Niblett, Blair

This thesis investigates the tensions, gaps and opportunities presented by outdoor play-based learning. Written by a founder of the Forest School concept in Canada, this exploration revolves around two research questions: How can we (re)conceptualize outdoor play-based learning in formal education for children aged 0-8, and how can we integrate and reinvigorate both pedagogical theory and practice to support educators in embedding outdoor playful learning practices?

The research methodology applies autobiographical experience and conceptual frameworks to historical and current pedagogical theory, in an anti-oppressive and feminist research orientation that challenges received notions of what "counts" as knowledge (Brown & Strega, 2005, p. 6) – much in the same way that play challenges truisms about what constitutes education.

Key findings include situating outdoor play-based learning within the theoretical landscape, understanding outdoor play-based learning as an emerging current of environmental education, defining a set of core principles for outdoor play-based learning, and re-examining the role of the educator.

Author Keywords: Early Learning, Pedagogy, Play, Play-Based Learning, Playful Pedagogies, Risky Play

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

This study examines critical pedagogy as a novel approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) education at Peterborough Police Service (PPS). To begin, the present study examines hypermasculinity and isolationism as cultural traits in policing that serve as barriers to DEI education. Later, results of focus groups with PPS members that investigated negative and positive experiences with DEI training, barriers to meeting DEI education outcomes and, perceived goals of future DEI education at PPS are discussed. Drawing from findings from the literature review and focus groups, this thesis argues that critical pedagogy offers a useful framework to explore divisive subjects like systemic racism, power and privilege, colonialization, etc. and contributions of police in maintenance of the status quo. Raising the critical consciousness of PPS members by unveiling systems of domination may provide a starting point for enhancing police service to groups that are racialized and minoritized. Education of this kind may also involve a reconceptualization of the role of police as allies to marginalized communities.

Author Keywords: Community, Critical Pedagogy, Diversity, Education, Police, Police Culture

This thesis is written in three parts and supported throughout by feminist critical pedagogical analysis and a narrative methodological approach. In Part I I lay a theoretical groundwork that weaves the Freirean roots of critical pedagogy with its more contemporary theories in application to K-12 schooling, and with feminist thinking, most notably Sara Ahmed whose work has moved me both as a human and a teacher. In Part II, I take a deep dive into autoethnography (Bochner, (2017), Ellis, 1999). In Part III, I offer a memoir of my experience as a classroom teacher over a nearly 20 year period. The story of my work as an activist elementary school teacher oscillates between phases of hope and despair around the potential for forwarding a broad range of social and ecological justice ends through teaching and learning in the Ontario public school system. Finally, in Part IV, I return to conceptual analysis to reflect on the key themes of my memoir including teacher burnout, teacher efficacy, teacher resilience, and the ways in which these interact with teacher learning communities, school cultures and the relationships that underpin the work of teachers and educators.

Author Keywords: Activist, Autoethnography, Critical Pedagogy, Resilience, Social-Change, Teaching

In Ontario, mainstream education often does not meet the individual learning needs of high school students who experience marginalization. Alternative school programs may offer these students greater support and flexibility in completing their high school diploma. While previous research on alternative education in Ontario is thorough, it is limited to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). To address the lack of research within smaller communities, this project uses the experiences of alternative education students in the City of Peterborough to explore how alternative programs meet student needs. Using a narrative methodology, the project relies on interviews with six students who offer their stories of attending alternative education programs. Research findings suggest that alternative education programs offer a meaningful and effective way for students to complete high school. Participants emphasize the importance of positive relationships with teachers and staff, student-driven curriculum, paid co-operative credits, and material benefits.

Author Keywords: Alternative Education, Critical Pedagogy, Marginalization, Narrative Inquiry, Ontario, Student Experiences

Canadian authored diverse LGBTQ2S children's picture books can help counter socialized aspects of heteronormativity and other forms of oppression. This thesis outlines the challenging process for identifying and locating Canadian authored diverse LGBTQ2S children's picture books, with suggestions provided for mitigating this process. Twenty-two books (list and summaries included) are collected and then analysed through three different lenses: Sipe's Semiotically Framed Theory of Text-pictured Relationships; intersectionality; and Canadian Studies. Findings include: the significance of a micro press in offering representation for queer intersectionality, the shift from the portrayal of discrimination against queer parents to an attention to the policing of children's gender identity and expression, and the embrace of the child on their own terms. In addition, a Canadian queer children's book has been created by the researcher, developed through the process of writing of this thesis.

Author Keywords: Canadian authors, Canadian identity, children's picture books, countering heteronormativity, ethnic diversity, LGBTQ2S

This study explored teacher infusion of Indigenous curriculum content through interviews with ten non-Indigenous teachers of social studies and history. The interviews centered on teacher perceptions of preparedness to implement Ontario's recent TRC curriculum revisions, which include more about the contributions, histories, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous peoples. A brief analysis of Ontario's First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework is included, alongside critiques of the Eurocentrism at the heart of education systems. The interviews revealed that many of the teachers were committed to Indigenous education and learning more, but they felt unprepared and lacked resources to teach Indigenous curriculum content with confidence. This study highlighted the critical role of settler teachers in Indigenous education and the importance of teachers undertaking settler unsettling in order to be effective and appropriate in Indigenous curriculum delivery. Individual changes must occur alongside educational system decolonization with a particular focus on teacher preparation.

Author Keywords: cognitive imperialism, Indigenous Education, Ontario, settler educator, settler unsettling, TRC curriculum

Drawing on pedagogies of care, queer pedagogy and Foucault's concept of biopower, this critical narrative study of six women teachers at an Ontario school uses interview data to explore how teaching affects women's bodies. Findings include the dominance of men in schools; the high rate of violence against teachers committed by students; participants' unwillingness to show bodily discomfort to students; and the profound effect of motherhood on teaching practice. I call on educators and school administrators to embed care of students' and teachers' bodies into the practices of schooling. I also propose that instead of erasing teacher corporeality from classrooms, we allow students to care for teachers' bodies as part of a healthy, reciprocal caring relationship, developing students' and sustaining teachers' capacity to care. Given the underrepresentation of women's voices speaking about violence against teachers, this thesis is also a repository for women's narrated stories of assault in Ontario schools.

Author Keywords: biopedagogies, body, care, narrative inquiry, pedagogy, teacher

This study investigates the potential for a responsive model of professional development in mathematics education which acknowledges how teachers perceive the value of professional learning, and examines how those perceptions are connected to teacher efficacy. Three fields of educational research ground this study: (i) professional development strategies in mathematics education, (ii) teacher efficacy, and (iii) self-determination theory and andragogy. Data collection and analysis involved four detailed case studies and a cross-case analysis of similarities and distinctions among the cases, in an instrumental-multiple-case study design. Results suggest: (1) some characteristics of professional development were consistently designated as high or low value, independent of efficacy ratings, (2) other professional learning experiences were valued relative to the participants' sense of efficacy at different times in their careers, and (3) characteristics of professional development designated as high value during periods of low efficacy were fundamentally teacher-centric, but during periods of high efficacy, they were fundamentally student-centric.

Author Keywords: efficacy, mathematics education, mathematics teachers, professional development, professional learning, teacher efficacy

Through narrative/life story research this study explores the educational experiences of six individuals identified as Deaf or hard-of-hearing. The research presented will be conveyed in the form of an autoethnography, an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and analyze personal experience to understand cultural experience. I will combine the views of participants who have been part of the Ontario Public School System within the last 10-15 years (2004-2019), with my own educational experience, learning with hearing loss. In this study, three interrelated concepts—student engagement, motivation, and resilience—are examined through the lens of "mindsets." Mindsets are "assumptions that we possess about ourselves and others that guide our behaviour" (Brooks, 2012, p. 1). The research reviewed in this paper, shows that students' beliefs about their academic ability can influence their academic tenacity. Academic tenacity refers to the mindsets and skills that enable students to: establish long-term goals and persevere in the face of adversity. I illuminate some of the systemic factors which impact the mindsets of students who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing. The design lies within the qualitative spectrum; data were gathered and analyzed from open-ended interviews conducted with purposively selected participants.

Author Keywords: Academic Tenacity, Autoethnography, Deaf, Education, Hard-of-Hearing, Mindsets