published_or_final_version / abstract / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Geography and Geology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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This case study examined how a team of middle school teachers from different subject areas collaboratively planned interdisciplinary experiences for their students. Using fieldwork research methods, including long-term participant-observation, interviewing and document analysis, the study explored how team members planned interdisciplinary experiences. Data were analyzed through a process of searching for patterns, coding and comparison, utilizing the Hackman and Oldham (1980) model of group effectiveness as a heuristic for understanding the group processes. The results of this study raise questions about the preeminence of the "interdisciplinary thematic unit" in middle school rhetoric. The team developed a conception of interdisciplinary that progressed through phases of elusion and inclusion to allusion. Team members chose not to create any tightly-structured interdisciplinary thematic units, and they did not follow any established planning processes designed for creating such units; rather, they dialogued about their subject areas in ways that allowed them to make ongoing connections between subjects. Through their dialogues, team members gained insight into both their own subject areas and connections among subject areas. The Interdisciplinary Judgment Matrix was developed as a means of understanding team members' decision-making in determining whether to plan interdisciplinary experiences. This matrix presents the teachers' decision-making as a process of judging the relevance of potential interdisciplinary experiences both to the established curriculum and to the subject specialists’ criteria for what students ought to derive from a course. The matrix argues that team members do not merely follow a curriculum guide or textbook, but make professional judgments balancing the demands of the curriculum with subject specialists' assumptions and concerns. The study has implications for both practitioners and researchers. Middle school team members need to be given time to develop a conception of interdisciplinarity that fits with their understanding of the purposes of teaming. Also, rather than implementing pre-packaged interdisciplinary thematic units, such teams should be encouraged to dialogue about their subject areas in order to make meaningful and ongoing connections for their students. Rather than adhering to a set of steps for creating interdisciplinary thematic units, middle school teams must learn to discuss the substance of their teaching with one another. Such discussion promises professional growth through everyday occupational conditions. Based on the findings of this study, researchers might profitably investigate the role of unit planning as the common focus of collaborative planning. The study also suggests research into the effectiveness of pre-established planning models as compared to the dialoguing the study recommends. Finally, the study raises a research question about the interplay of collaborative groups with the larger culture of the school.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of culture conflict in second-generation Indo-Canadian women. An existential-phenomenological approach was used to gain an understanding of culture conflict from the perspective of those who have experienced it. Five second-generation Indo-Canadian women participated in this study. The participants took part in an in depth, unstructured interview in which they were asked to describe their experience of culture conflict. The interview was taped and transcribed. The transcripts were then analyzed and common themes were explicated. The 29 themes that emerged from the data were written into an exhaustive description of the experience of culture conflict. The themes and exhaustive description were then presented to each of the participants for validation. From the exhaustive description, the essential structure of the experience of culture conflict was also formulated. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of implications for further research as well as implications for counselling individuals who are experiencing culture conflict.

The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the approach and strategies used to downsize a mental health organization. This ethnographic study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital that is beginning the 4th year of a 10 year downsizing plan. Data were gathered through interviews, informal observations, and field documents. This research design facilitated an understanding of the phenomenon in the context of the practices and beliefs of the executive management team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six executive and four middle managers who were involved in the downsizing decision making process. Freeman and Cameron's (1993) definition of downsizing was broadened to encompass not-for-profit reasons for downsizing. Cameron's (1994) downsizing model was supported and an additional best practice called alignment of purpose was proposed in which the leadership of an organization attempts to align the stakeholders with similar goals and objectives for downsizing. The emotional process of downsizing emerged as a key area to address concurrently with job security and other more pragmatic consequences of downsizing. Empathy was suggested as one method of dealing with the emotional process of downsizing.

This research presents a new way to improve inclusiveness for the variety of transgender self-identities in clinical settings. The spectrum of transgender identities were clustered into two groups: the fixed -- representing transgender individuals who preferred identification with the gender binary male or female, and the fluid -- representing transgender individuals that favor openness and flexibility on the gender continuum. Furthermore, different scales, the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) (Kozma, & Stones, 1980) and Bradley's Well-Being Scale (BWB) (Bradley, 1994), Self-Confidence Scale (Oakley, 1996, 1998) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (Cohen, 1994) were investigated for their reliability with transgender clients. The fixed and fluid transgender groups were then used as the key criterion for investigating differences in quality of life (QOL), self-confidence, stress and counselling satisfaction. Using combined quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, data was analyzed for a sample of 145 transgender people. Mean age was 42.27. Quality of life for the fluid transgender group was <extremely low,> the group difference was not significant Stress was expectedly very high in both groups, but interestingly self-confidence was also high. The mean difference between the fixed (M=17.44) and fluid (M=20.82) transgender groups was statistically significant. One in four transgender individuals identified either as <neutral> or <dissatisfied to very dissatisfied> with their counselling experience. The dissatisfaction was higher in the fluid transgender group. One hundred eleven transgender participants (111) completed seven open-ended questions and 11 participated in a semi-structured, face-to-face interview process, guided by thirteen questions. The stories of the participants demonstrated how a gender specific upbringing affects transgender individuals through: themes of shame, guilt, and anger. While, transgender individuals developed survival techniques such as daydreaming and fantasizing, negative coping methods such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse and self-harm were also common. Family was identified as the dominant factor in reinforcing gender appropriate behaviour. To improve clinical care these findings should be taken into consideration.

This study investigates how school advisors, in a secondary-school science context, conceive of and enact their roles in working with student teachers. It describes the interactions between school advisors and student teachers in relation to their personal conceptions of teaching, learning, and the process of learning to teach. The study provides a better understanding of the practicum setting with particular attention to the school advisor's perspective. Detail-rich cases highlight a range of issues for school advisors as they enact their responsibilities in attending to the student teachers' learning. These cases poignantly depict the complexities of the school advisor/student teacher dynamic and the various tensions that arise when conflicts emerge as the practicum unfolds. There are three questions that guide this study: (1) How do teachers perceive their roles as school advisors?; (2) How do teachers enact their roles as school advisors, and what are the foci of the school advisors' work with student teachers?; and (3) How do student teachers perceive the role of the school advisors? The practicum is a context in which one person assists the other in learning (to teach) and for this reason the conceptual framework used for data analysis is a curriculum perspective. Two levels of curriculum are discussed; level one of the curriculum framework is meeting the needs of the students while level two is meeting the needs of the student teacher. Both levels must be attended to throughout the teaching practicum. Five thematic areas were identified: (a) the student teachers' learning, (b) the working relationship, (c) experiences outside of the classroom, (d) lesson planning, and (e) classroom management. This study makes a significant contribution to the research literature on teacher education. First, it focuses upon the school advisor's role within the practicum. Second, one of the two case studies that deteriorated to the point where a change of venues was in order, serves as a rare example of a less-than-ideal practicum experience. Third, the conceptual framework of regarding the practicum as curriculum provides a new perspective for gaining insights into the complexities of learning to teach.

As I investigate, construct, and tell autobiographic narratives of mothering, of loss, and of hope, both the process of research and the "story fabric" evolve as both written and visual, an interplay of image and text. I involve myself in this investigation as I expect that it is in these places of loss, disability, and dependence that one can find things of great value, perhaps a way of being with each other, of caring, of sharing of self, and of receiving the other that does not depend on growth or achievement or on progress in learning. Ted Aoki writes of "face to face living" (1993, p. 59) of teacher and student. Living, as it were, not at a distance, but face to face and engaged as we open ourselves to the daily struggles and challenges we bring to our work, our teachingAearning, and to our research. Autobiographic narrative offers a way in, extends an invitation to give and to receive.

My study examined whether and how the relationship between parent and teacher corresponds to the socioeconomic status (SES) of the family or to the achievement level of their child in reading and writing. Relationship was defined in terms of communication, perceptions of mutual support and reported levels of satisfaction. The constructs were assessed through questionnaires and interviews with seven parent-teacher dyads. Each dyad represented a unique profile of student achievement (high or low), SES of the family (high or low), and parental involvement (high or minimal). Successful relationships were characterized as having clear communication, perceptions of helpful mutual support, and high levels of success. No clear patterns in the success of the relationships emerged from examination of the SES or achievement of the children; however, successful relationships were aligned with the teachers' ratings of parental involvement. Teachers included newsletters and log book messages in their methods of communicating with parents, while parents considered only two-way interactions as communicating with their child's teacher. Teachers in higher SES schools reported giving suggestions to parents to assist their children but the parents did not report hearing the suggestions; however, teachers in lower SES schools did not report giving suggestions to parents but parents reported hearing the suggestions. Home literacy activities varied across families in high versus low SES schools. Parents in higher SES schools reported a broader range of activities in their home that supported their children's literacy acquisition than their lower SES counterparts. Activities reported by low SES families were more task oriented while activities reported by higher SES families were more entertainment oriented and corresponded better with school activities.