M.Ed.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the picture book preferences of grade four Aboriginal students, to discover what books have the greatest appeal and to determine which specific factors influence their choices. The study took place at an inner city elementary school with a high population of Aboriginal students located in the heart of the Canadian prairies. Experienced educators know that the majority of Aboriginal chidlren come to school with little or no exposure to books. Studies have shown that the ability or lack of ability to read at grade level is a strong indicator of future academic success. Teachers and librarians have little information available to assist them in choosing literature that will be of interest to Aboriginal students and motivate them to read and through practice improve their reading skills. Provincial governments are looking for research that addresses the needs of this growing population. Twelve grade four Aboriginal students participated in the study, seven boys and five girls. The students viewed forty-five books that were divided into three sets of fifteen and chose one book from each set to read and respond to through writing and/or drawing. After the book selection and response sessions were complete, the researcher interviewed each child to determine the one book they would most want to take home. The study concludes that: 1) Students preferred to read picture books portraying Aboriginal characters that reflected their own image; 2) Students transposed the urban and rural settings in the Aboriginal books to make relevant connections with their lives; 3) Aboriginal books portraying Aboriginal characters was the genre with the greatest appeal; 4) Students preferred vivid realistic illustrations; 5) Students background experience frequently determined their preferences in books and also increased their motivation to read; 5) Realistic pictures with minimal amounts of text held great appeal for boys selecting information books. It is hoped that the study will assist teachers and librarians in selecting literature that will be of interest to Aboriginal students encouraging them to read more and by improving their reading skills raise the level of their general academic achievement. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

This thesis discusses the relatively new approach of art education, by paralleling it to Marxist ideology on art. The Dallas Arts District is one example of a city where museum art education is in conflict: being adopted more vigorously by some and with less acceptance by others. In order to provide a glimpse into the museum ideology of downtown Dallas, previous schools of thought regarding the role of curators and the introduction of educators into museums will be detailed, as well as conflicts between these two factions. The following questions will be addressed: Is museum art education truly a movement which strives to infuse the American culture with a greater appreciation of art? Is there a link to overcoming Marx's key issue of class? How is the movement affecting the Dallas Arts District and to what extent is museum art education being utilized within this forum? Is the emphasis toward museum art education greater in Dallas than in other large cities across the United States, and if so, how has that affected the cities' patrons?

As a museum educator who embraces social education and reflects on the postmodern condition, I found working within a traditional museum context to present challenges. As a result, I conducted an action research project focusing on ways to improve my own practice and affect change based on my engagement with visual culture discourse and the docents I teach. Having chosen action research, I implemented various teaching approaches and collected data over the course of several months. These data collection methods included interviews, museum documents, observational notes, recorded teaching practice, and daily journal entries. Narrative analysis was then used to interpret the collected data, specifically focusing how participants, including myself, make sense out of our experiences and how we value them.

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Science education has maintained a longstanding goal of enhancing societal interest, values, and understandings of science. Despite a series of public education reforms and efforts by scientific researchers, scientific literacy and passion remain sparse across the American public. In fact, many students demonstrate a lack of interest in the sciences as early as first grade, with major drop-offs occurring by the age of 14. This is further exacerbated for youth of color, as science is deeply rooted in pervasive and institutionalized racism. When accessible, out-of-school science experiences are uniquely positioned to promote youth agency, leverage students’ current values, and challenge structural inequities. Therefore, this work sought to highlight the narratives of three young science learners who identify as youth of color and graduated from an eight-year-long museum science program. A narrative inquiry was implemented, guided by Critical Race Theory and Cultural Learning Pathways as frameworks. Data from semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and drawings provided insight into the students’ orientations towards science and the development of those orientations. The study took place during the Covid-19 outbreak. Implications of the pandemic on the study are discussed. Findings from the study suggest that students positively identify with science and feel at home in The Museum. It was also noticed, however, that the students maintained ideologies consistent with Western perspectives. Recommendations include creating homeplaces, making out-of-school learning more easily accessible, and creating justice-centered curricula.

Bibliography: pages 107-117. / The following thesis focuses on the relationship between archaeologists, museologists and the broader community, in terms of educational programmes. It consists of a case-study comprising an educational project based on theoretical ideas of People's Archaeology as influenced by theories of Freirean education. The process of the educational project is illustrated through the description of interviews and workshops. The case-study indicates that there is a gap between academic and community percpetions of the role of archaeology and museums. Results from interpretations indicate that much more research emphasising the constitution, situation and perceptions of specific communities, especially those which have previously been marginalised by broader society, is needed in order to improve the educational services which museums and archaeologists offer to the community.

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M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

In North America, art museums have rendered services to elementary schools since the early 1900s. Although the scope and number of these services have expanded in the past several decades, the nature of the art museum-elementary school collaborative relationship can be problematic, and even counterproductive to the enhancement of quality of art education. There are some crucial issues related to the nature of and factors underlying collaboration among elementary schools and art museums, that need to be carefully considered in order for these efforts to be successful and fruitful. Since the relationship between attitudes and behavior is reciprocal, the attitudes of art museum educators in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration are crucial to the quality and effectiveness of any collaborative endeavors and directly impact art museums' contribution to elementary art education. Therefore, this study explores art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration. The present investigation is the only study of its kind in Canada to date. From the fall of 1997 to the spring of 1998, I conducted a survey of art museum educators in the province of British Columbia, Canada as well as interviews involving nine informants working in two art museums. Moreover, in order to meaningfully interpret the interview data, I observed the informants' daily routines in these galleries and collected documents related to the two study sites. This mixed method design was used to study BC art museum educators' attitudes in regard to art museum-elementary school collaboration relative to six specific issues: 1) models of art museum/gallery-school collaboration; 2) pedagogy and methods of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; 3) art museum/gallery programs and resources for elementary school teachers; 4) elementary school teacher participation in school-oriented art museum education; 5) content of art museum/gallery programs for elementary schools; and 6) linkage of art museum/gallery school programs and elementary school curricula. The results of this study suggest important implications to the future of collaborative endeavors bringing together elementary schools and art museums by highlighting issues related to the dynamics of the art museum educator - elementary school teacher relationships, professional knowledge and expertise, and curriculum links that strongly impact on such partnerships. They also provide guidance for future related research.