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The chasms between suspicion, screening & support: Reflections on school social work to address the gaps in mental health supports for children
Get PDFChildren often slip through the cracks in the systems when they display disruptive behaviours in classrooms but have no mental health diagnoses. Without medical explanations for behaviours, which may or may not be warranted, students face suspensions or removal from schools possibly leading to poorer life outcomes. There can be as many reasons for disruptive behaviours – undiagnosed mental illnesses, childhood adversity, life transitions, and more – as there can be justifications for not diagnosing children at a young age: labeling, stigma, apprehension from parents, and so on. Often supports for students require them to have diagnoses. This report details my practicum experience within the Social Work Program in the Indigenous Education Department of School District #57 in Prince George, British Columbia (BC). It is an exploration of the role of Indigenous Social Workers as they navigate the myriad of situations they face when working with students who frequently display disruptive behaviours
FINDING FAITH: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SERVICE-LEARNING IN FAITH FORMATION AT A CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between SL and faith by addressing three questions. First, is service-learning (SL) more effective than classroom-learning (CL) in helping high school students value faith, scripture, integrity, and prayer? Second, what elements enhance SL’s effectiveness in helping students grow in their faith? Third, what factors affect the motivation of teachers to offer SL? This mixed-method study analyzed the responses of 52 grade 10-12 Kelowna Christian school students and alumni. Additionally, three KCS high school teachers were interviewed to understand teacher motivation. The findings demonstrated SL to be more effective than CL in maturing faith and helping students value scripture, integrity, and prayer. Moreover, the student’s narrative affected the effectiveness of SL’s reflection. Finally, the findings revealed the following factors inhibiting teachers from offering SL: prep time, community contacts, planning logistics of SL, rigid timetable, and unclear vision for SL at KCS.Service-Learning, faith formation, Christian schoo
Prospecting A Greater Connection
Get PDFI have created a template of a graphic novel that is iterative and emergent as a process, building on themes of storytelling, coming-of-age, and introspective explorations. It is a blending of two stories. The first is a personal interpretation of a tale of a lost 1920s prospector abducted by a Sasquatch on the west coast of British Colombia. This was first told to me by my late mother, but it’s based on local lore. The second story is a series of autobiographical vignettes, based on personal histories and experiences that I had written about in my journal. The two stories were then interwoven in a single document because I see them as connected; there is a poetic connection with these stories, with overlapping themes of coming-of-age as a settler within small town Western Canada and eventually the far Sunshine Coast region near Lund, BC. These connections arose as part of an investigation into self and positionality as a broader part of the Emily Carr MFA program. I offer stories from the viewpoint of a 41-year-old, Caucasian male currently living in Port Alberni, BC. I have been grappling with growing up in Western Canada, navigating my family and my surroundings, and considering how my artwork and writing can add to reconciliation within my life and those Indigenous communities on whose territory I currently live. This project has pushed me to explore various life experiences with openness and vulnerability. Although not yet completed in final form, it is my intent that this work will eventually add a new individualized viewpoint challenging existing colonialist perspectives, such as those I grew up with.Illustratio
An examination of conceptual knowledge using near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography
Get PDFTraditionally, models of conceptual knowledge have relied upon amodal theories that largely overlook how environmental stimuli are converted into amodal representations and how perceptions reactivate these representations and translate them back into subjective modal experiences. Developed more recently, grounded cognition theories propose that physical experiences and conceptual knowledge rely, at least in part, on the same brain regions. Thus, conceptual knowledge is hypothesized to be experienced through the reactivation of the same brain regions that are activated during physical experiences with the environment. Furthermore, if these grounded hypotheses are correct, researchers should be able to observe predictable influences of grounded information on brain activity as well as participant response latencies and accuracy in experimental conditions. To this end, three experiments were conducted testing these hypotheses using semantic categorization tasks while simultaneous recordings were taken using functional near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography. It was hypothesized that the influence of automatically reactivated grounded information would be facilitatory (i.e., resulting in faster and more accurate responses for semantically richer words) when it was task congruent, but would be inhibitory (i.e., resulting in slower and less accurate responses for semantically richer words) when it was task incongruent, thus illustrating the automatic simulation of grounded information in the processing and retrieval of conceptual knowledge. NIRS was employed to monitor event-related patterns of prefrontal cortex (PFC) hemodynamics associated with these tasks. It was hypothesized that trials with high levels of task-relevant semantic information would be discernably different than those with low levels or those trials high in task-incongruent information. That is, given the high levels of task-relevant semantic information, these trials should be comparatively easier, thus requiring less activity in the PFC, resulting in less pronounced hemodynamic responses. Electroencephalography was employed to monitor the full-scalp event-related patterns of brain activity associated with the experimental tasks. It was hypothesized that event-related potential deflections and scalp topography would be able to discern qualitatively and quantitatively different patterns of activity as a function of the amount and relevance of grounded information obtained through physical and emotional experiences with the word stimuli’s referents. The behavioural, accuracy, and electroencephalography data generally support these hypotheses. When a stimulus’s grounded information is high and task relevant, participants responded more quickly and accurately, and had discernably different patterns of brain activity than when a stimulus’s grounded information was low and task relevant. When a stimulus’s grounded information was high and task-irrelevant, participants were slower and less accurate, and exhibited patterns of brain activity that reflected both the additional semantic information and the additional processing necessary to reconcile the task incongruence. Unfortunately, data obtained from NIRS failed to illustrate meaningful condition differences. Possible reasons for this are discussed in detail in Chapter 3. Collectively, the data presented in this dissertation serve to advance and extend the claims made by grounded cognition theorists by illustrating the automatic simulation of information obtained through interactions with the environment. Further research is required to extend this work to other brain regions and to develop NIRS methods that can address these research questions
Bandwidth tax of uncertainty: Helping students reclaim cognitive capacity post-COVID and beyond
Get PDFCia Verschelden is Special Projects Advisor for the Integration of Academic and Student Affairs at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She taught for over 25 years at two- and four-year institutions in social work, sociology, women's studies, nonviolence studies, and first-year seminar. Her administrative posts have included department chair, institutional assessment lead, and vice president of academic and student affairs.
Her books 'Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization' and 'Bandwidth Recovery for Schools: Helping Pre-K-12 Students Regain Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Trauma, Racism, and Social Marginalization' are available in the Douglas College Library.
Bandwidth Recovery website: https://bandwidthrecovery.org/
In Cia's presentation, participants learn about several interventions designed to help students recover bandwidth, beginning with a strengths perspective about what skills and abilities they are bringing to the table – “funds of knowledge.” The interventions include values affirmation, connecting the known to the unknown, growth mindset, and high-hope syllabi.presentationBetter Together Conferenc
What Are the Biological Effects of Anxiety?
Get PDFIn this paper, we sought to understand the biological effects of anxiety, especially in the return of students to in-person classes. Previous research has shown that general anxiety is associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), increases in ambulation (movement), elevations in the stress hormone cortisol, increased risk of inflammatory disease, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), and increased amygdala size. In our correlational study, we tested the strength of these relationships by examining naturalistic daily changes in their variables longitudinally over a period of one week. We measured amygdala activity by increases of heart rate after watching frightening videos, inflammation by measuring the circumference of the wrist, cortisol level by a daily symptom questionnaire, IBS symptoms by an IBS symptoms questionnaire, locomotor activity by step count tracking, hyperhidrosis symptoms by partially filling out the Hyperhidrosis Quality of Life Index, and anxiety by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Data pooled across participants in our correlational study showed significant correlations only between IBS and anxiety. Knowing that there is a correlation between IBS and anxiety can be helpful in treatments of IBS patients by using anti-anxiety medications in some cases, especially for patients with emotional distress.Supervising Instructor & Course Number: Michael Pollock, Psyc 215 (“Biological Psychology”
What Are the Effects of Anxiety?
Get PDFIn this paper, we aimed to discover the compilation of effects that anxiety has on different elements of life, so that we could better understand how to cope with its influence. Previous research has predicted how sexual trauma, academic performance, and codependency are all impacted by anxiety. In our first (correlational) study, we tested the strength of these relationships by examining naturalistic daily changes in their variables longitudinally over a period of one week. We measured sexual trauma with a traumatic rumination scale, academic performance by using an academic performance scale, codependency by using three codependency scales, and Anxiety with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Based on the strength of correlation found between anxiety and codependency in our correlational study, we then conducted a second (experimental) study to test for a causal relationship between these two variables. Over a period of one week, we randomly assigned participants each day to either do a guided meditation or scroll through social media. Using a single-blind procedure, we then measured the effect this manipulation had upon codependency. Data pooled across participants in our correlational study showed significant correlations of anxiety with academic performance and codependency, but not with sexual trauma. Data pooled across participants in our experimental study failed to establish a causal role of anxiety on codependency. Our experimental study showed only one significant relationship which occurred in the opposite direction that we predicted (see Table 2). The findings from our study revealed that was no large impact of anxiety on codependency. However, considering the significance of the results from our correlational study it could be suggested that the real-world implications of this research may highlight a relationship between anxiety and reduced functionality - predictive qualities for people with anxiety.Supervising Instructor & Course Number: Michael Pollock, Psyc 110 (“Experimental Psychology”
STEP UP (Student Teams Exploring Pervasive Urban Problems): Portland case study analysis
No full textPortland case study analysis includes an essay and presentation for GEOG 2311 course as part of the STEP UP (Student Teams Exploring Pervasive Urban Problems) program at Douglas College
The Socially Acceptable NCRMD Defence
Get PDFNot criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) is a necessary but often unknown and underappreciated legal defence, used to divert offenders from the criminal justice stream to the medical stream when suffering from mental health issues that impair understanding for their criminality. NCRMD in various capacities has had a long history in Canadian justice, yet research suggests Canadians remain unaware of how NCRMD works, and why this legal defence is necessary. Lack of understanding surrounding NCRMD has led to misconceptions in the public about this judicial defence, and continued stigmatization towards mental illness. A definition and history of NCMRD is summarized, along with an outline of NCRMD legislation in Canada, literature examining criminological theories, and an exploration of society’s understanding of justice. Research also explored the benefits and limitations of the NCRMD system based on perceptions expressed through media
Restorative discipline and the school-to-prison pipeline
Get PDFUnless you have children, are a teacher or school administrator, or feel you were mistreated by
the education system during your school-aged years, you may not think much about the
disciplinary actions used within our school systems. However, from a societal perspective, it’s
important to understand that a common recurring theme within educational disciplinary action is
the usage, and over usage of suspension and expulsion as punishment (Monahan et al., 2014).
Studies have shown that the misuse of suspension and expulsion can and does lead children
toward a life of criminalization and institutionalisation (Monahan et al., 2014). This phenomenon
is known as the school-to-prison pipeline (Monahan et al., 2014), and it fundamentally influences
crime rates in Canada. Even the phrase ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ sounds inherently damaging
to our children for obvious reasons, but the main reason society should care about this
phenomenon is because it is forcefully filtering today’s young people into the criminal justice
system. There are other options. Introduced through the concept of Restorative Justice, an idea
called Restorative Discipline was conceived (Hass-Wisecup & Saxon, 2018).
Restorative Discipline, when implemented with intention, collaboration, and consistency,
vastly reduces the school-to-prison pipeline by allowing children to make mistakes, learn from
their mistakes, understand the concept of reparation, and be empowered to make amends
(Hass-Wisecup & Saxon, 2018). This study highlights the significant gap in restorative justice
and restorative discipline literature, research, and practices within Canada. This study will
analyze various school Codes of Conduct from across Canada, delve deeper into the meaning
and understanding of the school-to-prison pipeline, and explain restorative discipline practices in
action. Further, this study offers five recommendations that can be easily implemented on a
day-to-day basis, for any school system and school personnel who may want to make a change