Research into the phenomenon of youth suicide is typically guided by quantitative methodologies focused on young people who have attempted or died by suicide. Questions related to epidemiology, etiology, and the development of actuarial measures of risk are often the drivers of these particular kinds of research. Similarly, research into school-based youth suicide prevention curricula is predominantly focused on quantitative measures of the degree to which young people acquire knowledge or change attitudes about suicide, after exposure to a delivered program. Grounded in post-structural ideas, the purpose of this thesis is to expand upon these mainstream inquiries into youth suicide prevention education through close exploration and analysis of how “suicide” is discursively produced within the context of a classroom delivered curriculum. This study will pay particular attention to the discursive productions of suicide in the curriculum, as well as how these productions result in the constitution of particular objects, concepts, and subjectivities. Transcripts of “naturally occurring classroom talk” will serve as the site of analysis. Troubling contemporary “truth regimes” about suicide and its prevention through close analysis of the discursive frames by which they are produced offers up the potential of re-imagining new possibilities for thinking about and delivering youth suicide prevention education.

The main goal of this study was to investigate whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) intercultural exchange offers the conditions necessary for the development of the sociolinguistic competence of L2 learners. The secondary goal was to provide a description of the characteristics of the exchange as a language practice regarding language learning and cultural contact. Non-native speakers (NNS) of French in British Columbia interacted through computer-mediated communication with native speakers (NS) of French in Quebec over the course of one school semester. The data for this study included the transcripts of text-based chat discussions and of a group forum, and answers to questionnaires and interviews. Drawing on the sociocultural perspective, this study used a qualitative approach to analyze the collected data. The framework used to guide the sociolinguistic inquiry consisted of The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001). The findings of this study suggest that intercultural CMC exchange offers positive conditions for the development of this competence. NNS were exposed to sociolinguistic variation and made minor changes in their use of sociolinguistic elements, showing that they developed sensitivity to the vernacular style used by NS. In addition, the exchange fostered the creation of a collective meaning that allowed L2 learners to participate in meaningful interactions and to increase their level of confidence. Finally, the exchange allowed participants to experience the dimension of “culture as individual” (Levy, 2007), an aspect of culture that encouraged them to share their personal views on culture and to connect on a personal level with their NS partners.

This thesis presents the development, implementation and evaluation of a cross-cultural, experiential marine program that occurred in 2007 at a Senior High School in Sooke, British Columbia. The program consisted of a field-intensive, marine curriculum that acknowledged the contributions of Aboriginal science (Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom) as complementary to Western science, when understanding and monitoring the coastal environment. Students of both Aboriginal (N= 8) and non-Aboriginal (N= 11) heritage were surveyed before and after instruction of theirknowledge and beliefs about marine science and Aboriginal culture. Prior to instruction,students tended to have positive opinions about Aboriginal culture and marine science, although their knowledge in marine ecology and oceanography was not strong. However, students showed a good understanding of human impacts on the environment. An important finding was that after instruction all students, regardless of cultural heritage, gender or previous coursework, gained positively in all measures from the experience.

The prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Aboriginal populations across North America is a cause for concern. Regular physical activity has been shown to mitigate these risk factors. Despite this, there is a limited body of research that assesses the physical activity behaviors of Aboriginal people in Canada. Further. no studies have applied Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to determine the social and cognitive motivations of Aboriginal peoples to engage in physical activity. The purpose of this mixed method research was to determine the physical activity behaviors and motivations of a population of First Nation adults. Data collection consisted of the completion of the TPB questionnaire (N = 53) as well as focus group interviews (N=12) to determine the physical activity behaviors and belief-based perceptions, as per the TPB, of First Nation adults as they relate to engaging in physical activity. The research was conducted with participation of the Westbank First Nation, an Okanagan Nation band located near Kelowna. British Columbia. Quantitative analysis using hierarchical regression was used to determine the motivations of First Nation adults to engage in physical activity. Qualitative data analysis methods were used to construct themes representing motivations for physical activity common to the research participants. Results offer partial support for using the TPB to understand the motivations of Westbank First Nation adults. Further. Westbank First Nation adults have unique beliefs and meanings related to physical activity compared to the general population.

Student performance on the recently implemented Provincial Mathematics 10 examination concerns mathematics teachers. Using results from the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) to implement a strategy for students' improvement as well as properly placing students into the correct curriculum pathway may be an effective way for improving student success. Students who participated in the 2001/2002 FSA may have also participated in the 2004/2005 provincial mathematics 10 examination. Using regression analysis, three separate models were created for students writing the Principles of Mathematics 10 examination (n = 27 292, R2 = 0.320), Essentials of Mathematics 10 examination (n = 5 052, R2 = 0.169), and Applications of Mathematics 10 examination (n = 2 662. R2 = 0.231). The independent variables included Item Response Theory Scaled scores for the Numeracy and Reading Subtests of the FSA, gender, aboriginal status, English as a second language status, and school size. As well, hierarchical linear model (HLM) was implemented as an exploration to compare the coefficients with the regression analysis. In all three cases the coefficients of the HLM were similar to the linear regression. Disciminant analysis also predicted student placement in the three pathways at 61% accuracy using FSA results and other independent variables.

Computer Science is not included in high school or middle school education in British Columbia. Young students are not exposed to Computer Science when they are learning their fundamentals. Given the correct abstractions like kinesthetic learning activities and graphical programming languages, elementary school students can be exposed to computer science and can understand sophisticated topics like recursion and concurrency. This means that more students’ interest will be piqued and they will be exposed to sophisticated concepts before first year computer science.

The purpose of this research study was to explore why some Aboriginal students participate in senior secondary Biology, Chemistry, or Physics and achieve a high level of academic success (67% or higher) in these courses. The following key questions were addressed: 1. What are the experiences and perceptions of Aboriginal students with regard to senior secondary science? 2.What role, if any, does culture play for Aboriginal students who are successful in the senior secondary sciences? 3. What are the factors that either contribute to or hinder success by Aboriginal students in science-related courses? Ten Aboriginal participants were interviewed from the Greater Victoria School District. Metaphor Interviews, Literal Interviews and a Focus Group were used to collect data. The results indicated that Aboriginal ancestry was important to the identity of many of the participants, but it was not a significant contributing factor in their academic success in senior secondary science.

The literature suggests that many teachers are burning out and are stressed and unwell. Health promotion in the school setting with a focus on students is becoming more and more prevalent. However, research has not adequately investigated the effects of health promotion in the school setting focused on the teachers. This study explores the experiences of the teachers who took part in the “Step It Up” program which is a pedometer program including goal setting and teams. This is a mixed methodology as the data was collected using semi structured interviews, open ended questionnaires and a document review of the step logging records. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed according the Colaizzi procedures seeking the barriers and the benefits of the program as experienced by the teachers. Through data analysis, the benefit main themes were; motivation, awareness and social support. The barrier themes found were; step logging, time management and goal setting. In conclusion with the recommendations and modifications suggested in this study, the “Step it Up” program is feasible in the school-setting.

This qualitative exploratory study investigated the implementation of team-building activities into an elementary Physical Education Program. The participating teacher was from an affluent school district and her class consisted of twelve grade four students and seventeen fifth graders. It was proposed that a team-building (TB) initiative, with a teacher facilitator being supported and coached by a knowledgeable instructor, would help identify specific enablers and barriers that existed and provide insights into how to promote team building implementation by classroom teachers. It was also proposed that the study would enable the teacher to reflect on her actions and decisions made as a team-building facilitator to scaffold teacher awareness, growth, and future change. The “researcher,” also referred to as teacher coach, and participating teacher met initially to decide how they wanted the study to proceed and it was explained that the participating teacher had the liberty of guiding and directing the study in ways she deemed suitable and believed fit. Decisions were made that the teacher coach would visit on-site every second week to facilitate team-building activities with the fourth and fifth graders to aid in the facilitation of activities by the participating teacher. The on-site visits were digitally photographed and video-recorded to help build upon the study and work to uncover underlying data and themes. The teacher coach and participating teacher met pre-study, mid-study, and post-study to reflect at length upon the experience and to explore concepts and ideas that arose from the teacher’s reflective journal entries. Data was analyzed using NVivo and CMap, which formulated the following emergent themes: teacher and student development, fostering and enriching classroom and school community, “Ahah!” moments, the TB experience, and insights into a teacher-friendly TB manual. Recommendations for research and practice were considered and presented for researchers and educators.

Research into the phenomenon of youth suicide is typically guided by quantitative methodologies focused on young people who have attempted or died by suicide. Questions related to epidemiology, etiology, and the development of actuarial measures of risk are often the drivers of these particular kinds of research. Similarly, research into school-based youth suicide prevention curricula is predominantly focused on quantitative measures of the degree to which young people acquire knowledge or change attitudes about suicide, after exposure to a delivered program. Grounded in post-structural ideas, the purpose of this thesis is to expand upon these mainstream inquiries into youth suicide prevention education through close exploration and analysis of how “suicide” is discursively produced within the context of a classroom delivered curriculum. This study will pay particular attention to the discursive productions of suicide in the curriculum, as well as how these productions result in the constitution of particular objects, concepts, and subjectivities. Transcripts of “naturally occurring classroom talk” will serve as the site of analysis. Troubling contemporary “truth regimes” about suicide and its prevention through close analysis of the discursive frames by which they are produced offers up the potential of re-imagining new possibilities for thinking about and delivering youth suicide prevention education.