This study identifies differing interests which have impacted how Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention programmes in Vancouver have evolved. Drawing largely upon the writings of Michel Foucault with respect to power, knowledge and sexuality, discursive trends in materials are identified, categorized and compared to consider how pertinent subjugated knowledges have developed. The interplay between knowledge-regimes (the benedicted) and subjugated knowledges (the interdicted) are explicated through textual analyses of the materials collected. The findings suggest that knowledges cultivated within the male homosexual communities of Vancouver ensured the implementation of prevention programmes contextually relevant to their own milieu. These strategies were also integrated into broader prevention initiatives designed for society in-general, once their efficacy was apparent. Implications for community education and public health education are discussed, and areas for future research are identified. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The study described in the following pages was conducted in the summer of 19 9 3 at the King Edward Campus, (KEC) of Vancouver Community College. The subjects of the study were students attending classes at the Provincial Level of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program at the college. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the characteristics of the students as compared with the literature, and to discover whether students used the support services designed to assist them. A student survey was developed and administered to students by instructors during class time. The sample was selected by targeting all Provincial Level classes in session at the time the survey was conducted, and thirty questionnaires were given to instructors in the self-paced program to be handed out to students when they were scheduled to come in. The information from the questionnaires was then entered into the computer and a statistical analysis was done. When the results of the study were compared with the information gathered from the literature review, it was learned that at KEC, the Provincial Level ABE student is more traditional than nontraditional, that is, the students were younger than anticipated, and the number of female students was only 3.8% higher than the ABE STUDENT PROFILE AND USE OF SUPPORT SERVICES III number of male students. It was also learned that the majority of the students had already completed secondary school before coming to study at KEC, but were stil l taking grade twelve level courses in order to have the prerequisite knowledge to enter the programs of their choice at Vancouver Community College or other institutions. Although students used the support services available to them, there were some differences in how the high proportion of second language speakers used them. However counselling, in particular, although used somewhat differently by second language speakers, was used by students at the Provincial Level for advising before registration, rather than for personal counselling or career planning. As colleges plan for the future, it has become even more important to obtain student feedback regarding services designed to assist them. The development of a student profile enables administrators and practitioners alike to gain insight into their student population and what the students perceive to be their needs. It is hoped that this study will be the first of many which will help to identify the needs and gaps in ABE programs and the services that are provided to support the students.

Experiencing Freefall is an inquiry into outdoor experiencing. It focuses on both my experiences with a group of Grade 10 students in an outdoor adventure education program and my personal experiencing of the outdoors. I explore the awareness we embody within moments of unexpected happenings while negotiating Whitewater rapids or searching for a handhold while clinging to the side of a cliff face. Also in this thesis I explore the 'phenomena of experiencing' which emerges out of our actions and interactions within outdoor activities. The challenge of this dissertation is capturing in prose, the phenomena of experiencing and 'embodied awareness' arising through such unexpected instances. Hence, the thesis, in trying to articulate the complexity of experiencing in the outdoors, uses stories, poetry and the metaphor of life, breath, and mountaineering to invite the reader on a journey of inquiry. This thesis escorts the reader, like a true pedagogue, into an outdoor environment of experiencing that opens the reader to ponder pedagogical possibilities. I explore several themes in the thesis which include 'freefall,' community, 'turning points,' and 'embodied respect' using a methodology of 'enactive inquiry.' The thesis takes a journey through each theme by weaving students' stories from the study, my own personal stories of the unexpected, and the theory of enaction. The thesis creates an opportunity for readers to embrace their own struggles, fears, and inquiry. Through the use of outdoor stories to illustrate moments of freefall into the unfamiliar or unknown, we may imagine pedagogical possibilities. As an enactive inquiry, this research thesis embodies an "education" or way of being, living, experiencing that explores unexpected happenings. In articulating an ecological perspective of experiencing, the thesis juxtaposes encounters in the outdoors with enactive theory to move beyond traditional representationalist models of cognition. Specifically, I focus on the embodied awareness that arises through phenomena of experiencing and its relation to pedagogy. The thesis contributes to the theory of the enactive approach by bringing examples of human experience which unfold, not only our interactions within the ecological web of the outdoor world, but an emergent space of pedagogical possibilities. As such, this thesis is an experiential work through which the reader may realize their own interpreting of possible pedagogies for many educational contexts.

The VSB/UBC Transition Program is a Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program for highly academically gifted young adolescents. Unique to British Columbia and Canada since its inception in 1993, the two-year program is currently housed on the UBC campus and affiliated with University Hill Secondary School. Despite an extraordinary range of hurdles - which are fully discussed and analyzed in this study - the eventual establishment of an early entrance to university program is seen as a remarkable accomplishment of educational leadership and organizational learning involving institutional partnerships, flexible governance and a shared commitment to academically gifted young people. The study examined the complexities of implementing a unique educational innovation for academically highly gifted young students in a university setting and in a provincial context which has not traditionally favored support for the highly gifted. The study had two phases. An historical narrative traced the development of this innovation and described how the current program model evolved in response to student needs. Documentary evidence based on original documents and interviews with program developers, implementers, and participants provided a multi-faceted perspective of the program's complex history and highlighted factors contributing to program success for students, as well as problems encountered along the way. Building upon this narrative, the second phase surveyed and then analyzed the views and expectations of students, parents, and staff as well as program planners at different stages of the program. These various perspectives were used to advance an understanding of how and why this unique program developed as it did, and how its participants variously responded to a wide range of expectations and needs to arrive at the current delivery model. The study concludes with a discussion of critical issues and documents the strengths and unmet needs of academically gifted students that have emerged over the course of the program's development. It culminates by providing an understanding of key elements related to program success for gifted youth together with recommendations for future program development and a broader array of programs and services for academically gifted students in secondary schools and post-secondary institutions in BC. The study ends by encouraging more support for educational innovations that respond to the developmentally unique needs of all students, and a commitment to on-going short term as well as longitudinal research on the Transition Program and its graduates.

This study examines the value placed on learning and knowledge by innovative small and medium-sized computer service firms, using a framework for analysis adapted from intellectual capital (IC). Knowledge is conceived as a specialized and appreciable asset capable of being acquired, nurtured, developed, managed and commercially exploited. Emphasis is placed on evaluating the strategies and practices that drive company learning and knowledge transfer in smaller computer service companies with respect to developing and making use of the knowledge owned by employees, customers and the corporation. The study evaluates the extent to which short-term commercial objectives impose conceptual boundaries on particular forms of intellectual capital - skill development, experience and recurrent learning. Data is drawn from case studies and a broader, provincial sample of companies based in British Columbia with ten to one hundred employees. The study concludes that small and medium-sized computer service firms narrowly conceptualize and undervalue knowledge in the area of human resource development, where supporting learning processes and structures are often poorly developed. Companies place a premium value on new forms of knowledge with an obvious potential to improve the skills and experience necessary to support commercial products and services. In contrast, learning, knowledge and expertise related to professional development and more long-term organizational and/or career benefits are consistently and systematically marginalized. The study outlines limitations of the IC framework in terms of the intrinsic values attributed to sources and types of knowledge. Of particular concern is the importance attached to formalized, external relationships with customers and the undervaluing of knowledge with less obvious or potentially more long-term commercial value. Suggestions for using the framework in small and medium-sized computer firms include broadening the existing narrow focus of external knowledge sources to encompass the extensive network of business relationships companies exploit, while the undervaluing of knowledge found in professional development is countered by linking benefits to returns from specific, rather than generic commercial goals. Emphasis is placed on potential gains in efficiency and productivity offered by improvements to learning and organizational processes.

The study described in the following pages was conducted in the summer of 19 9 3 at the King Edward Campus, (KEC) of Vancouver Community College. The subjects of the study were students attending classes at the Provincial Level of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program at the college. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the characteristics of the students as compared with the literature, and to discover whether students used the support services designed to assist them. A student survey was developed and administered to students by instructors during class time. The sample was selected by targeting all Provincial Level classes in session at the time the survey was conducted, and thirty questionnaires were given to instructors in the self-paced program to be handed out to students when they were scheduled to come in. The information from the questionnaires was then entered into the computer and a statistical analysis was done. When the results of the study were compared with the information gathered from the literature review, it was learned that at KEC, the Provincial Level ABE student is more traditional than nontraditional, that is, the students were younger than anticipated, and the number of female students was only 3.8% higher than the ABE STUDENT PROFILE AND USE OF SUPPORT SERVICES III number of male students. It was also learned that the majority of the students had already completed secondary school before coming to study at KEC, but were stil l taking grade twelve level courses in order to have the prerequisite knowledge to enter the programs of their choice at Vancouver Community College or other institutions. Although students used the support services available to them, there were some differences in how the high proportion of second language speakers used them. However counselling, in particular, although used somewhat differently by second language speakers, was used by students at the Provincial Level for advising before registration, rather than for personal counselling or career planning. As colleges plan for the future, it has become even more important to obtain student feedback regarding services designed to assist them. The development of a student profile enables administrators and practitioners alike to gain insight into their student population and what the students perceive to be their needs. It is hoped that this study will be the first of many which will help to identify the needs and gaps in ABE programs and the services that are provided to support the students. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The VSB/UBC Transition Program is a Ministry of Education Provincial Resource Program for highly academically gifted young adolescents. Unique to British Columbia and Canada since its inception in 1993, the two-year program is currently housed on the UBC campus and affiliated with University Hill Secondary School. Despite an extraordinary range of hurdles - which are fully discussed and analyzed in this study - the eventual establishment of an early entrance to university program is seen as a remarkable accomplishment of educational leadership and organizational learning involving institutional partnerships, flexible governance and a shared commitment to academically gifted young people. The study examined the complexities of implementing a unique educational innovation for academically highly gifted young students in a university setting and in a provincial context which has not traditionally favored support for the highly gifted. The study had two phases. An historical narrative traced the development of this innovation and described how the current program model evolved in response to student needs. Documentary evidence based on original documents and interviews with program developers, implementers, and participants provided a multi-faceted perspective of the program's complex history and highlighted factors contributing to program success for students, as well as problems encountered along the way. Building upon this narrative, the second phase surveyed and then analyzed the views and expectations of students, parents, and staff as well as program planners at different stages of the program. These various perspectives were used to advance an understanding of how and why this unique program developed as it did, and how its participants variously responded to a wide range of expectations and needs to arrive at the current delivery model. The study concludes with a discussion of critical issues and documents the strengths and unmet needs of academically gifted students that have emerged over the course of the program's development. It culminates by providing an understanding of key elements related to program success for gifted youth together with recommendations for future program development and a broader array of programs and services for academically gifted students in secondary schools and post-secondary institutions in BC. The study ends by encouraging more support for educational innovations that respond to the developmentally unique needs of all students, and a commitment to on-going short term as well as longitudinal research on the Transition Program and its graduates. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of 'Foodstyles: Perspectives on Food for People' (Foodstyles), on the teaching practices of secondary Home Economics educators in British Columbia. Foodstyles is a nutrition innovation intended for use in conjunction with the Foods and Nutrition section of the provincial Home Economics Curriculum. The design of the study was developed from curriculum evaluation literature. Research questions were derived from the concerns of program developers, workshop leaders and teachers. The questions investigated how teachers use Foodstyles, if teachers who use the program accept its rationale, what factors influence use of the program and in what ways Foodstyles is of value in nutrition education practice. Patterns of teacher use of Foodstyles were selected as the criteria for judging the impact of the innovation. Data were obtained by questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were mailed to teachers who had attended a Foodstyles workshop and who were teaching Home Economics in school districts that agreed to participate in the study. Of the 113 teachers who responded (51.8 percent), 75 taught Foods and Nutrition during 1980-81 and were included in the analyses. A sample of ten respondents were interviewed to obtain descriptions of their use of Foodstyles. Results of the analyses of questionnaire data together with descriptions from the interviews were used to construct "Profiles of Teacher Use of Foodstyles" for high, moderate and low-users. A panel of nutrition education experts used these three profiles to judge the value of the innovation. Results of the study indicated that teachers used individual activities from Foodstyles that were congruent with their own objectives. They most frequently used junior-level activities that were presented at workshops, were related to factors influencing food choice and were ready for immediate classroom use. Correlational analysis indicated a significant positive relationship between use of Foodstyles activities and selection of teaching strategies which reflect acceptance of the Foodstyles rationale. During interviews, high-users (18.7 percent) reported that they selected activities from Foodstyles to encourage students to choose food patterns consistent with their needs and lifestyles. High-users included Foodstyles in lessons as intended by program developers and as the panel believed it should be used. Low-users, (33.3 percent), reported using the innovation only to teach nutrition information. Program developers and members of the panel considered that this was not consistent with the intents of the innovation. Moderate users (48.0 percent) showed no distinguishing characteristics in their use of Foodstyles. Teachers were found to be more likely to use Foodstyles if they taught senior classes, taught only Foods and Nutrition courses, attended a workshop as a teacher rather than as a student-teacher, received the newsletter "In Touch" and had positive attitudes toward the program as measured by the questionnaire. The panel judged Foodstyles to represent a valuable approach to the teaching of nutrition. The results of the study, however, indicated that Foodstyles has had only a moderate impact on the teaching practices of secondary Home Economics teachers in British Columbia. Several implications related to nutrition education practice and to nutrition education research were inferred from the study. Specific recommendations for the review and modification of the Foodstyles program and workshop also emerged. Overall, the approach to evaluation used in this study permitted judgements to be made about the impact of the innovation in nutrition education practice. This approach is recommended for the evaluation of those innovations which are designed to complement existing provincial curricula. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

Experiencing Freefall is an inquiry into outdoor experiencing. It focuses on both my experiences with a group of Grade 10 students in an outdoor adventure education program and my personal experiencing of the outdoors. I explore the awareness we embody within moments of unexpected happenings while negotiating Whitewater rapids or searching for a handhold while clinging to the side of a cliff face. Also in this thesis I explore the 'phenomena of experiencing' which emerges out of our actions and interactions within outdoor activities. The challenge of this dissertation is capturing in prose, the phenomena of experiencing and 'embodied awareness' arising through such unexpected instances. Hence, the thesis, in trying to articulate the complexity of experiencing in the outdoors, uses stories, poetry and the metaphor of life, breath, and mountaineering to invite the reader on a journey of inquiry. This thesis escorts the reader, like a true pedagogue, into an outdoor environment of experiencing that opens the reader to ponder pedagogical possibilities. I explore several themes in the thesis which include 'freefall,' community, 'turning points,' and 'embodied respect' using a methodology of 'enactive inquiry.' The thesis takes a journey through each theme by weaving students' stories from the study, my own personal stories of the unexpected, and the theory of enaction. The thesis creates an opportunity for readers to embrace their own struggles, fears, and inquiry. Through the use of outdoor stories to illustrate moments of freefall into the unfamiliar or unknown, we may imagine pedagogical possibilities. As an enactive inquiry, this research thesis embodies an "education" or way of being, living, experiencing that explores unexpected happenings. In articulating an ecological perspective of experiencing, the thesis juxtaposes encounters in the outdoors with enactive theory to move beyond traditional representationalist models of cognition. Specifically, I focus on the embodied awareness that arises through phenomena of experiencing and its relation to pedagogy. The thesis contributes to the theory of the enactive approach by bringing examples of human experience which unfold, not only our interactions within the ecological web of the outdoor world, but an emergent space of pedagogical possibilities. As such, this thesis is an experiential work through which the reader may realize their own interpreting of possible pedagogies for many educational contexts. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This study investigated the bridges (enabling factors) and the barriers (hindering factors) of offering school-based Outdoor Education programmes. A questionnaire was used to survey 120 grade 4-7 classroom teachers. Teachers were required to record their perceptions pertaining to the bridges and barriers of Outdoor Education programmes on an 11-point scale. Open-ended responses also provided insights about the barriers and bridges, as well as how Outdoor Education programmes could be supported in school settings. Data suggested Outdoor Education is indeed offered in many schools but often only to a limited degree. Interestingly, the identified barriers tended to be of an organisational nature, whereas the bridges tended to be more closely aligned to pedagogical interests. Time, costs and legal liability were perceived by teachers as the strongest barriers to offering Outdoor Education. The strongest bridges were related to student learning, other educational stakeholders and the availability of outdoor areas. These research findings provide guidance for policy, professional development and other means of supporting elementary teachers' efforts to offer Outdoor Education. Methodological guidance is also offered for further research along similar lines. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate