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Editor's Note

Anna Kirova

Artivist Métissage: Re-Storying Indigenous-Canadian Relations through Winter Count Making

Leslie Obol
Through critical and creative reflection, I consider what it means to be a Treaty Person in so-called Canada from the perspective of a settler educator. I focus on winter count making, which is a traditional practice of the Lakota (Sioux), Blackfoot, Kiowa, and Mandan Nations of the Prairies where symbols are created and used to recall significant events. I share about my own winter count making journey to invite reflection on Indigenous-Canadian relations in connection to education and shifting learning contexts. I build on my practice of artivism to decolonize curriculum by incorporating Indigenous métissage. The resulting artivist métissage offers a set of possibilities for learning from and with Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing in an embodied way informed by an artful and relational stance. This approach is tied to an ecological understanding of imagination as inclusive and interconnected with human and non-human relations. Attentive to the risk of appropriation of Indigenous ways of knowing by non-Indigenous people, it offers educators and students, including pre-service teachers, entry points for thoughtful learning from and with Indigenous teachings. The paper concludes with considerations for thoughtfully incorporating the winter count tradition into educational contexts.

Student Perceptions of Performance-Based Assessments for In-Person and Online Courses

Man-Wai Chu, Heather Craig and Felecia Hoey
COVID-19 social distancing measures forced many university courses to be offered online. The performance-based assessments originally designed for in-person learning may not work well in online environments. This study investigated students’ perceptions of performance-based assessments, and their associated resources, during a course that was offered both in-person and online. The results from 312 undergraduate education students (n = 248 in-person and n = 64 online) indicated all the resources for one of the two assessments were rated statistically significantly higher by students who attended the course in-person. This indicated students who completed the course in-person had a stronger interaction with the assessment resources and rating having higher cognitive and affective skills needed to perform a similar assessment task in their future classrooms. Online students indicated some resources, such as assessment instructions and scoring rubrics, should be better explained during the course for more clarity regarding expectations.

Jordanian Women’s Quest for Social Justice

Hind Al-Braizat
This research paper aims to analyze the perspectives of a selection of Jordanian women between the ages of 20 and 50 on social justice and explore if ingrained gender discrimination prevents women from attaining equality in Jordan. It tries to pinpoint the factors that hinder or motivate women to pursue social justice in Jordan while identifying their views on the existing opportunities and barriers to achieving social justice. Results reveal that the profoundly ingrained dynamics of the Jordanian social structure—culture, socialization, and gender discrimination—play an integral part in preventing women from attaining social justice in Jordan. Moreover, the results show that collaboration between women and their political representatives in society is a must for fostering social justice in Jordan; it is not enough to rely only on providing a good education for women.

Collaborative Concept Mapping: Investigating the Nature of Discourse Patterns and Features of a Concept Map

Hlologelo Climant Khoza and Bob Maseko
Research in science education has established the significance of collaborative concept mapping as a powerful strategy in fostering conceptual learning. During such collaboration, students talk about concept map features (i.e., concepts to include, linking words, and cross-links) in constructing a joint map. The quality of the concept map produced depends on the nature of discourses that happen in these collaborative interactions. We explored the nature of discourses between pairs of biology students collaborating on concept mapping and how these discourses contribute to the enhancement of different features of the concept maps. Six students individually constructed weekly individual maps on different topics and then came together in pairs to construct a joint concept map. Their discussions during collaboration were audio-recorded. Both the individual and joint concept maps were analyzed for knowledge of breadth, knowledge of depth, and knowledge of connectedness. To analyze the discussions and understand the nature of the discourses, both deductive and inductive coding approaches were used. The coded episodes were then categorised into the nine discourse patterns identified by Fu et al. (2016). We then matched the episodes with the concept map features that were discussed. Findings indicate that the biology students’ collaboration exhibited mostly knowledge-sharing discourses when deliberating on the three features of a concept map. In turn, the number of valid concepts and propositions improved from individual to joint maps. Although the students’ discussions of cross-links were characterized by knowledge-sharing discourses, most of the joint maps did not show improvement in terms of the number cross-links. We discuss these findings and provide implications regarding the value of understanding the intricacies of discourse patterns in collaborative concept mapping.

Making Kin with Multispecies’ Flourishing in the Anthropocene: A Multiperspectival Narrative Into Environmental and Sustainability Education

Thi Thuy Hang Tran, Tram-Anh Bui, Dianne J. Kenton, Sreedevi Rajasekharan, Olivia Lu and Steven Khan
The development of Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in pre-service teacher education in Canada has shown slow but steady progress over the past 40 years. A detailed history of how individuals and groups have influenced its praxis does not yet exist (Elliott & Inwood, 2019, p. 37). This paper attends to the experiences of six teacher educators/graduate students who have been composing their lives in different landscapes in relation to ESE. We employ collaborative autoethnography as our research methodology. Together, we are involved in the process of telling, retelling, and reliving our stories of who we are in relation to ESE. We also pay deep attention to the resonances echoed across our experiences and curate our forward-looking thoughts for/with the future of ESE. We hope to expand current ESE with a more holistic and sustainable approach, which includes integrating place-based wisdom with environmental education; collaborating with material presences not as resources but as partners for multispecies’ flourishing; and sustaining the intergenerational reverberations of familial and cultural practices and quantitative literacy.

How Much Snot is Too Much Snot? Community-Making Amid Pandemic Times in Early Childhood Education

Nicole Land, Andrea Thomas, Sanja Todorovic and Angélique Sanders
This article details a pedagogical inquiry research project, Crafting Pedagogies with(in) Suspension: Viral Pedagogies in COVID times in Early Childhood Education, where educator co-researchers collaborated with a pedagogist-researcher to explore how we might craft early childhood education pedagogies relevant to pandemic times. In particular, we trace how questions of community-making emerged as quotidian conceptions of community failed in the conditions of the pandemic. Thinking with the question “how much snot is too much snot?”—a question educators were asked to assess as a marker of community participation—we share three tensions of community-making: policing bodies, normalcy, and community-making as an ongoing process. Importantly, we work to share our pedagogical thinking with these tensions, asking how they create different possibilities for making community with children and families in educational contexts.

The Self Who Meets the Other: Deconstructing the “Well-Intentioned” Researcher Through an Ethic of Hospitality

Rebeca Heringer
The pursuit of anti-oppressive, cross-racial research has become ubiquitous in educational settings. Although some attention has been given to the complexities such an endeavor involves, more intricate and profound aspects that undergird such projects are revealed when examined through the lens of an ethic of hospitality. Based on a case-study focused on the experiences of Black refugee students in Manitoba, this article deconstructs the research journal that I kept throughout that project. Four overarching and intertwined themes are evidenced and discussed: the methodological decisions I had to make along the study, personal ambivalences experienced, feelings of powerlessness, and the (explicit) implications of my White identity. As such, the research journal here analyzed not only reveals the aporetic nature of hospitality but also several ethical complexities involved in the pursuit of hospitable, anti-oppressive research in a cross-racial setting, which have not received enough attention in current literature.

Defending Francophone and Indigenous Perspectives in Alberta’s Social Studies Curriculum: The Views of 13 Francophone Education Stakeholders

Raphaël Gani and David Scott
Many social studies teachers have argued that the mandate to distinctively value Francophone and Indigenous perspectives is unjust without similarly valuing other perspectives within Alberta’s K–12 social studies curriculum (Gani, 2022a; Gani & Scott, 2017; Scott & Gani, 2018). Rather than outlining why these two sets of perspectives need to be specifically taught, the current curriculum justifies this mandate based on vague and undefined “historical and constitutional reasons” (Alberta Education, 2005, p. 4). Using an online survey and a focus group interview, Raphaël Gani asked 13 Francophone education stakeholders in Alberta (e.g., teachers, heritage group representatives, education consultants) to justify the distinct attention given to Francophone and Indigenous perspectives in the social studies curriculum. To facilitate this process, participants were asked to respond to quotes from Alberta educators questioning the need to distinctly acknowledge these perspectives. The participants’ responses offered a vision of Canada, a goal for education in Alberta, and a means to achieve this goal. They also offered an original view on the nature of Francophone perspectives, their relationship with Indigenous perspectives, along with how both Francophone and Indigenous perspectives are distinct from the many other diverse perspectives in Alberta today.

Exploring United Arab Emirates School Teachers’ Perceptions, Motivation and Benefits of Game-Based Teaching and Learning Environments

Ghadah Al Murshidi, Agus Budi Wahyudi, M Monjurul Islam, S. V. Karthiga and Laily Rahmatika
Recent research specifies that game-based learning effectively engages students in classroom activities. Although there has been a prominent upsurge in game-based teaching and learning, this area has not received significant attention within the context of Gulf nations. This study investigates the perceptions, motivations, and benefits of game-based teaching-learning among school teachers, aiming to enhance the interactive learning environment. This study used a quantitative method and survey data from 505 school teachers who were actively teaching around the United Arab Emirates to reach its objectives. The majority of teachers believed that using games as a teaching tool in the classroom was a good idea. The study revealed the potential for game-based learning in the classroom and identified challenges, such as the need for rigorous game-based instructional design. We examined game-based teaching and learning’s role in contributing to interactive learning environments and its apparent benefits of improving teamwork and lowering stress among teachers.

Prevalence of Motor Difficulties in Greek Preschoolers: The Effect of Gender, Age, BMI, Place of Residence, and Hand Preference

Olga Kechagia, Ermioni S. Katartzi, Eleni Fotiadou and Paraskevi Giagazoglou
The main aim of the present study was to identify motor difficulties in Greek preschoolers. Secondary aims were to identify possible differences in prevalence of motor difficulties related to gender, age, body mass index, place of residence, and hand preference. 302 preschoolers were assessed using the first age band (3–6 years) of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (2nd edition). The results showed high prevalence of significant (12.3%) and moderate (12.3%) motor difficulties in preschool children. Moreover, gender, age, BMI, residence, and hand preference effects showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) and need further consideration among preschool children. However, there was evidence that some differences may exist between boys and girls, 4- and 5-year-old children, children with high and typical body mass index, children living in rural or urban areas, and right and left-handed children, regarding the occurrence of motor difficulties. These findings highlighted the need for early assessment in domains of motor development, such as hand dexterity, ball skills and balance in order for developmentally appropriate preschool physical education programs to be applied, with the aim to help preschoolers improve their difficulties and be physically active later in life.

"Snow days are the best days." Exploring Teachers' and Administrators’ Perceptions of Weather-Related School Disruptions

Brenton Button, Carson Ouellette and Gina Martin
Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common and have the potential to impact the school day. This study aimed to explore teachers’ and administrators’ perspectives on weather-related school closures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten key informants and analyzed using content analysis. Informants took a strengths-based approach and discussed the benefits of weather-related disruptions for student mental health and planning time. However, informants did mention that if these days continued to rise, it might be a cause for concern. School boards need to begin monitoring the impact of weather events.

Perceptions and Difficulties of Distance Learning Among Beginning Teachers and Kindergarteners During the Covid-19 Pandemic Period

Raed Zedan
Exploring the perceptions and challenges faced by beginning teachers and kindergarten teachers in the realm of distance learning reveals critical insights into the evolving landscape of early education in a digital age. The present study explored the challenges and difficulties experienced by beginning teachers and kindergarteners in the context of distance learning. Qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews involving 254 novice teachers and kindergarten educators. The findings revealed a range of difficulties new teachers face in the distance learning environment. These included challenges in conveying educational content, issues with Wi-Fi and internet connectivity, a lack of resources and technological tools, difficulties in engaging students in Zoom meetings, poor communication between teachers and students, insufficient preparation and training for distance teaching, inadequate digital skills, and a lack of experience among parents with the new method of learning. Understanding the challenges and difficulties that novice teachers encounter, particularly during their initial professional years and in exceptional circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic, is crucial. This understanding not only aids in addressing and surmounting these challenges but also contributes to the enhancement and development of current distance teaching models. Such improvements should consider the specific needs and challenges of new teachers.

Teaching as Indwelling Between Two Curriculum Worlds: The Coming Into Being of a Pedagogical Situation

Ted T. Aoki

Interests, Knowledge and Evaluation: Alternative Approaches to Curriculum Evaluation

Ted T. Aoki

Truth and Reconciliation Through Education: Stories of Decolonizing Practices (2023), by Yvonne Poitras Pratt & Sulyn Bodnaresko

Jackson Pind

Playbuilding as Arts-Based Research Health, Wellness, Social Justice and Higher Education (2nd ed., 2024) by Joe Norris, Kevin Hobbs, & Mirror Theatre

Kathryn Dawson