University of Regina Open Journals
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Collaborating with Critical Friends: Exploring Picture Books Through Self-study in Secondary and Post-Secondary Classrooms
No full textIn this critical self-study, four educators located in two Canadian provinces in both secondary and post-secondary institutions investigated their pedagogical practices of using picture books as teaching tools. By exploring the intersection of critical friends and collaborative learning, we investigated how this synthesis enhanced teacher self-study practices and offered insights into effective strategies for professional learning in educational settings. Through self-study, we considered our use of picture books, our current personal and professional libraries, and our learning and growth from engagement in collaborative self-study with colleagues. This self-study revealed three critical findings: 1) the banning of books within educational settings, 2) the tendency of teachers to opt for books perceived as safe choices, and 3) the growing recognition amongst educators of the importance of selecting literature that reflects the diversity of individuals within the classroom. Implications for educators include exploring both the benefits of critical friendship in collaborative learning communities and teacher professional learning (TPL) opportunities to focus on equity and inclusion.
Keywords: collaborative self-study, critical friends, teacher education, critical literacy, picture books, inclusio
Modelling the Reliability of Cement Sheath Data with the Poly-Exponential Weibull Distribution
No full textThe objective of this study is to assess the applicability of the three-parameter Poly-Exponential Weibull distribution for modelling the reliability of cement sheath data, specifically based on Vickers hardness measurements (MPa). This research explores the theoretical properties of the Poly-Exponential Weibull distribution, including the derivation of its quantile function, incomplete moments, Rényi and q-entropies, mean deviations, and the Bonferroni and Lorenz curves. Parameter estimation is performed using the method of maximum likelihood. The findings suggest that the Poly-Exponential Weibull model offers a promising alternative to existing models in the literature, particularly for handling highly skewed reliability data
Teacher Perceptions of Education for Sustainable Development Teaching: Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThis paper examines teachers\u27 perceptions of Education for Sustainable Development regarding their practice before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analyzes approaches to teaching Education for Sustainable Development and barriers faced. While teachers reported shifts in what was taught and how it was taught during the pandemic, most respondents remained committed to the core values of teaching Education for Sustainable Development. Barriers described by teachers before the pandemic included a lack of resources, time, and support, and barriers during the pandemic included a shifting and uncertain teaching environment burdened by video calls during lockdown periods and efforts to keep students safe during in-person teaching. Teacher insights included: spending regular time outdoors and framing the community as a classroom is a benefit for the health of students and their education; learning is inherently more powerful and productive when done socially; and teaching with technology has benefits but should not be the sole medium in which learning occurs. The aspects of school that were taken for granted and that were greatly diminished during the pandemic, social learning, guest speakers, field trips, and a predictable learning environment, were also those elements that were reported as being at the forefront of teachers’ plans for their students when the pandemic ended. This research may benefit teachers, school leaders, policymakers interested in Education for Sustainable Development, and scholars planning future research.
Keywords: teacher perceptions, Education for Sustainable Development, COVID-1
Remembering Forced Forgetting: The Politics of Remembrance Day Ceremonies in Canadian Schools
No full textIn this essay, we argue that Remembrance Day ceremonies in schools promote an inadequate conception of Canadian national identity by overlooking how Indigenous experiences reside in national remembrance. We argue that Remembrance Day observances convey the notion that war happened outside of North America, while overlooking the extent to which war and genocide occurred on this very continent and in this country as part of colonization. Our concern is that the essence of Canadian national identity is reflected in the bravery of soldiers who fought a foreign enemy, while the abuse that occurred in residential schools is often construed as an anomaly, not the ‘real’ Canada, not reflective of what it means to be Canadian. Recent discoveries of Indigenous children buried in unmarked graves at residential schools point to another example of the deaths that happened as part of colonization. This essay concludes by exploring how education may contribute to a more robust form of remembrance in which Indigenous perspectives and experiences are present.
Keywords: Remembrance Day, memorialization in schools, peace education, nationalism, Canadian national identit
Documenting Knowing-in-Action: A Mathematics Teacher’s Curricular Decision-Making Images
No full textResearch on mathematics teacher curricular decision-making has focused more on what decisions teachers make and less on how teachers make curricular decisions. Teaching images are a well-known concept in teacher education as a form of teachers’ practical knowledge (PK) and threads that connect teachers’ past experiences to action in the present moment. In this study, I built on a three-year relationship with a veteran secondary mathematics teacher to construct her curricular decision-making images. I used a narrative inquiry methodology to interact and construct data alongside the teacher while she planned and taught a mathematics lesson. Data consisted of transcripts of conversations between the teacher and me, and my weekly journals. A narrative analysis revealed two teaching images: bringing the outside inside and reading students and moments. The teacher made decisions informed by past and in-the-moment teaching experiences, as well as personal commitments such as portraying students as professionals. Teacher images allow mathematics teacher educators and researchers to communicate how teachers make curricular decisions by working alongside teachers. This study contributes to curricular decision-making research by offering images as a form of PK that communicates practicing mathematics teachers’ knowledge-in-action.
Keywords: mathematics teachers, curriculum decision-making, practical knowledge, teacher images, narrative inquir
A Review of Elizabeth J. Meyer’s (2025) Queer Justice at School: A Guide for Youth Activists, Allies, and Their Teachers
No full textThis review of Queer Justice in Schools highlights the urgency of queer justice work at a time when schools across North America face growing hostility toward queer youth and educators. In Queer Justice, Elizabeth J. Meyer bridges theory and practice, offering both conceptual grounding and tangible strategies for educators and allies committed to creating affirming spaces. By centering queer joy rather than risk, Meyer provides a hopeful and actionable framework for advocacy and activism in education.
As a justice-oriented master’s student and sessional instructor at the University of Regina, my work involves deconstructing existing educational systems and imagining what they could become if built through care, equity, and liberation. Meyer’s text supports this vision by offering practical tools that educators can apply today while calling for systemic change. In a climate where queer inclusion remains under attack, her work reminds readers that transformation is possible and urgently necessary
A New One-Parameter Distribution with Two Turning Points and Bathtub Shaped Failure Rate Function
No full textThe frequent development of new lifetime distributions is borne of the desire to obtain adequate fits to complex data sets across various fields of study. A new one-parameter mixture distribution called Emrem distribution is proposed in this study. Mathematical properties of the distribution such as the moments and other related measures, the moment generating function, mean absolute deviations, entropy and reliability indices are discussed extensively. The pdf of the distribution can have two turning points while the hazard rate function has a bathtub shape. The maximum likelihood approach is used to estimate the parameter of the Emrem distribution. We have demonstrated the consistency property of the maximum likelihood estimate through simulations. Results obtained by comparing the fit of the Emrem distribution and fits of the competing distributions to a real data set indicate that the proposed model is capable of outperforming well-known and widely used continuous one-parameter distributions in several data analysis cases
Exploring and Progressing the Concept of Joyful Teaching in Higher Education
No full textThis paper examines the concept of joyful teaching in higher education and discusses common themes associated with it, as well as presents challenges. It is this concept of joyful teaching that we believe should be discussed and explored in greater detail, especially as it is an emerging concept with decolonizing pedagogies. This study uses 29 qualitative interviews with university faculty to examine the following question: How do university faculty define and practice joyful teaching in higher education? Our paper arises from a study focusing on decolonizing teaching praxis at a Canadian, prairie university, in which the focus of ‘joyful teaching’ arose as a major point of discussion. Our study suggests that restructuring teaching practices around joy can lead to more supportive, creative, and human-centred classrooms. We believe it is critical for higher education to place an emphasis on joyful teaching to promote not only joy but also self-growth for university teachers and students in post-secondary educational institutions.
Keywords: teaching, joy, playful, belonging, decolonizatio
Investigating School Belonging Using Socio-Ecological Systems Theory
No full textA wide body of literature has found that a strong sense of belonging and connection to school is imperative for students’ academic success, in addition to their social and emotional well-being. School belonging is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and researchers have identified a multitude of factors that influence the development of belonging at school. Given its complexities, a holistic representation of school belonging is often left out of the research, leading to a lack of clarity on this essential educational construct. To develop a comprehensive model of school belonging, this literature review examines the construct using Bronfenbrenner\u27s (1993) ecological systems theory of human development. Drawing on evidence originating from a broad range of peer-reviewed studies, this article investigates how school belonging evolves in response to influences across Bronfenbrenner\u27s (1993) levels of development (i.e., the individual level, the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem). Findings from this investigation are also used to discuss strategies for promoting belonging in schools. This review makes an original contribution to the field of educational research by developing a comprehensive model of school belonging through the lens of a socio-ecological framework.
Keywords: school belonging, ecological systems theory, peer relationships, teacher-student relationships, academic achievement, psychosocial well-bein
Pathways to Healing and Thriving: Culturally Responsive Mental Health Programs for Black Youth in Toronto
No full textBlack youth face unique challenges stemming from constant exposure to systemic and cultural racism, discrimination, and lack of access to culturally responsive services meeting their needs, which significantly impacts their emotional well-being, career trajectories, and civic engagement. The research project explores the benefits of a culturally responsive program called Catharsis offered by the non-profit organization Generation Chosen, which focuses on supporting Black youth with their mental health, emotional intelligence, and civic engagement. Data was collected between December 2022 and April 2023. Surveys and focus groups were administered to Black youth aged 15 to 20 in Toronto, Canada, who attended programming in the Jane and Finch community known as a racialized under-resourced neighbourhood. Twenty-nine surveys and two focus groups were administered, totalling 55 respondents. Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework was applied to centre the lived experiences of the youth and listen to their concerns and ideas as counter-narratives. Thematic analysis and triangulation of the data indicated that culturally responsive, trauma-informed programming can enhance emotional intelligence and lead to better coping mechanisms to manage stress and cope with systemic barriers. Participants reported improved life skills and mental health by accessing culturally responsive mental health service providers and engaging with staff who had similar lived experiences who modelled vulnerability as a form of strength and maturity. The research contributes to filling in the research gap in the Canadian context around the importance of culturally responsive, trauma-informed programming for Black youth and how it can foster healthy identity development and larger community benefits.
Keywords: trauma-informed, mental health, Black youth, culturally responsive, emotional intelligenc