Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education (JCIE)
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Classroom Incivility Going Viral on Social Media: One Professor’s Encounters
The advent of social media expands the domain of the standard classroom. The outcome is that incidents of conflict, also known as classroom incivility, exist not only within the conventional classroom. They can take place on social media platforms. In this paper, the author draws on his experience with a complaint about an assignment in one of his classes that surfaced on X (formerly Twitter), feedback on the assignment that took the shape of a story on Instagram, and his response to the activity in the two venues. He draws on the concept of classroom incivility and reflects on how this term, named to describe conflict in in-person classrooms, is relevant on social media platforms
Karihwaientáhkwen: Conceptualizing Morality in Indigenous Consciousness
Many public institutions, including universities and colleges, have committed to Indigenous engagement – the institutional effort to engage with experiences, histories, and perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in meaningful ways. In many areas of institutional endeavour, these commitments have frequently included a focus upon spiritual orientations of Indigenous peoples as a central aspect of their knowledge and worldviews. In this study, we sought to acquire knowledge on moral understandings that were resident in the consciousness of Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers situated at universities across Canada. Findings revealed that personal and communal experiences informed a developed sense of responsibility that may be situated in the unique manifestations of their respective knowledge systems, heritages, and consciousnesses. Although non-Indigenous orientations such as those of Christianity informed the narratives of some, a prevailing sense of traditional identity emerged from participants.
Capitalizing Networked Learning: Connectivism, Multiliteracies and the Architectonics of Pedagogy
As connectivism is increasingly accepted as a theory of learning for the digital age, scholars and practitioners in education often overlook the dilemma that this creates for its most ardent advocates. In the academic literature, we increasingly find scholarly works that present insouciant descriptions of connectivism. However, such practices often underplay or ignore critiques of connectivism, allowing many of our contentions about its epistemological character and pedagogical effectiveness to calcify. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to rationalize why so many educators have endorsed connectivism as a new theory of learning when there continues to be a need for more empirical testing and greater philosophical substantiation. To illustrate this paradox, this paper examines Stephen Downes’s consideration of connectivism and his connectivist model of literacy. Using the dialogic philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin, it introduces an architectonic model of connectivism and multiliteracies as an alternative discourse and pedagogical paradigm. A key finding from this study suggests that the lack of attention to capitalist practices, power, and the intermediality of texts in networked learning help to conceal the ways in which connectivist practices rearticulate behaviorism
Weaving Indigenous Knowledges into the Classroom as a Tool to Combat Racism
Two years after the introduction of the new Teaching Quality Standard in Alberta, Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from eight teacher education programs came together to examine how teachers were weaving Indigenous knowledges into their classrooms. The fifth competency of the standard requires that all Alberta teachers possess a foundational knowledge of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit and apply that knowledge in the classroom. Two hundred and forty-seven teachers, both non-Indigenous and Indigenous, responded to a survey, and another 30 participated in follow-up interviews. Results point to challenges and successes that teachers have experienced, the people that support their work, and how the integration of Indigenous knowledges acts as a tool to combat racism against Indigenous Peoples. Although teachers reported increased efficacy in applying a foundational knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, a multicultural perspective prevented some from understanding the unique nature of racism against Indigenous Peoples
Support Services at a Francophone University in Quebec: Contrasting Viewpoints of Chinese International Students and University Professionals
This qualitative study showcases the viewpoints of Chinese international students and university professionals about the services offered at a francophone university in Montreal regarding “welcoming” and “integration.” Semi-directed interviews were conducted among 22 participants, of which 14 were students and 8 university professionals. Using the concept of care, we conducted a thematic analysis. According to the analysis, students mention the lack of effective support, while university professionals discuss the support offered and its pitfalls. In terms of recommendations, we stress the importance of tackling current structural issues rather than putting the responsibility for the quality of the experience on students’ shoulders. We also emphasize that professionals who provide services directly to students must be given proper training and resources through universities to enable them to change the current paradigm and offer services that reflect the concept of student care
African Migrant Learners’ Experiences of Xenophobia in South Africa
This article draws on the social identity theory to understand the real life schooling experiences of the migrant learners (from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe) within three South African schools. It adopted a qualitative, narrative research methodology, using open-ended interviews and photovoice as its methods of data collection. The findings reveal complex and pervasive dynamics of xenophobia. These took the form of denigrating stereotypical constructions of African migrants and resulted in the mistreatment, exclusion, and rejection of the African migrant learners. The study recommends further research on issues on African migrant learners schooling experiences in South Africa and for schools to embrace acceptance of African migrant learners for enhancing an inclusive schooling agenda
Navigating the Unknown Digital “Waters” That Lie Ahead – A Commentary
This contribution presents a commentary on the special issue
Michael Marker Dialogues with the Pope on Primacy of Place: Advocating for the Papaschase First Nation
This article begins from Michael Marker’s methodological invocation to center place and “the consciousness of landscape” (2018, p. 453). The places at issue are Manito Sakahikan (aka Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta) and Amiskwaciwaskahikan (aka Beaver Hills House of Edmonton, Alberta). Both places were in the news in 2022 when Pope Francis made his historic and tardy apology on behalf of the Catholic Church and its members for their role in the cultural genocide of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Both places hold spiritual significance for the Papaschase First Nation, whose traditional territory encompasses them, as well as for practicing Catholics. As a means of advocacy for the Papaschase First Nation, I trace the breaking of their treaty, in part, to the Church’s role in, and the dire consequences of, terra nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery. I contrast the Western view that one can own the land with a traditional Indigenous emphasis on the importance of sharing and caring with and for the land. I present my arguments via an imagined three-way dialogue among Dr. Michael Marker, Pope Francis, and myself. To create this dialogue, I draw on: Marker’s scholarly work, particularly on the primacy of place; Pope Francis’s homilies, statements, and earlier papal bulls (decrees). As a Métis from Manito Sakahikan, I share memories of the place of my ancestors and childhood that bring forth an Indigenous Métissage (Donald, 2009, 2012), underscoring place-based and sacred traditional relationships to “sentient landscapes” (Marker, 2018, p. 454). The dialogue takes place in three places: Ancient Gathering Places, the Vatican, and An Alternative Future of Wholeness. The results of the conversation suggest the importance of an Indigenous perspective on the sacredness of place as a possible educationa