THE CASE OF THE RUNAWAY MEETING

The case describes the plight of a principal as she attempts to oversee her school’s equity/inclusive mandate. Bernice first realizes the strength of the opposition to inclusion at a staff meeting where a couple of vocal teachers are cheered on by the rest of the staff as they voice their dissatisfaction with her suggestion that students and their parents be included in a decision about next year’s schedule. Bernice is now in the position of having to figure out how to get the equity/inclusion mandate back on track. The case includes four teaching points and exercises. The first exercise explores the issue of acquiring knowledge of the setting while the second addresses the actions that might be taken. The third and fourth activities target the kinds of things that the principal should have done and the arguments that she can use to convince her staff of the value of parental and student involvement in school decisionmaking

Investigating Teachers Understandings and Responses to Diversity in a Rural Ontario Classroom

his study is critical in nature, exploring the understandings and responses a group of teachers in a rural Ontario school have of diversity. During a one on one interview participants were asked to describe their understandings and responses to the diversity in their rural Ontario School. Participants described diversity, the challenges resulting from it and the strategies they use to help students overcome the challenges. Participants described diversity as difference broadly defined. Students were found to be different in terms of race and ethnicity, socio-economic status, family life, language and learning abilities. The main chalienges associated with this difference were highlighted as intolerance, different learning needs, and curriculum unreflective of student diversity, different beliefs and values of the students and their families, and poverty. Participants explained how they tried to help students overcome these challenges through creating a culture of acceptance in their school, differentiating their instruction, collaborating with each other, and using two support services; the ESL teacher and community volunteers and donations. The findings are explored through a critical len

Promoting Equity in Contexts of Work Intensification: A Principal’s Challenge

This case describes the experience of a principal named Jade working in a diverse school in South Central Ontario. A teacher in Jade’s school had been confronted by parents and a school board trustee for reading a book to their class about a family with two moms. The teacher eventually decided to switch schools, no longer feeling safe or welcome in the school. Jade would have liked to be more involved in the issue, but given her mounting workload found it difficult to devote as much time as she would have liked. This case is a starting point for discussion with educational leaders and teachers about the challenges of leading and teaching for social justice in a context where many are experiencing work intensification

DEVELOPING AND LAUNCHING AN ONLINE HUB TO FACILITATE THE EXCHANGE OF RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE IN EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE OERE

This paper outlines the process by which the Ontario Education Research Exchange (OERE), part of the Knowledge Network of Applied Education Research, developed and launched an online hub of education research summaries to facilitate greater use of research by stakeholders in the field of education. The project is an effort in knowledge mobilization funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education to help increase the use of research to inform policy and practice in Ontario. The paper begins with an outline of the background and history of the project. Next, the three main components of the project are outlined— collecting/writing the summaries and creating the inventory, putting together the peer review process, and creating the online hub for storing and sharing the summaries and facilitating the peer review process. This paper provides useful information that can be translated to similar projects with the goals of summarizing, storing, and/or sharing research with a broad audience

Teachers tackling in/equities: understanding, recognition, and action

Teachers’ equity work is often discussed in research literature, however, little empirical evidence exists about the nature of this work. This article explores teachers’ understandings, recognitions of, and actions regarding in/equities in their schools. Data was derived from interviews with fifteen urban elementary school teachers who engage in equity work. While researchers acknowledge that understanding equity and diversity plays a key role in preparing teachers to tackle inequities in their schools, relatively little is known about this process. Findings illustrate that although all participants share a common commitment to teaching for equity, they held differing ideas about the meaning of equity, what equity looked like, and what their role should be for redressing inequity. Participants understanding of in/equity where found to exist on a spectrum from less to more developed, as were their actions. Findings also illustrated inconsistencies with regards to where participants existed on the continuum of understanding in relation to their actions. The nature of participants’ level of understanding, how they described their recognitions of in/equity, and the actions they took to address inequities are described thematically to illustrate their general nature as there is little information available in particular regarding teachers’ understandings and recognitions of inequit

What Informs and Inspires the Work of Equity Minded Teachers

This article explores teachers’ reasons for engaging in equity work. Although multiple bodies of literature discuss teaching for equity from different perspectives, little empirical data exists about what informs or motivates people to teach for equity. This study aims to help fill that gap in existing research with the purpose of informing professional development and training for practicing teachers hoping to or attempting to engage in equity work, and for encouraging and motivating other educators in beginning to engage in equity work. Data was gathered through interviews with 15 teachers from three large school boards in Southern Ontario. Findings illustrate that participants were motivated to engage in equity work because of personal experiences with inequity, witnessing other people experience inequities, and learning about inequities in school. Three key findings stand out with regards to their utility for professional development and training: all participants spoke of critical incidents which compelled them to do equity work; emotional struggles were associated with their work, yet they remained hopeful in the possibility of change regardless of what they had experienced; finally, the nature of the equity work that participants chose to undertake was directly related to the nature of their experience with in/equity

Teachers Responding to In/Equities: Motivations, Understandings and Actions

This qualitative study explores the understanding, experiences and responses that fifteen public elementary school teachers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) had regarding in/equities in their schools. Participants included 15 male and female teachers from three large diverse school boards. The study explores the relationship between conceptions, experiences, and actions, using a multi-paper format, bound by an introductory and concluding chapter which introduces the topics explored and provides a summary of findings. The first article uncovers participantsâ reasons for engaging in equity work. The second article describes participantsâ understanding, recognition and actions regarding in/equities in their schools. The third article explores the kinds of things that hinder and support their equity work. Findings illustrate that participants exist on a spectrum with regards to the range and depth of their understanding, experiences, and responses to in/equities. Participant reasons for engaging in equity work included having personally experienced inequities, having witnessed others experiencing inequities, or having learned about inequities in school. Each participant described critical incidents which led them to do equity work, and they addressed the kind of inequity they experienced, witnessed, or learned about in this incident through their equity work. Some participants possessed complex and inherent understanding of in/equities and responded to those they witness in constructive and robust ways. Others had less developed understanding and abilities to recognise in/equity and approached their equity work in less of an in-depth fashion. The most common challenges described by participants were administration and leadership, colleagues, and parents. The most common things participants described as helpful were administration and leadership, resources, and colleagues. Knowledge was a thread which was interwoven through all the findings; knowing oneâ s self; knowing others and coming to understand their experiences or perspectives; knowing the system, how to navigate it and what needed to be done to achieve their goals or target the inequities with which they were concerned; and knowing where to go for support and resources were all important. Findings suggest a need for research and training that is largely not addressed in Ontario around exploring the connection between experiences, conceptions, and practices of educators doing equity work in diverse schools.Ph.D.2017-07-20 00:00:0

Anti-CRT Attacks, School Choice, and the Privatization Endgame

Across Canada, school districts have been confronting a backlash to their equity and social justice initiatives. Critics of public education have been arguing that the solution to these controversies is to increase school choice. Using several examples from the United States, this paper argues that the endgame of these strategies is to undermine the legitimacy of public education and increase support for private alternatives. To protect its future viability, the paper also calls on public education advocates to grapple with ongoing marginalization within school systems which make private options increasingly attractive

Developing a knowledge network for applied education research to mobilise evidence in and for educational practice

Background: The importance of ‘evidence-informed practice’ has risen dramatically in education and in other public policy areas. This article focuses on the importance of knowledge mobilisation strategies, processes and outputs. It is concerned with how these can support the adaptation and implementation of evidence from research and professional knowledge to inform changes in educational practices. It presents a case study of the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER), a tripartite initiative in Canada involving the Ontario Ministry of Education, University of Toronto and Western University and 44 KNAER-funded projects. Purpose: The purpose of the article is to analyse the developing approach towards supporting knowledge mobilisation by the KNAER provincial partners through the governing body of the Planning and Implementation Committee and strategic and operational work of the university teams, and also the knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes of 44 KNAER projects. Design and methods: We utilised a qualitative case study approach to investigate the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research’s (KNAER) approaches to developing knowledge mobilisation over four years (2010–2014).To explore the work of the KNAER provincial partners, we analysed 17 meeting notes from the Planning and Implementation Committee and 9 notes from the university KNAER partners’ meetings. To explore the knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes of KNAER-funded projects, we analysed the 44 knowledge mobilisation plans, 141 interim reports and 43 final reports submitted by projects. To further investigate the experiences of KNAER projects during their implementation, we analysed responses from 21 people from 19 KNAER projects who participated in a facilitated discussion about their experiences. Results: The Planning and Implementation Committee’s role involved three core responsibilities: (1) Approving knowledge mobilisation proposals submitted to the KNAER; (2) Ensuring that collaborative partnerships were developed at the local, provincial, national and international levels; and (3) Approving the KNAER operational and strategic plan. The university partners have taken on the roles of operational management, strategic leadership, and research and knowledge mobilisation expertise. KNAER projects varied in their knowledge mobilisation strategies, challenges and successes. ‘Exploiting Research’ projects focused on establishing connections and engaging communities of practice with people relevant to the project’s focus, creating an analysis of needs, designing or producing a relevant knowledge mobilisation product with the purpose of improving practice, monitoring the results or impact of the new product and sharing the dissemination process and results with others. ‘Building or Extending Networks’ projects engaged in creating or extending existing networks, developing a needs-based or gap assessment and producing appropriate products and dissemination processes based on the results gathered. ‘Strengthening Research Brokering’ projects organised steering committees to guide their work and gathered information via a literature review or by collecting information from stakeholders and then served as research brokers by collecting and mobilising relevant knowledge to inform practice. ‘Visiting World Experts’ projects developed knowledge mobilisation plans for host experts’ visits, involving establishing partnerships with networks, including universities and schools, and utilising social media and communication processes for knowledge mobilisation products. Conclusions: KNAER included aspects of linear, relationships and systems models for connecting evidence and practice. Looking forward, KNAER is seeking to further advance a systemic approach. A systems model is in preference to linear models – which focus on evidence production only without attention to mobilisation or uptake of research, and/or relationships models – which may develop networks, but do not attend to capacity and resource barriers that need to be addressed for systemic and sustainable knowledge mobilisation