Canadian Journal of Higher Education / La Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur
Not a member yet
1584 research outputs found
Sort by
Border Imperialism and Exclusion in Canadian Parliamentary Talk about International Students
Get PDFAlthough there is a rich critical literature examining international student policy in Canada, very little of it considers the views of Members of Parliament. MPs have limited direct influence over international student policy, but their policy talk about international students defines the context within which such policy is developed. For that reason Parliamentary debate deserves study. This paper examines MPs’ discussion of international students between 1984 and 2019, tracing themes in MP policy talk over the globalization era. It finds that MPs evince remarkably consistent attitudes towards international students. Throughout the period MP policy talk shows that Parliamentarians saw international students as outsiders who were only ofvalue to the extent that they could be made to serve Canada’s economic or political agenda. The uniformity of this attitude and the lack of dissenting voices suggest that MPs’ views may be a significant barrier to reforming international student policy in Canada.Bien qu’il existe une riche littérature critique sur la politique relative aux étudiants étrangers au Canada, très peu d’études se penchent sur les opinions des députés à ce sujet. L’influence directe de ces derniers en cette matière est limitée, mais leurs discussions définissent le contexte dans lequel cette politique est élaborée. Pour cette raison, les débats parlementaires méritent d’être étudiés. Le présent article examine les discussions des députés au sujet des étudiants étrangers entre 1984 et 2019. Ce faisant, il retrace les thèmes qui les ont traversées à travers l’époque de la mondialisation. Il en ressort que les députés font montre d’une attitude remarquablement cohérente en ce qui a trait aux étudiants étrangers. Sur toute la période,ces discussions démontrent que les parlementaires ne considèrent la valeur des étudiants étrangers que dans la mesure où ils peuvent servir le programme économique ou politique du Canada. La constance de cette attitude et l’absence de voix dissidentes suggèrent que les opinions des députés pourraient constituer un obstacle important à une réforme des politiques relatives aux étudiants étrangers au Canad
Book review of "International Perspectives in Higher Education: Balancing Access, Equity, and Cost"
No full textRisk and protective factors for anxiety impacting academic performance in post-secondary students
Get PDFThis survey study measured the association between risk and protective factors of anxiety and its implications on the academic performance of 1,053 students at a four-year, public post-secondary institution in southwestern Ontario. Logistic regression analyses revealed 13 significant variables at the univariable level, while the multivariable model yielded seven significant factors. Students who felt hopeless significantly increased their odds of reporting anxiety adversely affecting their academic performance, while being able to manage daily responsibilities was the only protective factor against anxiety impacting students’ educational attainment. By planning, designing, and implementing proactive programs focusing on thesepredictor variables, such interventions can equip students against the debilitative influence of anxiety on their academic success.Cette enquête a mesuré les liens entre les facteurs de risque et les facteurs de protection de l'anxiété et leurs répercussions sur le rendement scolaire de 1053 étudiants d'un établissement postsecondaire public offrant des programmes de quatre ans du sud-ouest de l'Ontario. Une analyse de régression logistique univariée a révélé treize variables significatives, tandis que l’analyse multivariée en a révélé sept. Les étudiants qui se sentaient désespérés étaient beaucoup plus susceptibles de répondre que l’anxiété nuisait à leur rendement scolaire, tandis que la capacité de gérer leurs responsabilités quotidiennesétait le seul facteur de protection contre l'anxiété affectant leur rendement. La planification, la conception et la mise en place de programmes proactifs axés sur ces variables explicatives peuvent aider les étudiants à contrer les effets néfastes de l'anxiété sur leur réussite scolaire
Mental Health Status and Help-Seeking Strategies of International Students in Canada
Get PDFInternational students are at heightened risk of developing psychological distress, yet little research has been conducted on their mental health or support needs. This quantitative study focused on undergraduate students at two mid-sized universities in Manitoba, Canada. Online and paper surveys were completed by 932 participants, of whom 21% identified as international students. This paper, descriptive in nature, outlines the sociodemographic profiles, current mental health status, psychological characteristics, and coping strategies of international students compared to domestic students in each institution. Data show that international students are more likely to report excellent mental health, score higher on the mental health scale, and report higher life satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and more positive body image than domestic respondents. However, they are less likely to talk about their hardships. Providing culturally-adapted supports that take into consideration ethnolinguistic differences, religious practice, and mental health literacy will better meet the needs of international students on campus.Les étudiants internationaux sont à risque de détresse psychologique; or, peu de recherches portent sur leur santé mentale et leur besoin de soutien. Cette étude quantitative a été menée auprès d’étudiants de premier cycle dans deux universités du Manitoba, au Canada. Un sondage a été rempli par 932 participants, dont 21 % qui s’identifiaient comme étudiants internationaux. De nature descriptive, l’article décrit et compare le profil sociodémographique, l’état de santé mentale, les caractéristiques psychologiques et les stratégies d’adaptation des étudiants internationaux et canadiens dans chaque établissement. Selon nos données, les étudiants internationaux rapportent plus souvent avoir une excellente santé mentale, être satisfaits de leur vie, avoir une bonne estime de soi et une image corporelle positive que les étudiants canadiens. Toutefois, ils sont moins enclins à parler de leurs problèmes. Un soutien adapté aux différentes cultures qui prendrait en considération les différences ethnolinguistiques, les pratiques religieuses et la littératie en santé mentale répondrait mieux aux besoins des étudiants internationaux
International education policymaking: A case study of Ontario’s Trillium Scholarship Program
Get PDFThis paper explores Ontario’s international education policy landscape through illuminating the discursive struggles to define international student funding policies, in particular the international doctoral students’ Trillium Scholarship. Adopting Hajer’s (1993, 2006) Discourse Coalition Framework, the study engages with three research questions: What paved the way to this funding policy? Who were the actors engaged in this policy landscape? How has the argumentation over this policy influenced the international education policy context in Ontario? Argumentative discourse analysis was used to analyze three data sources: news articles, policy documents, and interviews. Two storylines were identified: international student funding is desirable and beneficial to Ontario versus Ontario first. Whereas the first storyline achieved hegemony, the second succeeded in bringing discourses of protectionism to the forefront influencing the government’s future engagement with international student funding. The paper ends with three observations on Ontario’s international education policy landscape. This study contributes to our understanding of how international student funding can be highly political and influenced by non-education policy spaces and discourses.Cet article examine le paysage des politiques publiques en matière d’éducation internationale en Ontario en mettant en lumière les luttes discursives pour définir les politiques relatives au financement des étudiants étrangers. Il se concentre particulièrement sur le Programme de bourses ontariennes d’études Trillium (BOÉT). Adoptant le concept des coalitions discursives, la présente étude pose trois questions : Qu’est-ce qui a ouvert la voie à cette politique de financement? Qui étaient les acteurs de ce paysage politique? Comment l’argumentation sur cette politique de financement a-t-elle influencé le contexte des politiques publiques relatives à l’éducation internationale en Ontario? L’analyse du discours argumentatif a été utilisée pour analyser trois sources de données : des articles de presse, des documents de politique, et des entrevues.Deux lignes narratives sont ressorties : Le financement des étudiants étrangers est souhaitable et bénéfique pour l’Ontario, et L’Ontario d’abord. Alors que la première est devenue hégémonique, la seconde a réussi à mettre les discours protectionnistes au premier plan, influençant ainsi l’engagement futur du gouvernement en matière de financement des étudiants étrangers. L’article se termine par trois observations sur le paysage des politiques publiques relatives à l’éducation internationale en Ontario. Cette étude contribue à notre compréhension de la façon dont la question du financement des étudiants étrangers peut être hautement politique ainsi qu’influencée par des espaces et des discours qui ne sont pas liés à l’éducatio
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Maclean’s, NSSE, and the Inappropriate Ranking of Canadian Universities
Get PDFMost Canadian universities participate in the US-based National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that measures various aspects of “student engagement.” The higher the level of engagement, the greater the probability of positive outcomes and the better the quality of the school. Maclean’s magazine publishes some of the results of these surveys. Institutions are ranked in terms of their scores on 10 engagement categories and four outcomes. The outcomes considered are how students in the first and senior years evaluate their overall experiences (satisfaction) and whether or not students would return to their campuses. Universities frequently use their scores on measures reported by Maclean’s in a self-Congratulatory way. In this article, I deal with levels of satisfaction provided by Maclean’s. Based on multiple regression, I show that of the 10 engagement variables regarded as important by NSSE, at the institutional level, only one explains most of the variance in first-year student satisfaction. The others are of limited consequence. I also demonstrate, via a cluster analysis, that, rather than there being a hierarchy of Canadian institutions as suggested by the way in which Maclean’s presents NSSE findings, Canadianuniversities can most adequately be divided into a limited number of different satisfaction clusters. Findings such as these might serve as a caution to parents and students who consider Maclean’s satisfaction rankings when assessing the merits of different universities. Overall, in terms of first-year satisfaction, the findings suggest more similarities than differences between and among Canadian universities.La plupart des universités canadiennes participent à l’Enquête nationale sur la participation étudiante/National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), qui est basée aux États-Unis. Plus le niveau de « participation étudiante » est élevé, plus la probabilité de résultats positifs est élevée, et plus l’école est considérée comme étant de bonne qualité. Le magazine Maclean’s publie certains des résultats de cette enquête. Les établissements y sont classés selon leur score dans dix catégories de « participation » et quatre résultats. Les résultats considérés sont la manière dont les étudiants de première et de dernière année évaluent leur expérience globale (satisfaction), et leur désir de retourner étudier au même endroit si c’était à refaire. Les universités utilisent fréquemment les résultats rapportés par Maclean’s à des fins d’autopromotion. Dans cet article, je me penche sur les niveaux de satisfaction présentés par Maclean’s. Sur la base d’une régression multiple, je montre que sur les dix variables de participation considérées comme importantes par la NSSE, au niveau des établissements, une seule explique la majeure partie de la variance en ce qui concerne la satisfaction des étudiants de première année. Les autres ont peu d’effet. Je démontre également, par le biais d’une analyse par grappe, qu’au lieu d’être hiérarchisées comme le suggère la façon de faire de Maclean’s avec les résultats de la NSSE, les universités canadiennes peuvent être divisées de Façon plus adéquate en un nombre limité de grappes de satisfaction. Ces découvertes peuvent servir de mise en garde aux parents et aux étudiants qui considèrent les classements de Maclean’s pour comparer les universités. Globalement, en ce qui a trait à la satisfaction des étudiants de première année, elles suggèrent qu’il y a plus de ressemblances que de différences entre les universités canadiennes
Exploring university-to-college transfer in Ontario: A qualitative study of non-linear post-secondary mobility
Get PDFIn this study, we explored the experiences of Ontario students who have engaged in a ‘reverse transfer’, i.e. moving from university-to-college (UTC). Data was collected through qualitative interviews with 20 participants who began their post-secondary journey in a university program, but left that program before completing it, and subsequently pursued a college program. We focused on the factors that led to the decision to reverse transfer, participants’ experiences and perceptions of the reverse transfer process, and what, if any, barriers they experienced.
We found that motivations for leaving university were distinct from, though sometimes related to, motivations for pursuing college. Reasons for leaving university were clustered around three themes: academic struggles, mental/physical health/special education need struggles, and future prospects. These were highly interconnected and characterized by difficulties, ranging from mild to severe, coping with university. Motivations for pursuing college were more practical and straightforward, relating to subject interest, college learning environment, location, and future prospects. While most participants reflected very positively on their decision to transfer, there were some negative or ambivalent reflections about having left university before completing their degrees. These were largely related to a sense of personal failure and/or the negative reactions of others, particularly parents. Personal and external (usually parental) negative reflections were tied to cultural and societal expectations about high achievement and perceptions of university education as superior to college education. We conclude with policy recommendations
Teaching excellence and how it is awarded: A Canadian case study
Get PDFQuality teaching and how to assess and award it, continue to be an area of scholarship and debate in higher education. While the literature demonstrates that assessment should be multifaceted, operationalizing this is no easy task. To gain insight into how teaching excellence is defined in Canadian higher education, this empirical study collected and analysed the criteria, evidence, and standards for institutional teaching awards from 89 institutions and 204 award programs across Canada. The majority of awards included criteria such as specific characteristics of teaching performance and student-centredness; while activities that had impact outside an individual’s teaching practice were also prevalent, including campus leadership, scholarship of teaching and learning, and contributions to curriculum. Lists of potential sources of evidence were heavily weighted towards student perceptions and artefacts from instructors’ teaching. Recommendations for individuals and institutions wanting to foster excellence in teaching are offered along with suggestions for future research
Sexual Violence and Women’s Education: Examining Academic Performance and Persistence
Get PDFSexual violence continues to be a serious problem on university campuses. While the negative psychological and health effects of sexual violence are well known, it is only recently that attention has focused on how these behaviours impact education, particularly women’s education. This study contributes to this area and examined the impact of types of sexual violence on behavioural and attitudinal indicators of academic performance and persistence among students reporting sexual violence. Undergraduate women attending university in Ontario, Canada (N= 934) responded to survey measures of academic performance, attitudes towards education and sexual violence experiences. The results indicate that sexual violence has a deleterious impact on women’s academic performance including and beyond grades. Women students who experienced sexual violence reported more delays and failures on assignments, courses and exams, were more likely to endorse attendance problems and thoughts of dropping out or quitting than students not reporting sexual violence. Type of sexual violence experienced was also related to academic performance. The results are discussed in terms of the need to understand components of academic performance as well as factors that may contribute to outcomes for students. Findings have implications for intervention and policy development