This study examines the experiences of five teachers who lead and participate in adventure biking trips with students. The narrative case study was framed by the author’s autoethnographic writing: her personal narratives about leading adventure education trips, teaching experiences and reflections on the concept of learning. The meaning four other trip leaders made of their adventure biking experiences was investigated through conversational style interviews characterized by open ended questions and a list of issues to be explored. The purpose of the study was two-fold: to discover what meaning teachers make of adventure bike trip experiences and what happens when teachers collectively explore that meaning in relation to their teaching practice. The voices of the participants uncovered four meaningful elements of the trip experience: personal challenge, shifting perceptions of students and student learning, the opportunity to shed the teacher facade and positive collaboration with colleagues. As the participants collectively reflected upon these meanings they began to examine their in-school teaching practices in relation to the trip spaces. Tension between the two spaces opened up a dialogue where the participants began to challenge their teaching identity, enabling them to imagine their classrooms in a different light. The results of this study point to the need for teachers to have opportunities to participate in unique and novel teaching experiences (such as the adventure education trip) that hold within them the potential to initiate change in practice. In order to challenge education experiences, time and space need to be provided for teachers to reflect and develop teacher knowledge that can transfer into the development of positive, effective learning communities with colleagues and in their classrooms.

Marine aquariums are excellent venues for accomplishing the purposes of marine education, and school field trips conducted at non-formal settings continue to be an important part of K-12 education. The purpose of this study was to provide not only quantitative data regarding the extent and quality of marine aquarium field trips conducted by elementary schoolteachers in Seoul, South Korea, but also to provide a qualitative description of marine aquarium education conducted in the USA and Canada. A Web survey designed to examine Korean teachers' experiences and perspectives on aquarium field trips identified several concerns regarding Korean marine aquarium education, and a case study conducted at three aquariums in the USA and Canada described the characteristics and qualities of marine aquarium education at those aquaria. Recommendations for both Korean aquaria's educational roles and Korean elementary schools' successful field trips to aquaria are presented with the goal of improving the quality of Korean marine aquarium education.

This study examines science teachers' beliefs and ideas about science prior to and following a one and a half day workshop on Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Witsuwit'en knowledge of science. It is part of a wider study initiated by the Aboriginal Enhancements Branch of the BC Ministry of Education to determine why Aboriginal students are not enrolling in the sciences. A broad range of qualitative methodologies were applied, including pre and post instructional questionnaires, an experiential field trip to traditional Witsuwit'en territories as well as an instructional workshop and a dialogue process. Aspects of Indigenous methodology were included that were central to the lived experience of the Witsuwit'en people whose territories we were on and with whom the research was being conducted. Post-workshop questionnaire responses indicated that teachers' developed a broader understanding of Witsuwit'en Traditional Knowledge systems and a deeper respect for the contributions of the local First Nations to the sciences.

Service learning literature focusing on participants and programs in an academic setting is extensive. However, there is a lack of research looking at the experiences of employees in a corporate setting. The purpose of this inquiry was to understand how employees experience corporate service learning and to explore how well existing literatures on service learning and volunteerism serve the corporate service learning experience. Using interpretive phenomenology and the Four Frame Organizational Model (Bolman & Deal, 1997) to frame the inquiry, the experiences of employees in a retail store (N= 9) participating in service learning were examined. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with program participants. Seven themes were evident in the findings of the inquiry: skill development, health (sub-themes of self-esteem and empowerment), job satisfaction, improved workplace relationships, bridging into the community, social responsibility and challenges. The findings of this inquiry suggest that employee involvement in a service learning experience can stimulate a sense of social responsibility. Another important finding of the inquiry was that pairing service activities with health activities was a positive combination that contributed to personal and community health. Finally, there was evidence that service learning can help build social capital in the workplace. This inquiry supports research in the area of service learning in the corporate setting to more fully understand the potential of this pedagogical strategy. The development of educational resources for companies wanting to build service learning programs is also important if these initiatives are to be effective in the workplace.

In this study, the effects of student and school level variables on the mathematics achievement of 15 year old students in Canada and Japan were investigated. Participants included 27,953 students from Canada and 4,707 students from Japan. The student level variables used in this analysis included student sex, perceived teacher support, and socioeconomic status, and the school level variables included principals' perceptions of both. student and teacher morale and commitment, and student and teacher related factors affecting school climate. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze data from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003. The proportion of variance in mathematics scores attributable to schools was 20%, in Canada and 54% in Japan. In both countries, higher ratings by principals on both student commitment and morale, and student-related factors affecting school climate were linked to higher mathematics achievement. Implications for educators and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The study explored the differences that resulted when school districts participated in successful interdisciplinary community coalitions to improve the quality of and the opportunities for services for young children and their families—and ultimately enhance school success. The study examined the structure, function and impact of four successful intersectoral community coalitions in British Columbia. It determined that the coalitions’ work resulted in improved coordination, services and access to programs for the early learning of young children. The types of services examined were those that addressed local needs; were examples of collaboration of different service providers, including schools; addressed different needs of children and families; were designed to promote the community’s ability to care for its own families and to resolve issues and develop programs at the local level. The study employed case-study methodology—focus groups, interviews, data collection and analysis, and observations—to explore four diverse communities that had established programs in response to defined needs and had evaluated the effect of the services provided to children and families. The services examined were those that (1) capitalized on existing assets and resources; (2) planned for and accessed new resources through partnerships; and (3) promoted promising researchbased practices. The study focused on early-childhood initiatives that supported literacy development in the context of social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. The research questions examined the function and evolution of the intersectoral coalitions and the involvement of public schools in them; the characteristics that contributed to or impeded success; descriptions of programs and services initiated by the school district; and evidence of enhanced school success. The study noted social processes, relations, practices, experiences and actions. The study examined programs that evolved through the collaborative efforts of intersectoral professionals, and created social solutions for early learning issues. The study resulted in eight conclusions related to: (1) the pivotal role intersectoral coalitions play in community development, with four specific caveats; (2) the key role schools and school districts have to play if community coalitions are to reach their full potential; (3) the need for reliable data in order for proposed changes to be embraced; (4) the role of family literacy programs in meeting social and emotional needs as well as those of literacy; (5) the need for community coalitions to break down barriers to access in order to support the most needy families; (6) the momentum created by a sense of moral purpose and community consciousness as coalition work matures; (7) the need for sustainable and transformative leadership that changes as the coalition evolves and (8) the need for government to support grassroots movements by new service reorganization, funding mechanisms and related policy development. Through rich descriptions and respondents’ quotes, the study provides a variety of models that can be replicated by community agencies seeking to establish a broad, coherent approach to services for young families.

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.

Two groups of students in introductory physics courses of an Access Program for engineering technologies were the subjects of this study. Students with a wide range of academic histories and abilities were enrolled in the program; many of the students were re-entry and academically unprepared for post-secondary education. Five years of historical data were evaluated to use as a benchmark for revised instruction. Data were gathered to describe the pre-course academic state of the students and their academic progress during two physics courses. Additional information was used to search for factors that might constrain academic success and as feedback for the instructional methods. The data were interpreted to regulate constructivist design features for the physics courses. The Engineering Technology Access Program was introduced to meet the demand from non-traditional students for admission to two-year engineering technology programs, but who did not meet normal academic requirements. The duration of the Access Program was two terms for electronic and computer engineering students and three terms for civil and mechanical engineering students. The sequence of mathematics and physics courses was different for the two groups. The Civil/Mechanical students enrolled in their first mathematics course before undertaking their first physics course. The first mathematics and physics courses for the Electronics students were concurrent. Academic success in the two groups was affected by this difference. Over a five-year period the success rate of students graduating with a technology diploma was approximately twenty-five percent. Results from this study indicate that it was possible to reduce the very high attrition in the combined Access/Technology Programs. While the success rate for the Electronics students increased to 38% the rate for the Civil/Mechanical students increased dramatically to 77%. It is likely that several factors, related to the extra term in the Access Program for the Civil/Mechanical students, contributed to this high retention rate. Additional time, with less academic pressure in the first term of the Access Program, provided the Civil/Mechanical students with the opportunity to develop academic skills and maturity resulting in improved self-concept and academic identity. These students may have been better equipped to take advantage of the alternate instructional setting of the revised physics courses. Results from a wide range of studies in Physics Education Research provide ideas and opportunities to improve instruction and students conceptual understanding in introductory physics courses. Most studies focus on traditional students and curriculum. The development and implementation of alternate curriculum and instruction may improve outcomes for different groups of students, particularly for students in disciplines indirectly related to the sciences.

This research investigated the importance of students' intrinsic motivation, perceptions of teacher support in mathematics classrooms, and perceptions of student-teacher relations in the school on 15-year-old mathematics literacy in Canada in separate models while controlling for students' gender and socioeconomic status. In order to provide a clear national picture of the effects of these variables, a large-scale dataset was used in the analysis. With the use of hierarchical linear modeling, school-level variables were used to explain between-school variability in mathematics literacy, and variability in school slopes of each contextual student-level variable in separate models. Consistent with prior research, all three contextual student-level variables were significant positive predictors of mathematics literacy. 20% of the variability in mathematics literacy was attributed to schools. Principals' perceptions of teacher behaviors affecting students' learning was a significant school correlate in all three between-school variability models, suggesting the important role teachers play in students' educational outcomes.

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.