Examining schools through the theoretical lens of the New Institutionalism, this study uses semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to explore (1) how religious diversity is addressed by teachers in the public school system, and (2) the accommodations that are made for students of diverse faiths. Policies on religious accommodation receive tight…

This paper reports on a study that used activity theory (AT) as a framework to understand the dialogical relationship between three elementary Core French (CF) teachers' personal and professional experiences and their literacy teaching beliefs and practices. This study used a case study design collecting data from three different teachers in…

Effective and appropriate communication is critical for the successful integration of newcomers in Canada. In this paper, we describe the intercultural communicative competence beliefs and practices of 70 adult English as a second language (ESL) instructors. Responses to an online survey indicated a strong belief in the value of integrating…

Bourdieu's theory of cultural and social reproduction posits that students' habitus--learned behavioural and perceptual dispositions rooted in family upbringing--is a formative influence on how they react to their educational environments, affecting academic practices and academic achievement. Although originally conceived as a…

This paper presents conceptions and reflections on initial teacher education for social justice based on a study that sought to identify the discourses produced in the initial education of teachers of the first and second cycles of basic education on the concept of social justice and to understand the effects of those discourses on the educational…

This paper explores the increasingly prominent role of research brokering organizations (RBOs) in strengthening connections between education research, policy and practice across Canada. This paper is organized in three sections. First, it provides a literature review of research mediation--exploring terminology, models and empirical work (albeit…

Scholars contend that effective teachers adapt their instruction to meet the particular needs of each student. However, little research has studied the ways in which teachers adapt their instruction or their reflections on these adaptations. This article describes a yearlong multiple case study focused on two teachers from different contexts: a…

The context of this study is the Danish upper secondary school, which has undergone remarkable changes during the past ten years. Cross-disciplinary activities have been introduced as a teaching principle in order to create new skills for future generations in the knowledge society, while team organization among teachers has become obligatory in…

This study was conducted to explore elementary school teachers' uses of reading disabilities research. A modified version of Knott and Wildavsky's (1980) knowledge utilization framework underpinned the investigation. Teachers completed a questionnaire and participated in focus groups which elicited their reported uses of reading…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify predictors of achievement in mathematics in elementary schools in New Brunswick (Canada). Data Collection: Both teachers and school leaders (N = 111) completed a questionnaire on their practices and on school functioning. Findings: Multiple regression analyses revealed that the students'…

Plagiarism is a widespread concern at post-secondary institutions (Perry, 2010). University students are expected to avoid plagiarism by citing sources and paraphrasing appropriately. Their written work, however, often contains "patchwriting", a developmental stage of writing that involves deleting/replacing words and/or altering…

The historic and contemporary global concern over youth violence and indiscipline/subordination in schools has educators, school administrators and policy makers working hard to ensure that schools are welcoming and safe spaces for learners. Social harmony can only be achieved by understanding and addressing the causes of youth violence and…

While the landscape of postsecondary education in Alberta continues to expand and diversify, there seems to be very little written about the organization of postsecondary education in the province over the past 15 to 20 years (Wimmer & Schmaus, 2010). This paper provides an analysis of postsecondary education in Alberta over the past 15 to 20…

Constructing a policy web of relationships is proposed as a useful way to identify and understand complex relationships between policies and their contexts. In Canada, the province of Ontario's "Character Development Initiative" (CDI) and its relationships to student achievement, citizenship education, and safe schools policies provide an…

This study explored teachers' perceptions of shy children in the classroom during the elementary school grades. Seven teachers (1 male, 6 female) from elementary schools located in geographically diverse areas of Canada participated in semistructured telephone interviews that explored their perceptions of and experiences with shy children in the…