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During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,930 Canadian teachers were surveyed about their burnout and resilience levels, as well as their job demands and resources. Latent profile analysis revealed that teachers were responding to their experiences in five distinct patterns, or profiles, of burnout or resilience. Survey data were then used to match each profile group with their salient demands and resources. A continuum model of recommendations is offered to support teacher resilience as they navigate and recover from the pandemic.

In late 2019 and early 2020, governments around the world closed educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar response occurred in Canada and resulted in a sudden pivot by teachers from classroom-based instruction to remote teaching. During and shortly after this time, we undertook a survey study of over 2000 Canadian teachers, as well as follow-up interviews with a representative sub-set of those who took part in the initial round of the survey, to gain perspectives on teaching during the pandemic crisis. We summarize the foundations of the entire study and focus on the analysis and discussion of interview data to provide enhanced understanding of initial survey results. This study presents five lessons from the voices of teachers in the initial stages of COVID-19 in Canadian K-12 schools. Each lesson addresses a reality of teaching that was magnified by the pandemic and is highlighted for future consideration of educators in times of uncertainty and change.

Teachers have demonstrated a wide range of responses to the challenges of teaching within a pandemic. The current study investigated the relationship between resilience and post-traumatic growth in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on administration of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in 2022, four teachers demonstrated high levels of resilience, indicating the potential that they had experienced post-traumatic growth. Follow-up interviews were therefore conducted to investigate whether these teachers demonstrated all seven characteristics of post-traumatic growth. Although all four resilient teachers indicated experiencing several characteristics, only two teachers demonstrated post-traumatic growth. The findings support a clear distinction between resilience and post-traumatic growth. Implications related to future research using both qualitative and quantitative methods to further illuminate the processes and conditions of post-traumatic growth are discussed.

Teacher preparation in Canada benefits from innovative programming that supports vibrant, inclusive classrooms. We examine two Canadian-made programmes: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning, with particular focus on the social emotional learning block, and the Teaching Continuum, a model for inclusive physical education settings. We use the 3H Model of inclusive teacher education to analyze the fit of these two approaches to pre-service teacher inclusive education preparation and suggest ways they can become more entrenched within Canadian schools.

An appreciative inquiry approach oriented eight semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers from Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Spain, Canada, Bangladesh and India to identify their intrinsic and extrinsic strengths and understand how they were able to translate them into practice during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Commitment and determination, collegial support and solidarity were some of the common driving forces identified, despite the differences in teachers' backgrounds, education systems, policies and cultures. Our research sheds light on opportunity solving in times of crisis as well as on the way education systems worldwide can renew themselves to ensure innovative and inclusive quality education.

Directors of Student Teaching from teacher preparation programs across Canada were surveyed and then interviewed in follow-up focus groups to determine the opportunities and barriers they perceived during processes of placing pre-service teachers with disabilities into practicum settings. These data are interrogated within three theoretical frameworks about disability--the medical model, the social model, and the critical disability theory--to determine whether decision-making by Directors of Student Teaching reflects a predominant paradigm of disability. Deconstructions of the current concept of "teacher" are presented with reference to these three paradigms of disability.

Over fifty years of research investigating teacher burnout has resulted in a well-accepted model of burnout that involves three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of accomplishment. Recently, a new cause of teacher attrition has been proposed called "demoralization," on the argument that demoralization is a distinct phenomenon from burnout. In light of new research methodologies that allow for examination of unique pathways or "profiles" of teacher burnout, we explore the question, providing an analysis that suggests instead that depersonalization can be fairly represented as one profile of burnout.

In response to the lack of Canadian research about the practicum experiences of pre-service teachers with disabilities, a survey of ten Directors of Student Teaching in Western Canadian universities was conducted and revealed both strengths and challenges in current practices. Recommendations for teacher education are explored, and several future research directions are highlighted.

Over eight thousand test administrations across two universities were examined to determine whether students with disabilities were being given the necessary extended testing time accommodations and whether their use of extended time decreased over the course of their programs. Findings revealed that commonly accepted recommendations about appropriate durations of accommodations were not suitable in meeting individual students' needs and that students used more time on these types of accommodations as they moved through their first three years of their postsecondary programs. Recommendations are provided.

A quantitative study was conducted to compare the attitudes, efficacy, and concerns about inclusive education within three groups of teachers in Manitoba, Canada (N = 191). The three groups included pre-service teachers with coursework about inclusive education, but limited experience in inclusive settings; in-service teachers with experiences in inclusive settings, but no coursework about inclusion; and in-service teachers with inclusive teaching experiences as well as coursework about inclusion. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the groups in all three dependent variables and supported the importance of coursework, even for experienced teachers. Subsequent regression analysis demonstrated that experiences and course work contributed differentially to the development of attitudes, concerns, and efficacy for inclusive teaching in pre-service and in-service teachers. Implications on both in-service and pre-service teacher education are discussed.

The academic achievement of diverse kindergarten to grade 12 students in inclusive classrooms implementing the Three-Block Model (TBM) of universal design for learning was investigated. Fifty-one teachers and 684 of their students, including students with disabilities, students who were English language learners (ELL), and Indigenous students, participated in treatment and control groups. Results indicated significant differences between the two groups on measures of academic achievement, as reflected in a rubric that assessed levels of critical thinking. This was the case for typically developing students as well as those in the three subgroups, with large effect sizes in all cases. These findings suggest that the combination of social and emotional programming with universally designed instruction holds promise for improving the academic achievement of a broad spectrum of learners. Results are discussed in regards to implementation and training needs, and recommendations are made for future research.

Increasing enrolments of post-secondary students with disabilities are resulting in accessibility services offices reaching capacity levels. This trend has created the "perfect storm" in terms of meeting these students' needs. While collaboration between accessibility services staff and professors seems a logical solution to maximizing resource management and ameliorating this issue, additional tensions arise when issues of fairness, authority, and roles come into play. Using the constructionist model of disability as a lens, I analyzed the viewpoints of faculty members and accessibility services staff members in order to contribute to our understanding about these tensions as well as to make recommendations for their resolution.

Innovations in pedagogy are, at their core, aimed at improving the educational experiences and outcomes of learners. Being as many countries are embracing a philosophy of inclusive education, designers of educational reform must be mindful of the effects of any proposed innovations on the experiences and outcomes of a broad range of diverse learners including ethnically and linguistically diverse students, students from indigenous backgrounds, and students with and without disabilities. The current project sought to contribute to the literature on the learner effects of a new pedagogy called the Three-Block Model of Universal of Design for Learning. This model is aimed at meeting the needs of diverse learners in a common setting. Specifically, we examine the effects of the model on diverse students' conceptions of learning, processes of learning, interdependence in learning, academic self-concept, and school engagement and report through the student voices on the benefits and challenges of this pedagogy.

While the importance of secure relationships between children and caregivers has been well established in the literature as an essential feature of healthy child development, the influence of animal-human relationships on healthy development and attachment is also beginning to gain attention. A burgeoning literature supports the developmental and sustainability benefits of such relationships to children. One hundred seventeen directors of childcare centres in Manitoba, Canada (16.5%) caring for 24% of children in licensed care responded to a survey about animals in childcare facilities. Findings showed that only 51% of facilities currently had animals, with fish and caged rodents being the most common. Although centre directors agreed that the benefits of centre-based animals included children learning responsibility as well as increased calmness and happiness in children, the drawbacks in terms of children's allergies, the costs, and the inconvenience outweighed these benefits in almost half the centres. Given the benefits of animals in young children's lives, a list of variables for consideration is provided to aid directors in decision-making about animals in childcare centres.

Transformative learning, and its processes as proposed by Mezirow, has been the subject of much debate. This study contributes to the literature about these debates by examining transformative experiences within a foreign service-learning context. Canadian post-secondary students lived and worked to build a school in solidarity with a community in Nicaragua. Their reflections inform three contentious controversies regarding the nature of transformative learning.

Global increases in mental illness in children and youth have precipitated a wide range of therapies to address this concern. An alternative to this reactive approach is based on models of mental wellness that enhance children's and youths' perceptions of well-being and health. The current project examined the effects of a universal animal-assisted activity (AAA) program on a group of minority students who attended a boarding school in Germany. The intent of the current study was to determine whether the duration and types of AAA the students experienced were associated with higher levels of perceived mental well-being. Short-term gains in calmness were demonstrated under some AAA conditions, and long-term gains in well-being resulted from minority children's participation in rabbit club.

Research has recognized that enhancing pre-service teachers' attitudes, efficacy, and decreasing concerns about inclusive education are essential factors in teacher preparation. However, no research has compared the relative ability of online courses to affect these factors when compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The current study used pre–post survey methods to measure the effects of the online versus face-to-face formats of teaching inclusive education content to Canadian pre-service teachers. Moreover, we studied the relationships between these variables and the participants' intentions for inclusive teaching practices. Results showed that while the face-to-face format influenced pre-service teachers' attitudes and efficacy, it did not foster lower concerns or higher intentions. In contrast, the online course made no significant difference in any of the dependent variables. Given the well-established importance of affective as well as practical variables to effective inclusion, implications and limitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many school counsellors have identified "cyber-bullying" among adolescent girls as a growing concern. In order to respond to this issue, this article begins with a new model of cyber-communications from the unique perspective of adolescent girls. Next, it explores the limitations of responding to this model, based on current understandings of cyber-bullying. Finally, based on the current literature, recommendations are made to school counsellors regarding the essential components of programming that show promise in addressing online cruelty among this group. (Contains 1 note.)

This study examined the effects of the gender of reading tutors on 173 third and fourth grade mainly inner-city boys identified as struggling readers. Reading achievement ("Alberta Diagnostic Reading Program") and reader self-perceptions ("Readers' Self-Perception Scale") were monitored over a 22-week reading intervention. Findings indicated that the gender of the reading tutors had no effect on reader self-perceptions in boys who viewed reading as masculine or gender neutral; boys who viewed reading as feminine responded better to female tutors than to male tutors in developing their self-perceptions as readers. The gender of the tutor had no significant effect on boys' reading achievement in either group. (Contains 2 tables and 1 footnote.)

Directors of Student Teaching from the Western Canadian provinces participated in focus groups about the realities and decision-making processes around practicum for preservice teachers with disabilities. Results showed current standards, when applied rigidly, served to reify a static, homogenous, and unrealistic definition of 'teacher' that marginalises preservice teachers with disabilities. However, the effort of directors to challenge this notion of 'teacher', framed within the constructionist model of disability, gives hope for a more inclusive future teaching force.

Global competence is a complex concept as it is multifaceted, composite, multi-layered, multidimensional, and can be viewed from several perspectives. A previous study validated a set of rubrics designed to assess pre-service teachers’ development of global competence. The research presented in this paper tested the internal consistency and reliability of the set of rubrics in order to create an instrument validated within the international context that was robust and consistent from a methodological point of view. The set of rubrics was self-administered online by 729 pre-service teachers studying in 12 teacher education programmes across 10 different countries around the world. The data analysis showed a high level of reliability and internal consistency of the rubrics, indicating their ability to assess pre-service teachers’ global competence. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis suggested changes to two areas of the rubrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was undertaken to determine if significant relationships exist between teachers' self-reported attitudes, concerns, and efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms and their actual classroom behaviour in Winnipeg, Canada. Five teachers completed 3 scales measuring their attitudes to inclusion, their level of concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their level of efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms. They were observed using a newly developed scale to measure their inclusive teaching practices. Each teacher was observed from 3 to 5 hours on different occasions. Data were analysed using 1-tailed Spearman correlations. Results indicated that teachers who were highly inclusive in their classroom practices tended to have significantly lower degrees of concerns and positive attitudes to inclusion. Implications of the research for policymakers, future researchers, and teacher educators are discussed.

One hundred teacher candidates enrolled in a mandatory course on service learning were surveyed pre- and post-course to determine their civic attitudes and willingness to take the service learning course. Quantitative analysis indicated significant growth in civic attitudes in all students, and this growth was not differentially affected by the students' willingness to take the course. Qualitative data were analyzed to determine the underpinnings for students' perceptions, and recommendations about the wisdom of making such courses mandatory in teacher preparation programs are provided.

Eight Canadian postsecondary students who had been diagnosed with anxiety disorders were interviewed to determine their perceptions of the supports and barriers they experienced at university. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes related to student needs: self-determination; shame, guilt, and judgment; control; and trust. Students provided suggestions of specific actions professors could take to support student success.

In this comparative study, the impact of two stand-alone university courses on pre-service teachers' attitudes, concerns and teaching efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms is examined. Twenty-eight pre-service teachers (PSTs) from Australia and 60 PSTs from Canada completed a survey at pre- and post-stages of the course. It was found that after completion of the course, Australian participants' attitudes improved, their concerns declined, and they became more confident in their ability to teach in inclusive classrooms. Similarly, Canadian participants' concerns declined and their teaching efficacy improved, but they became more apprehensive about teaching in inclusive classrooms. Relationships among the three variables (attitudes, concerns and teaching efficacy) were examined at pre- and post-test stages for both cohorts to understand how they interacted within each of the two countries. Implications of the findings for teacher education are discussed.

Inclusion in Canadian schools, both academic and social, is explored through the historic legislative structures that have resulted in a diversity of approaches to meeting the educational needs of Canadians. Innovative programmes that have been developed which showcase Canadian commitment to inclusive academic and social practices are described. Finally, we explore some of the challenges that Canadians are facing in truly being inclusive in our educational practices, and we make three specific recommendations about how we can become more inclusive.

While students begin schooling with high engagement levels, these levels begin to drop in the middle years of schooling but appear to recover somewhat in 10th grade, suggesting that the middle years of schooling are an especially vulnerable time in terms of student engagement (Willms et al., 2009). Moreover disengagement is most common in students who are traditionally underserved at school, including minority students, Indigenous students, poor students, and students with special educational needs (Caledon Institute for Social Policy, 2005; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2013; Richards & Vining, 2004). Given the strong relationship between learning environments and engagement, the current study sought to investigate the effects of a pedagogical model based on the principles of universal design for learning on the engagement of a group of diverse learners. Furthermore, the authors sought to investigate its effects on both early and middle years students, with the intension of determining whether the intervention would be effective in addressing the drop in engagement that has been observed over the course of these school years.

The study examined concerns, attitudes, and teacher efficacy of 131 in-service, Kindergarten to Grade 8 teachers in three school divisions in Manitoba, Canada. Analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between teachers' back-ground variables, their attitudes and concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their efficacy for inclusive teaching. In addition, potential effects of training in special education on teachers' concern level were examined. Participants who had undertaken some training in special education had lower degrees of concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms. We discuss the implications of these findings and how addressing in-service teachers' concerns could enhance their attitudes about inclusive teaching and their overall teacher efficacy.

Sixty pre-service teachers were surveyed about their confidence, concerns, and efficacy for inclusive classroom teaching before and after a course on inclusive education. Some students experienced a practicum in an inclusive setting alongside the coursework, and some students did not. Both groups made significant gains in all dependent variables and their subscales from pre-to post-treatment. However, the students who experienced a practicum in an inclusive setting developed greater teacher efficacy in classroom management than those students with no practicum. Given the importance of successful classroom management to teacher retention and student success, the findings support the importance of high-quality inclusive practica as an essential feature of effective inclusive teacher preparation programs.

Focus groups were conducted in four school divisions in central Canada in order to determine whether inclusive educators in schools could identify the knowledge base, skills set, and attitudes desirable in new inclusive teachers. Participants failed to identify an essential knowledge base for inclusive educators. Findings indicated that a focus on skills and attitudes was viewed as desirable, specifically skills related to flexibility, inter-dependence, communication. Participants also valued attitudes related to willingness on the part of new teachers to seek learning opportunities and accept help from other team members.

Recent large-scale testing of reading achievement indicates significant gender differences favoring girls in all countries tested, a situation that some researchers believe is the result of boys viewing reading as a feminine activity. Given that Canada has one of the world's smallest gender gaps in reading whereas Thailand has one of the largest, a matched sample of 168 boys from Canada and Thailand were studied to examine potential differences in prevalence of viewing reading as feminine. Findings show no significant differences between boys in Canada and Thailand, which suggests that viewing reading as feminine is not at the root of gender differences in reading achievement. Other potential contributing factors, including culture, socioeconomic status, and interest are discussed.

In response to concerns about boys' academic underachievement as well as the international gender imbalance in our teaching force composition, a call has been made to hire more male teachers and practice "boy-friendly" pedagogy. Our investigation of effects of male reading teachers and use of computer-based books demonstrated their ability to de-feminise boys' views of reading but no differential effects were evident on boys' reading achievement or reader self-perceptions between boys taught by males or by females, whether or not they use technology in their reading practices. (Contains 1 table.)

Sixty-nine grade 2 boys participated in a study of the effects of book genre and sex of reading model on boys' (a) view of reading as feminine, (b) intrinsic motivation toward reading, (c) interest in reading, and (d) attitude to reading. Differential effects occurred in boys based on whether they liked or disliked reading and whether they viewed reading as a feminine activity. Findings are examined in the context of gender schema theory as a way of explaining why boy-friendly books are important to some boys' reading development and not to that of others.