The 21st century has emerged with Canadians experiencing great concern about how we do things in the world. The degrading environment preys greatly on the minds of Canadians while our actions may not match our thoughts. How do we educate our students as future leaders about sustainability and help them understand that our individual actions make a difference? The intent of this study was to make a difference in students’ and teachers’ lives. It needed to be determined if teachers felt that there was a gap in the current way that we are teaching about sustainability. The results of a Manitoba teacher survey and a literature review identified several different risk and protective factors: those that either constrain or support the teaching of sustainability in a science classroom. The three risks that were discovered to be the strongest were preparation time, availability of resources and that sustainability issues are often highly complex. These concerns became the foundation for informing the implementation phase of this study. From this information a resource that met all of the specific learning outcomes (SLOs) as mandated by Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth (MECY) for the grade 8 Water Systems cluster was designed and piloted. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theory (1979) and The Natural Step’s Four Systems Conditions were used as a foundation. There was a significant difference between the pilot groups and the control groups in three of the four areas tested. Teachers reported enjoying using the resource, and finding it helpful. They also reported that their students were engaged by the use of the resource. The thesis summation suggests how the resource might be shared and improved upon with and by teachers around the province and beyond, and hope that it provides a framework for future lessons or units related to sustainability. / May 2008

The 21st century has emerged with Canadians experiencing great concern about how we do things in the world. The degrading environment preys greatly on the minds of Canadians while our actions may not match our thoughts. How do we educate our students as future leaders about sustainability and help them understand that our individual actions make a difference? The intent of this study was to make a difference in students’ and teachers’ lives. It needed to be determined if teachers felt that there was a gap in the current way that we are teaching about sustainability. The results of a Manitoba teacher survey and a literature review identified several different risk and protective factors: those that either constrain or support the teaching of sustainability in a science classroom. The three risks that were discovered to be the strongest were preparation time, availability of resources and that sustainability issues are often highly complex. These concerns became the foundation for informing the implementation phase of this study. From this information a resource that met all of the specific learning outcomes (SLOs) as mandated by Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth (MECY) for the grade 8 Water Systems cluster was designed and piloted. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theory (1979) and The Natural Step’s Four Systems Conditions were used as a foundation. There was a significant difference between the pilot groups and the control groups in three of the four areas tested. Teachers reported enjoying using the resource, and finding it helpful. They also reported that their students were engaged by the use of the resource. The thesis summation suggests how the resource might be shared and improved upon with and by teachers around the province and beyond, and hope that it provides a framework for future lessons or units related to sustainability.

This study investigates the relationship between the practice of Kundalini yoga and the development of interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness in Middle Years students. Secondary aims were to provide reflection time for students in their school day and to find out whether the participants were better able to cope with stress. A qualitative method was applied. Two consent forms were sent to the participants’ parents. One granted permission to participate in the yoga sessions, the other requested permission to use the students’ journals as data. There were 16 yoga sessions over three weeks. After each session, the participants and the instructor/researcher wrote reflective journal entries. Twenty-nine students participated in the yoga sessions, but only 15 student journals were used for data collection. Results included growth in interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness, growth in physical flexibility and awareness, and a desire to have relaxation during the regular school day.

The 21st century has emerged with Canadians experiencing great concern about how we do things in the world. The degrading environment preys greatly on the minds of Canadians while our actions may not match our thoughts. How do we educate our students as future leaders about sustainability and help them understand that our individual actions make a difference? The intent of this study was to make a difference in students’ and teachers’ lives. It needed to be determined if teachers felt that there was a gap in the current way that we are teaching about sustainability. The results of a Manitoba teacher survey and a literature review identified several different risk and protective factors: those that either constrain or support the teaching of sustainability in a science classroom. The three risks that were discovered to be the strongest were preparation time, availability of resources and that sustainability issues are often highly complex. These concerns became the foundation for informing the implementation phase of this study. From this information a resource that met all of the specific learning outcomes (SLOs) as mandated by Manitoba Education, Citizenship, and Youth (MECY) for the grade 8 Water Systems cluster was designed and piloted. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological theory (1979) and The Natural Step’s Four Systems Conditions were used as a foundation. There was a significant difference between the pilot groups and the control groups in three of the four areas tested. Teachers reported enjoying using the resource, and finding it helpful. They also reported that their students were engaged by the use of the resource. The thesis summation suggests how the resource might be shared and improved upon with and by teachers around the province and beyond, and hope that it provides a framework for future lessons or units related to sustainability.

This study investigates the relationship between the practice of Kundalini yoga and the development of interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness in Middle Years students. Secondary aims were to provide reflection time for students in their school day and to find out whether the participants were better able to cope with stress. A qualitative method was applied. Two consent forms were sent to the participants’ parents. One granted permission to participate in the yoga sessions, the other requested permission to use the students’ journals as data. There were 16 yoga sessions over three weeks. After each session, the participants and the instructor/researcher wrote reflective journal entries. Twenty-nine students participated in the yoga sessions, but only 15 student journals were used for data collection. Results included growth in interpersonal and intrapersonal awareness, growth in physical flexibility and awareness, and a desire to have relaxation during the regular school day.

This thesis explores the nature of pedagogic connectedness and reveals the qualitatively different ways in which teachers in the middle years of schooling experience this phenomenon. The researcher defines pedagogic connectedness as the engagements between teacher and student that impact on student learning. The findings of this phenomenographic-related study are used to provide a framework for changes to pedagogic practices in the middle years of schooling. Twenty teachers of years 7, 8, and 9 boys in an independent college in South-East Queensland participated in this study. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with these teachers and the interview transcripts were analysed iteratively. Five qualitatively different ways of experiencing pedagogic connectedness emerged from this study. These categories of description are linked hierarchically and are delimited from each other through six common dimensions of variation. Teachers' conceptions of pedagogic connectedness range from information providing through instructing, facilitating, guided participation to mentoring. The five different conceptions may be classified broadly as teacher-centred, transitional or student-centred. In the information providing conception, pedagogic connectedness between teachers and students is limited with teachers perceiving themselves as subject experts and providing few opportunities for student-teacher engagements. The most complex conception, mentoring, is characterised by partnerships between teachers and students in which teachers view themselves as more experienced equals. These partnerships extend beyond the confines of the classroom and beyond the years of schooling. In this conception, teachers describe teaching as an emotional activity with teachers demonstrating passion for teaching and learning. The findings of this current study extend earlier understandings of teacher-student mentoring relationships in the middle years of schooling. These expanded understandings may contribute to enthusing middle years students and re-engaging them with schooling during these vital years.

The purpose of the study was to examine the Standards of Learning (SOL) test results of students participating in an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) and compare their achievement with students of similar ability in schools not authorized to offer the Middle Years Program (MYP). It was important to determine if the MYP students, who were learning in a different and more holistic manner, were still competitive with their counterparts on standardized achievement measures. The study was guided by four questions: (1) To what extent is there a difference between the SOL achievement scores of students in an IBMYP and the SOL achievement scores of students not in an IBMYP?; (2) To what extent is there a difference between the SOL achievement scores for Black students in an IBMYP and the SOL achievement scores of Black students not in an IBMYP?; (3) To what extent is there a difference between the SOL achievement scores for Hispanic students in an IBMYP and the SOL achievement scores of Hispanic students not in an IBMYP?; (4) To what extent is there a difference between the SOL achievement scores for White students in an IBMYP and the SOL achievement scores of White students not in an IBMYP? The study was organized into intervention and control groups, which were statistically similar. In order to determine if the groups were statistically similar at the onset of the study, baseline data were established. One group of eighth grade students who were participating in the MYP program (intervention) and a non-participating group of eighth grade students (control) were matched by their Grade 5 VA Standards of Learning (SOL) achievement scores and ethnicity. The SOL data from the spring 2004 test administration were used for the study. Independent t tests were conducted to determine to what extent, if any, was there a difference between the SOL achievement scores of students who were participating in the MYP and the SOL achievement of students not participating in the MYP. Additionally, t tests were used to measure to what extent was there a difference between the achievement of Black, Hispanic, and White subgroups of the MYP and non-MYP students measured by their SOL scores. The effect size was calculated to determine the strength or magnitude of the differences between the two sets of data. The findings of the study indicated the average SOL mean scores of the total MYP group were higher than the mean scores of the total non-MYP group in all areas although there were no statistically significant differences (p<.05). The results also indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between the average SOL mean scores of Black students who participated in the MYP and Black students who participated in non-MYP schools across the division (p<.05). The results further indicated that no statistically significant differences existed between the average SOL mean scores of Hispanic students who participated in the MYP and Hispanic students who participated in non-MYP schools across the division (p<.05). Lastly, the results indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between the average SOL mean scores of White students who participated in the MYP and White students who participated in non-MYP schools across the division (p<.05). The content area that showed the greatest difference was English: Reading, Literature, and Research (15 scaled score points). Performance on the History/Social Science and Science SOL tests were virtually identical. For Black and Hispanic IBMYP students, the highest levels of performance were limited to the English: Reading, Literature, and Research test. / Ed. D.

The achievement gap between middle class white students and black or Hispanic students living in low income households continues to be a persistent problem in education even ten years since the authorization of No Child Left Behind in 2001. This study examined the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme and how students from low income households preformed on the Criterion Referenced Competencies Test (CRCT) mathematics and reading subtests when compared to similar students at a school with a traditional instruction program. Analysis of covariance was employed using scores from students’ fifth grade composite Cognitive Abilities Tests as the covariate. The analysis did not detect a significant difference (p=.410) on the eighth grade adjusted means reading CRCT scores, but did detect a significant difference (p

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Within a climate of continual change this study offers insights into the academic pressures experienced by rural adolescents to achieve at school. In the often challenging transition from childhood to adulthood expectations from others place additional pressures on adolescents' lives. To better understand these pressures, I conducted a qualitative study of six students (ages nine to 15) and their teachers in the Middle Years of Schooling within rural Victoria, Australia. Students were studied prior to the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) in order to examine the pressures on students facing the Middle Years of Schooling. The study was carried out over a 6 month period using a Naturalistic Inquiry process with semi-structured interviews and participant observation. This allowed access into the participants' subjective insights. A Collective case study approach was employed to situate the information in its holistic environment and offer thick and information rich narratives depicting the experiences of these early adolescents. The case studies also involved examination of the school experiences of the early adolescents. Academic pressure was then broadly viewed in light of these experiences and recommendations offered. The findings from this research revealed that the early adolescents in the study all experienced degrees of academic pressure and demonstrated varied abilities to cope with these pressures. External support provided by parents, the school, teachers and peers tended to provide support more than fostering resilience.