The term ‘disability’ is laden with medical origins and medical meanings, which contribute to exclusion and oppression for persons labeled as ‘disabled’. Moreover, these processes are amplified by constructing disability as an individual burden or personal tragedy. Medicalizing disability keeps it a personal matter, a personal problem that needs to be treated, rather than addressing the social processes that actually restrict or constrict the disabled person’s life. Rehabilitation Science and my lived experience of disability and walking serve as contexts that assist me as I explore how my subjectivity as a disabled woman and clinician helps me understand the theoretical tensions of five key themes: independence, power, client-centred practice, ableism, and the social model of disability in relation to disability and rehabilitation. These themes offer me a way to analyze my experiences, and how I have come to access and engage with Disability Studies literature in order to deepen my understanding of the critiques on disability and rehabilitation. As an insider, my research explores three decades of personal narrative. Through critical reflexivity as part of autoethnography, I work to increase my own awareness and that of my readers on the tension and complexities with respect to disability and rehabilitation. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Service dogs are becoming an integral part of our society. Consequently, there is a need for research that explores how Canada should proceed with the development and implementation of appropriate laws and policies that will ensure the proper use and equal integration of service dogs. Before this can take place, the terminology used within the field must be clarified, as society continues to move toward a more expanded definition of service dog, and public access challenges continue to impact the lives of persons with disabilities. The goal of this autoethnographical research study was to determine what service dog handlers, particularly ‘owner-trainers,’ feel constitutes a ‘service dog’ in Canada. When researchers conduct investigations on topics related to the lives of persons with disabilities, their research typically takes the form of disabled individuals being studied and not being directly involved within the research. Therefore, this project sought to directly involve persons with disabilities, while also attempting to avoid the possibility of censorship or silence. Through the use of statements from social media, this project captured the lived experiences without worrying about participants changing them to fit within society’s expectations. Society is not structured to be accessible for all, so when ‘accommodations’ are made, it is ‘expected’ that persons with disabilities will show gratitude and not voice their true feelings. Through the use of autoethnography, I shared my experiences, as a service dog raiser, trainer and handler, and provided a glimpse into the lives of other service dog handlers as they participate within their communities. In doing this, I hope the findings of my project will offer an important perspective to the discussion surrounding what constitutes a ‘service dog’ in Canada. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Educators have never had the possibility of incorporating technology into the classroom like they do today. Although technology can have its difficulties, it can truly help the development of reading for struggling students. Reading research is providing more and more clarity about how to use technology effectively within our school communities to support and enhance the academic performance of today's students (i.e. Gallagher, 2009; Isazadeh, 2004; Rice, 2011). A review of studies conducted by the CEO Forum (2001)emphasizes: "technology can have the greatest impact when integrated into the curriculum to achieve clear, measurable educational objectives." This meaning that with the help of technology and all of the resources it provides, if used within the curriculum correctly teachers can reach their learning goals better. Technology can aid the growth of reading development in students with, or without, a learning disability. The beginning chapter will define students who are struggling readers and outline the effects technology will have on these students. Following, will be a present case study of a student who struggles with reading in order to frame the research in a contemporary setting. There will also be a personal experience with technology,focusing primarily on the IPAD, and a self-reflected journey within each chapter in a quest in becoming a technology savvy teacher. The next chapter will present the use IPADs within the classroom. It will then describe ways teachers can spark their students' interests in reading with alternative practices. With the help of a local, technology savvy teacher, there will be a real-life circumstances that have aided struggling readers at any specific grade level.

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The purpose of this study is to explore care in Ontario, Canada from the perspective of patients. I took on the roles of both a patient and a researcher, exploring the current state of care as a patient who has navigated the health system and as a researcher with background in disability studies and social geography. I use feminist auto/ethnographic methods, including observation and fieldnotes, journaling, memory, and notes in my patient records as data. I also conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven individuals who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery and two family members who provided informal care to individuals post-operatively. I have organized data using three storylines: being patient, negotiating care, and mending fault lines. There are two layers of my analysis: our individual encounters with carers alongside our changing embodiment and the broader care relations of the system, increasingly influenced by neoliberalism. Care is increasingly informalized and commodified as austerity measures cut public financing for care and services are de-listed. Neoliberalism produces poor and precarious working conditions for nurses and personal support workers and this translates into insufficient care for patients and support for families. With care increasingly being shifted to the home and community, individuals and families are taking on more responsibility in terms of caring for family members. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / In this study I explore care in Ontario, Canada both as a patient and as a researcher with background in disability studies and social geography. I observed care and recorded fieldnotes as a patient researcher over thirty-two months and interviewed a total of nine people who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery about their experiences of care pre and post-operatively. Two daughters of participants also took part in interviews. I explore our individual stories of care and how the broader health system helps to shape our encounters with health care workers. Government reductions in funding for care and the de-listing of services translates into poor working conditions for health care workers and insufficient care for patients. The responsibility for care is increasingly being shifted from the state to individuals. My research reveals how patients manage within this fragmented system made up of formal, informal, and private care arrangements.

This dissertation is a combination of two manuscripts. By using autoethnography in manuscript one, this study first reflects on my learning English as a foreign language journey and the influences that brought to my life. The seven stories in this study cover many aspects of foreign language education, including teaching contents, teaching methods, and teacher preparation. Through the lens of autoethnography, I will further explore factors that influence foreign language education. Through detailed analysis, I discover language learning is not isolated. Foreign language teaching and learning will be influenced by economy, politics, cultures, and society. Based on these findings, I ask many thought-provoking questions on foreign language education, such as teaching contents and teaching methods. Manuscript two is traditional qualitative research using ethnographic methods. I use in-depth interviews to explore teachers' beliefs and practices of one supervisor and three foreign language teachers. I first present findings on their beliefs and practices in foreign language teaching and learning, including changes and challenges in the division's language education and foreign language teachers' beliefs and practices and their alignment with the ACTFL Standards. I will also use the ACTFL Standards as a lens to analyze how their beliefs and practices match with the 5Cs: Communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, communities. Finally, I will provide suggestions for future similar studies. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation is a combination of two manuscripts. Manuscript one reflects on the author's journey learning English as a foreign language and the influences that had brought to her life. The seven stories in this study cover many aspects in foreign language education, including teaching content, teaching methods, and teachers' preparation. The author further explores the causes and other related factors in foreign language education. Through detailed analysis, the author discovers language learning is not isolated. Foreign language teaching and learning will be influenced by economy, politics, cultures, and society. Manuscript two is traditional qualitative research using ethnographic methods. The author uses interviews to explore teachings beliefs and practices of one supervisor and three foreign language teachers. She provides suggestions for future studies.

In writing this autoethnography, I invite you to enter into my world. It is not a world that is easy, or altogether happy. In the end, though, it is a story of survival and of perseverance. Trauma touches almost every person in some way. War, sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, death, and difficult life events color how we make sense of the world. Trauma may happen in one blinding moment or slowly eat away at us for years. Writing is often a way to cope with that trauma. This dissertation represents a small portion of my traumatic lived experiences that led me up to the doctoral process, and those that occurred in the ten years it took me to complete my dissertation. / Doctor of Philosophy / In writing this autoethnography, I invite you to enter into my world. It is not a world that is easy, or altogether happy. In the end, though, it is a story of survival and of perseverance. Trauma touches almost every person in some way. War, sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, death, and difficult life events color how we make sense of the world. Trauma may happen in one blinding moment or slowly eat away at us for years. Writing is often a way to cope with that trauma. This dissertation represents a small portion of my traumatic lived experiences that led me up to the doctoral process, and those that occurred in the ten years it took me to complete my dissertation.