Canadian urban food security discourses have been explored by academics, local community organizations, practitioners (e.g., health and education) with the intention of understanding the histories and impacts of food insecurity and co-creating long-lasting solutions. In various urban centres, community initiatives and educational institutions have been collaborating on school gardening programs as a way to address food insecurity. Central to these conversations and projects have been how to make more inclusive spaces for people to share their own complex and diverse perspectives of food security—based on their local foodscapes (matrix of relationships between people, place, and food) and cultural worldviews. Pervasive power structures and narratives, however, have privileged certain voices over others and there are limited inquiries into cultural perceptions of food security. Children’s and youth’s own experiences and contributions to the discussion on foodscapes and food security have been marginalized, resulting in a knowledge gap of how young people situate and represent themselves. This research project works to amplify young people’s narratives surrounding their multifaceted relationships to foodscapes within three school gardens located in Treaty Six Territory (Saskatoon, SK). The aim is to make space for the fulsome perspectives and solutions that children and youth offer, as social change agents, towards food security discourses. Adopting a community-based approach, I collaborated with Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan (AITC-SK), the Saskatoon Public School Division (SPSD), children, youth, and their guardians. Co-participants involved in the project included eleven children (between the ages of five and twelve) and seven adults who were connected to the three school gardens. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks rooted in narrative analysis, thematic analysis, and visual participatory action research (VPAR) methodologies, this project practiced meaning-making, which was both collaborative and interdisciplinary. The participating young people used digital cameras to take photographs during four garden workshops facilitated from July to September, 2013. In addition to the workshops, I conducted unstructured interviews with each adult co-participant that contributed to understandings on how children and youth interact with diverse foodways. Children and youth co-participants’ voices, shared in this study, add to current conversations on Saskatoon food security issues—namely the focus on cultural acceptability and accessibility to food. Their oral and visual narratives shed insight into how to re-imagine and expand dominant food security concepts—cultural acceptability and access—to foster inclusive foodscapes. Culturally acceptable foods for young co-participants, for example, was not limited to food products but to cultural relationships infusing foodscapes. Children and youth also blurred boundaries existing in Saskatoon community garden dichotomies of private and public, which had the potential to challenge hegemonic neoliberal views around access. School gardening and food ideologies— steeped in educators’ and program coordinators’ worldviews—were broadened by young people as they reflected upon their garden-based foodways. The inclusion of more children’s and youth’s perspectives on how food security is conceptualized, experienced, and addressed can be used to build greater resiliency in urban school gardening initiatives. By supporting genuine participation of young people in decision-making, alternative actions towards social change can be implemented. / Graduate / skukh075@uvic.ca

The research reported in this thesis examines the impact that Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) have on the practices of their teacher colleagues. Since SENCOs are central to supporting children’s inclusion and achievement, the research centres around three research questions: whether SENCOs are able to motivate teachers to take the initiative in addressing the needs of children with SEN in their classrooms; whether SENCOs enhance teachers’ abilities to become effective teachers of children with SEN; and how the impact of SENCOs is currently being assessed within primary schools. The project was conducted within an interpretivist framework, and applied a mixed methods approach consisting of two phases: an exploratory questionnaire survey of 223 (responses n=42) primary school SENCOs from the ‘National Award for SEN Coordination’ Course; and semi-structured interviews of 18 SENCOs and 18 teachers, including head teachers. Document scrutiny of school SEN policies and other related documentation was also undertaken. Data triangulation aimed at ensuring the trustworthiness of data was accomplished through a multi-pronged methodological approach. The research was conducted in accordance with an Ethical Code informed by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) and University of Northampton guidelines. Results indicated that SENCOs have a complex role, impacting upon teachers’ practices by utilising a wide range of skills, knowledge and expertise across different contexts. This is influenced by whether or not they are members of their School Leadership Teams. Further, SENCOs’ time management is a constant concern in balancing competing priorities and demands, which include liaising with external agencies and keeping up to date with legislative changes which impact the requirements of the role. There is evidence that the degree to which SENCOs have a positive impact on teachers’ inclusive skills varies, as the SENCO-teacher dynamic is influenced by SENCOs’ training and skills and the dissemination to teachers; SENCOs’ and teachers’ professional identity; SENCO-teacher engagement and perceptions of inclusion; and the interventions and provision made for children with SEN. Implications for further possible research that were identified included the use of contact and non-contact time by SENCOs, the impact of the mandatory SENCO training and also the role of the SEN Governor as a crucial advocate for SEN at management level.

Children around the world need care outside their families for a variety of reasons including poverty, war and epidemics such as HIV/AIDS. The majority of these children live in developing countries where there are limited resources to care for them. As a result of concerns about the effects of institutional care on children, and following trends in the developed world, there is a movement in developing countries to replace large residential institutions with a system of adoption, foster care and small group homes. The aim of this study is to examine the experience of orphan, abandoned, and neglected or abused children who grew up in residential institutions in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, to learn the positives and negatives of residential care in order to contribute to developing a model of care suited for high need, low resource countries. Oral history methodology was used to collect the stories of 24 alumni (12 men and 12 women) from seven homes in Trinidad and Tobago. The homes were categorized as 1) state— partially funded by the state but managed by the Anglican and Catholic dioceses, 2) faith-based— run by religious communities, and 3) community homes run by individuals in the community. The findings of the study show that overall experiences were positive. For poor and working-class children, life in the home was better than their life would have been if they had remained with their families. However, discharge and transition from the homes were less favourable. Alumni from the state-funded homes experienced more difficulties than the faith-based and community homes as a result of poor planning and a lack of post-departure supports. Women suffered more hardships than men, often leading to sexual exploitation. The findings also show that being admitted with siblings and staying at the same home over the duration of care—as was the norm—correlated positively with educational outcomes for the majority of alumni. Some life-long relationships were maintained with volunteers and with friends made among peers at the homes. The study concludes that large group care is not necessarily harmful for children. It may be even beneficial and may be cost effective—a factor that is very important for low resource countries. An aftercare plan, with planning beginning at admission might ease the transition process and gender must be considered in discharge and transition policies. / October 2016

This thesis demonstrates how children challenge the boundaries adults place on them, out of concern for their safety, through child-specific cultural practises. The thesis argues that these boundaries emerge from contemporary changes in the perception of risk to children and have driven the systematic limitation of spaces that children are allowed to experience on their own. Based on data collected among elementary school-age children during twelve months of fieldwork (2008-2009), across multiple sites in the city of Vancouver, Canada, I argue that children creatively adapt to spatial and social limits imposed on them through play, consumption and exchange. Moreover, the research demonstrates that through gathering social knowledge and experimenting with self-presentation and systems of social order, children create a sophisticated peer culture. This incorporates social differentiations and hierarchies that differ from those of adult society however, are interdependent with it. My work thus challenges the position of children as objects and ‘anecdotes’ in anthropology: considered ‘works in progress’ and lacking full status as persons in society. Rather, I argue that they should be treated as competent social actors in their own right with their own social meanings and cultural practises.

This thesis investigates in what ways the family matters for educational outcomes. Six research questions are answered. First, is family size associated with familial resources? Second, is having a large family associated with lower levels of objective and subjective educational outcomes and has this changed over the 20th century? Third, is there evidence of an association between family size and emotional health and life perspectives of young people? Fourth, is there any evidence of an association between family size and the degree of confidence and sociability? Fifth, do parenting strategies vary by family size? Sixth, is there evidence if a causal relationship between family size and educational outcomes? The British Household Panel Survey, the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England and the ONS Longitudinal Study are used to answer these questions. The key findings from the observational studies are as follows. First, as family size increases there is a reduction in familial resources. Second, as a result of resource dilution there is a reduction in the highest qualification attained; this finding is robust to alternative measures of educational outcomes. Third, there is a positive relationship between family size and reporting poor emotional health and external locus of control. Fourth, there is some evidence that the manner in which the young person socialises varies by family size. Fifth, parenting strategies vary by family size; these strategies are positively associated with GCSE achievement and ameliorate the negative family size association. Sixth, testing the resource dilution model using twins as an exogenous increase in family size found that there is weak evidence of a causal relationship between family size and educational outcomes. This thesis addresses the influence of the family on inequalities in education. The findings have important implications for future research on this topic.

fenômeno da violência sexual infanto-juvenil não se explica por si só, pois é também resultado de uma prática socioespacial, em que é nítido o envolvimento simultâneo de variáveis sociais, culturais e psicológicas. Nossa pesquisa tem como objetivo entender a violência sexual infanto-juvenil em Manaus (2006-2010), a partir de uma leitura geográfica e psicossocial do fenômeno. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quanti-qualitativa, de natureza exploratória, retrospectiva e descritiva, com abordagem baseada na hermenêutica da profundidade, por meio da qual realizamos pesquisa de campo junto aos casos denunciados, entrevistas aos usuários dos serviços de atendimento às vítimas, mapeamento do fenômeno das zonas administrativas da cidade, levantamento em bases estatísticas oficiais e revisão bibliográfica. Os resultados mostram que a formação do quadro regional da Amazônia a partir de seus projetos de ocupação e desenvolvimento teve sua base na exploração material e sexual de seus povos. Não se pode negar que a distribuição espacial do fenômeno em Manaus tem forte ligação com as carências de infra-estrutura urbana e de equipamentos e serviços nas zonas onde a freqüência do número de denúncias é maior, constituindo-se assim como espaços segregados e de maior vulnerabilidade do fenômeno. As instituições que compõem a rede de enfrentamento da violência sexual infanto-juvenil em Manaus são insuficientes frente à demanda do número de casos, à superfície territorial e à população da cidade que buscam por seus serviços. Sua fragilidade está na articulação da rede, na ausência de políticas públicas para o enfrentamento deste tipo de violência, assim como a inadequada distribuição das instituições no espaço da cidade, dificultando o acesso e a acessibilidade da população às mesmas. / The phenomenon of child-youth sexual abuse can not be explained by itself alone. It is also the result of socio-spatial practice. It is clear that there is simultaneous involvement of social, cultural and psychological variables. Our research aims at understanding the sexual abuse of children and youth in Manaus (2006-2010) from a geographical and psychosocial reading of the phenomenon. It is about quantitative and qualitative research, of exploratory nature, descriptive and retrospective, using a depth hermeneutics approach for conducting field research in the reported cases, interviewing those who have used the services that care for such victims, mapping the phenomenon in the administrative areas of the city, using survey databases from official statistics and reviewing library materials. The results show that the formation of a regional framework of the Amazon from its settlement projects and \"development\" has had its basis in the material and sexual exploitation of its people. There is no denying that the spatial distribution of the phenomenon in Manaus has strong links with the lack of urban infrastructure, facilities and services in areas where the frequency of the number of complaints is higher, thus forming as if they were segregated spaces with greater vulnerability to the phenomenon. The institutions that make up the network for fighting child-youth sexual abuse in Manaus are insufficient in facing the demand of the number of cases, the size of the area, and the city population that seeks their services. Its weakness is in the joint network in the absence of public policies to face this kind of violence, as well as the inadequate distribution of institutions within the city, making availability and access difficult for the population to get to them.

The focus of this research study is upon the possible benefits research can offer special needs education (SNE) teachers. The project has been based upon a ‘study of a study’ with a piece of small-scale personal research - an observational study of the play of children with severe learning difficulties — being used as the starting point for examining the opportunities for learning about professional practice research can present teachers working in SNE. This project has linked two professional interests: a desire to systematically investigate a teaching and learning issue whilst reflecting upon the process of conducting that investigation. This reflection upon the process of conducting research was both personal and also involved asking other researchers — teacher researchers and professional researchers who support teacher researchers — about their experiences of conducting research. The project has involved using a reflective diary on personal research as well as semi-structured interviews with teacher researchers and professional researchers as a means of collecting data about the possible benefits of teacher research. The analysis of this data then led to the generation of a series of hypotheses and recommendations about possible future SNE teachers’ research. It is hoped this small-scale research project will be of interest to other teachers who are either engaged in or considering becoming involved in research, as well as the school managers, professional researchers and policy makers who support these teacher researchers in different aspects of their professional learning and development

This study investigated the role of specialist provisions for pupils with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) in fostering resilience. The role schools play in resilience development was considered by measuring the association between the length of time a student had been in school with the strength of their resilience measured by a standardised test of resilience. Furthermore, possible ways in which resilience might develop in school were explored by looking at the possible mediating variables of having a sense of connection to school and having a significant peer relationship in school. The role of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) was also explored in this model by adding individual TEI as a moderating factor. Thirty-eight pupils from two SEBD schools took part in completing self-report questionnaires with the researcher. The length of time pupils spent in specialist schools was found to be predictive of both resilience resources and vulnerability, however none of the proposed variables explained this association. Exploratory analysis found TEI alone to be the most significant predictor of resilience outcomes. The theoretical implications are considered. The difficulties in measuring resilience as a construct are discussed, as well as the importance of completing research with this population, despite the challenges.

There has been growing interest in forest school’s utility as an intervention for building social skills, self-confidence and self-esteem. Given the diverse array of research regarding the benefits of nature contact and that the effects of forest school are under-researched, the present research investigated the relationship between forest school participation, wellbeing, resilience and nature connectedness. A mixed methods crossover design, involving 130 participants, was employed with measures of wellbeing, resilience and connectedness to nature administered pre- and post-forest school. Qualitative data was also collected. Results indicated significant improvements over time for resilience scores following forest school. Gender effects were found, with male participants showing significant improvements in their levels of wellbeing, resilience and connectedness to nature. Early environmental experiences, resilience and connectedness to nature were found to predict mental wellbeing. The findings provide initial evidence for the potential of forest school in providing beneficial outcomes for resiliency in young people.

This thesis is about change, and the impact of change on the restructuring of special educational needs provision. The impetus for my research came from my work with the National Association of Head Teachers, supporting school leaders in managing the education of a more diverse pupil population. The research relates to the Labour Government's policy to increase the number of children with more complex needs in mainstream schools. Following Baroness Warnock's (2005) call for a review of special educational needs, the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee carried out an ‘Inquiry'. Their final report (SEN: Third Report of Session 2005-06), identified high levels of dissatisfaction amongst parents and teachers, and it concluded that the Special Educational Needs framework was no longer fit for purpose. In response, the Labour Government stated that it was too early to carry out a review because their ‘Every Child Matters' initiative was still developing. However, they stated that, in future, local authorities would be required to demonstrate improved special educational needs provision when restructuring their overall educational provision. This significant response prompted me to explore the implementation of the restructuring of provision as several authorities were putting forward proposals for change during 2007-08. The research began in 2008. It is a piece of small-scale educational research which explores the perspectives of school leaders in one local authority and the local authority's documented evidence. The concepts of ‘inclusion' and ‘change' provided the foundation to develop my research study within a broad ‘constructivist interpretative' paradigm and, the direction to review relevant literature on inclusive education and on strategies for implementing change. It discusses the qualitative methods used to investigate my overarching research question: What is the nature and impact of change, in the restructuring of special educational needs provision? I set out to explore two aspects of the nature of change: the first objective was to investigate the process and the second was to investigate the impact of change. My intention was to tease out whether school leaders in mainstream schools, subject to competing government policies (‘inclusion' and ‘market' ideologies) would choose to increase their provision and the impact of proposed change on the individuals and schools involved. My fieldwork was carried out during 2008-09, and follow-up interviews were carried out with those respondents, who were directly involved in the restructuring of provision, during 2010-11. The findings illustrate the influence of individual values and attitudes and the importance of effective school leaders in driving forward reform. It describes the actions of the local authority during the process of implementing change and highlights the improvements that could be made during the stages of transition. Importantly, the significance is considered of internal and external influences that impact on the actions of school leaders and how they influenced the policies of the local authority. Each individual's, or body's, interaction within and between each level (i.e. national, local, school and individual levels), created an impact on the other levels, a process that was far from straightforward. A significant finding of the research was the importance of the interrelationship between these four dimensions, building on Fullan's (2003) tri-level reform. Although the findings demonstrated that to implement progressive change requires motivated school leaders, it also depends on the collaborative effort of all stakeholders involved. However, even with a concerted effort other unexpected events may alter its course: change may be influenced but it cannot be controlled. It is therefore important to develop and understand those strategies and dimensions that contribute to the effective implementation of ‘change' because, in the world of education, change is on going.