M.A. Child and Youth Studies
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Item Open Access The Power of Connection: Enhancing Executive Functioning in Preschoolers at Risk of Attention Difficulties through Mother-Child SynchronySingh, Mandeep; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe intricate dance of mother-child interaction plays a pivotal role in shaping a child's cognitive landscape, particularly in the realm of executive functioning. This study delves into the captivating world of mother-child synchrony, exploring its potential to enhance executive functioning in preschoolers at risk of attention difficulties through the universal language of music. In a novel approach, we coordinated a harmony between scientific rigor and the melodious world of child-directed music. 50 preschoolers, each carrying the subtle weight of potential attention challenges, were randomly assigned to either a music intervention group or a colouring control group. The music group embarked on a 15-minute journey of synchronized singing and movement with their mothers, while the control group engaged in independent colouring activities. Our findings struck a resonant chord: the music intervention group demonstrated significantly improved executive functioning scores compared to the control group. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) revealed a symphony of positive changes across various executive function domains. Moreover, the Dyadic Mutuality Code (DMC) painted a picture of enhanced mother-child synchrony in the music group, suggesting a harmonious interplay between musical engagement and relational attunement. Intriguingly, the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) app provided an objective counterpoint, offering insights into immediate cognitive performance changes. This multi-faceted approach allowed us to compose a nuanced understanding of how music-based interventions might orchestrate improvements in both perceived and actual executive functioning. However, our study is not without its complex harmonies. We critically examine whether the observed changes reflect genuine improvements in children's executive functioning or shifts in parental perceptions, acknowledging the limitations of short-term interventions in altering long-standing behavioural patterns. This research opens new avenues for understanding the intricate relationship between mother-child synchrony, music, and cognitive development. It offers a promising prelude to future investigations and interventions, potentially composing a new symphony in the support of preschoolers facing attention challenges. As we continue to unravel this cognitive melody, we inch closer to harmonizing child development with the rhythms of effective, music-based interventions.Item Open Access “I feel like I lost myself”: An Examination of Teachers’ Lived Experiences During The COVID-19 PandemicZarb, Vanessa; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe current study aimed to understand teachers' lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing six main themes from their interviews and open-response questions. Key findings of teachers' lived experiences included the prevalent feeling of isolation due to a lack of social connection with students and colleagues, the struggle to balance various responsibilities, the increased workload transferring an interactive in-person environment to online learning and adhering to safety protocols. Despite these challenges, some teachers reported benefits such as improved work-life balance and enhanced technology skills. The findings also highlight differences between elementary and secondary school teachers, particularly in implementing safety measures, and how these varied based on years of teaching experience. Elementary school teachers faced unique challenges in maintaining young students' engagement and adherence to safety measures, whereas secondary school teachers experienced challenges related to subject-specific teaching demands. Additionally, teachers have demonstrated resilience and dedication, adapted their roles as advocators, educators, and support systems to ensure educational success throughout the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study fills a gap in existing research by specifically examining the distinct challenges and benefits experienced by teachers during this unprecedented period. By providing nuanced insights into teachers' experiences, this research contributes to understanding the broader impacts of the pandemic on educational practices and teacher well-being.Item Open Access Orchids, Tulips, and Dandelions: Exploring Sensory Sensitivity, Anxiety, and Cognitive Distractibility in Children and AdolescentsStepien, Lauren; Department of Child and Youth StudiesAnxious individuals and those with sensory processing sensitivity-a temperamental trait characterized by heightened sensitivity to both internal and external stimuli- exhibit hypervigilance in non-threatening environments. This study examines how the relationship between anxiety, sensory sensitivity, and cognitive distractibility in children and adolescents without clinical diagnoses. Data were collected from 47 children aged 8-17, who completed two visual oddball (VO) tasks, including one with distracting background noise of multiple voices speaking simultaneously. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) Scale assessed anxiety symptoms and sensory sensitivity. Results indicate that sensitivity moderates the relationship between anxiety and performance, with high sensitivity linked to higher reaction times (cognitive distractibility) at low anxiety levels. Conversely, low sensitivity corresponds to faster reaction times. At high anxiety levels, sensitivity has minimal impact on distractibility. These findings highlight the importance of sensitivity in understanding anxiety’s effect on cognitive performance.Item Open Access A Glimpse into Neuroqueer Youth #Hashtags and Posts: A Rights-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Discourse, Value, and Identity from Neuroqueer Youths’ Online AssertionsPrince, Kira; Department of Child and Youth StudiesNeuroqueer (neurodivergent and queer) youth internationally face significant challenges, including violence, harassment, and marginalization, both individually and systemically. This treatment “Others” them, complicating their perceived level of humanness within society, while often undermining their fundamental rights. Despite the formal documentation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (United Nations, 1989), youth rights, particularly within the neuroqueer intersection, remain relatively unexplored in research. Through a critical discourse analysis using critical disability studies, specifically adopting Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model, this qualitative study examined 24 social media posts, investigating how neuroqueer youth assert themselves, and reviewing the implications of their representations, including the connections to their rights, specifically participation rights. It highlighted how discursive practices and hegemonic power dynamics shape the lives and rights of these youth, particularly in the realms of power, participation, identity, and value. The data revealed four prominent themes: intersectionality; harm, abuse, and trauma; protection; and youth liberation and power. These themes emphasized the significance of intersectionality and social positioning in shaping the social experiences of neuroqueer youth, the presence of harm, abuse, and trauma at both systemic and individual levels, the need to safeguard and validate their essential needs and existences, and the call for (neuroqueer) youth liberation through the recognition of their agency and humanity. This study holds the potential to advocate for the rights and value of neuroqueer youth, promoting their active participation in shaping their own lives and discourse, affirming and including their identity/identities, agency, and capacities, and illuminating the impact of discourse and power dynamics that impact their participation, safety, and perceived worth through the perpetuation of adultism, heteronormativity, and neurotypicality. Drawing from existing literature, several recommendations emerge for fostering a safer, more inclusive world for neuroqueer youth in institutional, familial, and interpersonal spheres.Item Open Access Empowering New Beginnings: A Holistic Evaluation of a Community-Developed Multi-Sports Program for New-to-Canada Refugee Youths and Its Impact on Physical Literacy, Mental Wellbeing, and Social HealthRowe, Taylor; Department of Child and Youth StudiesResettlement for refugee youth in Canada presents multifaceted challenges, notably in integrating into existing social structures, including sports and physical activity (PA) programs. Sports and PA programs can play a crucial role in promoting physical and mental well-being, yet refugee youth often face lower participation rates compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. To address this gap, this study investigated the impact of a community-developed multi-sport program, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) multi-sport program, on the physical literacy (PL) development and psychosocial well-being of young refugees in Calgary, Canada. The program aimed to equip refugee youth with the tools to embrace sports and PA opportunities in their new environment, fostering physical well-being and a sense of belonging. A total of 16 refugee youth participants between the ages of 13-19 years old (Mage = 16.00±1.75, n =14 males) were recruited for this study and were living in temporary housing (M = 1.19 months on arrival) while being assisted by CCIS during their resettlement period. The study employed mixed methods, including the PLAYbasic tool and a modified PLAYself questionnaire, to assess program effects on various PL domains. Qualitative data from focus group interviews and an ethnographic approach provided further insights into the program's broader impact on well-being and social health. The findings revealed positive changes, particularly for those who participated frequently. The program improved their fundamental movement skills, boosted their confidence, and influenced their motivation to participate in sports and PA. More importantly, the program fostered social connections and a sense of belonging, contributing positively to their mental well-being. Participants also benefitted from access to well-equipped facilities, structured programs with qualified coaches, and valuable resources within the community. However, challenges remain. Logistical difficulties like competing schedules and lack of awareness about the program hindered consistent participation. Additionally, gender disparities emerged, with female participants highlighting the need for privacy and female-specific programming. This study highlights the value of community-developed, culturally sensitive sports programs. Such programs can effectively promote PL development, social integration, and overall well-being among refugee youth. Future research should explore the program's long-term effects and address specific barriers that prevent female participation.Item Open Access Moving forward: Perspectives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities regarding the effectiveness of Individual Support PlansEpp, Sarah; Department of Child and Youth StudiesAn Individual Support Plan (ISP) is a comprehensive document that outlines a person’s goals, describes the desired support for goal achievement, and tracks the progress or changes in pursuing these goals (Herps et al., 2016). This research explored the perspectives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on the effectiveness of the current ISP framework. Seven adults with an IDD participated in semi-structured interviews to share their opinions, knowledge, and understanding of several aspects of their ISP and the current framework. The interview process was designed for inclusivity by tailoring it to the participant's unique needs and communication preferences. These adaptations were analyzed in the form of a Process Analysis. Further, the Process Analysis encouraged reflection on the current discourse surrounding goals, forcing one to appreciate a more rationalized notion of goals, by considering the incorporation of emotions and narratives. The shared diverse perspectives from the interview will significantly inform agencies of practical ways to enhance the ISP framework in various aspects, including goal setting and achievement, comprehension of ISPs, and access frequency. The participants' perceptions highlighted the need for an individualized approach to developing and maintaining ISPs. Their unique responses also prompted a reconsideration of the conceptualization of goals and ISPs, shifting from a structured approach to an emergent process.Item Open Access Transitions to Belonging: Evaluating the Impacts of a Community-Based Physical Activity Program Through the Lens of Newcomer Youths’ Definitions of Mental HealthTeague, Fiona; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe immigrant population in Canada is rapidly increasing and projected to rise exponentially in the coming years. The immigrant population faces complex and diverse challenges when transitioning into a new country, and this occurrence may be uniquely experienced by youth, who are also navigating transitions in child development, most notably into adolescence. Embedded in a broader mixed-methods pilot project, the aim of this thesis was to qualitatively investigate the impact of the Immigrant-based Physical Literacy for Youth (IPLAY) program on mental health and well-being. Twenty-one Afghan youth were interviewed, eleven who participated in the fall offering of the program (Mage = 15 ± 3; nmales=7), and ten who participated in the winter offering (Mage = 15.8 ± 1.8; nmales=5). Results indicated that youth held a holistic conceptualization of mental health, contrasting what is common practice in the field and literature. This holistic conceptualization had youth perceiving mental health as a dichotomy, recognizing the connection between physical and mental health, and sometimes including descriptions of soul. Mental health was also often connected to the youth’s own experience as a newcomer, discussing newfound feelings of safety, the life left behind, the role of adjustment, and new opportunities and future-oriented thinking. Participation in the IPLAY program seemed to affect mental health and well-being outcomes for the youth, including the opportunity to reconnect, expand social connections, experience a general source of enjoyment, and retreat from home and usual responsibilities. Beyond individual well-being outcomes, the program also seemed to serve as a vehicle for broader integration, by encouraging gender interactions, creating a multicultural environment, and bolstering the youths’ motivation and confidence to engage in new activities. Such findings provide a rich tapestry of understanding into how newcomer youth define, understand, and experience mental health, and may have important policy implications to shift understanding of transition stress from migration beyond just the initial arrival. The results also indicate that programs such as IPLAY can have important and positive impacts on youth participants, and how future programming may be able to adapt to further support the growing demographic of newcomer youth.Item Open Access Drawing on the Lived Experiences of Peer Support Workers in the provision of Substance and Addiction Services: A Case Study of ABC Health CenterSegawa, Patrick; Department of Child and Youth StudiesSubstance and drug abuse can have long-term effects on the physical, social, and mental well-being of people, and can lead to death. The highest percentage of drug users in Canada can be found among youth and young adults. The use of substances such as alcohol, tobacco or cannabis may lead them into vulnerable situations and risk of addiction. I conducted a qualitative research study where six (6) peer support workers (18 to 50) working with ABC Health Center were recruited and interviewed to obtain diverse information on their lived experiences in the provision of substance and addiction services in a city in Niagara Region. One (1) FGD was conducted among clinicians and/or counselors who work with and support the peer support workers. Data was collected in January 2023. The semi-structured interviews and FGD were audio recorded, transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed thematically. Many of the peer support workers have previously been clients with ABC Health Center and their greatest motivation is the desire to help other youths who are going through similar situations that they have recovered from. Some of the day-to-day activities conducted by peer support workers include: conducting one-on-one sessions with clients, facilitating group discussions, and providing referrals for information and services. One of the benefits associated with peer support is being in a position to support other people recover from substance and addiction challenges. Some of the challenges faced by peer support workers include: the feeling of being vulnerable; not knowing when to draw the line in oversharing and fear of being put into compromising situations. Peer support workers play a critical function in being role models in the recovery process among their fellow youths and young adults. This is done by establishing mutual relationships based on trust. Their biggest desire is to give back through sharing their lived experience and helping others overcome challenges with substances and addiction.Item Open Access An Investigation on the Influence of Parental Physical Activity on Physical Activity Behaviours of Children with and without Developmental Coordination DisorderGaffan, Joceline; Department of Child and Youth StudiesAs children grow and develop there are many factors that play a role in influencing a child. Physical activity (PA) is important for children and youth development. Parents are widely acknowledged as significant influences in various aspects of their children’s lives, particularly serving as role models for PA. In the literature pertaining to this topic, multiple findings support the notion of a positive influence of parental PA on their child’s PA (Barkin et al., 2017; 2017; Song et al., 2017; Xu et al., 2018). The aim of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between parent and child PA over time through device-assessed measures. Additionally, this thesis will examine whether a distinction exists in the relationship between parent PA and PA of typically developing (TD) children and children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The current study will utilize data from the Coordination and Activity Tracking in children study. This study will look at 330 child-parent dyads (TD=204; DCD=126) by utilizing the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) through path analysis. For this study the APIM looks at the relationship between parent and child PA. The actor effects represent the effect of the participants own PA on their future PA. The partner influences represent the impact of the participants PA on their partners PA. Three models were utilized, the first examining the full sample and then subsequently stratifying the children into TD and DCD groups. For the APIM it was found that there were significant actor effects for both parent and child meaning that their PA was predictive of their future PA, which was consistence across all three models. There were no significant partner influences in each of the APIM models indicating that parent and child PA were not predictive of each other at any timepoint. Overall, the results of this study reveal that there is no evident relationship between parent and child PA over time, regardless of whether they belong to the TD or DCD group. These findings emphasize the need for standardized accelerometer processes to enhance result consistency and reliability when investigating the relationship between parent and child PA.Item Open Access Experiences of Volunteering: A Qualitative Study of Intergenerational Volunteerism in the Snow Buddies Program and Similar Volunteer Initiatives in NiagaraMichener, Kaitlyn; Department of Child and Youth StudiesSnow Buddies is an intergenerational volunteer program in the Niagara Region that recruits’ youth volunteers to remove snow and ice from the driveways and walkways of older adult clients with disabilities. Research demonstrates that involvement in intergenerational volunteer programs between older adults and youth can benefit both groups through building communication skills and new relationships (Blais et al., 2017). There is a gap in the literature addressing intergenerational volunteerism between youth and older adults outside of specific contexts, such as long-term care homes (Hickey et al., 2004; Kim & Lee, 2018; Santini et al., 2018). As such, this qualitative research explores youth and older adults’ experience of being a part of the Snow Buddies program and similar volunteer initiatives in general and throughout unique times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth volunteers (ages 14-25), older adult clients (76-87) and one older adults’ family member participated in semi-structured interviews to share their experiences of being a part of the Snow Buddies program or a similar volunteer initiative. Data were gathered from 14 participants: 9 volunteers (55% female), 4 clients, and 1 family member. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to code and analyze all interview transcripts. Participants reported that the Snow Buddies program and similar volunteer initiatives created a sense of belonging through an intergenerational connection, as well as a sense of personal fulfillment for volunteers. They also reported that the program was physically and socially challenging at times for volunteers and clients, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from this research have program related implications for perceived benefits of an intergenerational volunteer program between youth and older adults, due to its unique study design and participant sample. As well, there are risk mitigation implications for volunteering during a unique time such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Item Open Access Stress from Academics, Stress from Interpersonal Relationships and Academic Burnout Among Chinese AdolescentsBingyu, Liu; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe current study examined relations between stress and academic burnout, and the moderating role of adaptive academic coping between stress from academics and academic burnout among adolescents. Potential stress leading to academic burnout included stress from academics and stress from interpersonal relationships (stress from teacher, parental, peer relationships). Five-hundred and eighteen students (48.26% male, 14 to 15 years old) from one middle school in China participated in this study. Structural equation modeling indicated that (1) academic burnout was significantly predicted by stress from academics and stress from parental relationships, but was not significantly predicted by stress from teacher and peer relationships, and (2) adaptive academic coping significantly moderated the association between stress from academics and academic burnout, after controlling for the effects of sex, age, socioeconomic status, and grade ranking. This study provided insight into which types of stress perceived by Chinese adolescents (e.g., stress from academics and interpersonal relationships) predicted academic burnout, and how adaptive academic coping might mitigate links between academic stress and academic burnout. Recommendations of the current study are discussed in terms of government, school and teacher, and parental aspects.Item Open Access A Comprehensive Analysis of Child and Youth Experiences within Shaking the Movers Workshops: A Discourse Analysis of Canadian UNCRC Implementation EffortsSuri, Ruchika; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) has been ratified by 197 nations, aiming to protect and provide for the rights of all children and young people. However, signatories such as Canada known as State Parties have mostly failed to adequately implement children’s rights (Senate of Canada, 2007; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 1995, 2003, 2012, 2022). Instead of widespread implementation efforts across governments and education systems, smaller organizations have been left to take on rights-based initiatives that provide children with safe spaces to facilitate rights-based education and discussions. In 2007, Carleton University's Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights (LPRC) in Ottawa, worked to ensure this by establishing their annual Shaking the Movers (herein, STM) workshops. These workshops have engaged young Canadians by providing research and education about children’s rights. Over 14 years, these workshops have produced and published 40 reports which consist of the unfiltered and unique perspectives of young people. This qualitative study will use them as data to address the main question: “How are young people in partnership with adult stakeholders involved in the cross-Canada Shaking the Movers workshops understanding and implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child?” The study employs Michel Foucault’s (1981) critical discourse analysis as the methodological framework to systematically analyze the STM reports. It has been adapted as a tool to identify and critique children’s experiences of rights and recognize how adult power relations impact them (Scraton, 1997). The Foucauldian analysis is guided by the sociology of childhood for a more extensive critical review of this database and to facilitate a wider understanding of children as active agents of their own socially constructed world, rather than passive or incomplete future citizens. This context further acknowledges that understandings of childhood are ever-changing and vary based upon history, culture, and politics of society (James & Prout, 1997). The findings of this study emphasize the need for better partnerships between children and adults at all levels of Canadian society for better implementation of the Convention.Item Open Access Taking the Lead: Understanding Student Leadership in Atlantic Canadian Secondary SchoolsMyatt, Haley; Department of Child and Youth StudiesParticipation and student voice are important components of childhood and adolescence. Leadership, when described as individuals with specific motives and values mobilizing others towards a common goal, is one form of participation and student voice (Kort, 2008; MacNeil, 2006; Thomson, 2012). Often, students’ first platforms for leadership opportunities and active participation are through extracurricular activities like student councils; however, there is limited research on youth leadership (Karagianni & Montgomery, 2017). Using the Social Change Model of Leadership, as well as Transformational and Transactional Leadership theories, this research project examines and questions the role that secondary school student councils play in the development of leadership in Atlantic Canada: nineteen secondary school students from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador contributed their leadership perceptions in a thirty-six question, online, qualitative survey. The survey poses questions about social identifiers, experiences in student government, and understandings of leadership and student leadership. What emerges is a spectrum of lived experiences within leadership, the prevalence of binaries in participants’ thinking about quality leadership and identified inequalities within the practice of leadership. Overall, leadership is understood by the participants as being positionally-based and centered within discovering, establishing, and maintaining relations with followers. Participants’’ definitions of what a leader is are incredibly situational. This topic warrants further research and deeper opportunities for young people to directly share their experiences.Item Open Access Sociodemographic Homophily Within Friendship and Sequential Peer Victimization: A Longitudinal Dyadic PerspectiveLi, Jiayi; Department of Child and Youth StudiesBullying is embedded within peer social networks that involve more than just bullies and victims. Extant research mostly supports that victims’ friends–as the individuals closest to the victims in the peer network–can protect victims by reducing risk factors and promoting adjustment at the individual level (Bukowski et al., 2018). However, the effect of similarity between victims and their friends on peer victimization remains understudied. Homophily refers to the tendency that people to befriend similar others (Lazarsfeld & Merton,1964). The current thesis investigated how homophily–magnitude (i.e., similarity level) and direction (i.e., which party of the dyad has a high score in specific characteristics) in Emotionality, social status, and peer victimization experience–between youth and their mutual friends can impact the frequency of peer victimization, concurrently and over time. The data were extracted from a two-wave longitudinal study. The analytic sample included 207 Grade 5-9 participants (female 62.8%, Mage = 11.88, SD = 1.18), creating 424 friendship dyads. Regression analyses suggested that a higher level of similarity in peer victimization at Wave 1 and in social status at Wave 2 predicted the targeted youth’s lower frequency of peer victimization at Wave 2. Regarding homophily direction, befriending peers with lower Emotionality than oneself and with more peer victimization experience than oneself at Wave 1 predicted an increase in youth’s peer victimization at Wave 2. From a dyadic perspective, the current thesis supports the effect of friendship selection based on dyadic similarity and addresses the significant role of sociodemographic homophily within friendships. It also provides a more complete picture of how bullying operates in peer groups than the current bullying research has.Item Open Access The time(s) of our lives: Exploring and opening up alternative temporalities through the experience of disabilityMcCowell, Kelly; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how some relate to time atypically and how, precisely through that relation, they help to disclose possibilities for alternative ways of being more generally. Both the COVID-19 pandemic as well as increasing threats of climate change have engendered an appreciation of the precariousness of our existence; in short, these crises have illuminated the inevitability of an uncertain future both immediately and in the long term. Despite the loom, the ways in which we live our lives in the dominant culture of Western society reflects a linear, future oriented temporality where able-bodied citizens often strive for progress and advancement, transformation, and ultimately mastery of the environment. Other temporalities exist, however, such as those shared by people whose bodily experiences construct their social realities in unconventional ways. Often it is their diagnosis that puts them out of line both with developmental time and fundamentally the neoliberal ethos of a productive life. This study strove to disrupt the domination of linear time and opposingly argued that these alternative relationships with time may be more well suited to the precarious nature of our lives. Guided by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s (2012) bioethical assertion that we might want to conserve rather than eliminate disability, I sought to uncover alternative temporalities in the hopes of disclosing their generative potential. Four memoirs written by parents of children with diverse disabilities were used as qualitative data to convey the experience of disability, temporalities and alternative ways of being in the world. The findings highlight opportunities for rethinking the ways in which we perceive and interact with time.Item Open Access A Call to Action: How the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has influenced policing policy and practice in Ontario.Cauduro, Emily; Department of Child and Youth StudiesIndigenous peoples in Canada are impacted by current socio-economic marginality, colonialism, and intergenerational trauma that perpetuates systemic racism, overrepresentation within the criminal justice system, and a paradox of over and under-policing. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) detailed the roles of colonialism and fostered an environment for reconciliation through the Calls to Action. The current research aims to examine how police policy, practice, and training in Southern Ontario has been modified to include the justice Calls for Action set out by the TRC and the extent to which police interactions with Indigenous peoples has been affected following the publication of the TRC. This research will aim to answer the main question; how do police officers understand the TRC within the context of their role in the justice system, professional training, and decision making? Using the theoretical framework of decolonization, social constructionism, and critical race theory, this research will also explore how police officers understand the TRC, how the TRC has influenced police training, how the justice principles from the TRC have been implemented into the application of the law, and how police policy can be changed to address the present overrepresentation of Indigenous adults and youth in the criminal justice system. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine police officers from the Kitchener-Waterloo Regional Police Service and the Halton Regional Police Service. Data analysis was conducted through thematic content analysis and coding methods found in grounded theory. The findings of this research indicate that the TRC Report and specifically Calls to Action numbers 30, 31, 38, 42, 50, and 57, have had minimal impact on influencing police policy or application of the law to correct the present overrepresentation of Indigenous adults and youth in the criminal justice system.Item Open Access A Multi-Method Examination of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model Among Adolescents: Testing the Unique Role of Online (Dis)ConnectionBlackburn, Melissa; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThe purpose of the current bi-phasic, multi-method study was to provide a comprehensive and rigorous test of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM) among adolescents, with a focus on the role of online connection. According to the PSDM, perfectionism is thought to be linked with a lack of social connection which, in turn, predicts higher levels of psychopathology. In Phase One, adolescent self- identified perfectionists were compared to non-perfectionist adolescents with respect to themes relating to social media use and social connection, coded from semi-structured interviews. The findings provided valuable insight into adolescent perfectionists’ experiences of connection and disconnection, both online and in-person. Importantly, these findings offered support for the PSDM whereby most perfectionists felt disconnected in online spaces – mirroring the pattern of their in-person relationships. To extend the findings of Phase One, a longitudinal quantitative test of the PSDM, including indicators of both online and in-person social connection, was conducted among a community sample of Ontario adolescents in Phase Two. The findings from the second phase of the current work supported the predictions of the PSDM, by demonstrating that each form of perfectionism was indirectly linked to depression via in-person social connection. Altogether, the findings of the present work provided support for the theoretical tenets put forth by the PSDM among a sample of community adolescents. More specifically, the results of the current work highlight the central role of perfectionistic self-presentation in the experiences of social disconnection among adolescents. Implications for theory as well as intervention and prevention efforts were discussed.Item Open Access Tracing the Colonial Dimensions of ‘Special Education’: History, Disability, and Settler ColonialismMoore, Alec; Department of Child and Youth StudiesThis thesis proposes that there are intersections between settler colonialism, disability, and education, that can help to clarify how and why national recognition of violence against Indigenous communities is a central project of the nation-state. For this reason, the exacerbating impacts of ableism and (settler) colonialism are studied for their impact on schooling and education in Canada. Using Critical Discourse Analysis as a method of inquiry, the Ontario First Nations Special Education Review Report is analyzed for its relation to history, pedagogy, and colonialism. The report is useful to investigation of the connection between current and historical conceptualizations of disability and the history/present of settler colonialism within the Canadian nation-state. The thesis is framed through the understanding that ableism and colonialism, as they appear in "special education", are intertwined forces which are often founded upon white supremacy and framed through Eurocentric discourse. As such, this thesis engages the fields of Critical Disability Studies, Settler Colonialism, Indigenous Studies, and Education, to describe how special education is informed by colonial constructs of schooling. Conclusions drawn through applying these theories to a reading of the Ontario First Nations Special Education Review Report suggested that there is an apprehension to adopt disability discourse because of the history of colonialism and the ongoing presence of Debility. As well, there is an immediate need to address the systemic issues regarding funding, resource access, and self-determination because of the historical and continued injustices that occur within First Nations education.Item Open Access “We are a family that works with our hands” or uterus: An exploration of first-generation female university students’ academic journeyAttema, Sophia; Department of Child and Youth StudiesWorking-class children are not as likely to obtain higher education, and the preeminent factor is their parents’ level of education. Thirty percent of all Canadian students are first-generation and are defined as students whose parents did not complete a four-year university degree. First-generation students (FGSs) who are female tend to be researched separately but with little focus on the intersections of class and gender, making this topic ripe for research. There is a gap in the literature regarding FGS’s narratives from a class-based perspective that examines the connection between family history and academic decision-making. The barriers first-generation female students (FGFSs) face are unique, intersecting with low socioeconomic status, race and gender. To address these barriers is to alleviate economic inequality and interrupt intergenerational poverty. This qualitative study explored the academic journey of six FGFSs using focus groups and photo-elicitation interviews combined with an autoethnographic voice. This research addresses the following question: How do FGFSs experience their journey to and through higher education? Using critical feminist theory and Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, I analyze the challenges, intersecting complexities, and achievements of FGFSs. This study aims to describe FGFS’s academic journeys, generates and recounts their lived experiences and expand understanding and interpretation of this intersectional and heterogeneous population. This knowledge is valuable for childhood educators, teachers, guidance counsellors, professors, parents, and FGS programs to ensure equitable support and opportunities for all children. Unaddressed, girls from working-class homes can be set up for a future of precarious work, limiting personal potential and repeating a generational cycle of low socioeconomic status.Item Open Access Taking Care: Queer Belonging and Safety in The UniversityCiccotelli, Brooklyn; Department of Child and Youth StudiesIn this research, Brock University offers a case study of the tensions that result from desires for inclusion and the realities of pain, misrecognition, and harm many experiences. This project explored how queer students utilize and create systems of care that are both daily acts of nourishment required to engage with heteronormativity, and urgent critiques of neoliberalism. Five participants were recruited, all of whom are currently enrolled at Brock University and are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This study used a semi-structured, open-ended methodology for the data collection process to ask how do queer students experience care within the university? Four individual interviews were done with the participants on Zoom. Firstly, the participants use their identities to express their desires for care and systems of support that recognize their identities holistically. The second theme is the life-saving effect of queer kinship as a site of temporary relief from the stressors of navigating the heteronormative geographies of the university. The final theme identifies the precarious nature of safety in the classroom as experienced by queer students. I conclude that Brock University is at an impasse of care, I propose that students require care resources that engage meaningfully with queerness, acknowledging its implications for housing, individual pedagogy, and emotional wellbeing.