verbal semiotic resources and c) participants felt empowered by their online literacy practices but regarded in-school literacy as a site of resistance.

This study examines the ethical challenges and dilemmas that teachers experience in their work with students who have special needs in inclusive classrooms. Moreover, it investigates the ways in which teachers cope with or resolve such difficulties, the supports currently available to assist them in managing ethical issues, and their recommendations for potential supports. Accounts of ethical challenges reported by 12 teacher participants working at the elementary and secondary level were interpreted from two stages of interviews. Data were analyzed qualitatively using a constant comparison method, with data analysis occurring during and after each stage. Emergent themes were coded and categorized to elicit major and sub-themes. The ethical challenges reported by the participants primarily dealt with issues of care, equity, and fairness, where participants felt that the best interests of students were not being met. Difficulties occurred in the context of accommodations and modifications, assessment and evaluation, discipline, distribution of time and resources, and the rights of the individual student versus the group. In the accounts provided, participants consistently raised concerns about ethical dilemmas they experienced as a result of colleagues. In all of the situations that dealt with colleagues, teachers were unwilling to confront the unethical behaviors of co-workers despite their potential to harm the student. All of the teachers faced ethical challenges in the context of inclusion. While most support the practice of inclusion, concerns were raised about existing inequities, specifically in regard to the degree of inclusivity and access to learning opportunities. Shortages in supports, resources, and training were the primary reasons attributed to the teachers’ struggles. The participants’ recommendations for supports consisted of collaborative professional development opportunities, specifically in special and inclusive education. This study contributes to the growing body of literature in the ethics of inclusive and special education. It has significant implications for policy makers, certifying bodies, teacher education programs, and teachers’ professional lives as it provides insights into the ethical challenges faced by teachers in inclusive classrooms. The results of the study have the potential to influence the development of policies and practices to support both teachers and students.

Because of its ambiguous function and usage, silence is a major source of intercultural miscommunication, which frequently leads to negative judgments, and breeds stereotypes. Grounded in a cross-cultural and interactive framework, I conducted a five-month descriptive qualitative study, which explored silence perceptions among Chinese, Korean, Russian, Colombian and Iranian ESL speakers, and Canadian native-speakers of English (NS). Multiple perspectives were investigated using stimulated recall, in a context of intercultural mentoring sessions and interviews. Eight ESL 'silence producer' participants were asked to explain their silence use, and their interpretations were compared with the functions attributed to these silences by other participants, one from the same cultural background as the 'silence producer', and a NS. Participants' silence perceptions were described, and most negatively-interpreted silences were identified. Analysis revealed intra-cultural acrimony, that high language proficiency perceptions increase negative silence attributions, cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards fillers, and the systematic silencing of ESL speakers.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal. / Cette thèse propose une analyse du champ conceptuel de la formation réflexive, tel qu'il se présente dans les discours du Conseil supérieur de l'éducation, du Ministère de l'éducation du Québec et des universités. Dans une perspective à la fois descriptive et critique, la recherche vise le double objectif de circonscrire ce champ conceptuel et de mettre au jour les arguments qui ont motivé son introduction dans les programmes de formation initiale des enseignants. En s'appuyant sur une littérature critique, la recherche a fait l'hypothèse que la formation reflexive serait un champ conceptuel à la fois flou et polysémique et que le choix d'axer la formation des enseignants sur la réflexion ne serait pas fondé sur des données empiriques mais seulement justifié par des arguments intuitifs. Les discours du Conseil supérieur de l'éducation, du Ministère de l'éducation et de trois universités ont été soumis à une analyse conceptuelle et à une analyse rhétorique. La recherche révèle que, dans ces discours, la formation reflexive est un champ conceptuel qui reste mal défini et qui n'est légitimé par aucun cadre théorique en particulier. En ce qui concerne les arguments qui supportent le choix d'une formation reflexive, la recherche confirme que ce choix ne s'appuie pas sur des données empiriques. Dans le texte du Conseil supérieur de l'éducation, ce champ conceptuel est associé à une rhétorique de valorisation de renseignement, mais la recherche suggère que c'est plutôt sur la base d'une argumentation de type pragmatique (argumentation par les conséquences), que l'on a choisi d'axer la formation des enseignants sur la réflexion. La recherche soulève cependant la fragilité de cette argumentation dans la mesure où toutes les conséquences sont présentées comme des faits alors que ce ne sont que des présomptions. En mettant au jour l'instabilité du champ conceptuel de la formation réflexive, la recherche pointe l'urgence de procéder à la clarification de ce champ conceptuel en départageant ce qui relève des faits et ce qui relève des choix pédagogiques. Sur la plan de la recherche, la thèse presse les chercheurs de valider les effets associés à une formation reflexive. Mais plus encore, la thèse suggère qu'après avoir longtemps étudié la nature des savoirs enseignants, il est maintenant temps pour les chercheurs de se consacrer à l'étude du phénomène complexe de formation/apprentissage de l'enseignement.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary C. Kingery-Page / The landscapes that surround our elementary schools today do very little to support the education being taught in the classrooms, and often fail to meet the most basic needs of children. This is due to a myriad of different reasons, such as budget-tight school districts spending very little of their resources on outside learning environments, fear of litigation leading to sterile and lifeless schoolyards, and lack of time and resources for educators to implement desired changes. Children learn through direct interactive experience and, as a result, they need complexity and variety in the landscape to stimulate their imaginations and promote self-guided learning. A natural outdoor environment is ideally suited for both interactive learning and a diversity of experiences. Many schools are missing an opportunity to make their outdoor spaces into interactive learning environments. This report explores the issues and opportunities to create stimulating environments at Frank V. Bergman Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous studies have identified the benefits of interactive natural environments on children’s development and academic performance(Moore and Wong 1997; Louv 2008; Bell and Dyment 2006;Fjortoft 2001; Malone and Tranter 2003). Building upon this research, goals and objectives for Bergman’s schoolyard are outlined that focus on creating a positive learning environment for all students, supporting school curriculum, encouraging interaction with nature, and linking the schoolyard to the surrounding community. A master plan for Bergman’s schoolyard is presented. The plan addresses the current needs of the schoolyard to improve accessibility. In addition, the master plan presents ideas for strengthening the circulation pathways to connect all areas of the schoolyard together, developing outdoor classroom spaces with connections to state academic standards, and incorporating community amenity features into the landscape. Recommendations for construction, maintenance, and phasing are suggested.

This thesis examined what means a group of elementary school principals in multicultural communities used to support and imporve the language learning of English Language Learning (ELL)students. In this thesis, multicultural communities are defined as urban schools which have a majority of students whose mother tongue is not English. Although they are challenged to value and honour the diversity of their school communities, these principals must also ensure that their teachers meet the mandated rigors of the Ontario curriculum, and that the students attain desired levels of achievement as defined by the Ontario Ministry of Education. In an increasing number of schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ELL students form a majority of the student population; yet this reality is barely acknowledged in provincial educational policy or in the professional education of Ontario's school principals. Nor has the educational research adequately addressed the challenges of educating ELL students over the past thirty-five years. The research literature on the characteristics, activities, and behaviour of effective school principals rarely mention their knowledge of other cultures and languages or their expertise related to ethnic and racial diversity. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture the responses of ten elementary school principals of multicultural school communities. The findings indicate that principals who were successful in leading multicultural school communities and improving the literacy achievement of ELL students had a deep understanding of literacy development; cultural needs of the community; and ESL issues. Although much of the leadership framework is similar to principalship in non-multicultural school communities, principals identified a number of leadership competencies that are particular to a diverse community. The findings have implications for the courses which prepare principals for these schools; the professional development of senior administrators; and the choice of personnel suitable for leadership roles in multicultural communities.

This thesis explores the relationships between pre-service teacher training, peace education, anti-racism education, gender equity education and conflict resolution. Specifically, this study investigates the mandatory School and Society course within the Initial Teacher Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, to explore peace education training within the pre-service teacher education program. The methodology employed involves the combination of a curriculum analysis and reflective case study; both are utilized to illustrate the author’s experiences as a pre-service student, and the training received during this program. The findings illustrate that components of a peace education curriculum are observable in the Initial Teacher Education program. There is however, no formal requirement for delivering peace education within the program. As a result, this thesis offers recommendations for the development of formal peace education training in OISE/UT’s pre-service program.