Higher education

Institutional claims of university-community engagement in support of the public good and planning for teaching, learning, and research have largely remained in the realm of rhetoric. This thesis analyzes the 2019-2021 Trent University Lands and Nature Areas Plan and public consultation process, which at times was marked by the complete absence of consultation and at other times, wholly inadequate consultation with regards to developments affecting its on-campus food growing system and correlate pedagogy. Using methods from Institutional Ethnography, Participatory Action Learning and Action Research, and the BIAS FREE Framework, I explore how Trent University manages its approach to land-use planning and public consultation, revealing that it is ultimately working at cross-purposes with its foundational principles. I advise that Trent University's current land-use planning model, lacking critical examination and intervention, puts the institution's academic reputation, campus ecological functions, and university-community relations at risk. If perpetuated, this model will be detrimental to the university's capacity to generate new knowledge for teaching, learning, and research, as well as context-specific solutions for its land-use planning. My findings define a new concept of fait accompli planning to describe how and why Trent's public consultation process fell significantly short of both its institutional mandate and claims of robust and comprehensive engagement. I conclude that post-secondary institutions (and beyond) need to implement dialogic approaches to planning that abandon predetermined outcomes and instead foster genuine dialogue toward a collaborative milieu of shared, informed, and deliberate planning practices.

Author Keywords: consultation, fait accompli planning, higher education, land-use planning, organizational behaviour, university-community engagement

The number of post-secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities has been on the rise since the early 1990's (Plotner & Marshall, 2015). However, research focused on student experiences within these programs has been predominantly from faculty, mainstream students and parent's perspectives without accounting for what the students themselves are experiencing. This thesis however utilizes critical narrative inquiry as a methodology to listen the stories of students with disabilities, in conjunction with the researcher's personal and professional experiences to reconceptualize the CICE program at Fleming College in Peterborough Ontario in order to provide students with more responsive and inclusive educational experiences. Six themes emerged from interviews conducted in the research: friendship/social opportunities, career/goals, supports, barriers/challenges, independence/freedom and finally identity/inclusion. A critical exploration of these themes is provided to develop programmatic, college and community level changes that forward a reconceptualized view of post-secondary education for adults with disabilities.

Author Keywords: Critical disability theory, Critical narrative inquiry, Post-secondary programs for students with disabilities, Student voice

Community-based research (CBR) is a method of discovery that can provide pragmatic methods of advocating for and enabling community change. CBR literature and practice has focused on securing educational and job skills training outcomes for students rather than the communities, and community outcomes CBR and partnership frameworks were truly meant to serve. This research evaluates the effectiveness of a research brokering organization, and the community outcomes that can be meaningfully related back to established partnerships and research. A linked contribution and realist evaluation were employed to consider the contributions of U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research to capacity building in Haliburton County, for host organizations, local municipalities and the public. A community survey (n=65), interviews with past project hosts and management committee members (n=26) anecdotal project exploration, internal document review, and participant observation from living in the region and working within the organization, offers qualitative and quantitative data to support this contribution narrative, while also theorizing key factors for developing projects with high contribution potential. Five key factors were found which can act as both contexts and mechanisms of community-based research mobilization: relevance, relationships, resources, rigour and reach.

Author Keywords: capacity building, community, community-based research, contribution analysis, evaluations, research impact

This qualitative case study explored the experience of members and associates of

one university history department in order to examine the phenomena of choosing and

working within the history major in the context of current declines in humanities

enrolment. Drawing on interviews with 7 professors, 8 student majors, and 10

professional staff, it analyzed beliefs about how students should choose their majors,

benefits of historical thinking, the current climate of crisis in history, and resources to

support history students. Participants agreed that students should choose a major based on

intrinsic factors and shared a common vision of the meaning and importance of historical

thinking. However, participants experienced tension between these intrinsic values and

extrinsic pressures regarding the humanities crisis and the efficacy of student-support

resources. These results have implications for understanding pressures felt by current

humanities students and for developing new resources to better support history majors.

Author Keywords: case study, choice of major, historical thinking, history department, humanities crisis, student affairs

This research explores cross-sector collaboration in universities' innovation initiatives. To understand the current roles of the higher education sector and the influences shaping innovation initiatives through cross-sector collaborative projects, this study is focused on a case study of the Trent University Research & Innovation Park (TRIP) project. The following three central issues emerged from the thematic analysis performed through the case study: the roles played by universities in creating a context for successful innovation ventures; the construct of culture as a dominant driver in such ventures; and the implications of collective learning in cross-sector collaborations as an enabler of successful innovation projects.

Based on the findings of this study, it is argued that the opportunities and potential of Universities' cross-sectoral innovation projects rely on three crucial factors: the local culture, the individuals involved, and their specialized skills such as those involved in the 'High Ductility' skill set.

Author Keywords: Collective learning, Cross-sectoral collaboration, Higher Education sector, Innovation models, Organizational culture, Sustainable Development

This dissertation offers the dibaajimowin (personal story) of my beading project, which I undertook to understand the enactment of Anishinaabe women's knowledge in graduate research. Framed through the concept of a collective self, which is embedded within the Anishinaabe traditions of storytelling and beading, and drawing further from the aesthetics, processes, and teachings of these traditions so that I proceed in a good way, I am able to tell a story that is wholly Anishinaabe. Through the symbolic literacy present within the pieces of beadwork entitled:"Turtle Woman," "Turtle Woman Meets Grandmother Moon," "Turtle Woman Marries a Beaver," and "Turtle Woman Slays the Big Fish," which I present in the second half of this story, I explore the relationship among Anishinaabe women's knowledges, self, identity, power relations, allyship, sovereignty and good governance in graduate research. I conclude that if graduate research is framed as an extension of an Anishinaabe space, an ethics of responsibility emerges, setting the stage for graduate research that is rooted in responsibility, contributing to efforts of Anishinaabe sovereignty and community wellness. Overall through my conclusion, as well as the process that I employ, I make contributions in the areas of Indigenous thought, Indigenous methodologies, Indigenous governance, feminism, critical theory, pedagogy, and ally theory.

Author Keywords: Anishinaabe, beadwork, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous methodology, Indigenous women, sovereignty

This study used qualitative research methods to develop an understanding of the landscape of undergraduate academic advising in Ontario universities as well as deeply explore the experiences and practices of five full-time academic advisors. Phase one of the study consisted of a document analysis of Ontario universities' public-facing websites. Phase two of the study consisted of five interviews with five undergraduate academic advisors from four Ontario institutions. The findings of the study demonstrated a variable landscape of academic advising across universities with responsibilities of advising ranging from solely course selection to a much broader role inclusive of helping students navigate their educational journey. Additionally, a relationship between external influences including institutional mission and organizational structure, and internal influences including advisors' values, beliefs, and theoretical knowledge was identified. This relationship informed current advising strategies. These findings were used to develop a praxis of academic advising as well as five promising practices.

Author Keywords: Academic Advising, Practice of Advising, Strategies of Advising, Universities