Handlarski, Denise

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

Spatial reasoning and spatial structures are relatively new areas of research in mathematics education. In this study of children exploring spatial conceptions of grid structures, twenty-one children (ages 4-9) were given a series of tasks involving square grids during virtual interviews. As a result of an ideal-type analysis of the qualitative data, a typology of conceptions of grids emerged showing five distinct categories sequenced from very early conceptions of square grids (as a series of isolated cells) to more coordinated structuring (as related and intersecting rows and columns). The five categories - Single Cell Structuring, Partial Unit Building, Whole Figure and Parts-of-Figure Noticing, Composite Unit Structuring and Coordinated Structuring - are described through illustrative examples. Students' gestures, language and diagrams were considered together when constructing the types. Interestingly, the spatial structure of grids was not readily apparent to many students and in fact was found to be complex for students to conceptualize. With minimal research on grids as a spatial structure in the mathematics education research field, there is strong potential for further investigation in this area.

Author Keywords: Grids, Mathematics, Spatial reasoning, Young Children

Little thought is given to how equitable mathematics would better the lives of those marginalized, or how the increased inclusion of marginalized voices improves the practice of mathematics. The purpose of this narrative research is to explore students' voices and analyze aspects of math identity: the reported beliefs and practices of a group of elementary urban students who identify as Black/Brown.

Understanding voice through counter-narrative is a methodology for the equitable practice of teaching/learning mathematics. CRRP describes participants engaged in the metacognitive task of writing untold stories as it relates to their beliefs, practices, and experiences in mathematics learning. The findings offer meaningful and appropriate insights to math educators about student competency, belongingness, and agency.

Keywords: Black and Brown, marginalized students, student engagement, math identity, mathematical competence, sense of belonging to mathematics, mathematical agency, gateway, gatekeeper, fixed mindset, growth mindset, STEM pipeline, counter narrative.

Author Keywords: Black and Brown, marginalized students, mathematical competence, math identity, sense of belonging to mathematics, student engagement

Queer youth are an at-risk group, with an incredibly high rate of harm and death as they grow into themselves. They are often advised to wait until they finish school to express their sexuality more openly, when they can leave to somewhere that is "better", which in this context can mean safer, more accepting, or far away from friends and family who may reject them. Unfortunately, much of the media representation of queer people is regressive or stereotypical, usually involving the suffering or death of its queer-identified characters. It is telling that a recurring theme in queer stories is that empathy and understanding for queer people can only be attained through their suffering. Non-queer people do not have to suffer to be understood. In this thesis I discuss the potential of creativity in academic works, I examine queer stories that buck the trend of tragedy through queer and pop culture theory, and I write a queer young adult novel in response, featuring a self-actualized protagonist whose sexuality does not cause him pain or trauma.

Author Keywords: creative writing, queer literature, queer protagonist, queer theory, queer youth, young adult literature

In this thesis, I use "Trump's Wall" between Mexico and the US to resist Eurocentrism and the challenges Eurocentric pedagogy poses to the research-practitioner. In my method, I reimagine C. Alejandra Elenes' borderlands theory as a zone of empowerment within a multicultural Canadian classroom, and braid it in a hybrid assemblage with the rhizome.

The "rhizo-borderlands" assemblage uses selected field notes gleaned from my teaching practice to develop themes of a critical pedagogy of globality in personal, local and international dimensions. These are further braided with a "day-in-the-life" narrative of a fictionalized student (Ellie) who navigates her way towards a world literature classroom where the focus is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

This assemblage affirms my belief that teaching and learning provides a context where students become "border crossers" and navigate points of intersection between their local and global selves, in order to develop intercultural competencies.

Author Keywords: Action Narrative, Critical Pedagogy, Rhizomes

This thesis explores the experience of Jewish individuals living in a small Jewish community in an urban centre of less than 100,000 in Ontario, Canada. The central question I explore is the ways in which Jewish individuals in a small community enact and perform their identity. What are some of the challenges and obstacles faced by Jews in a small community and what kinds of compromises must be made to accommodate members of the community? Do the benefits of living in a small Jewish community outweigh the shortcomings? This thesis examines how Jewish identity is constructed, maintained and challenged within a smaller urban centre.

I begin with a brief historical background of the Jewish presence in Canada. I will look through the lens of Jewish identity within the framework of Canadian multiculturalism, and reasonable accommodation. Jewish identity will then be explored through an intersectional framework. Using qualitative interviews conducted with Jewish individuals, an analysis of common themes and issues pertaining to Jewish identity and maintenance is explored. These themes include Religious observance, cultural identity, Jewish customs and traditions, social action and advocacy. These themes were divided between those of a more individual nature and those of a more communal nature.

For participants in this research, managing and maintaining their Jewish identity consisted of balancing their religious and cultural life with their social, work, and other obligations outside the sphere of Jewish identity. The relationship between White identity and Jewish identity is a focal point of study. The synagogue/community centre acts as the primary place in which to express, share, and connect with other Jews.

Author Keywords: Assimilation, Community, Intersectionality, Jewish Identity, Multiculturalism, Reasonable Accommodation