India’s pledge towards universalization of elementary education by 2015 is a desirable goal. Having achieved progress towards universal accessibility to schooling, the problem of providing quality schooling through a necessary paradigm shift, is still a major challenge. This qualitative research study seeks to portray the nature of pedagogy in four elementary classrooms in Srinagar, Kashmir and understand its shifting nature with reference to the National Curriculum Framework (2005). Specifically, this study examines teachers’ classroom pedagogical practices, their understandings of pedagogy, the ways they encourage and manage student participation in classroom and the level of support and training they receive from government agencies. The findings of this study will have implications for both teachers and students, their specific roles, their understanding of pedagogy, classroom practices and more importantly students. This study recommends ‘contextually suitable’ pedagogical methods, informing teachers about effective teaching strategies, and outlining specific classroom participation strategies for students.

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.

This work brings an anti-colonial reading to the production and maintenance of racial logic in Cuban schooling, through conversations with, and surveys of Cuban teachers, as well as through analysis of secondary and primary documents. The study undertaken seeks to contribute to the limited existent research on race relations in Cuba, with a research focus on the Cuban educational context. Teasing and staking out a middle ground between the blinding and often hollow pro-Cuba fanaticism and the deafening anti -Cuban rhetoric from the left and right respectively, this project seeks a more nuanced, complete and dialogical understanding of race and race relations in Cuba, with a specific focus on the educational context. With this in mind, the learning objectives of this study are to investigate the following: 1) What role does racism play in Cuba currently and historically? 2) What is the role of education in the life of race and racism on the island? 3) What new questions and insights emerge from the Cuban example that might be of use to integrated anti-racism, anti-colonialism and class-oriented scholarship and activism? On a more specific level, the guiding research objectives of the study are to investigate the following: 1) How do teachers support and/or challenge dominant ideas of race and racism, and to what degree to do they construct their own meanings on these topics? 2) How do teachers understand the relevance of race and racism for teaching and learning? 3) How and why do teachers address race and racism in the classroom? The data reveal a complex process of meaning making by teachers who are at once produced by and producers of dominant race discourse on the island. Teachers are the front line race workers of the racial project, doing much of the heavy lifting in the ongoing struggle against racism, but are at the same time custodians of an approach to race relations which has on the whole failed to eliminate racism. This work investigates and explicates this apparent contradiction inherent in teachers’ work and discourse on the island, revealing a flawed and complex form of Cuban anti-racism.

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 2003, the Canadian government has repeatedly called for research into innovative ways to teach Core French (CF) – a non-immersion program, where French as a Second Language (FSL) is taught on a daily basis, or a few times per week. This exploratory study investigates the driving forces behind the widespread popularity of a CF method called the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM), which combines target language use with gestures, high-frequency vocabulary, and drama to accelerate the development of fluency from the onset of classroom instruction. In order to learn more about the “meaningfulness” of this growing trend (Fullan, 2007), this mixed-method inquiry attempts to shift the focus from product to process, comparing educator perspectives and AIM implementation within two Ontario contexts: (a) where AIM was mandated for elementary (Grades 4-6) FSL instruction, and (b) where AIM was an optional method for FSL teachers to use (or not). Survey and interview data were collected from and triangulated across a variety of educators from both contexts, including FSL consultants (n = 18), principals (n = 8), CF teachers (n = 9), and one Ontario Ministry of Education representative. Four semi-structured interviews and multiple observations were also conducted with those CF teachers who were using AIM (n = 8). An additional CF teacher who had attempted to use AIM, and had subsequently rejected it, was also interviewed. Findings showed that AIM implementation and educator perspectives did not vary significantly based on whether AIM was mandated or optional for CF instruction. A clear preference emerged towards using AIM and the accompanying resources during the beginning stages of CF instruction. Discussion about the growing popularity of AIM was positive; however, it also exposed a range of emotions about when and how AIM should be used. In terms of implementation, while some AIM routines, activities, and strategies were used by all, each AIM teacher exercised their agency while using the method, supplementing and adapting for different reasons. Implications include the need to reexamine the objectives of micro-level AIM policies, recognize the adaptability of AIM, and consider including detailed observations in future research linking AIM to student achievement.

Over the past several decades, secular schools in North America have been expected to impart moral education to students. An array of approaches, strategies, methods, and philosophical and theoretical orientations for doing so are promoted in education literature. Two, in particular, have also been politically endorsed in Ontario, Canada—character education and community service. Yet, there remains discrepancy among teachers’ practices, knowledge, awareness, and intentions. Anecdotal reports indicate that relatively few teachers provide a consistent and comprehensive moral education, and those who do, act primarily on their own initiative and at their own discretion. Previous empirical evidence suggests that teachers who are moral agents conceive of, enact, and reflect on a personally developed form of moral education, which is embedded in the moral and ethical dimensions of school and classroom life, curriculum, and pedagogy. This single-case study aims to broaden and deepen the scholarship of moral agency as moral education, by exploring the question How does a teacher, who prioritizes the moral education of students, envision, enact and reflect on that moral education. Positioning myself as a conduit, within what is often considered to be a closed-door culture of teaching, I metaphorically opened one teacher’s classroom door and exposed her practices. The result is a uniquely comprehensive and genuine portrait of moral agency, which details the use of a variety of strategies and methods for imparting morality. These include intentionally modelling moral behaviours, conduct and dispositions; fostering relationships with and among students; creating a classroom community; delivering virtues lessons and messages; encouraging discussions of a moral nature; nurturing self-discipline in students; providing opportunities for community service; and assessing students’ social and moral development. The harmonious co-existence of these strategies and methods within one classroom and one teacher’s practice; the complementary and supportive way in which the teacher makes use of them; and their independence of any particular philosophical or theoretical orientation for moral education, represent the main insights of this study. These insights suggest that moral education in a secular classroom might be more comprehensively understood and promoted as moral agency.

This phenomenological study researches Pakistani immigrant parents’ perspectives and attitudes on how their children use new media technologies. Parental attitudes are directly linked to student achievement (Hampton, Mumford & Bond, 1998) and parents are the gatekeepers of technology use in the home, where, during unstructured time, children can experiment and develop skills in using new technologies (Ito et al, 2010). Therefore, this study looks at how parents, through their actions and attitudes, encourage or discourage their children from developing competencies in using new media technologies By examining the pedagogical histories of parents and their concerns and rules about technology use, this study adds to the literature on parental attitudes towards the use of technology as a pedagogical tool. Further, this study examines the issue from an immigrant perspective, focusing on 10 Pakistani immigrant parents who live in the Greater Toronto Area and whose children attend pubic school.

This action-based, qualitative research project involving 7 early childhood educators working in a well-established preschool child care program examined the influences of job-embedded professional development on children’s experiences of mathematics. Data was collected through observations, journals, conversations, interviews, and surveys, and then analyzed using a grounded theory model. A number of themes emerged, the strongest being those related to teachers’ increased awareness, interpretation, and support of children’s explorations in mathematics during play. This project provides an example of a successful model of teacher development for early childhood educators, and contributes to the growing field of research in mathematics education related to teacher noticing, but at the preschool level. Further, with the introduction of full day kindergarten and the emphasis on play based learning this project provides many rich examples of the mathematics present in children's every day play that can be used in future teacher development.

India’s pledge towards universalization of elementary education by 2015 is a desirable goal. Having achieved progress towards universal accessibility to schooling, the problem of providing quality schooling through a necessary paradigm shift, is still a major challenge. This qualitative research study seeks to portray the nature of pedagogy in four elementary classrooms in Srinagar, Kashmir and understand its shifting nature with reference to the National Curriculum Framework (2005). Specifically, this study examines teachers’ classroom pedagogical practices, their understandings of pedagogy, the ways they encourage and manage student participation in classroom and the level of support and training they receive from government agencies. The findings of this study will have implications for both teachers and students, their specific roles, their understanding of pedagogy, classroom practices and more importantly students. This study recommends ‘contextually suitable’ pedagogical methods, informing teachers about effective teaching strategies, and outlining specific classroom participation strategies for students.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Rosemary Talab / The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate business student perceptions of teaching presence in order to scale up online learning to improve access to quality education. This study also responded to Senate Bill 520, calling for the improved online course quality. The data were obtained from 437 undergraduate business students (response rate 79.17%). A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used, incorporating the Teaching Presence Scale and Lukow’s Attitudes Towards the Use of Technology Survey. Teaching Presence was the theoretical framework. Data analysis regarding the participants’ personal characteristics indicated that their perceptions of teaching presence were not influenced by age. A statistically significant difference was found in the participants’ perception of teaching presence by gender (p<.05), as well as instructional design, and course organization. Data analysis regarding participants’ contextual characteristics indicated that perceptions of teaching presence were not influenced by course duration. However, a statistically significant difference was found in the participants’ perception of teaching presence based on class level, p<.05. Significant differences were found in communication, assessment and feedback. Data analysis of technographic characteristics found no statistically significant influence on participants' perception of teaching presence. Recommendations for the research setting were in the areas of learning environment engagement, online teaching pedagogy, online course materials development, communication and feedback, faculty development and student technology resource and support. Future research on perceptions of teaching presence from the instructor’s perspective, student characteristics in terms of race and ethnicity, impact of audio and video feedback, and expansion of the student population to other disciplines were recommended.