Decolonizing the classroom : reading Aboriginal literature through the lenses of contemporary literary theories

This qualitative study explored the potential for decolonizing the secondary English Language Arts classroom. An interdisciplinary approach was used to explore contemporary theories of literary criticism relevant to the study of Aboriginal literature, including an approach through colonial and post-colonial discourse and the growing body of theory and criticism written by North American Aboriginals; to incorporate literary theory and pedagogical knowledge of content into the development of Aboriginal literature units FOR secondary school classrooms; and to incorporate these new interpretive and pedagogical understandings into the practices of two secondary English teachers using North American Aboriginal literature in their classrooms.A document was prepared that explored the interpretive potentials of postcolonial and Aboriginal literary theories and given to the two participating teachers who were able to use this information to develop instructional units for their literature classes. Action research framed the approach used to implement, revise, and evaluate the units of study in the two grade twelve classrooms. The participating teachers found that the critical lenses enabled them to approach Aboriginal literature with more confidence and insight. They also found that their classroom use of Aboriginal literature disclosed the misconceptions their students held concerning Aboriginal peoples. The teachers were frustrated by the systemic racism evident in their classrooms. They were also frustrated by the resistance shown by their teaching peers toward incorporating Aboriginal literature and anti-racist methodologies into their instruction.The findings of this study suggest that more exposure to critical literary theories and minority literatures in the context of teachers’ pre-service and in-service education may help to decolonize Canadian classrooms

A Nicaraguan/Guatemalan Encuentro: Villagers Hosting International Service Learning Groups Reflect on Their Experiences

In August 2017, 27 residents from four Nicaraguan and four Guatemalan communities met in Managua, Nicaragua, to discuss their experiences hosting International Service Learning (ISL) groups from the Global North. Despite having many positive recollections, these host community representatives identified a number of issues of concern. This article describes the background to this encuentro (gathering), the issues raised, and the solutions identified in order to encourage Global South host organizations to become better able to articulate their expectations of their Northern visitors and to insist that Northern-sending agencies become more responsive to the expectations of their Southern hosts.    Keywords: North–South partnerships, Southern epistemologies, international service learning, short-term study abroad, experiential educationEn août 2017, 27 résidents de quatre communautés nicaraguayennes et quatre communautés guatémaltèques se sont réunis à Managua, au Nicaragua, pour discuter de leurs expériences en tant qu’organisateurs de groupes d’apprentissage par le service international (International Service Learning, ISL) du nord global. En dépit de nombreux souvenirs positifs, ces représentants de la communauté d’accueil ont identifié un certain nombre de problèmes. Ce document décrit le contexte de cet encuentro (rassemblement), les problèmes soulevés et les solutions identifiées afin d’encourager les organisations hôtes du Global South à mieux exprimer leurs attentes vis-à-vis de leurs visiteurs du nord et à insister pour que les agences d’envoi du nord deviennent plus réactives aux attentes de leurs hôtes du sud.   Mots-clés : partenariat Nord–Sud, épistémologies du Sud, apprentissage par le serviceinternational, études à l’étranger à court durée, éducation expérientiell

(Re-)envisioning picturebooks for equity and social justice in teacher education: Pursuing the light through a pedagogy of discomfort

Louloudi E, Balzer G. (Re-)envisioning picturebooks for equity and social justice in teacher education: Pursuing the light through a pedagogy of discomfort. Presented at the NCTE Convention 2022, Anaheim, LA

Teaching global citizenship: A Canadian perspective [front matter]

https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/teaching-global-citizenshi

Critical Illness and Systemic Inflammation Are Key Risk Factors of Severe Acute Kidney Injury in Patients With COVID-19

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important complication in COVID-19, but its precise etiology has not fully been elucidated. Insights into AKI mechanisms may be provided by analyzing the temporal associations of clinical parameters reflecting disease processes and AKI development. Methods: We performed an observational cohort study of 223 consecutive COVID-19 patients treated at 3 sites of a tertiary care referral center to describe the evolvement of severe AKI (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes stage 3) and identify conditions promoting its development. Descriptive statistics and explanatory multivariable Cox regression modeling with clinical parameters as time-varying covariates were used to identify risk factors of severe AKI. Results: Severe AKI developed in 70 of 223 patients (31%) with COVID-19, of which 95.7% required kidney replacement therapy. Patients with severe AKI were older, predominantly male, had more comorbidities, and displayed excess mortality. Severe AKI occurred exclusively in intensive care unit patients, and 97.3% of the patients developing severe AKI had respiratory failure. Mechanical ventilation, vasopressor therapy, and inflammatory markers (serum procalcitonin levels and leucocyte count) were independent time-varying risk factors of severe AKI. Increasing inflammatory markers displayed a close temporal association with the development of severe AKI. Sensitivity analysis on risk factors of AKI stage 2 and 3 combined confirmed these findings. Conclusion: Severe AKI in COVID-19 was tightly coupled with critical illness and systemic inflammation and was not observed in milder disease courses. These findings suggest that traditional systemic AKI mechanisms rather than kidney-specific processes contribute to severe AKI in COVID-19