This study investigated the challenges and parent-adolescent relationship factors that contribute to resilience and the successful adjustment of Bangladeshi families following immigration to Canada. The systems framework of family resilience (Walsh, 2006) was used to interpret how Bangladeshi immigrant adolescents and parents experienced and navigated immigration challenges. Using a qualitative approach, four adolescent girls and four parents of adolescents were interviewed to inquire into their experience of challenges related to adolescent development, the immigrant experiences, and parentadolescent relationships influencing their post-immigration adjustment. Immigrant adolescents faced language and cultural barriers, bullying and discrimination in their school environment while rituals, customs and values from their culture of origin diminished. They felt pressured by their parent’s career expectations and felt they suffered gender discrimination in the family. Parents faced economic and career challenges and a difficult parenting experience. Optimism about the future, parental encouragement, mutual empathy of each other’s struggles, sharing feelings, open and clear communication, flexibility in parenting style and anchoring in cultural values and religious beliefs helped parents and adolescents become more resilient in maintaining a positive outlook with a positive view of their immigration. In some cases, the challenges of immigration pulled the families closer together in mutual support. It is hoped that findings from this study will assist in developing effective social programmes to ease adolescents’ and parents’ transitions among immigrants and to promote resiliency in immigrant families. / ix, 133 leaves ; 29 cm

This study explores the conditions that contribute to teacher success in First Nations communities by focusing on the experiences of educators and community members from the Ermineskin Reserve, which is located in central Alberta. The study addresses the question: what factors do educators and community members identify as being major contributors to the success of teachers in First Nations communities? The study is based on a review and analysis of data obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve teachers, six administrators, six Native students and six parents of Native children. These educators and community members share their experiences and ideas about how teacher success can be optimized in First Nations settings. The study identifies a number of interrelated factors that positively and negatively influence the work of teachers in First Nations communities. Educators and community members emphasize the importance of educators and community members working together to create a school system that not only meets the needs of students but also nurtures and validates educators, parents and the larger First Nations community. Recommendations are provided for educators, Native communities, Native school boards, and post-secondary institutions who are interested in developing, nurturing and supporting teacher success in First Nations settings.

This study explores the conditions that contribute to teacher success in First Nations communities by focusing on the experiences of educators and community members from the Ermineskin Reserve, which is located in central Alberta. The study addresses the question: what factors do educators and community members identify as being major contributors to the success of teachers in First Nations communities? The study is based on a review and analysis of data obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve teachers, six administrators, six Native students and six parents of Native children. These educators and community members share their experiences and ideas about how teacher success can be optimized in First Nations settings. The study identifies a number of interrelated factors that positively and negatively influence the work of teachers in First Nations communities. Educators and community members emphasize the importance of educators and community members working together to create a school system that not only meets the needs of students but also nurtures and validates educators, parents and the larger First Nations community. Recommendations are provided for educators, Native communities, Native school boards, and post-secondary institutions who are interested in developing, nurturing and supporting teacher success in First Nations settings. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The current study investigated the relationship between social support and quality of life (QoL) as well as social support and community functioning among persons with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). Empirical data from Phase II of the Continuity of Mental Health Services (COMHS) Study of Alberta (Adair, Wild, Joyce, McDougall, Gordon, et al., 2003) were used to comprehensively examine these variables among a broad-based sample of 301 people with SPMI receiving a mix of inpatient, outpatient, and community services. Multiple measures administered in Phase II of the COMHS research program provided comprehensive data on QoL (i.e., disease-specific and generic QoL), functioning (i.e., community ability), and objective (OSS) and subjective (SSS) measures of social support. Higher ratings of both OSS and SSS were associated with better QoL and functioning at outcome. Participant ratings of objective dimensions of their own social support were shown to be most important in determining life quality and functioning at outcome. Of the two SSS variables, the one most predictive of life quality was the participants’ sense of the provision and receipt of social support. Clinician-rated OSS was a significant predictor of QoL only for participants who rated social support availability as poor. The results of this study may inform policy development, planning, and resource allocation for community treatment programs in Alberta and elsewhere, as there is widespread support both provincially and nationally for increasing community support services and decreasing the number and length of inpatient admissions (Kirby & Keon, 2006). A better understanding of the relative impact of social support variables is essential for further development of effective psychosocial rehabilitation programming. / xvii, 217 leaves ; 29 cm.

This research seeks a clearer understanding of the field of social justice education in Canada. Informed by multicultural and antiracist pedagogy, I explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical realities of this work among 11 activist Alberta teachers and students. Collaborative interviews with these participants reveal portraits of current activism in voluntary coalitions in secondary schools. Through guided critical self-reflection, fellow activists and I examine forming and sustaining ongoing projects. I present guiding hypotheses and assumptions that steer this research, and a theoretical framework that accommodates complex intersections of "race," class, gender, sexual orientation, and other considerations of social justice pedagogy and activism. This research addresses omissions in the educational literature; one such gap is a lack of research attention to young people—particularly to their role as active participants in social justice movements. In addition, I address teachers' previously undervalued role as crucial participants in educational policy development, reform efforts, and research on social justice education. Attending to the relatively few accounts of school-based action projects, I describe the integrative STOP model of student and community activism. An overview of the unique Canadian and regional contexts and recent political developments around social justice issues, and a summary of relevant research and theory from British and American literature, suggest specific areas of contention, influence, and overlap of relevance to this study. I employ a qualitative research methodology using a specific collaborative approach, and include details of participant selection, data gathering and analysis, and ethical considerations. Two chapters develop my research results along the lines traced by my guiding hypotheses. A concluding chapter outlines the specific significance of this research, factors that promote coalition-building, and promising avenues for further scholarly study. A value of this investigation is the rich offerings from my participants, whose reflections on their work are solidly grounded in understandings of daily activism. Their contributions show the potential mutual benefits of respectful research collaborations that both reveal and share the wisdom of social justice practitioners as theorists.

No description available.

This research seeks a clearer understanding of the field of social justice education in Canada. Informed by multicultural and antiracist pedagogy, I explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical realities of this work among 11 activist Alberta teachers and students. Collaborative interviews with these participants reveal portraits of current activism in voluntary coalitions in secondary schools. Through guided critical self-reflection, fellow activists and I examine forming and sustaining ongoing projects. I present guiding hypotheses and assumptions that steer this research, and a theoretical framework that accommodates complex intersections of "race," class, gender, sexual orientation, and other considerations of social justice pedagogy and activism. This research addresses omissions in the educational literature; one such gap is a lack of research attention to young people—particularly to their role as active participants in social justice movements. In addition, I address teachers' previously undervalued role as crucial participants in educational policy development, reform efforts, and research on social justice education. Attending to the relatively few accounts of school-based action projects, I describe the integrative STOP model of student and community activism. An overview of the unique Canadian and regional contexts and recent political developments around social justice issues, and a summary of relevant research and theory from British and American literature, suggest specific areas of contention, influence, and overlap of relevance to this study. I employ a qualitative research methodology using a specific collaborative approach, and include details of participant selection, data gathering and analysis, and ethical considerations. Two chapters develop my research results along the lines traced by my guiding hypotheses. A concluding chapter outlines the specific significance of this research, factors that promote coalition-building, and promising avenues for further scholarly study. A value of this investigation is the rich offerings from my participants, whose reflections on their work are solidly grounded in understandings of daily activism. Their contributions show the potential mutual benefits of respectful research collaborations that both reveal and share the wisdom of social justice practitioners as theorists. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

This thesis explores Blackfoot homelessness in relation to traditional attachments to Blackfoot territory. It addresses the underlying causes of Blackfoot homelessness in the city of Lethbridge. It speaks to the participants’ experiences of loss on a multitude of levels, disconnection from family and traditional community, and the complex notion of what “homelessness” means for the Blackfoot participants. The thesis uses a literature review to inform the study. The research methodology is a focused ethnography. Interviews with Blackfoot homeless participants were conducted at the city of Lethbridge’s homeless shelter in 2009 and 2010. Narrative analysis was used to interpret the data and the findings, and the subsequent discussion of them, were from a Blackfoot perspective. It is hoped that the information contained within this thesis will help those reading it to better understand Native homelessness and provide insights into the subjective nature of what it means to be “home.” The results of the findings also suggest ways for service providers to develop improved programming aimed at the Native homeless population. / vi, 164 leaves ; 29 cm