This mixed-methods study contributes to the limited literature on global citizenship by comparing the impacts of two curricular methods used to educate for global citizenship: international education experiences and a school-wide approach. Using Round Square as the case study, an international association of secondary schools that incorporate both methods to foster global citizenship, and an adapted version of Hartman’s (2008) Global Citizenship Survey, this study examines the global citizenship qualities of 185 graduates from Canadian Round Square schools. Findings reveal that not only is the pursuit of global citizenship within schools valuable and possible, but that a school-wide approach is as effective a method to educate for global citizenship as international education experiences. Results are valuable as many schools lack the resources, capacity, and motivation for global citizenship programming, particularly if programming relies on international education activities. Results also question the necessity of international opportunities to foster global citizenship.

This study evaluated two extracurricular leadership development programs offered by one urban high school. The programs were evaluated through an examination of the ways in which students understood their experiences in the programs in terms of their own leadership abilities, their leadership role with others and their perception of good leadership. The six study participants were observed facilitating groups of their peers through interactive activities at the programs' multiple-day events. In the three months following the programs, the participants were interviewed twice. The participants reported that their experience in a leadership development program helped them to feel confident in their leadership abilities. Also, the participants valued their relationships with their peers in their roles as leaders. Finally, the participants believed that good leaders exhibit caring behaviour towards others. This study provides information to assist the improvement of youth leadership development programs.

Streaming involves dividing students at varying levels of education into distinct “streams” or “tracks”, each with its own set of future academic options. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of youth and their families in Mornelle Court, Scarborough, Ontario. Through bringing youth voices to the fore, this thesis addresses a critical research gap. Overall it was found that: (i) the streaming placement of these youth was not determined by their desire to pursue a specific profession; (ii) the youths and their parents did not have adequate information on streaming; (iii) there were strained relationships between students of different streams; (iv) for youths who attempted it, moving from less to more academic streams was not possible; and (v) there were clear race and class biases affecting stream placement. This study serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, educational practitioners, and the public at large.

La présente recherche de type qualitatif veut décrire, analyser et comprendre la pratique de différenciation pédagogique chez des enseignants québécois du premier cycle du secondaire. Cette pratique s’insère au cœur des programmes de formation dont la principale visée est la réussite pour tous. Cependant, elle est constituée d’un flou théorique qui la rend parfois difficile à définir et à mettre en application, particulièrement chez les enseignants du secondaire. Ce travail dresse donc le portrait de trois enseignantes du premier cycle du secondaire qui choisissent tout de même de la comprendre et de la mettre en œuvre. À ce titre, l’étude des pratiques sous l’angle du travail tel que décrit par Tardif et Lessard (1999) permet de cerner la nature complexe et composite de leur travail et de tenir compte des facteurs personnels, internes et externes qui régissent leur travail d’adaptation des programmes, appelé travail curriculaire. Ainsi, une grille d’analyse inédite, construite au regard de ces facteurs et à partir des concepts inhérents à la différenciation pédagogique, permet d’étudier trois cas de manière complète et approfondie. De manière générale, l’analyse des facteurs personnels, internes et externes à la pratique de différenciation pédagogique des enseignantes donnent des informations pertinentes sur leurs façons de différencier, sur leur motivation à différencier et sur l’influence de leur milieu de travail dans l’exercice de cette pratique. Ces résultats permettent non seulement de mieux comprendre cette pratique effectuée par des enseignants du secondaire, mais permet aussi l’élaboration des principaux facteurs pouvant faciliter sa mise en œuvre ou au contraire la limiter. Au final, les propos recueillis chez les enseignantes interrogées signalent qu’au-delà de la réussite éducative, d’autres éléments entrent en jeu dans l’exercice de cette pratique. En fait, malgré plusieurs contraintes liées aux ressources matérielles, organisationnelles et humaines, la pratique de différenciation pédagogique génère entre autres une grande source de motivation scolaire pour les élèves et contribue à augmenter la satisfaction professionnelle de ces enseignantes dans leur travail au quotidien. / This qualitative research will describe, analyze and understand the practice of differentiated instruction for teachers of the Quebec junior high. This practice fits in the heart of the training programs whose main sight is the success for all. However, it consists of a conceptual confusion makes it difficult to define and implement, particularly among secondary school teachers. This work gives us a picture of three teachers from junior high who still choose to understand and implement. As such, the study of practices in terms of work, as described by Tardif and Lessard (1999) identifies the complex and composite character of their work and to consider personal factors, both internal and external governing their adaptation work program, called travail curriculaire. Thus, an entirely new framework, built with respect to these factors and applying the concepts inherent in differentiated instruction, used to study three cases of complete and thorough. Overall, the analysis of personal factors, both internal and external to the practice of differentiated instruction teachers provide relevant information on their ways to differentiate, their motivation and to differentiate the influence of their workplace in this practice. These results provide not only better understand the practice carried out by secondary school teachers, but also allows the development of the key factors that facilitate its implementation or otherwise limiting. Finally, the comments collected by the teachers surveyed reported that beyond educational success, other factors come into play in carrying out this practice. In fact, despite several constraints related to material resources, organizational and human resources, the practice of differentiated instruction generates among other great source of motivation for school students and helps increase job satisfaction of teachers in their daily work.

This study evaluated two extracurricular leadership development programs offered by one urban high school. The programs were evaluated through an examination of the ways in which students understood their experiences in the programs in terms of their own leadership abilities, their leadership role with others and their perception of good leadership. The six study participants were observed facilitating groups of their peers through interactive activities at the programs' multiple-day events. In the three months following the programs, the participants were interviewed twice. The participants reported that their experience in a leadership development program helped them to feel confident in their leadership abilities. Also, the participants valued their relationships with their peers in their roles as leaders. Finally, the participants believed that good leaders exhibit caring behaviour towards others. This study provides information to assist the improvement of youth leadership development programs.

Streaming involves dividing students at varying levels of education into distinct “streams” or “tracks”, each with its own set of future academic options. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of youth and their families in Mornelle Court, Scarborough, Ontario. Through bringing youth voices to the fore, this thesis addresses a critical research gap. Overall it was found that: (i) the streaming placement of these youth was not determined by their desire to pursue a specific profession; (ii) the youths and their parents did not have adequate information on streaming; (iii) there were strained relationships between students of different streams; (iv) for youths who attempted it, moving from less to more academic streams was not possible; and (v) there were clear race and class biases affecting stream placement. This study serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, educational practitioners, and the public at large.

This research examines a multi-level language ability ESL secondary school classroom in relation to Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice and Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) L2 motivation conceptual frameworks. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed. Case study data were collected through monthly interviews, semi-monthly observations, and monthly written journals over 3 months in Toronto from 6 participants (5 students and 1 teacher). Also, students who had been in Canada 5 years or less, and ESL teachers were invited to complete an on-line questionnaire. Results indicate that the multi-level classroom positively and negatively impacts participation and motivation. Participants define the most striking factor to impact participation and motivation as themselves; this links the two conceptual frameworks because “self-regulation” in the Actional Phase (Dörnyei & Ottó, 1998) can be better understood by legitimate peripheral participation or the ability to “imagine” and “align” oneself (Lave & Wenger, 1991). In this multi-level classroom, self-regulation is when students actively imagine possible selves who are aligned with their family or peer goals, or when faced with disengagement, students envision new roles for themselves in the classroom to overcome barriers and realign themselves with shared family or peer goals. In these cases, alignment drives imagination; however, students also use imagination to create alignment. When lower level learners see advanced students as possible selves, they feel hope for their future. Similarly, advanced learners recall their past selves when seeing their lower level peers and feel empathy for them. This interaction cements student alignment and sets a context conducive to cooperative learning which enhances students’ abilities to remain aligned with their families. Overall, this research highlights the interplay of imagination and alignment which impacts student identity. Moreover, it reveals that one aspect of the Post-actional Phase in Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) model, “self-concept beliefs,” can be enhanced by the notion of identity in Lave and Wenger’s (1991) framework. Finally, these findings could serve to change policy and improve programming and serve as an archive for future research.

Although the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has shown a lot of promise as a theoretical perspective, researchers find it difficult to use it in particular environments because the requirements of the framework change in specific contexts. The purpose of this study was to explore and produce more flexible ways of using the TPACK for inservice mathematics secondary teachers. Three such teachers at an urban public school were observed in their classrooms and interviewed about their experiences of teaching mathematics and integrating computer technology in their day-to-day activities. Each participant had over 10 years experience in teaching mathematics in secondary schools in Ontario, and expertise in using computers in mathematics curriculum. The research questions were: 1) How do secondary school mathematics teachers describe their ways of integrating technology? 2) What difficulties do teachers have when they try to integrate technology into mathematics classrooms? The findings from the first research question show that teachers displayed a high degree of integration of technology. Their activities were very clearly designed, conferring clear roles to the use of integrating computer technology in mathematics classes. Teachers had specific approaches to integrate computer technology: a) to allow students opportunities to learn and experiment with their mathematical knowledge; b) to help them pass the content to the students in the process of teaching mathematics; and c) to assess and evaluate students’ work, and give them feedback. The findings from the second research question reveal that teachers had difficulties in purchasing and maintaining the computer equipment. They had some difficulties in trying to integrate new technologies as these required time, preparation, and dedication. In addition, teachers had some difficulties in making students use computers in a significant way. The implication for teacher education is that inservice teachers should have opportunities to update their computer and pedagogical skills, a long term perspective in integrating technology in mathematics education, and professional and technical support from teaching colleagues and administrators. Finally, the integration of computer technology in mathematics requires more intensive teamwork and collaboration between teachers, technical support staff, and administrators.

Since Tajikistan’s independence in 1991 the number of rural girls leaving school after grade 9 has been increasing at an alarming rate. In order to improve rural girls’ secondary school attendance and retention, in 2006 Save the Children, local non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, and the Ministry of Education implemented a two-year UNICEF-funded Girls’ Education Project (GEP). This mixed-method study compares rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities at six schools (three GEP schools and three non-GEP schools) in two districts located in regions with the lowest levels of female secondary school participation nationwide. Two research questions guided this study: 1) What factors serve as obstacles or enablers to girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities in rural Tajikistan? and 2) How did the GEP attempt to overcome factors limiting rural girls’ secondary school experiences and opportunities and which aspects of the project were perceived to be most effective? The study’s theoretical framework contains concepts from two sets of theories: 1) social reproduction (schooling as a means of maintaining and reproducing the status quo) and 2) empowerment (schooling as a means of changing the status quo). Data collected reveals two groups’ perspectives: 1) adult participants (Ministry of Education officials, NGO staff, school administrators and teachers) and 2) rural female upper secondary school students. A multi-level data analysis process was used to compare findings within and across districts. Factors that serve as either an obstacle or an enabler of girls’ educational experiences and opportunities include those relating to the community/society, family, school, and self. Factors related to community/society include the dominant belief that a girl is “grown-up” by 15 and should no longer go to school which intersects with family poverty to create a major barrier to girls’ non-compulsory secondary schooling. Factors affecting girls’ schooling related to the family were the most significant determinant of a girl’s schooling. Of all the GEP activities, participants consistently considered the girls’ overnight camp to be the “best” activity. Findings show how enabling just a few girls to return to school significantly increases the likelihood of other girls being allowed to attend school in these rural communities.

This mixed-methods study contributes to the limited literature on global citizenship by comparing the impacts of two curricular methods used to educate for global citizenship: international education experiences and a school-wide approach. Using Round Square as the case study, an international association of secondary schools that incorporate both methods to foster global citizenship, and an adapted version of Hartman’s (2008) Global Citizenship Survey, this study examines the global citizenship qualities of 185 graduates from Canadian Round Square schools. Findings reveal that not only is the pursuit of global citizenship within schools valuable and possible, but that a school-wide approach is as effective a method to educate for global citizenship as international education experiences. Results are valuable as many schools lack the resources, capacity, and motivation for global citizenship programming, particularly if programming relies on international education activities. Results also question the necessity of international opportunities to foster global citizenship.