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York research explores refugee participation in Kenyan camps

York University doctoral student Mohamed Duale documents the dilemmas faced by refugees in extended exile in his recent report for the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), a team of researchers and practitioners committed to promoting protection and solutions with and for refugees.

Mohammed Duale
Mohamed Duale

Duale spent the summer of 2019 in a research placement for the LERRN project, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded Partnership Grant, which has a goal is to ensure that refugee research, policy and practice are shaped by a more inclusive, equitable and informed engagement with civil society.

Duale’s research in a Kakuma refugee complex in 2019 shows how refugee-led organizations in camps provide vital programs in education, health awareness, sports and recreation, but that there is a need to further involve refugees in planning and decision-making process.

Duale, who is working with Don Dippo, University Professor in Education, is the author of the new working paper titled “To be a refugee it’s like to be without your arms, legs: A Narrative Inquiry into Refugee Participation in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Nairobi, Kenya.”

At York, Duale’s doctoral research is focused on Somali youth living in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. As an immigrant from Somalia himself, Duale spent a decade working with marginalized communities in Toronto, and especially African immigrants, after completing a BA and MA at York and a BEd at the University of Toronto. Through this work, Duale developed a keen interest in refugee issues, which led to his research looking at refugee education and refugee-led organizations in Kenya. Kenya is the second-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, with over half of the refugees originating in neighbouring Somalia.

While in the Kakuma refugee camp and Nairobi in 2019, Duale conducted a series of focus groups and key informant interviews with individuals involved in refugee-led community-based organizations. His research focused on the stories of refugees and refugee leaders in order to examine their participation in the planning of programs for refugees. Historically, refugees have been seen as the passive recipients of aid, but there has been a growing call for a shift towards engaging refugees as actors and authors of the places in which they live, integrated into the society of their host countries.

Kakuma refugee camp

Duale’s research in Kenya indicates, however, that there are many obstacles to participation in the refugee regime. Social barriers, such as sexual and gender-based violence, as well as family obligations, limit the levels of girls’ participation in schools and women more generally. Regular outbreaks of general violence, lack of affordable transportation, and police harassment are all faced by residents of the Kakuma camp on a daily basis. Duale notes that “one of the most striking inconsistencies is between national policies which limit a refugee’s access to the usual rights of civilian life and global policy prescriptions calling for refugee self-sufficiency and involvement in refugee programming”. At the same time, he contends, the goals of self-sufficiency and participation need to be approached critically. Not only are there limitations on achieving those goals, but they may also be at odds with the network of power relations in which refugees find themselves.

Duale’s involvement with issues of refugee engagement in Kenya stems from his teaching for and doctoral research on York’s Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) Project. Since its establishment in 2012, the aim of the BHER project has been to make post-secondary education accessible for refugees, specifically in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, one of the largest in the world. Through the BHER project, Duale has taught and mentored refugee teachers in Dadaab who in turn make education accessible to students in the camp.

Duale’s research is especially relevant in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has focused attention on the plight and living conditions of the world’s refugees, especially those living in densely-populated camps. There are currently 71 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, and many are at heightened risk from an outbreak of the virus.

Assistant Professor Rachel Silver awarded Gail P. Kelly Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation

Image announcing Awards

Rachel Silver, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, has won the 2019-20 Gail P. Kelly Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation from the Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) for her paper “Sex, Schooling, and Moral Triage in Malawi.”

Rachel Silver

The award is conferred on an outstanding PhD or EdD dissertation that manifests academic excellence, originality, and methodological, theoretical and empirical rigor; and that deals with issues of social justice and equity in international settings. These issues may include (but are not limited to) gender, race, class, ethnicity and nationality.

“I’m truly honored to receive this award, particularly as it is named for Gail Kelly, who transformed the conversation around formal schooling and gender systems in the global South,” said Silver. “Kelly was a luminary in the field of comparative and international education.”

Silver’s research connects insights from comparative and international education and the anthropologies of gender, development and policy. Her dissertation examines the relationship between discourses on girls’ sexuality and young people’s lives in Malawi. In Southern Africa, as in much of the world, the pregnant schoolgirl embodies failure for diverse actors and institutions. Silver draws on a year of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork to reveal how this moralizing shapes international and national policy, organizational efforts to support girls’ education, daily practice in schools and the lived experiences of student mothers.

New book explores how teachers can learn from each other

mentoring each other FEATURED
mentoring each other FEATURED

A new book by York University Faculty of Education course director Diane Vetter explores how teachers can learn from each other. Co-authored with former secondee Lana Parker, the book Mentoring Each Other: Teachers listening, learning, and sharing to create more successful classrooms looks at ways teachers can collaborate and learn from each other in both formal and informal institutions.

Based on extensive experience, the book includes personal histories and experiences around important values and advocates for honest reflection and meaningful feedback. This approach to mentoring is applicable to a broad range of professional learning communities, and an increase in new teachers entering the system makes the book a much needed resource for beginning teachers.

“Our book addresses the questions, opportunities and challenges that teachers face in their mentoring relationships and classroom practice,” said Vetter. “Embedded in its chapters are relevant and purposeful ‘Mentoring Moves,’ which are very specific tools and strategies that can be used to support mentoring, develop reflective practice and continue on the journey to teaching excellence.”

The book which was published by Pembrroke Publishers, and is available online from Indigo.

Lisa Farley’s examination of psychoanalysis and childhood development receives Outstanding Book Award

Books
Lisa Farley
Lisa Farley

York University Associate Professor Lisa Farley‘s book, Childhood Beyond Pathology: A Psychoanalytic Study of Development and Diagnosis, has been selected as the winner of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2020 Outstanding Book Award.

In the book, published in 2018, Farley describes how concepts from psychoanalysis can help shed light on questions in childhood development.

She examines debates in the fields of education, childhood studies and psychology that argue over how children should be treated and who they should become. In focusing on times when adults disagree, she critiques the notion of a singular expert who can settle questions about a child’s detour from normative scripts of development.

“Winning the AERA Outstanding Book Award is a wonderful surprise,” Farley said. “The awarding Division B (Curriculum Studies) is comprised of courageous scholars, many of whom I have admired since attending my very first AERA conference in 2002.”

Cover of Lisa Farley's new book
Childhood Beyond Pathology: A Psychoanalytic Study of Development and Diagnosis

“I continue to be inspired by colleagues in the curriculum community and I am grateful for this recognition,” she continued. “I am particularly proud that psychoanalysis – the theoretical framing of my book – has been noted as a generative discourse in the context of historical, political, philosophical and social inquiries into education, childhood and development.”

Although generally intended for a scholarly audience, Farley is confident her book is relevant to a wide array of people because it addresses issues that so many teachers face, including the problem of diagnosis, issues of ableism and disability, anti-Black racism in schooling and society, ongoing legacies of colonial history and transgender childhoods.

The Outstanding Book Award was established to acknowledge and honour each year’s best book-length publication in education research and development. To have been considered for the 2020 Outstanding Book Award, a book must be concerned with the improvement of the educational process through research or scholarly inquiry, must have a research base and must have a 2018 or 2019 copyright date.

Farley joined the Faculty of Education at York University in 2007. Her research considers the uses of psychoanalysis in conceptualizing dilemmas of historical representation, pedagogy and childhood.

Childhood Beyond Pathology: A Psychoanalytic Study of Development and Diagnosis is available for purchase from SUNY Press.

My Secret Life: Communications specialist moonlights as high-profile party producer

My Secret Life FEATURED

Anderson Coward knows a thing or two about how to generate buzz.

Anderson Coward - or, Andy C
Anderson Coward – or, Andy C

At work, in his role at York University as new media and communications specialist in the Faculty of Education, he oversees the faculty’s social media channels and blogs, he works on marketing/communications initiatives and supports events. He’s been in this  role, which has evolved over the years from his initial title of communications coordinator, for more than 20 years, beginning his career at the University in August 1999.

But, the buzz doesn’t stop there.

Outside of work life, Coward has spent more than 20 years as an event producer, promoter and party host, bringing excitement to people and places across the City of Toronto. It’s a side gig he’s been pursuing since his teenage years, when he first got involved in planning events at high school.

During his senior years at Oakwood Collegiate Institute – grades 12 and 13 at the time – Coward was president of the dance committee.

“A few of my friends from the neighbourhood had a little DJ crew called Grand Crew, and I would hire them on a regular basis to play at our school dances,” Coward recalls. “When I began my studies at York U, I got involved with the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) and tapped my friends again to DJ at some of the dances the CSA put on at Founders and Bethune Colleges and at The Underground.”

That’s when Grand Crew took on Coward – or Andy C. as he’s known in the industry – as their manager, and the group’s success began to emerge in the Toronto entertainment scene.

“Our popularity as a DJ crew started to grow and we started to get hired by nightclubs and local promoters to play at their venues. That’s how I initially got involved in the entertainment scene in Toronto,” said Coward.

In the early years of being an official event promoter, starting somewhere around 1998, Coward would promote events on a weekly basis. Now, he focuses on producing bi-monthly special events, dedicating 15 to 25 hours of his time per event, which includes booking a venue, hiring DJs and hosts, the development of promotional collateral, and then a three- to four-week online promotional campaign.

Anderson Coward
Anderson Coward enjoying an event

“I grew up in the Toronto club scene. This was our form of entertainment and our way of socializing and meeting people in an environment that was fun. Great venues, good music and great people… what more could you ask for?

“Now that I’m older and married with kids, the four to five events that I produce per year provide an opportunity for me to connect with friends who are also at the same stage in their lives. We all don’t go out partying as often as we used to, but when I can get people to attend, my goal is to ensure that they are immersed in the environment and enjoying the music and the vibe for at least a few hours. It’s a good break from our everyday lives.”

His events, promoted under the label “Andy C Events,” are definitely buzz-worthy, drawing out music-loving crowds and high profile entertainment. Two past events that stand out as favourites for Coward, including a concert featuring the band Cameo (famous for their 1986 hit Word Up), co-produced with a company called Definiti, that took place at the Atlantis night club at the former Ontario Place to a sold-out show of more than 1,500 guests.

The other was for a party series called Sophisticate After Dark, where Coward managed to hire Naughty by Nature to perform at 6 Degrees Nightclub for a mini hip hop concert.

Anderson Coward (second from left) with Naughty by Nature
Anderson Coward (second from left) with Naughty by Nature

As well as featuring well-known artists, his events have also produced A-list crowds with celebrity guests including LL Cool J, Idris Elba, Morris Chestnut, Shaquille O’Neal and Rob Base.

Coward’s experience with party promotion and planning is vast – from nightclubs to special events to parties on boats (which he says are the most challenging to produce). But his love for music, dancing and bringing people together is what keeps his heart beating to the pulse of Toronto’s nightlife.

“My attraction has always been seeing people enjoy themselves on the dance floor,” he says. “I’m a big believer that music allows individuals to put all of their problems and worries aside and to be free. I love seeing people on the dance floor dancing and singing the lyrics to their favorite songs. It’s liberating to watch.”

You can follow Coward on Instagram at andyc_events.

By Ashley Goodfellow Craig, deputy editor, YFile

Should parents teach their kids at home during COVID-19 school closures?

online learning
online learning

April 16 is the one-month anniversary of Ontario’s elementary school closures due to March Break and the COVID-19 pandemic, creating high anxiety for parents trying to teach their kids at home while juggling work and childcare. 

Vidya Shah
Vidya Shah

Vidya Shah, an assistant professor in York University’s Faculty of Education, says many parents and educators are struggling with the shift to teacher-led online learning, and while we can’t expect parents to take on the role of teachers, we also have to change our expectations of teachers.

Some parents are helping their kids adjust to online learning, which began last week, plus managing their household and the stress from working at home, she says. That stress is multiplied for parents who are essential workers, who are living in poverty, who have been laid off from their jobs and are worrying about food insecurity and paying their mounting bills.

“We are asking too much of parents and teachers and we need to pull back on what the expectations are for children learning at home,” said Shah, a former Toronto District School Board teacher who used to teach primary, junior and intermediate classes.

“This is a time of tremendous fear and trauma,” she says. “As best as they can, parents are encouraged to connect with their children, focus on their social and emotional well-being and ask them how they’re doing.”

COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, with self-isolation being the new reality, so our approach to education has to adapt too, she says.

“Learning doesn’t happen because of a perfect, pre-packaged lesson,” says Shah. “Learning is happening everywhere and all the time – in the kitchen when you’re cooking, when you’re going for a walk and in conversation with your children about what’s happening on TV.

“We as educators need to take the pressure off of parents who feel like they have to teach their children,” says Shah, who now leads classes for prospective teachers. “We also need to recognize the tremendous work that teachers are doing in this time while navigating their own families, challenges and realities.”

With the new online learning at home, parents need to assess whether it’s supporting or hurting their children. For elementary students who need routines to feel safe and connected to the larger world, formal learning tasks make sense, explains Shah. But if schoolwork becomes overwhelming for kids and is damaging to their social, emotional or academic well-being, parents should feel empowered to let their teachers know, and ask for adjustments to deadlines and workload, she says.

online learning
With the new online learning at home, parents need to assess whether it’s supporting or hurting their children

Shah, an education expert on issues of equity and justice, says families living in poverty, many of which are racialized, are especially vulnerable in an environment of online learning.

“The current approach to online learning will exacerbate the inequities that have always existed in schooling systems and will inevitably create new inequities for children,” she says, citing the examples of varying access to a quiet work space, family stress and lack of WiFi and technology access.

Shah is encouraging educators to focus on relationships (continuing to build deep connections with their students), student-led inquiry (encouraging students to ask questions based on their interests and engage in critical thinking to seek thoughtful answers to their questions), self-reflection (inviting students to reflect on their thoughts and feelings during these times) and structure (creating routines that help make students feel safe).

Do you have a story to share about how you are coping, or what you are doing differently, during the COVID-19 pandemic? Email us at yfile@yorku.ca.

Smartphone toolkit proves perfect for online learning during COVID-19

A person is using a computer

Who knew that creating smartphone videos would become so timely to online pedagogy?

Luckily, three York University professors were ahead of the game with their Smartphone Accommodation Resource Toolbox (SmART), an online platform that teaches users the proper techniques and ethics necessary to create and share their own video works, particularly in practice-based disciplines like health and nursing, the arts and engineering, where the learning, performance, documentation and evaluation of “hands-on” skills is central to the curriculum.

the smart toolkit online entry pointAssociate Professors Iris Epstein of the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health; Melanie Baljko of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Lassonde School of Engineering; and Kurt Thumlert of the Faculty of Education, combined their expertise to create this innovative way to bridge practical skills training and assessment to life. The group also received a grant from York University’s Academic Innovation Fund.

“With COVID-19, there has been a push to quickly move teaching and learning online, and this is a great opportunity to share resources on how students and faculty can use smartphone video and other software tools to teach and learn practice-based skills. We are excited to share SmART,” said Epstein.

While faculty, staff and students from nursing, athletic therapy, engineering and dance collaborated to develop SmART, the toolbox is also a powerful resource for all disciplines that involve teaching and learning situated in practice-based skills, from medical skills to dance performance, to working with technology tools or doing studio-based arts. SmART provides resources for how to record and share and give feedback on video recordings.  There are examples on how nursing students have created videos to simulate a professional role (role-playing) and demonstrate a complex set of skills (for example, the multiple steps required to safely perform an injection). Their peers and instructors can then provide interactive and multimodal feedback using new software tools.

Following the directions on the SmART website, users across diverse disciplines can access models for how video can be used to document simulations or hands-on skill performances, and can learn the basics of creating videos: using videos as feedback and assessment tools and considering important matters like ethics, privacy and data security.

“I’ve even used it in classes with 120 students so we could all share role-playing videos and learn to value classmates’ feedback,” Epstein said.

The SmART Guide section of the website takes the users through an interactive checklist that guides instructors to the resources they need or want to learn about. The same is true for students who want to create a video work. There is guidance that considers the level of complexity (for example, no editing vs. high editing) or whether the instructor wants to offer live synchronized feedback or asynchronous recorded feedback, suggesting the proper tools for each instance.

“Creating – not watching – videos is becoming central teaching and learning today, especially for students in need of accommodation, or students in remote communities,” said Epstein. “COVID-19 has put us in the same boat now, as online learning is suddenly the new normal. Our SmART toolbox is a platform for sharing models and techniques to use videos when teaching and learning across disciplines and can support instructors in creating a dynamic and collaborative community of connected learners.”

While the website is still a work in progress, its creators hope that various faculties and students will not only learn from the possibilities, but also add their practice-based videos and related class assignment to ultimately create a community of learners.

“I learn a lot from my students’ stories and we can all learn from different disciplines,” Epstein said.

Don’t take her word for it; check out the toolbox yourself.

By Elaine Smith, special contributor to Innovatus

Do you have a story to share about how you are coping, or what you are doing differently, during the COVID-19 pandemic? Email us at yfile@yorku.ca.

Education profs share advice for avoiding learning burnout in kids during extended break

image of two girls sitting at a desk looking at a notebook
Parents should avoid intense teaching sessions and enjoy quality time with their children

Parents should avoid intense teaching sessions with their children who are at home on an extended March Break due to the COVID-19 global pandemic that shut down schools.

That’s the advice of two York University educators who are urging parents of elementary school children to find a balance between allowing their kids to enjoy quality time with their families and incorporating some learning into their daily lives.

Image shows two girls doing school work
Parents should avoid intense teaching sessions and enjoy quality time with their children

It’s normal for kids to cherish their March Break, as they should, so it’s important for parents to resist the temptation to start boot-camp-style lessons at the dinner table and add more stress to an already stressful situation.

Two York University professors in the Faculty of Education share some tips for parents as they strive to infuse light learning into their kids’ routine, survive March Break and the extended shut down of schools due to the pandemic.

John Ippolito
John Ippolito

John Ippolito is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education who develops programs in public elementary schools, based in the Greater Toronto Area, that foster dialogue between families and schools and within families themselves. Ippolito has led research on how to keep the lines of communication open between children and their parents.

Some of his tips for parents are:

  • Encourage kids to be inquisitive, share their questions and observations, and meet them where they are in their learning, instead of where you think they should be.
  • Remind them that they have time to catch up on their school assignments or homework.
  • Encourage children to explore non-school projects.
  • Allow kids to keep in touch with their friends online.
Tina Rapke
Tina Rapke

Tina Rapke is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education who teaches mathematics education courses to current and prospective teachers. Rapke has conducted extensive research on strategies to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics, and also leads a program in a GTA-based school to address parental concerns about math education and develop practical strategies to help students learn basic arithmetic.

Her tips for parents are:

  • Slow down and enjoy time with their children, and connect with them by listening.
  • Play board games and write stories together.
  • Play short math games and do mental math together. Talk about time (e.g. how long kids are off from school compared to summer break), and ask kids to do additions in their head (e.g. find all the ways to solve 12+13), practice division (e.g. share candies equally) and group objects in 5s and 10s.

Community Safety outlines the next steps in moving to Required Services during COVID-19

Image: CDC
An image of the COVID-19 virus. Image: CDC

Samina Sami, executive director of Community Safety, issues the following important notice to York University community members about moving to Required Services during COVID-19. There is a lot of information to digest and a link to the full explanation for each area is provided in this communication:

To help ensure the health and safety of our campus communities, support government directives and help prevent the risk and spread of COVID-19, York University has moved to delivering Required Services only on our campuses.

The purpose of this communication is to provide the York community with further information regarding the specific steps and procedures needed for the University to move to a Required Services status.

Given the amount of information that you need to be aware of, please go to https://coronavirus.info.yorku.ca/required-services/ where you will find detailed the following information:

  • Building access arrangements
  • Compensation
  • Course completion
  • Health, safety and well-being
  • Information Technology resources
  • Parking
  • Pension and benefits
  • Research
  • UIT and telecom
  • Working remotely

Carousel activity connects students with community mental health and wellness experts

Students in Sultan Rana’s “Teaching Physical Education and Health” course participated in a carousel activity with industry experts to learn about community mental health and wellness resources available to schools and students. The activity was another example of experiential education and hands-on learning in York University’s Faculty of Education.

Representatives from six community organizations, including Toronto Public Health, Hassle Free Clinic, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Naseeha, Ontario Physical and Heath Education Association (OPHEA) and the John Howard Society of York Region, were on hand to answer questions and to provide valuable insight into the resources and services that they offer.

“The main objective of the activity was to connect our soon-to-be educators with health and wellness experts from organizations across the Greater Toronto Area,” Rana said. “It provided my students with an opportunity to see that health and wellness supports exist outside of schools and should be integrated into their teaching practice. It also gave them a chance to get a first-hand account of the many resources and services that are available to them.”

Students visited each organization’s carousel for 15 minutes to learn about the support services they offer and to discuss how to build positive relationships between schools and organizations.

“We provide teachers with essential tools, resources, supports and professional learning necessary to teach students the fundamentals of healthy, active living,” said Andrea Haefele from OPHEA. “All of our supports are developed in partnership with sector and subject matter leaders to make school communities healthier, safer and happier. It’s important for us to present and share the information with teacher candidates because we need to ensure that they are aware and equipped with reliable, relevant, evidence and practice-informed resources and supports to enable them to deliver quality health and physical education programs, along with extra-curricular programs.”

Students’ overall health and wellness affects everything from their academic performance to success later in life. Promoting positive mental health, identifying students at risk, and helping them to get the support they need are all roles that teachers and the education system can play.

“In this Q-and-A style discussion and activity, I had the opportunity to learn from and develop great partnerships with various organizations including CAMH, OPHEA and Toronto Public Health to name a few,” said student Simmy Kaur. “The guest speakers were eager to provide multiple platforms for support such as programs, drop-in sessions and help lines. This hands-on activity has inspired me to facilitate my own carousel in my future teaching practice in order to inform my students of the rich resources available to them in their local community.”