Faculty of Education; Critical Disability Studies

This study explores the educational opportunities available to secondary high school students in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), using both public TDSB and Ontario Ministry of Education data. Family income, parental education, and student participation in special education (excluding Gifted) are key units of analysis, as are the types of programs that the TDSB provides. The research found that low income students, students whose parents lack university education, and students in special education have less access to socially valued educational programs. The research found a significant overrepresentation of low income students receiving special education services and in other programs that offer few options for post-secondary education. Work-oriented programs were found to be most prominently available in the lowest income neighbourhoods in Toronto.

This study explored how parents and families perceive their own engagement in early years services in three communities in Ontario, Canada. Using an Appreciative Inquiry approach, focus groups, and questionnaires with parents, we investigated parent views of the strengths of early years supports and perceived outcomes of early years services in Ontario’s Best Start demonstration communities. The research was grounded in the literature about family-centred practice, parent engagement, and child outcomes from family participation. One of the major findings was an extremely high rate of satisfaction with Best Start programs and services, which influenced their participation. Parents and families identified relationships with staff, access, and a wide range of programs as critical to their engagement. Additionally, the outcomes from early years programs and services appear to move beyond child development and include direct benefits for the parents and families.

This study responds to a call for research into existing teacher-education
programmes and their impact on teacher candidates’ attitudes. An inclusive
education course that examined the difference between ‘soft inclusion’ (inclusion
which addresses the issue of place rather than substance of learning) and genuine
inclusion was used to explore pre-existing teacher candidate beliefs and
assumptions. Using the Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming-Adapted, four
classes of students from two different teacher-preparation programmes within the
Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto, Canada, were surveyed preand
post-course. A statistically significant change in the scores was found for all
of the classes. A significant difference was also found between the changes in
scores of the two programme groups. Results indicate that the course was
successful at shifting preservice students towards inclusion

In the province of Ontario, Canada, early intervention services are in need of networking
opportunities in order to further a research agenda and support early childhood
educators in the field. The authors describe the political circumstances facing new
graduates of early childhood education (ECE) training programs and the discrepancy
between the ECE curriculum they are exposed to and the realities of the field they
enter. Efforts to create a new network of early intervention professionals in order to
address some of the challenges facing early intervention in the province are described.

Many governments, organizations, and school boards have recently committed to focusing their attention on children’s Mental Health and Emotional Well-being (MHEW) (e.g., Kidger, Gunnell, Biddle, Campbell, & Donovan, 2010; Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013; Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013b). Although often left out of the conversation, teachers play a critical role in supporting and fostering chil- dren’s MHEW. The purpose of this chapter is threefold: (1) to introduce educators to a critical mental health literacy (CMHL) approach, (2) to identify the teacher’s role in supporting MHEW in inclusive classrooms, and (3) to support educators in their efforts to provide inclusive classrooms that accom- modate all needs, including MHEW, through the introduction of mindfulness and critical media literacy.