Invisible students: institutional invisibility and access to education for undocumented children

PURPOSE: In Canada, undocumented children are “institutionally invisible” – their access to education to be found in unwritten and discretionary practices. Drawing on the experience of a three-year university-community partnership among researchers, institutional and community stakeholders, the purpose of this paper is to examine how undocumented children are constructed as excluded from school. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The establishment of this collaborative research space, helped to critically understand how this exclusion was maintained, and highlighted contradictory interpretations of policies and practices. FINDINGS: Proposing the analytical framework of “institutional invisibility”, the authors argue that issues of access and entitlement for undocumented children have to be often understood within unwritten and ambiguous policies and practices that make the lives of young people invisible to the institutional entities with which they interact. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The notion of institutional invisibility allows the authors to integrate the missing link between questions of access and deservingness. The paper also reflects on the role of action research in both documenting dynamics and pathways of institutional invisibility, as well as in initiating social change – as both horizontal, and vertical mobilisation

Vascular and blood-brain barrier-related changes underlie stress responses and resilience in female mice and depression in human tissue

Prevalence, symptoms, and treatment of depression suggest that major depressive disorders (MDD) present sex differences. Social stress-induced neurovascular pathology is associated with depressive symptoms in male mice; however, this association is unclear in females. Here, we report that chronic social and subchronic variable stress promotes blood-brain barrier (BBB) alterations in mood-related brain regions of female mice. Targeted disruption of the BBB in the female prefrontal cortex (PFC) induces anxiety- and depression-like behaviours. By comparing the endothelium cell-specific transcriptomic profiling of the mouse male and female PFC, we identify several pathways and genes involved in maladaptive stress responses and resilience to stress. Furthermore, we confirm that the BBB in the PFC of stressed female mice is leaky. Then, we identify circulating vascular biomarkers of chronic stress, such as soluble E-selectin. Similar changes in circulating soluble E-selectin, BBB gene expression and morphology can be found in blood serum and postmortem brain samples from women diagnosed with MDD. Altogether, we propose that BBB dysfunction plays an important role in modulating stress responses in female mice and possibly MDD

Invisible students: institutional invisibility and access to education for undocumented children

In Canada, undocumented children are “institutional ly invisible” - their access to education to be found in unwritten and discretionary practices. Drawing on the experience of a three-year university-community partnership among researchers, institutional and community stakeholders, this article examines how undocumented children become excluded from free education in Quebec. Proposing the notion of “institutional invisibility,” we argue that issues of access and entitlement for undocumented children are constructed within unwritten and ambiguous practices that make the lives of young people invisible to the institutional entities with which they interact. Through the establishment of a collaborative research space, we were able to hear a range of contradictory perspectives which have often gone unheard in simplistic representations of the “state” or “policies” as homogenous entities. The article reflects on the role of action research in both documenting dynamics and pathways of invisibility in undocumented children’s access to education, as well as in initiating social change - as both horizontal, and vertical mobilisation.</p

Rewriting stories of trauma through peer-to-peer mentoring for and by at-risk young people

© 2019 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc. Adverse childhood experiences are strongly associated with the development of mental health disorders during the life span. When mental health issues are not effectively dealt with during the adolescent period, young people can become long-term consumers in the mental health system. A widely accepted method of intervention is the provision of mentoring. More recently, young people have been fulfilling the role of mentor to their peers and mentoring has played a large role in supporting young people who are considered at-risk of not achieving the expected psychosocial, educational, and/or developmental goals. What is not known is why young people, previously identified as being at-risk, are motivated to mentor their at-risk peers. The study aim was to examine what motivates previously recognized at-risk young people to provide mentoring to their at-risk peers. Participants were twelve previously recognized at-risk young people recruited through a formal peer-to-peer mentoring programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data analysed through narrative inquiry and reported in accordance with the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines (COREQ). Results indicate that young people are motivated by their own lived experiences of trauma(s) to provide at-risk peer mentoring. The experience of mentoring afforded opportunities to rewrite individual personal journeys of trauma through mentoring their at-risk peers, thus constructing a more positive self-identity. Outcomes of developing positive peer relationships and prosocial behaviours could significantly assist mental health clinicians in providing more acceptable care to clients in an age group known to be reluctant to accept traditional mental health intervention