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This paper contrasts approaches to supporting ethno-cultural diversity in education in Canada, the USA and India through the lens of the experiences of the Tibetan diaspora. All three countries self-identify as linguistic and ethnically diverse states that value multiculturalism. These shared values make them insightful comparative cases to consider the role of public education "vis-a-vis" its impact on ethno-cultural diversity within pluralistic societies. The case used to conduct the comparison is that of the Tibetan diaspora, an ethno-cultural migrant minority found in each country. Three prevailing ethno-cultural diversity orientations are identified -- "integration", "achievement" and "sustainability" -- to describe prevalent approaches in Canada, the USA and India, respectively. The paper concludes with implications of the skewed orientations in each context, proposing a more balanced use of all three orientations for more robust and comprehensive supports for ethno-cultural diversity in education.

This paper explores the history and processes associated with the transformation of a northern Canadian Aboriginal school into a culture-based community school for its Metis, Inuvialuit and Gwichin citizens. In particular, the role of the principal, a local Aboriginal, as a leader in initiating and facilitating the transformative change is examined. The factors providing the impetus for change and processes fostering change are examined through the critical lens of Kaupapa Maori Theory, a guiding framework for transformative praxis in New Zealand Maori schools. Finally, the paper examines current developments in the area of science curriculum development and delivery within this school community that are consistent with culture- and place-based education practice and the aspirations of the community. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

This paper presents a large scale study of online MLIS students (n = 910), who completed at least one online course and were enrolled in 36 of the 58 ALA-accredited MLIS programs in Canada and the United States. The results indicate that the typical student is female, White, lives in an urban setting, and is in her mid-30s. Online students were found to be quite diverse, with statistically significant differences in their preferences and satisfaction across five demographic variables: "age" (generational cohort)," "employment status," "urban status," "commute distance," and "program modality." Three motivations emerged: "accommodation," "predisposition," and "selectivity", which influenced the respondents to choose online learning. The prevalent issues online MLIS students experienced were a sense of isolation from peers and instructors, and a lack of professional development and networking opportunities with peers. The findings have implications for enhancing MLIS online education including marketing, course offerings, and student support services.

The recruitment of overseas trained teachers (OTTs) in England is a matter that has received as much attention inside the United Kingdom as outside. Education systems in small island and developing states, especially, were believed to have been placed 'at risk' following the departure of experienced and qualified teachers. Correspondingly, the presence of OTTs in England has contributed to, "inter alia," workforce stability, behavioural management solutions and curriculum enhancement. Despite these contributions, however, very little is known about the career progression of OTTs in England. Through a tracer study of OTTs recruited between 2001 and 2008, in the first phase of teacher migration to the UK, this qualitative study explored the perceived factors that facilitate and/or hinder the progression of Caribbean OTTs in England. Drawing on postmodernism, critical and social identity theories, this paper examines how institutional racism and discrimination play a part in restricting the promotion and career progression of OTTs.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how digital technologies were introduced in a collaborative literacy intervention to address a population long underserved by traditional schools: the Aboriginals of Canada. Design/methodology/approach: Situated within a critical ethnographic project, this paper examines how digital technologies were introduced. The questions focused on: how can critical multiliteracies be used to engage students, in both academic and digital literacies development? In what ways does participation in multimodal media production provide evidence of teachers and students' critical literacy development?Findings: Digital literacies as a part of multiliteracies were developed in teaching contexts where learning is challenged by many factors. Research limitations/implications: The paper reports on the achievement and the struggles that remain. Implications for further research and teacher education are also drawn from the experience of implementing a broader definition of literacy in academic settings with Aboriginal students of Canada. Originality/value: The inclusion of a digital curriculum provides possibilities for greater academic success for marginalized students in both mainstream and alternative schools. (Contains 3 figures and 2 notes.)

The increase in global migration to Canada has changed the demographic profile of students in Canadian higher education. Colleges and universities are becoming increasingly diverse by race, ethnicity, and culture. At the same time, the process of teaching and learning is on the cusp of transformation with technology providing the tools to alter the way post-secondary educators teach and how students learn. What pedagogical approaches have emerged to maximize educational benefit from these twin forces of migration and technology? This paper explores the use of one method that has attracted global interest: digital storytelling. Specifically, the article considers student-generated digital stories as a means to authenticate the multiple perspectives of learners and create space for their diverse voices in post-secondary education. A list of resources is included.

Based on a qualitative study of home care workers, this paper aims to understand elder abuse of Chinese Canadians. The findings show disrespect is the key form elder abuse takes in the Chinese community. As a culturally specific form of abuse, disrespect remains invisible under categories of elder abuse derived from a Western cultural perspective. Applying a social exclusion framework to understand the dynamic of elder abuse, we argue that as a marginalized racial minority immigrant, an elderly Chinese person's vulnerability to abuse is increased under conditions of social isolation.

The mainstream curriculum is extremely efficient in furthering a neoliberal multicultural discourse, what is described as the dance, dress, and dining, or heroes and holidays, or Taco Tuesday approaches to diversity. Given this, doing anything else is an ongoing challenge. This paper shares details of a government-university-school collaboration in which the authors were participants in a national project to digitize ethnic group archives and create lesson plans based from those archives. The authors share insights and challenges about what worked for resisting the "zoo" approach.

Some processes in every country's history are significant and well-known to any scholar who is interested in the subject. In the history of Canada, there are many processes of this kind, for example relations with the Indigenous People or attitude towards immigrants. Québec separatism is one of these processes. There are a lot of publications and vivid discussions about this issue, however, they lack opinions from ethnic groups other than English speakers. This paper presents the history of Québec separatism from 1960 to 1980 seen through the eyes of Poles in Canada and expressed in Czas [Polish Times] -- a weekly newspaper published by the Polish Diaspora in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is a city in the prairies distant from Québec and the second largest agglomeration of Poles in Canada after Toronto. Czas was the only newspaper in that area which shaped the opinions of Polish speakers. The author used content analysis to best show the various aspects of research. This paper aims to present different views on Québec separatism that changed over time from ignorance through compromise, warnings, and danger to the first separatist referendum in 1980. The elaboration proves that even though there were not many original articles about Québec separatism in Czas -- many of them were reprints from other papers, the Polish Diaspora was involved in keeping Canada united. It was a result of devotion to the Land of Maple Leaf as well as a reflection of the situation in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptions of identity in multilingual multicultural societies still seem to be dominated by the perception that human beings are born into social locations and categories of ethnicity that are pre-existing. This fails to acknowledge the current reality for the progeny of interracial marriages, who may find themselves belonging neither to their father's nor to their mother's social location. While a strong emerging literature in hybridity considers the complexities of race and ethnicity for those born into these positions, little literature exists that examines the role of parents, particularly white, dominant culture mothers, who must help their children negotiate a path they have not trod. This paper examines the role of white birth mothers of non-white children in terms of their language, culture, and education decisions, illuminating whether and how they were able to help their children develop respect for and facility with the two languages, two cultures, and two worldviews they live within, while also documenting their struggles to do so.

Authoritative knowledge produced by white acacemics has forged much of the cannon in educational research. Recently, scholars of color, have been asserting their unique positionalities to conduct research and teach among their own communities. As a result they have provided a challenge to normative privilege whiteness in education. Claims of neutrality, colorblindness and scientific objectivity in regards to conducting research in communities of color have been significantly scrutinized by these scholars. Immersed in this critique are concerns about new forms of colonialism, invisibility of white privilege, and the exclusion of researchers of color who work within self-identified communities from a broad research agenda. These debates have extended into the classroom as educators of color have noted the lack of diversity in the teaching profession. Others have noted that teachers of color are not the only ones capable of educating students of color in meaningful ways but instead focus on what be gained from these teachers in diverse public schools. As a self-identified Punjabi Sikh teacher, Kal Heer, offers examples of how specific knowledge about students' community affiliations, cultural practices, and languages spoken in the home helped build positive relationships with students within and outside the school. He notes that using culturally responsive pedagogy was useful in exploring ways of linking schools with larger societal and policy issues that related to the lives of these learners. He cites those as examples of some of the many ways teachers of color potentially provide platforms of success that seem to correspond with their own cultural background. The purpose of this article is to lead a discussion of the negative impact of difference on racialized educators, which Heer sees as an undertheorized issue. The two main focus points of this article involve moments where students would surprise Heer with varying opinions on issues of racism which differed from his own, and how these students regularly differentiated themselves from each other. As a novice teacher, Heer soon realized that the absolute knowledge the school community "thought" he embodied regarding issues in the Punjabi Sikh community were constantly challenged by students who invoked differences with him and other classmates. Heer writes that he found this to be very stressful as he grappled with his own discomfort in feelings of betraying the community when two particularly vocal students used the term "sell out" and the refrain, "I thought you were one of us" in expressing their displeasure in the direction they felt he was leading the class. Heer closes by calling for vigilance in investigating what teachers of color think about their experiences in schools. He suggests that they too often find themselves used as evidence of successful implementation of multicultural policies. Heer encourages administrators to spend more time actually speaking to teachers about the challenges identified to those teaching their own, and that could benefit educators in renewing classroom practice.

This paper discusses findings from an exploratory study on the nature, extent, and impact of cyberbullying experienced by 121 faculty members at one Canadian university. We situate cyberbullying in university on a continuum between cyberbullying in K-12 education and cyberbullying in the workplace and also take into account the power dynamics that characterize the post-secondary context. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of online survey data revealed that 17% of respondents had experienced cyberbullying either by students (12%) or by colleagues (9%) in the last 12 months. Gender differences were apparent plus racial minority status also appeared to render faculty members more vulnerable to cyberbullying. These findings suggest a rights-based lens could be used to analyze and respond to the vulnerabilities of women and other marginalized faculty in cyberbullying situations. This study contributes to the dearth of research on cyberbullying at the post-secondary level and raises the need to consider factors of difference, such as gender and race, in policy development and practice.

I am a professional Home Economist (PHEc) under the Manitoba Act (1990). In this paper I reflect on an approach to uncover my personal contribution (my “truth”) to colonisation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. I examine my family life, education and career as a professional Home Economist. First Nation (people identified as Indian under the Indian Act) and Métis authors have guided my learning on the impact of colonisation. Historical references related to the practice of Home Economics within the provincial department of agriculture are used to clarify the colonising focus on which my career was based. The intention is to discover a pathway for myself and my profession to learn and acknowledge our colonising impact on Indigenous Peoples. This process is offered to other Home Economists who are exploring ways to decolonise Home Economics and build a respectful, relevant service with Indigenous Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaupapa Maori theory was conceptualized in the 1980s in New Zealand as a framework for revolutionizing Indigenous education. Its success marks it as a transformational praxis beneficial to educators beyond the shores of Aotearoa. This theory propounds a practical, proactive stance that enables a shift in thinking away from the psychology of de-colonization towards a "conscientization" or consciousness raising which Friere says can occur when a people take action against the oppressive elements in their lives. In this paper I provide an overview of the current state of Aboriginal education in Canada, citing examples of Canadian instructors who envisage similar self-empowering pedagogy. In addition, I highlight a Canadian case study to demonstrate the process of critical consciousness underway at a First Nations school in Aklavik, NWT, where teachers are employing Kaupapa Maori theory and culture-based curriculum for positive outcomes. This focus serves as a critical lens to educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders who might want to draw more from the transformative power of the Maori framework as counter strategy to Eurocentric curricula and colonial paradigms.

If recent years have witnessed the rise of a worldwide phenomenon of reconciliation and apology, so also in the past few decades, and with increasing force since September 11, 2001, the global forum has seen the increased mediatization of spectacles of terror. The present moment is thus characterized by two seemingly contradictory rubrics: the "age of apologies" and the "War on Terror." While political and critical discourses have tended to bifurcate discussion of these two contemporaneous phenomena, the author argues that they are intimately interconnected. At the same time that governments and tribunals are reinscribing liberal humanist principles in their quest to find redemption from violence and to reaffirm a commitment to justice and peace--those concepts that seem to be the foundation of reconciliation processes--new crimes against humanity are being legitimated under the banner of "just war" and uncannily similar discourses regarding the spread of democracy and the upholding of global peace. This article examines the complex intersections between the age of apologies and the War on Terror and the political ramifications of these intertwined--rather than discrete--phenomena. In particular, this essay is concerned with the implications of the conjuncture of discourses of reconciliation and terror for Indigenous peoples in settler states such as New Zealand and Canada. Through case studies of recent events in New Zealand and Canada, the author analyzes how reconciliation and terror may converge in ways that collapse the differences between a spectrum of Indigenous anticolonial resistance practices and strip them of their historical and political specificity. (Contains 73 notes.)

This paper explores the influence of Korean ethnic churches on the maintenance of heritage language (HL) and culture among Korean-Canadian students. The ethnographic and qualitative study on which it is based involved participant observation over a 4-month period, group discussions, interviews, and a questionnaire. Participants were 15 immigrant students aged 13-19, who live in Montreal and attend a Korean ethnic church. Results indicate that these churches play an important role in the maintenance of the HL and cultural identity. It is argued that immigrant students would benefit from being more aware of the linguistic and cultural maintenance role that these churches play and of the importance of taking advantage of the institutional resources they provide: the opportunity to interact with other Koreans, to use the language and improve their proficiency, and to become immersed in the Korean cultural environment. (Contains 2 tables and 6 notes.)

Many mathematics teachers opt for a strictly teacher-centred curriculum and/or instructional strategy. Given the well-documented evidence noting the benefits of student-centred instruction, it is easy to see that teacher-centred learning on its own cannot best meet the needs of students. On the other hand, some teachers, aware of the importance of a student-centred mathematics curriculum, adopt an exclusively student-centred approach to curriculum and instruction. What is less obvious is that this approach can put some students who belong to certain ethnic groups at a disadvantage. Hence, to be more inclusive, mathematics educators need to take a balanced instructional approach. This paper outlines an inclusive instructional strategy that resembles the structure of and exemplifies the values promoted by the Aboriginal model of the Medicine Wheel. (Contains 1 figure.)

In culturally diverse and immigrant receiving societies, immigrant youth can be subject to prejudice and discrimination. Such experiences can impact on immigrant youth's cultural identity and influence their psychosocial outcomes. This paper presents findings of a study that examined cultural identity and experiences of prejudice and discrimination among Afghan (N = 9) and Iranian (N = 17) immigrant youth in Canada. The study had a prospective, comparative, longitudinal qualitative design. Data was gathered through focus groups, interviews, journals and field logs. Four main themes emerged on participants' experiences of prejudice and discrimination: (a) societal factors influencing prejudice; (b) personal experiences of discrimination; (c) fear of disclosure and silenced cultural identity; and (d) resiliency and strength of cultural identity. Drawing from Rosenberg's ("Conceiving the self", Basic Books, New York, 1979) self-concept framework and Romero and Roberts ("J. Adolesc.", 21:641-656, 1998) distinction between prejudice and discrimination, results indicated that youth's extant and presenting cultural identity were affected. Inclusive policies and practices are needed to promote youth integration in multicultural and immigrant receiving settings.

With economic globalisation making second language (L2) learning inevitable throughout the world, understanding what factors facilitate success is a socioeconomic necessity. This paper examined the role of social factors, those related to ethnic group affiliation (EGA), in the development of L2 proficiency. Although numerous studies have documented an intimate relationship between language and EGA, few have examined whether and how this relationship shapes L2 learning. The participants were 59 adult French-English bilinguals from Quebec who read an English text and completed a questionnaire assessing their EGA, including pride, loyalty and support for their ethnic group and its language. Results revealed a significant, albeit complex, association between EGA and L2 proficiency. Basic feelings of pride and loyalty towards the ethnic group had no associations with L2 proficiency. Strong support for the group's sociopolitical aspirations were associated with low L2 proficiency. In turn, strong ethnic group identification, coupled with a positive orientation towards the L2 group, was associated with high L2 proficiency. These EGA effects were found to be mediated by amount of L2 use, revealing a plausible link sustaining the relationship between EGA and L2 learning success.

In this speech, the author uses five moments of his own existence to speak to how he thinks the West conceptualizes and depicts Africa and Africans. This involves autobiography in a sense because he used his own life, but the discussion is not about him. It is about western conceptions and representations of Africans as reflected in the following five contextual moments, namely the present, his birth, his initial move to Canada, his more recent move to UBC (University of British Columbia), and the possible future. The author speaks mostly to how the academic disciplines in the west have contributed to western conceptions of Africa. He choses to play on Macbeth's soliloquy for the title of his talk to convey the idea that, in his view, Africa and Africans have been continuously mis-recognized and overdetermined by western academic discourses, seen not in reality, but as Africans of the Western mind, a false creation, proceeding from the collective historical and contemporary heat-prejudiced Eurocentric brain.