| Workshop A - Thursday, March 1 at 10:45 AM |
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1. Roundtables
1A. The Power of Voice and Choice: Instituting Anti-oppressive and Equitable Practices in Underserved Neighbourhoods
What do schools look like when students are placed at the centre of school structures and practices? This roundtable discussion unpacks how school leaders can foster academic and social success within marginalized communities through authentic conversations with students and the broader community. Participants will learn about a secondary school which inspired 11 school leaders to remove home school programs and applied streaming from key subjects, set high standards for all learners, and used professional development to enhance teacher efficacy. Discussions will focus on why authentically empowering students’ voices should determine school programming and structures and how it can enhance post-secondary pathways for underserved students. Participants will share successful approaches and determine how school leaders can intentionally disrupt practices that disempower and marginalize students living in high priority neighbourhoods.
Presenters: Cherilyn Scobie, Toronto District School Board; Denise E. Armstrong, Brock University
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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1B. Building Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Capacity in Leadership
The Regional Diversity Roundtable (RDR) of Peel shares it’s Building Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Capacity in Leadership initiative and learnings. This pilot project focused on research and DEI assessment, support and training offered through tools and curriculum developed in-house to 65 human services organizational leaders in a 4 module program over 8 months in 5 regions: Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Waterloo, and Peel with a local community hub model.
Key findings shared through this interactive Roundtable will allow educational leaders to reflect on and develop a skillset and foundation not only to become change agents, but to champion the DEI assessment and evaluations in their respective boards.
Presenters: Varsha Naik, Executive Director; Nafeesa Jalal, Coordinator (Regional Diversity Roundtable)
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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2. Muslim Students’ Experiences of Islamophobia in Schools
This interactive workshop will detail the complex experiences of Muslim students with Islamophobia using an intersectional lens. Specifically, on the one hand, we will shed light on how Muslim students’ experiences of Islamophobia intersect with gender, xenophobia, and anti-Black racism, and on the other, provide effective strategies for educators and policy makers framed by supportive pedagogies, such as caring and culturally responsive teaching, and antiracist education. This workshop will include several opportunities for dialogue and features insightful and engaging videos.
Presenters: Sarah Halabi, Western University; Hiba Barek, Western University
Presentation Type: Workshop
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3. We Have Something to Say: Young People and Their Families Speak out about Disability and Change
The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth launched We Have Something to Say in an effort to close the gap between policy and the realities facing Disabled children and youth and their families or caregivers. The project amplifies the voices of these youth to those who are in a position to provide them with services. In this session, we will share youth-generated recommendations directed specifically at Ontario’s education system. These recommendations were developed based on over 170 submissions and interviews from Disabled children and youth, their caregivers, siblings, and other support people. These recommendations touched on many aspects of the education system including accessibility, in-service and pre-service teaching training, IEP processes, curriculum, assistive technology, and transitions. It is our hope that by amplifying and centring the voices of young people we can create systemic change that will lead towards increased equity and inclusion.
Presenters: Josh Lamers , Rana Nasrazadani , Alex Bissell (Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth)
Presentation Type: Workshop
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4. The Early Years and Racism: Research Implications for Practice and Policy Change
The workshop aims to bring a team that includes a child psychologist, early-childhood educators, and policy advocates, to discuss racism issues, practice and policies that addressing racism in the early years. The workshop will be discussing two main questions: What does the research note regarding the early development racial biases? What policies and practices should be developed and implemented to ameliorate implicit and explicit racial biases?
Presenters: Kang Lee, University of Toronto; Lilian Ma, Canadian Race Relations Foundation; Fathima Najeemudeen, Ryerson University
Presentation Type: Workshop
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5. Student Equity and Pathways Across Time and Countries: The McMaster Gateway Cities Project
The Gateway Cities project examines Toronto and other key international Gateway cities- urban centres for large numbers of recent immigrants-- where the research team examine the determinants of post-secondary pathways for high school students.
Data from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is examined through long-term cohort studies, and in comparison to Chicago, New York City, and London UK. Student groups studied include: those identified with special needs, underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, recent immigrants and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The research will examine:
- The role of intersectionality (race, gender, and class) in explaining post-secondary transitions of students identified with special education needs;
- The role of elementary at-risk factors in post-secondary pathways;
- A comparison of Toronto patterns to similar students in Chicago, New York City, and London, UK
Presenters: Dr. Karen Robson, McMaster University; Dr. Gillian Parekh, York University; Dr. Robert S. Brown, Toronto District School Board/York University
Presentation Type: Workshop
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6. We Rise Together Action Plan: The Peel District School Board Action Plan to Support Black Male Students
This workshop will highlight the implementation and evaluation plan of PDSB’s We Rise Together Action Plan. The plan was created to identify, understand, minimize and eliminate the marginalization experienced by Black male students. The plan has four goals:
- Engage with the community,
- Deliver anti-Black racism and bias awareness professional development training,
- Integrate the Black experiences of Black Canadians into curriculum, and
- Inspire Black student leadership and engagement
The workshop will review the various activities implemented to achieve the plan’s goals, while highlighting how leveraging school-community research partnerships supported the implementation and evaluation of the plan. An overview of the evaluation findings will be provided along with a discussion of future steps in mobilizing and translating the findings across audience groups while continuing to leverage school-community research partnerships within an equity context.
Presenters: Rossana Bisceglia, Ph.D., Peel District School Board; Poleen Grewal, Peel District School Board; Carl James, Ph.D., York University
Presentation Type: Workshop
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7. Inequities in Mental Health and Well-Being Among Immigrant and Refugee Youth: Evidence for Action in the Education System
This workshop builds on findings from local, provincial and national epidemiological studies of migrant youth mental health. The learning objectives of this workshop are to share findings on:
- Levels of mental health difficulties, well-being at school, and mental health treatment gaps among immigrant and refugee youth, relative to non-migrant youth; and
- Teacher- and student-identified challenges to providing supports for mental health problems at school. Interactive group discussions and breakout sessions will allow participants to identify pragmatic strategies that address specific challenges to school-based mental health care for all youth, and migrant youth in particular.
These strategies will be used to inform the development and evaluation of a programmatic approach for addressing unmet mental health needs of migrant youth in schools
Presenters: Katholiki Georgiades, PhD; Steven T.H. Ma, MSc; Irene Vitoroulis, PhD (McMaster University)
Presentation Type: Workshop
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8. Discourse of School Leaders: A Reflection of Implicit Inequities in Mathematics at School*
This interactive workshop examines the role of school leadership by principals and vice principals in influencing student performance in mathematics. While we performed a review of current literature, the concept of discourse in mathematics sparked our interest.
The research related to this workshop fills a gap in current literature and opens a window into the effects of school leaders’ discourse on student success in mathematics. (Herbel-Eisenmann, Choppin, Wagner and Pimm, 2011, p. 5). This project creates a framework to support studies on the ways that the discourse of school leaders could influence success and equity in mathematics. While researchers are looking into questions of equity in school mathematics and policy makers are discussing ways to improve overall student performance in mathematics, it is vital to consider how to support school leaders in developing discourse compatible with equity.
Presenters: Jhonel Morvan, Brock University; Mélissa Villella, University of Ottawa
Presentation Type: Workshop
*In French
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| Workshop B - Friday, March 2 at 10:30 AM |
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1. Roundtables
1A. Can We Talk About Race? Confronting Colour-Blindness in Early Childhood Settings
In this roundtable, we will provide participants with some brief background information about the project, highlighting the Canadian context. We will highlight emerging research gaps in terms of policy, practice, education and training. Through the use of case studies, we will explore the implications and recommendations that emerged from the research.
Presenters: Dr. Beverly-Jean Daniel ; Dr. Rachel Berman (Ryerson University)
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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1B. Inspired to Excel: How African-centred and Culturally Relevant Pre-Kindergarten Summer Learning Programs Benefitted the Youngest Learners
The early years is a critical, formative period during which experiences and environments facilitate childhood development. As such, the Toronto District School Board offered Inspired to Excel, a free 4-week Pre-Kindergarten Summer Learning Program at several school sites across the city for three consecutive years. This unique program focused on supporting young children’s transition into formal schooling within either an African-centred or a responsive and culturally sensitive pedagogical framework. This was accomplished through arts-based learning experiences, where students were involved in meaningful play and inquiry-based learning activities that provided building blocks for problem solving, communication, and self-regulation skills development. The program was designed to use student identities to guide culturally relevant topics of interest, and to use culturally relevant resources to enhance classroom programming. Inspired to Excel also sought the purposeful engagement of parents/caregivers and community partners.
Presenters: Stefanie De Jesus; Samuel Zheng (Toronto District School Board)
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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2. Promoting Positive Mental Health and Cultural Connectedness Through Strengths-Based Mentoring with Indigenous Youth
This workshop will review the development and evaluation of the Uniting Our Nations peer mentoring program for Indigenous youth. This mentoring program has been developed over the past decade in partnership between the Fourth R team at Western University and the Thames Valley District School Board. It takes place at weekly lunch meeting and applies a strength-based, culturally relevant approach to mentoring. Longitudinal research outcomes associated with two years of participation in the program include improved positive well-being, increased cultural connectedness, and increased credit accumulation. In this workshop, Claire Crooks (Director, Centre for School Mental Health) will discuss program development and research methodology and findings. Mike Cywink (Student Mentor / Program Liaison) will describe the mentoring program and lead an experiential activity from the mentoring program. Finally, Paul McKenzie (Superintendent, TVDSB) will describe how the work emerging from this school-university partnership has supported the board’s strategic direction.
Presenters: Claire Crooks, Western University; Mike Cywink, Western University; Paul McKenzie, Thames Valley District School Board
Presentation Type: Workshop
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3. Addressing Student Absenteeism in Northwestern Ontario: Research, Initiatives, Resources, and Lessons Learned
Student absenteeism is a significant issue in Northwestern Ontario. We know that when students are absent from school they are less likely to be successful. Our collaborative study seeks to identify main correlates of absenteeism at Lakehead District School Board as well as the effects of absenteeism on student achievement. Knowledge gained from the research is used to design interventions that will engage stakeholders in improving student attendance. This session will provide participants with an overview of the research process, preliminary findings as well as intervention resources that have been designed, including the innovative HERE campaign that was developed to provide resources to promote the importance of daily attendance to the 8 partner district school boards. Our approach can be adapted and implemented by other school boards that are concerned about student attendance.
Presenters: Heather Harris, Lakehead District School Board; Christina van Barneveld, Lakehead University; Bruce Nugent, Lakehead District School Board
Presentation Type: Workshop
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4. Revisiting the Discussion of ‘Push-Out’ or ‘Drop-Out’ Over 20 Years Later: Lessons Learned From, and Shifts in, Anti-Racist Education
Over twenty years ago, Director of the Centre of Anti-Racist Education Studies (CIARS), Dr. George JS Dei, FRSC, initiated a study examining systemic racism in the Canadian schooling and education system. This study led to a book and several other joint publications (Dei, Holmes, Mazzuca, McIsaac & Campbell, 1995; Dei, Mazzuca, McIsaac & Zine, 1997) and provided a nuanced lens to answer critical questions on what constitutes student success by framing it in a systemic perspective, thus removing the individual blame providing a broader holistic narrative. This study was ground-breaking in the Canadian context gaining a significant amount of media attention. This project aims to revisit the discussion of anti-racism within the Canadian educational context and analyze recent studies which have emerged since this project to carve out new futurities for Black, Indigenous and racialized student success anchored in new and innovative community-school partnerships.
Presenters: Andrea Vásquez, University of Toronto;/OISE Janelle Brady, University of Toronto; Phiona Lloyd-Henry, Peel District
Presentation Type: Workshop
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5. Mobilizing Diversity and Equity within School Communities: A Social Action Curriculum Project
This workshop is situated against the backdrop of the Urban Priority High Schools (UPHS) initiative of Ontario established in 2008. In 2012, the University of Ottawa and our UPHS set up a partnership through our Urban Education Cohort. Through our partnership, we have attempted to create safe spaces for students and prepare our teacher candidates to be able to meet the individual and collective needs of student populations that are marginalized due to poverty, race, linguistic and cultural differences. In our workshop, we discourse ways of meeting the needs of immigrant and refugee families through our teacher education programs (Kane, Ng-A-Fook, Radford & Butler, 2017). This workshop will illustrate how our partnership seeks to push the boundaries, and foster an understanding of diversity, difference and belonging in schools. The workshop will also discuss how to promote equity, create safe spaces in classrooms where everyone, including migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers can feel a sense of belonging, achieve academic success and become active, informed and useful citizens of Canada (McInery, 2009; Davies, 2014).
Presenters: Nicholas Ng-A-Fook; Linda Radford; Hembadoon Iyortyer Oguanobi (University of Ottawa)
Presentation Type: Workshop
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6. Supporting the School Engagement and Academic Success of African and Caribbean Descent Students
This workshop reviews current research related to the school engagement and academic achievement of African and Caribbean descent students in North American schools, with a focus on research conducted within Ontario. It aims to familiarize teachers, administrators and educational workers with issues confronted by Black students and their families in addressing school-based expectations and other educational challenges. Research data related to the academic trajectories and social inclusion of African and Caribbean descent students in Ontario will be introduced. Focusing on C.W. Jefferys C.I. as a case study, we also discuss findings of studies of inclusive schooling practices that have been shown to enhance students’ academic engagement and performance by creating a welcoming and supportive school environment, accompanied by high expectations. Such practices involve the inclusion of cultural sources of knowledge within classroom lessons, after-school enrichment and sports activities, and access to mentoring resources.
Presenters: Sandra R. Schecter, York University; Monday Gala, Toronto District School Board; Dargine Rajeswaran, Toronto District School Board
Presentation Type: Workshop
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7. Caring and Safe Schools: How Principals can Foster a Culture of Inclusion for Students with Special Education Needs
This workshop will include a review of a 2016-2018 national study on how principals can support inclusive schools for students with special education needs. The study included input from more than 200 principals from Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick. The study provides an opportunity to examine the training and professional learning that principals experience as well as their day-to-day activities in supporting students with special education needs. The study also explored critical incidents which principals had experienced and how these informed their support of students in inclusive schools. Presenters, including a research team member, a principal, and a Ministry of Education staff member, will provide an interactive opportunity, structured as a panel and with supplementary case studies, to discuss the ways that principals foster inclusive schools.
Presenters: Steve Sider, Wilfrid Laurier University; Jhonel Morvan, Brock University; Mélissa Villella, University of Ottawa
Presentation Type: Workshop
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8. Foundations for Diversity and Equity: Making Space for Community Connections and Voices of Diversity Through Spoken Word Poetry*
In this workshop from the RSEKN, equity takes centre stage. Through spokenword poetry, social and cultural assumptions and biases are placed in perspective in order to challenge preconceived notions of marginalized and suppressed voices.
During an unconventional facilitated workshop, participants will directly examine ways in which spoken-word poetry can be used as an adapted and relevant instructional practice, thus creating spaces where marginalized voices can shed light on challenges posed to them by systemic barriers.
Participants will have a handson experience centered around methods by which teachers and teacher trainers can:
- Examine biases and assumptions about racialized and marginalized individuals
- Analyze poems with political and cultural messages that reveal and question systemic practices and biases
- Discuss possible responses to exclusionary and discriminatory situations
- Learn how poetry can turn life experiences into transformative and inclusive educational experiences
Participants will also look at ways in which community activities can foster collaboration between communities and schools in their work on equity.
Presenters: Nathalie Bélanger, University of Ottawa; Noor El-Husseini, University of Ottawa; Bassam the Poet, University of Ottawa
Presentation Type: Workshop
*In French
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| Workshop C - Friday, March 2 at 1:00 PM |
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1. Roundtables
1A. Promising Policies and Practices for Mitigating the Immigrant Student Performance Disadvantage within Ontario Schools
Immigrant students often face multiple challenges within contemporary schools. Thus, it is not surprising that prominent international achievement measures such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have consistently reported an achievement gap between non-migrant and first- and second-generation immigrant student groups around the world – a result that is often referred to as the immigrant student performance disadvantage. This presentation examines disaggregated achievement data in greater detail and juxtaposes immigrant student results in Ontario against education policies and practices that have been more (or less) successful in mitigating the immigrant student performance disadvantage in other educational jurisdictions. Collectively, the analysis identifies promising policies and practices to consider and discusses the implications for teachers, school administrators, district leadership, and policymakers.
[Please Note: This research is part of a larger 5-year pan-Canadian SSHRC funded study].
Presenters: Louis Volante, Brock University; Don Klinger, Queen's University; Melissa Siegel, United Nations University
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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1B. Leadership By Design (LBD): Narrowing the Opportunity Gap for African-Caribbean Canadian Students through Mentoring and High Support Strategies
The study tracks a cohort of youth as they progress through the Leadership By Design (LBD) seven-year cycle. LBD seeks to support African-Caribbean Canadian students in optimizing their talents and building meaningful careers by providing them with access to resources that assist in closing the achievement and opportunity gaps between African-Caribbean students and the rest of the student population. A signature program of the Lifelong Leadership Institute (LLI), LBD is committed to inspiring leadership and developing leaders in the GTA’s Black and Caribbean communities. This program addresses issues related to the underachievement of African-Caribbean Canadian students that challenges schools and community organizations in Ontario. It provides developmental support for students spanning the secondary school and university years, preparing youth to practise effective and responsible leadership. Participants acquire soft leadership skills through mentorship programming and through accessing high support resources normally afforded to students from privileged communities.
Presenters: Trevor Massey, Lifelong Leadership Institute; Nicola M. Dove, York University
Presentation Type: Roundtable
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2. Youth Strategy and Equity Collaborative: Changing Mindset by Leveraging Practice
During this workshop participants will:
- Learn how to form a collaborative (community of practice)
- Hear about research data results to look deeply into storied practices of educators, how practices are reformed, and how student voice and parent engagement are solutions for problematizing issues in systems
- Be involved in innovative activities that will provoke difficult but courageous conversations about systemic barriers in Ontario schools
Activities will include:
- Simulation of scenarios from the youth strategy research collaborative
- Active engagement of narrative cases from research project with direct participation of participants to build knowledge capacity of student voice, parent engagement, and shifting teaching practices
- Activity on how to leverage practice, change mindset, and disrupt conversations of systemic bias, practices and processes
- Panel discussion of workshop revelations, data results, and next steps
Presenters: Darlene Ciuffetelli Parker, Brock University; Christine Battagli, Niagara Catholic District School Board; Jim Markovski, Durham District School Board
Presentation Type: Workshop
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3. Do We Provide Equitable Learning Experiences in Public Education? Thinking Through the Equity
of Opportunity for Students in Ontario through a Consideration of School Fundraising
This is an interactive workshop that seeks to generate a critical dialogue of the role school
fundraising plays in Ontario and the inequity of opportunity within the public system to which it
points. Over a decade of data tells us that inequality in fees and fundraising across the province
are persistent and, as may have been predicted, correlated with family income. This workshop
unpacks the social and historical context of Ontario’s fundraising and fees policies, and pushes
participants to interrogate the purpose of public education. Using case study prompts from
different stakeholder perspectives, participants will grapple with where the line is drawn
between what is “essential” and what is “extra” in our education system. Discussion of fees and
fundraising will serve as a launch point for bigger questions about the purpose of education and
the challenges of equity in the education system.
Presenters: Dr. Sue Winton, York University; Dr. David Hagen Cameron, People for Education; Christine Corso, People for Education
Presentation Type: Workshop
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4. Indigenous Knowledge at the Centre of the Mathematics Classroom
In this session we will explore the complex relationship between First Nations culture and Western mathematics. Using examples from an ongoing research project we will examine the mathematics inherent in traditional Algonquin activities and how students learn through engaging in these activities. We’ll also consider how incorporating Indigenous pedagogical approaches align with current pedagogical approaches in mathematics and provide insight for creating inclusive classrooms. During this workshop we will delve deeper into mathematical thinking, specifically algebraic, spatial, and proportional reasoning, inherent in Algonquin beadwork. We’ll explore the connections among 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional representations of quantity and space by designing and creating a hair bone pipe bead bracelet, and then view videos of students’ thinking to analyze the kinds of mathematical reasoning this activity supports. Finally, we will consider the voices of community members as they reflect on the importance of including First Nations culture in the mathematics classroom.
Presenters: Ruth Beatty, Lakehead University; Danielle Blair, Simcoe County District School Board; Christina Ruddy, The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre
Presentation Type: Workshop
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5. Gender is Like an Ocean: Exploring Adolescents’ and Teachers’ Collaborative Inquiry into All-Gender Identity and Inclusion
This workshop will involve a screening of the 45-minute film, Gender is Like an Ocean, followed by both small- and large-group discussions among audience members and the filmmakers and research team. The session will begin with brief remarks from the research team to contextualize the film within the larger research project of which it is a part, as well as the broader climate of LGBTQ and all-gender advocacy and activism in schools. Participants will then be invited to critically reflect on the ways in which collaborative inquiries can support empathy, solidarity, and critical readings of texts, and how feminist and anti-transphobic readings in particular may serve as a catalyst for sustained inquiry and activism in response to broader social problems.
Presenters: Sarah Evis, Toronto District School Board; Ben Gallagher and Ty Walkland, University of Toronto
Presentation Type: Workshop
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6. How Can Data Support Equity? Lessons from Child Care and Early Years Service Planning
The child care and early years system continues to experience significant growth and transformation including the commitment to help 100,000 more children access licensed child care and the launch of EarlyON Child and Family Centres across Ontario. At the local level, Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) and District Social Service Administration Boards (DSSABs) have developed service plans to guide program growth in their communities. This roundtable will feature leaders from three communities that leveraged child outcome data (including the Early Development Instrument), service data and population data to inform their service plans. The presentations will focus on how population- and outcomes-focused planning is helping address inequities in access to services and service participation for marginalized populations. The presenters will also discuss how inequities can be reflected in data and strategies they have used to overcome these limitations to ensure an equitable planning process.
Presenters: Michelle Levine; Catherine de Quimper; Paul Beach; Steve Zuppa; Carla Fairbrother; Sarah Stevenson
Moderator: Dr. Jean Clinton, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, Advisor to the Minister of Education
Presentation Type: Workshop
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7. Achievement Gap in Urban Schools: Racialized Students Talking about Provincial Testing
This workshop/roundtable intends to highlight the voices of racialized and immigrant students attending urban schools and their perspectives regarding provincial testing in Toronto and Vancouver.
The students’ voices clearly show that current policies on standardized testing and ranking of schools have resulted in further inequities and segregation of students based on their race and socio-economic backgrounds.
Students interviewed for this study expressed views about their schools’ limited success in provincial testing, due mostly to factors outside of the school. Issues of poverty, drug use, and geography (location of school) all contribute significantly to students’ views about educational attainment.
Furthermore, the findings suggest that the context of schools, various testing policies, and students’ diverse trajectories and positionalities in terms of their race and socio-economic backgrounds, had significant impact on their educational experiences, aspirations and their perspectives regarding large-scale provincial testing.
Presenters: Goli Rezai-Rashti, Western University
Presentation Type: Workshop
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8. Using Cartographic Visualization Tools to Identify Student Subgroups and Barriers to Their Academic Achievement*
The primary purpose of this study is to explore the distinguishing features of student subgroups, such as those with special education needs. The cartographic visualization tool contains individual student achievement data and socio-demographic data for the population in the area served. This study focuses on the influence of specific factors that can affect the performance of these students. The second purpose of this study is to meet the needs and obligations of Ontario’s twelve French-language school boards regarding access to French-language educational facilities.
Ontario’s French-language school boards have never before had integrated access to an interactive visualization tool that allows analysis of this type of data. This asset enables school boards to make informed decisions regarding the implementation of adapted programs and equal access to school resources.
Presenters: Serge Boulé, Centre de leadership et d’évaluation; Alain Martel, Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien; Mario Gagnon, Ontario Ministry of Education
Presentation Type: Workshop
*In French
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