Teen pregnancy in New Zealand has been constructed as a multifaceted problem, which has prompted scrutiny into the lives of pregnant and parenting teens and their children. Research largely presents teen mothers as ‘at risk’ parents and high school drop outs, with high rates of welfare dependence. Teen parents are considered unlikely to achieve the educational and economic success of their non-parenting peers. This research considers the impact of the experience at a Teen Parent Unit (TPU) on the ways pregnant and parenting teens understand and achieve success. Using a qualitative case study of a Teen Parent Unit in an urban setting in New Zealand, this thesis documents the experiences and perspectives of four young women. Its aim is to detail, explain and interpret the ways these pregnant and parenting teens understand their developing identities as successful students and parents. Drawing on social constructionist perspectives, the views of the young women participants, and of the researcher have been analysed through a conceptual lens of culturally responsive pedagogical theory. Comparisons are made between the culture of success that has been developed in the Teen Parent Unit setting and that of schools which have engaged in Māori culturally responsive pedagogical practice. This thesis offers a strengths-based analysis of an environment which, by reframing expectations of success, presents a challenge to negative academic and societal expectations of pregnant and parenting teens. Its goal is to provide educators, social support agencies, education and social policy makers with an analysis of approaches that have made important differences in the lives of the young women and their children.

Tertiary teachers who travel to another country for professional development encounter difficulties studying in different cultural and educational contexts. This research study investigated how Saudi Arabian teachers of adult learners experience learning about teaching during a New Zealand professional development course. It is part of a larger investigation into ways to improve curriculum design for in-service teacher education short courses for international teachers. A single case study was undertaken to investigate the views of a group of male Saudi Arabian teachers from tertiary technical institutions while in Aotearoa New Zealand to learn the English language, computing studies and adult education. An interpretive, participant observation method was used involving group interviews, written questionnaire, and personal journal. Focus groups were conducted at the beginning and end of the professional development programme to solicit pre-course expectations, identify post-course views of the in-service teacher education programme, and seek suggestions for improvements for future courses. Using a grounded theory approach, a coded analysis of the findings was conducted drawing out emergent themes from the participants’ comments. The findings were grouped into four tensions experienced by the participants. These included, the priority given to learning English language over improving their teaching skills; responding to boredom and lack of student engagement, and difficulties managing student behaviour as part of the student-teacher relationship; a desire to learn new practical teaching methods, rather than being taught the theory of teaching and learning; and differences between the Saudi Arabian and New Zealand learning environments. Responses to these tensions are discussed alongside a framework for high quality learning activities and implications are drawn for improving inter-relationships between teacher and learner. A mismatch was identified between prior expectations and assumptions by the participants and the actual design of the curriculum. Cultural issues are discussed in the context of different educational worldviews, including the status and roles of the teacher in Western and Arab societies, employing a critical pedagogy, and curriculum design for teacher professional development. A model is proposed of deliberate acts of culturally responsive teaching which may assist teacher educators in higher education and support the sustainability of in-service professional development for international teachers.

Membrane process including microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) have provided numerous successful applications ranging from drinking water purification, wastewater treatment, to material recovery. The addition of functional moiety in the membranes pores allows such membranes to be used in challenging areas including tunable separations, toxic metal capture, and catalysis. In this work, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) MF membrane was functionalized with temperature responsive (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAAm) and pH responsive (polyacrylic acid, PAA) polymers. It’s revealed that the permeation of various molecules (water, salt and dextran) through the membrane can be thermally or pH controlled. The introduction of PAA as a polyelectrolyte offers an excellent platform for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles (NPs) applied for degradation of toxic chlorinated organics with significantly increased longevity and stability. The advantage of using temperature and pH responsive polymers/hydrogels also includes the high reactivity and effectiveness in dechlorination. Further advancement on the PVDF functionalization involved the alkaline treatment to create partially defluorinated membrane (Def-PVDF) with conjugated double bounds allowing for the covalent attachment of different polymers. The PAA-Def-PVDF membrane shows pH responsive behavior on both the hydraulic permeability and solute retention. The sponge-like PVDF (SPVDF) membranes by phase inversion were developed through casting PVDF solution on polyester backing. The SPVDF membrane was demonstrated to have 4 times more surface area than commercial PVDF MF membrane, allowing for enhanced nanoparticles loading for chloro-organics degradation. The advanced functionalization method and process were also validated to be able to be scaled-up through the evaluation of full-scale functionalized membrane provided by Ultura Inc. California, USA. Nanofiltration (NF) between UF and RO presents selectivity controlled by both steric and electrostatic repulsions, which are widely used to reject charged species, particularly multivalent ions. In this work, selective permeation of CaCl2 and high sucrose retention are obtained through the modification of nanofiltration membranes with lower charge compared to commercial nanofiltration membrane. The membrane module also shows high stability with constant water permeability in a long-term (two months) test. Extended Nernst-Planck equation were further used to evaluate the experimental results and it fits well.

The development of functionalized membranes with tunable pores and catalytic properties provides us an opportunity to manipulate the membrane pore structure, selectivity and reactivity. By introducing the functional groups into membrane pores, dissolved metal ions and reactive particles can be effectively immobilized within the polymer matrix for toxic chloro-organic and heavy metal remediation in water. A polyelectrolyte functionalized membrane platform with tunable pore size and ion exchange capacity has been developed for iron/iron oxide nano-catalyst synthesis and chlorinated organic compound (trichloroethylene, TCE and polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs) degradation. Highly robust polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microfiltration membranes are used as the support with cross-linked polyacrylic acid (PAA) filled in the pores. By varying the environmental pH, PAA hydrogels have either swelling or collapsing behavior, resulting in different effective membrane pore sizes for different separation purposes. Cation exchange groups (i.e. carboxyl groups) in PAA chains prevent the aggregation and leaching of nanoparticles (NPs) during in-situ synthesis and reaction. Depending on the catalyst loading and residence time, TCE and PCBs can be completely degraded by reduction of zero-valent iron and bimetallic iron/palladium NPs, or iron oxide catalyzed free radical oxidation at near-neutral pH. Biphenyl from PCB dechlorination can be further oxidized by hydroxyl radicals (OH•) generated from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) decomposition. Hydroxybiphenyls and benzoic acid are identified as oxidation products. Line scan and elemental mapping in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS) characterizations are conducted to understand the effect of iron surface transformation on NP reactivity, and to optimize the membrane functionalization. The same platform can also be used to remove toxic metal selenium in the scrubber water of coal-fired power plants. By reducing the salt concentration in water or increasing the residence time and temperature, the concentration of selenium oxyanions in functionalized membrane permeate can be reduced to less than 10 µg/L. Selenium is captured in membranes by both iron reduction to metallic selenium and iron oxide adsorption. The full-scale flat sheet functionalized membrane and spiral wound modules have also been developed. Iron NPs with alterable loadings are successfully synthesized inside the membrane module for real water applications.

Sustainability is not a contemporary concept, rather it was a guiding principle all cultures lived by to maintain balance with the natural world and more importantly survive. Evidently architecture was a tangible expression of a way of life as indigenous people developed place specific vernacular that adapted to various climates, exploited local raw materials and created comfortable living conditions that were responsive as much to the inner environment of culture and social interaction as they were to the external environmental forces. Natus ??? Cultus ??? Civis explores the significance of place in developing a contemporary sustainable architecture and the potential for a new and authentic regional expression rooted in a relationship between the knowledge, technologies and traditions of Native and Euro-Canadian people. These two distinct models of vernacular reveal considerable differences in the worldviews of the people they represent but together they offer a rich source of sustainable strategies and dynamic responses to the diverse environmental conditions of Canada. Situated within a context plagued by imposed and often problematic Eurocentric models and furthermore isolated on Christian Island in Georgian Bay, Ontario, the Beausoleil First Nation community has fallen victim to unemployment, substance abuse, distressing high school completion rates and a disappearing cultural identity. The residents recognize the need for a community plan and are committed to nurturing and protecting resources in a sustainable manner in addition to creating opportunities for economic growth and cultural nourishment. As such the thesis culminates in a holistic community plan and the design of a learning centre, to be developed in collaboration with the Beausoleil First Nation, which aspires to empower the community economically and culturally. Rooted in the discussion of sustainability, region and tectonics, the learning centre will be designed by referencing local vernacular traditions, exploring new technologies and encompassing the contextual landscape, history, culture and climatic conditions of the site.

In recent years the development of mobile devices has made great progress and today they account for a large proportion of the internet usage. This trend poses new demands on web developers as more companies and product owners want to customize their services and products for this new market. In this study we examine the pros and cons of the strategies desktop-first and mobile-first in the development of adaptive interfaces for the web. The study aims to create guidelines for situations in which each strategy fits well. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of how these strategies can help developers and product owners to develop adaptive interfaces based on different goals and objectives. The study was conducted through the development of two high-fidelity prototypes for the redesign of an existing website. A literature review was also performed to create a deeper understanding of the subject. Our conclusion showed that mobile-first was preferable when building a website from scratch. However, there are cases when desktop-first may be preferable, for example, in the redesign of an existing website where the foundation is already finished. Furthermore, the study has led us to the realization that there are many purposes of different websites making the subject complex. Therefore, the developer should always make an evaluation of the product owner's goals and objectives in order to choose the right strategy.

The discourse on education for Aboriginal people has long been limited to a curriculum of cultural assimilation often resulting in an erosion of self-esteem and disengagement. Consequently, this research puts forth narratives of how fiddle programs in northern Manitoba work as a culturally responsive curriculum that in turn address such curricular erosions. As a research methodology, Metissage afforded me pedagogical opportunities to weave the various perspectives of community members, parents, instructors, and former students into an intricate story that attempts to represent some of their social, cultural and historical experiences within the north. Braiding stories of the historical and present impacts of fiddle playing reveals the generative possibilities of school fiddle programs in Canadian Indigenous communities. In addition to building intergenerational bridges, the stories put forth in this thesis demonstrate how the fiddle has become a contemporary instrument of social change for many communities across northern Manitoba.

The Black experience is complex; often portrayed as a double consciousness or a tension between two warring ideas that penetrate the soul. Such duplicity can leave Black people perplexed regarding how to navigate in a White world with one dark body. This study explored the experiences of Black males in an urban teacher preparation program as they negotiated their double consciousness in order to understand how race and gender impact teaching and learning in urban schools. Four case studies were conducted representing self-identified Black male graduates who were part of a cohort of pre-service teachers. Data generated from coursework were used as a heuristic for introspective analysis by each participant and complemented by semi-structured interviews. The study illustrates the complex factors for Black males developing as culturally relevant responsive teachers and provides voice to the challenges Black males face while navigating in a capitalistic system that has historically denied equitable access. The research found that prior experiences with double consciousness perpetuate Black males’ oppression and forces them to see their perceived selves through their White counterparts’ and supervisors’ eyes. Double consciousness has a twoness that causes distrustfulness of those that are perceived to be oppressive while also inspires individuals to ‘be the best’. Cohort communities are a great way to facilitate a community of learners but if not managed carefully can lead to racial and ethnic separation. After graduating from the teacher preparation program, the Black males did not remain consistent with their cultural responsiveness but were charged to use the teaching profession as a means to create positive change for others. Findings from this study hold promise for helping teacher education programs develop experiences for Black males that capture and cultivate the unique embodiment of two clashing identities—American and Black.

This thesis is a critical practitioner research study of an innovative teacher education initiative: the Diverse Schools (DS) Initiative. The DS Initiative fuses two pedagogical approaches - culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching - into an approach they call Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP). The DS Initiative uses CRRP as a theoretical framework for equity-based work in a university-school based partnership. This research considers the impact of the DS Initiative on teacher candidates’ and associate teachers’ practicum experiences. The twenty research participants (teacher candidates, associate teachers and administrators) interviewed reveal a spectrum of understanding of the DS Initiative, CRRP, and their overall implications for teacher education programs that extend beyond the DS Initiative. The research found that participants’ identities and practicum contexts greatly shaped their understandings and uses of CRRP. Many participants were unaware that the purpose of the DS Initiative was to create a shared theoretical understanding of CRRP among associate teachers and teacher candidates. However, most participants recognized the merits of an equity-focused university-school partnership for practicum, but believed it could be more effective if they were involved in developing the content of the DS Initiative. The participants’ narratives suggest that there is great value in creating a space to build on existing teacher candidate/associate teacher identities in equity-based initiatives. Participants emphasize the importance of delivering a university-school partnership program that is fluid and open to changing content, direction and goals to reflect the diversity of the participants. This study demonstrates the value and effectiveness of engaging participants in critical inquiry reflection to provide insight into content, goals, and clarity on teacher education initiatives. This research will be of interest to university faculty, administrators, and school staff wishing to examine practicum concerns in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs and seeking to address them using a collaborative university-school partnership model. Finally, this study contributes to the greater scholarly practitioner research conversations about equity and critical pedagogy, teacher identity, and the challenges stakeholders in teacher education need to note, reflect upon, and respond to in order to address the needs of our increasingly diverse students.

This thesis is a critical practitioner research study of an innovative teacher education initiative: the Diverse Schools (DS) Initiative. The DS Initiative fuses two pedagogical approaches - culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching - into an approach they call Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP). The DS Initiative uses CRRP as a theoretical framework for equity-based work in a university-school based partnership. This research considers the impact of the DS Initiative on teacher candidates’ and associate teachers’ practicum experiences. The twenty research participants (teacher candidates, associate teachers and administrators) interviewed reveal a spectrum of understanding of the DS Initiative, CRRP, and their overall implications for teacher education programs that extend beyond the DS Initiative. The research found that participants’ identities and practicum contexts greatly shaped their understandings and uses of CRRP. Many participants were unaware that the purpose of the DS Initiative was to create a shared theoretical understanding of CRRP among associate teachers and teacher candidates. However, most participants recognized the merits of an equity-focused university-school partnership for practicum, but believed it could be more effective if they were involved in developing the content of the DS Initiative. The participants’ narratives suggest that there is great value in creating a space to build on existing teacher candidate/associate teacher identities in equity-based initiatives. Participants emphasize the importance of delivering a university-school partnership program that is fluid and open to changing content, direction and goals to reflect the diversity of the participants. This study demonstrates the value and effectiveness of engaging participants in critical inquiry reflection to provide insight into content, goals, and clarity on teacher education initiatives. This research will be of interest to university faculty, administrators, and school staff wishing to examine practicum concerns in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs and seeking to address them using a collaborative university-school partnership model. Finally, this study contributes to the greater scholarly practitioner research conversations about equity and critical pedagogy, teacher identity, and the challenges stakeholders in teacher education need to note, reflect upon, and respond to in order to address the needs of our increasingly diverse students.