PRISM :: Browsing by Author "Kawalilak, Colleen"

Browsing by Author "Kawalilak, Colleen"

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Open Access
A Comparative Assessment of Non-tenure Stream Faculty Members’ Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Commitment at Two Canadian Universities
(2016) Burge, Robert; Mendaglio, Salvatore; Jacobsen, Michele; Patterson, Margaret Edna; Kawalilak, Colleen; Jones, Glen Alan
This study explored the employee-organizational relationship of non-tenure stream faculty teaching at two research-intensive Canadian universities through an examination of faculty members’ perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, and organizational exchange relationship. Through a survey of 146 non-tenure stream faculty teaching at two institutions in the 2013-14 academic year, the study examined their composition, characteristics, career aspirations, and views about working as a non-tenure stream teacher at their institution, from a comparative perspective. Five research questions were addressed. The closed- and open-ended survey question results were analyzed and presented for both the pooled and individual institutional samples. The measures of perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, and organizational exchange relationship were analyzed and scale reliability results are reported. Key findings include: one third of study participants are teaching in a non-stream position because they could not find a tenure stream position; three quarters of participants had other employment (whether it was full-time or part-time, at or external to the university); participants feel emotionally attached to their institution (affective commitment) and believe that their institution supports them and values their work (perceived organizational support); part-time non-tenure stream faculty were less ‘emotionally attached’ than were full-time non-tenure stream faculty; full-time non-tenure stream faculty associate greater ‘costs’ to leaving their institution of employment (continuance commitment) than part-time non-tenure stream faculty; over four fifths of participants were satisfied working at their institution and would recommend the institution as a good place to work; participants identified job security and stability, a greater respect, sense of belonging, recognition, being undervalued, and better compensation and career related issues, as concerns; working with students, learners, colleagues, and teaching were what participants liked best about working at their university.
Open Access
A Decade of Teaching, Researching, and Leading Reform-Based Science Education in Canada, England, and the United States: An Autoethnography
(2024-11-27) Baier Wideman, Alicia; Winchester, Ian; Winchester, Ian; Kawalilak, Colleen; Chua, Catherine
This research investigated the question: What insights can be gained from autoethnographic exploration of my experiences with reform-based science education systems in Canada, England, and the United States? Autoethnographic data was collected from recollections of my experiences teaching, researching, and leading in secondary science education over a decade (2012-2023) in three countries (Canada, England, and the United States), and presented for this research as narrative vignettes. In response to calls to capture the interplay between stakeholders and infrastructure, and to better understand and document the ways in which educational systems enact policy, I used a layered approach to analytic autoethnography to explore my experiences implementing and enacting reform-based science education. Analysis of my narrative vignettes led me to identify similarities and differences from my experiences across national and professional cultures. I discovered that while some context-dependent differences existed, robust enactment of science education across all three experiences was hindered to varying degrees regardless of infrastructural or cultural nuances. From a positioning of inbetween, I was able to capture unique insights into the innerworkings, tensions, and negotiations that took place in the third space between policy and practice from my lived experience. This research aims to increase visibility for internal intermediaries positioned in the inbetween of science education systems and to highlight autoethnography as a reliable science education research method for providing insight into the everyday ‘what is’ of science education systems in contrast to the ‘what should be’ as outlined in the aims and goals of government educational policy documents.
Open Access
A Narrative Inquiry into the Professional Identity Formation of College Instructors
(2015-09-28) Hayden, Paula Diane; Kawalilak, Colleen
For college instructors who have moved from industry to teaching in adult education, developing a professional identity is a continuing process. This study examines the experience of nine instructors who transitioned from industry to teaching adults in a technical and vocational (TVET) Canadian college in the Middle East. The purpose of the research was to explore the way instructors form a sense of professional identity. The study also explored how education and experience in industry contributes to and/or influences instructors’ formation of professional identities. Lastly, it examined how participation in professional development activities forms instructors’ professional identity. To form a professional identity, instructors must reflect on their attitudes, behaviour, and motivation. This reflection is necessary for instructors to understand their decision-making and any changes in their professional identity. Instructors’ examination of personal and professional experiences illuminates their self-knowledge and their role in the academic community. Critical reflection helped participants to know what they needed to develop a professional identity, which has implications for instructor education and professional development design. Findings indicated that where college instructors had formed a professional identity it grew from a continuum of experiences rather than a single shift in perspective. Instructors first recognized themselves as instructors; identity formation and development were influenced by PD activities and collegial, managerial, and institutional relationships. A model of professional identity development shows an active process of creation, interpretation, negotiation, and reflection.
Open Access
Adoption of Innovation: Exploring the Design and Implementation of a Cardiovascular Registry Project
(2023-03-30) King, Melanie; Lock, Jennifer; Estefan, Andrew; Kawalilak, Colleen
Advanced data technologies are permeating the healthcare environment, yet little is known about the role of learning in these change events. Literature on advances of data science for use in healthcare predominantly focuses on the computational and analytic methods, barriers and benefits, as well as the potential impact on the industry and professional roles. Few studies have explored health professionals’ experiences and perspectives on the integration of data science technologies in practice. In this qualitative, descriptive case study, I explored the experiences of 16 health professionals who had a role in a change event related to a cardiac registry project in western Canada. Study participants included project team members, clinicians, research collaborators, and academic and clinical institution staff and leaders. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the experiences of participants to better understand the conditions that shaped the change event, the learning strategies employed, and the factors that contributed to the successful adoption of innovation. Findings from the study revealed that people play a central role in the success of a change event and project implementation. While three additional themes emerged from the data, namely the environment, learning, and innovation, it was the individuals, teams, and relationships that function within those elements that were critical to the success of the registry project. The results of this work provided insight into the necessary conditions to support successful adoption of advanced data technologies and guided recommendations for future change events.
Open Access
An Exploration of How Interpersonal Relationship Development Between Undergraduate Learners and Instructors Impacts Student Engagement Within a Post-Secondary, Blended Delivery Environment
(2014-01-27) Peacock, Melanie Jessica; Kawalilak, Colleen
Today’s dynamic educational landscape challenges post-secondary institutions to create engaging learning opportunities that meet a diversity of demands. In response to diverse requirements, including enhanced utilization of resources such as time and space, blended delivering curricula play an important role within post-secondary institutions and increased use of this pedagogy is anticipated. Blended delivery is a combination of face-to-face and online activities to create a distinct learning environment, thereby presenting increased choices and challenges to adult learners, instructors, and post-secondary institutions. While acknowledging the complexities within the educational landscape, scholarly research has endorsed the criticality of interpersonal relationship development between adult learners and instructors. Yet, little attention has been afforded to this important element within a post-secondary, undergraduate, blended delivery environment. To address this gap, this study explored adult learners’ and instructors’ experiences of interpersonal relationship development within a post-secondary, undergraduate, blended delivery learning environment and the impact of these relationship elements and dynamics on student engagement. Informed by social interdependence theory this qualitative research drew upon interpretive phenomenology. Through twelve interviews and explication of data, participants’ collective experiences were revealed which highlighted synergies that could be created through intersections between interpersonal relationship development themes of foundation, conversation, mutuality, and independence, which in turn, promoted deeper student engagement. Synergistic interpersonal elements and dynamics between adult learners and instructors illuminated how learning processes and interpersonal exchanges could be enacted to enhance student engagement in a post-secondary, undergraduate, blended delivery environment, thereby providing considerations for enhancing educational praxis. Opportunities to further explore and enhance critical interpersonal facets between adult learners and instructors within post-secondary, undergraduate, blended delivery environments were also identified from this study.
Open Access
An exploration of how women lead in a higher education setting when assumptions of the organizational culture are challenged by globalization
(2008) Brown, Patricia Anne; Kawalilak, Colleen
Open Access
An Exploration of Passionate Vocational Learning in Adulthood
(2016) Ayres, Kurt Rand; Kawalilak, Colleen; Butterwick, Shauna Jane; Groen, Janet Elizabeth; Patterson, Margaret Edna; Mendaglio, Salvatore
Fortunate adults are able to spend a great deal of their lives doing work they feel suited to perform; they are working in a vocation. As an adult educator, I am interested in understanding how adults find and form their vocations and, in particular, how adults become passionately engaged in vocational learning. This study provides an exploration of the life experiences of six adults, including myself, who are all self-professed passionate learners in their vocations. The research draws upon underlying theory from the psychology of human motivation, interest development, vocation, vocational identity and narrative identity, in addition to the theory of transformative learning. I use Narrative Inquiry as a research methodology to reveal the experience of the participants who have become passionate learners in their vocations. I develop vocational narratives for each participant to provide the life context for the participant’s vocational decision-making. I further isolate narrative threads from each vocational narrative, which are smaller narratives on vocational development and tend to reoccur throughout the lives of the individual. They provide insight into each person’s vocational decision-making. In response to the research questions, I organize the experience of each participant in six zones of activity, which enable the reader to visualize how, over time, each participant has developed and learned the skills, values, goals, and roles associated with their vocation. I named the six zones Vocational Interest, Disruptive Events, Choosing and Entering Vocation, Vocational Identity Development, Vocational Learning and Possible Stagnation. In the study, I show how vocational interest sometimes emerged from the early lives of the participants. I also provide insight into the way vocational interest developed, in some cases, into vocational identity; for example, when an individual interested in nursing became a nurse. I show how participants sometimes encountered disruptive events in their lives, which may well have triggered periods of both transformative learning and vocational change. I develop evidence that some participants may have experienced transformative learning as the process by which they created new vocational identities. Finally, I show how some participants developed multifaceted collections of vocational identities, as in nurse-educator-counsellor.
Open Access
BC Research and Teaching University Representatives Interpreting and Implementing Provincial Policy, in Relation to the Transfer System Mandate for Baccalaureate Education: Case Study Research
(2015-07-31) Smalcel Pederson, Kristine; Kawalilak, Colleen
This qualitative dual case study examined how administrators from two universities in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) implemented provincial policy at their university’s transfer credit and undergraduate level. The universities selected for the study were instrumental cases, facilitating understanding and insight of the institutions and their administrators as well as the public post-secondary system in general. The case universities represented two types of higher education institution in the BC post-secondary system that are important to baccalaureate education; namely, one research university and one new university-title and teaching institution. I explored interpretations of baccalaureate education, transfer credit, and related students’ experiences from multiple perspectives in a higher education organizational culture system. For the participants in the research, defining transfer, transfer mandates, and policy were personal, often historically derived concepts. For some participants, it was a limited, traditional definition; others demonstrated a wide understanding of transfer as part of the larger mobility concept. The research illuminated individual understanding of the research questions, reinforced known challenges, and identified opportunities for policy, practice, and research. My assumptions that students were highly regarded by case study participants and their institutions was supported in the research, but participants reflected confusion and frustration with the transfer credit process, for various reasons. The participants from the case universities represented multiple perspectives and interpretations, and the system was correspondingly complex.
Open Access
Canadian Baccalaureate Nurses Transition to the Local Health Care Environment in Qatar
(2016-01-29) Clark, Sheila; Scott, Shelleyann; Scott, Donald; Kawalilak, Colleen; Lamb, Maryanne; Goldsworthy, Sandra; Donald, Scott
New graduate nurses are faced with numerous challenges when they enter the health care environment after completing their degrees in nursing. This study explored the challenges faced by Canadian degree nurses educated at the Canadian University’s Qatar campus. Four key conceptual areas—professionalism in nursing, transition from student to working nurse, adult education in nursing, and the theory–practice gap in nursing—were deemed to have an impact on the transition experience of graduate nurses into the local health care environment in Qatar. This study employed a mixed-methods approach and was based on Creswell’s (2009) Concurrent Embedded Design, which is characterized by the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously. There were two main clusters of participants. The graduates from 2010 and 2011, designated as Cohort One, were all full-time students who had diplomas in nursing prior to entering university. The second group, designated Cohort Two, included the graduates from 2012 and 2013, and was composed of full- and part-time post-diploma nurses returning to work, as well as full-time four-year degree graduates who were entering the workforce for the first time. Findings indicated that the transition period whereby graduate nurses entered the local health care environment was fraught with multiple challenges. Findings suggested not only that the transition from student to working nurse is challenging in general, but also that Qatar’s unique multicultural health care environment specifically led to exceptionally challenging experiences for graduate nurses. Two new models—The Pearls of Wisdom Induction Model, which is specific to Qatar, and The Pearls of Wisdom Expanded Nursing Orientation Model, which is more generic and applicable to health care organizations anywhere in the world—were developed as a direct result of the findings from this study. These two models emerged as a possible means to address the challenges faced by new graduate nurses.
Open Access
Care Full Experiences in Correctional Education – Mapping Complexities Through Autoethnography
(2021-08-27) Oostvogels, Ashley; McDemott, Mairi; Winchester, Ian; Kawalilak, Colleen
Autoethnography is a method of research that aligns its focus on the narratives of the researcher’s lived experience, with/through the lens of culture and society (Adams, et al., 2015). This study involves using memory as data in mapping my former role as a correctional educator engaging in care with my student inmates, adopting autoethnography as both method and methodology. Additionally, the complexities that grew through/up/within this study, such as having had a father who was previously incarcerated, are highlighted as opportunities that unveil connections. This study is put to work through the concepts of Deleuze and Guattari (1987/2005), such as the rhizome, assemblage, becoming, difference and plugging-in, which have served as the emergent analysis that encourages the reader to plug-in. The objective is not vested in a final answer nor resting place, alternatively, the specific, the particular, the nuanced presentations of this autoethnography of care with student inmates is offered. This study pursues two research questions: What is the experience of a correctional educator in developing and maintaining care with incarcerated students? And, how do correctional educators’ experiences of internal and external conflicts shape the conditions for care in correctional education? Later, while exploring the findings of this study, a third question was added to capture the intricacies that were definitive of this work: What complexities, and discoveries, of self and others, existed and emerged through the reciprocal care between myself, as a correctional educator, and my student inmates? The study is posited upon my early articulation in recognizing that we take ourselves, our whole selves – upbringings, lived experiences, values, personalities, etc.- with us, wherever we go. This study seeks to disrupt what I previously thought was true, replacing these with new truths such as: that research methods and methodologies can be flexible in their flows, that there is value in the non-normative that allows us to see/be/know differently, that care and compassion know no boundaries and that what we think might have been our biggest downfalls in life, turn out to be our greatest strengths that guide us to lead ourselves and others in remarkable ways.
Open Access
Career Decision-Making Processes and Cultural Perspectives from East-Asian Counselling Psychologists in Canada
(2022-09) Maria, Kim; Zhao, Xu; Maroney, Meredith; Kawalilak, Colleen
This study explores the career decision-making processes of East Asian psychologists in Canada, documents their perspective on cultural competency education at the graduate level, and discuss implications for recruiting and training future counselling psychologists to better meet the mental health needs of East Asian communities and individuals. This study is a qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews with 10 participants in Canada: five practicing counselling psychologists and five counselling psychology graduate students, all from East Asian backgrounds. Through a qualitative thematic analysis, salient themes revolving around participants’ career decision-making experiences, their experiences in graduate training programs, as well as their professional experiences were identified. These themes point to gaps between existing mental health practices in counselling psychology and the cultural experiences of East Asian individuals. They highlight the need for promoting diverse representation in the field of professional psychology, as well as addressing deficits in cultural competency training in counselling psychology programs in Canada. This research provides a unique perspective from a group of minority psychologists regarding ways to enhance the recruiting and training psychologists from more diverse cultural backgrounds to promote equity, diversity, and inclusiveness in the field of counselling psychology.
Open Access
A Case Study of Service-Learning in Upper Elementary: Implications for Writing Instruction
(2022-01) Wilcox, Tamra; Roy, Sylvie; Lenters, Kim; Kawalilak, Colleen
In this case study, I partnered with an educator of upper elementary students, to gain understanding of writing instruction embedded in service-learning to address the problem of diminished engagement as elementary students transition to junior high school. Service-learning is an approach to instruction that offers the unique connection of community engagement with academic aims. A posthuman/postcritical orientation to literacy underpins this work, inviting an expanded view of participants and the productions of their encounters, and a focus on opportunities for relationship building in writing instruction. I collected data through semi-structured interviews with the teacher, conversations from shared readings, observations during in-class and online instruction, and artefact analysis. I used thematic analysis to identify findings related to the design and facilitation of writing instruction through service learning, rhizoanalysis to locate salient assemblages, and writing as an analytical process. The findings of the study reveal that: service-learning provides possibilities for many forms and modes of writing, connecting service-learning with writing instruction can highlight student learning needs and service-learning can support feedback cycles to improve writing. Additional findings from the posthuman/postcritical literacy perspective include mappings and descriptions of salient assemblages and their productions, and instances of social change described as becomings. I provide practical considerations for educators and avenues for future research. This study provides insight to educators in the field, school leaders, curriculum designers, and pre-service teacher education programs.
Open Access
Comparing In-Service Teachers and Pre-service Teachers' Attitudes about Bullying
(2018-11-06) Masou, Catherine; Andrews, Jac; Schroeder, Meadow; Kawalilak, Colleen
Given the far-reaching negative impacts associated with bullying, researchers have extensively examined different prevention and intervention methods to help reduce this behaviour. Within the last decade, research has found that teachers can often act as a first line of defence for bullying. The current study extends the literature by examining the similarities and differences between in-service and pre-service teachers’ attitudes about bullying. Specifically, this study examined in-service and pre-service teachers’ perceived seriousness level, empathy level and likelihood to intervene for verbal, relational and physical bullying. Participants consisted of 158 teachers (in-service teachers: 56, pre-service teachers: 102). Results reveal that teachers hold different attitudes about verbal, relational and physical bullying and that perceived seriousness level and empathy level can predict teachers’ willingness to intervene in bullying. No overall differences were found between in-service and pre-service teachers’ attitudes about bullying. These results further demonstrate the importance of informing teachers about the negative consequences of bullying, specifically in regard to different forms of bullying, in hopes to increase teachers’ intervention and reduce the negative consequences of bullying.
Open Access
Course Design and Interpersonal Relationship Development Among Students in a Post-Secondary Online Context
(2021-06-22) Rakitskaya, Elena; Kawalilak, Colleen; Bohac Clarke, Veronika Elizabeth; Winchester, Ian S.; Lock, Jennifer Vivian; Badenhorst, Cecile; Kawalilak, Colleen
When taking online courses in post-secondary institutions, students find themselves in an environment that is based on collaboration. To collaborate effectively, students need to maintain an optimal level of interaction. The interaction may be compromised because, in post-secondary education, students’ age, life, and educational experiences vary greatly in addition to students’ various learning preferences, technological skill, and personality. In this study, I employed a qualitative case study methodology and collected data from undergraduate students enrolled in online courses, instructors teaching online courses, and instructional designers developing online courses. I asked a series of questions: How are interpersonal relationships among students in post-secondary education experienced in the online learning environment? Why is exploring this topic important? What are the course design elements and features that contribute to the development of interpersonal relationships among undergraduate students in online studies? The data revealed that opinions on the need for student relationships vary but all participants expressed a desire to be connected with online classmates and be understood by them. Most participants believed that course design elements and features could be used to develop relationships between online students.
Open Access
The cross-cultural reflective model for post-sojourn debriefing
(Taylor & Francis : Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2018-01) Dressler, Roswita; Becker, Sandra; Kawalilak, Colleen; Arthur, Nancy
Reflective writing is a practice often encouraged in study abroad programs. Reflection can be facilitated through experiential learning, but little research is available on how to guide or structure related learning activities. In this article, we discuss the Cross-cultural Reflection model (CCR), which emerged through our own process of researching three commonly-used models for reflective writing (Gibbs, 1988; Johns, 2010; Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper, 2001). We document our procedure for researching, creating, testing, and modifying the CCR model, before and after using it with students in a post-sojourn debriefing workshop. In the discussion, we examine which aspects of the models examined informed the CCR model and which elements we introduced as a result of working with the models in two research retreats. The sharing of the process is intended to inform practices of reflective writing in post-sojourn debriefing to enhance international experiences, programmes and practices.
Open Access
Cultural Competency and Identity: Exploring the Role and Impact of Cultural Competency Education on Personal and Professional Identity Among Undergraduate Nursing and Medical Students
(2022-01-14) Antepim, Benedicta; Kawalilak, Colleen; Roy, Sylvie; Winchester, Ian
There has been an effort by both healthcare and educational institutions over the last several decades to train students and professionals in cultural competency. Previous research assessing these interventions have found that many programs do result in a moderate or significant increase in measures of cultural competency. These studies tend to evaluate outcomes through assessing factors such as cultural knowledge, attitude, and skills, with very few additions to the literature that expand or refocus assessment to understand the meaning and impact of this education on learners. This research aimed to explore the role and impact of cultural competencies on personal identity, professional identity, and future practice. Using qualitative description as the driving methodology, nine senior undergraduate medical and nursing students participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated that personal identity and lived experiences are motivating factors for students to engage in cultural competency. The impact of utilizing multiple learning contexts in developing cultural competencies was also a significant finding. From these findings emerged three key themes: the impact of lived experience, the role of stories and storytelling in cultural competency education, and how personal agency drives engagement in cultural competency. Educators and faculty leaders should strive to include learner and community voices in course development, standardize relevant clinical experience and prioritize cultural competency education within the curriculum.
Open Access
Cultural Preparedness of Adult Educators: A Changing Dynamic in Higher Education
(2024-01-24) McDonald, Moira A.; Dressler, Roswita; Kawalilak, Colleen; Sabbaghan, Soroush
Numbers of international undergraduate students enrolled in Canadian universities and colleges have grown from 22,000 in the year 2000 to 2.2 million in 2022. While international students embark on their post-secondary journey of discovery, we as educators also embark on a journey of discovery to explore how prepared we are to meet the international learning community's needs. This research focused on generating understanding around cultural preparedness in learning communities and the tools needed to support the educating community. For this inquiry, I drew from the transformative learning theoretical framework, guided by a qualitative research methodological approach and methods to utilize a three-phased research design of topic-based focus groups and interviews. In this study, I drew from seminal work and insights on culture. I defined a nuanced definition of cultural preparedness in adult learning settings, specifically at a public university in Western Canada. The findings suggest that cultural preparedness is a community-wide endeavour in collaboration with students, administration, educators and begins with understanding one’s positionality. Outcomes from this study may further help educators promote best practices related to internationalization at home in the 21st century. Key words: internationalization at home, educators, students, transformative learning, qualitative, cultural preparedness, global pandemic, COVID-19
Open Access
Deciphering International Education Leadership: A Narrative Inquiry of Senior International Officers in Canada
(2022-02) Yan, Daiwei; Winchester, Ian; Johns, Christine; Kawalilak, Colleen
Internationalization is a key strategic agenda for post-secondary institutions. Its complexed connotations and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic both underpin the significance of a robust international education leadership in place that enables one to navigate uncertainties and ambiguities of the internationalization terrain. Framing leadership as a dynamic and contextual construct, this qualitative narrative inquiry aims to explore the life and professional experiences of senior international officers in leading internationalization initiatives from post-secondary settings in Canada. Findings of this study shed light on the leadership becoming of senior international officers, who play central roles in charting institutional internationalization initiatives. This study aims to amplify the voices of senior international officers and contribute to the sense-making of international education leadership within the higher education community. Inspired by the life and professional stories of these frontline international education leaders, suggestions are made on a) the professional development of international education leadership, b) the consideration behind internationalization governance structure, and c) the new internationalization possibilities at a post-pandemic era.
Embargo
Difference is the Greatest Influence: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Transcultural Sexual Fluidity
(2016) Francis, Roger; Kawalilak, Colleen; Estefan, Andrew; Winchester, Ian; Alderson, Kevin; Mizzi, Robert
The lived experiences of transcultural sexually fluid identities (TSFI) within Canada’s diverse transnational communities remain an unexplored area of individuality and difference. TSFI fits within the general referencing of non-heteronormative sexual identities. In spite of Canada’s projected diversity and accommodating laws for human differences, there is still a stigma attached to non-traditional sexual expressions. Across the diverse Canadian landscape, there are numerous interpretations and understandings of same gender sex (SGS) engagement. In this study, interpretations of TSFI are viewed through a blended theoretical lens of borderland theory (Anzaldúa, 1993) and liminality theory (Turner, 1969). This fused theoretical lens informs a deeper understanding of TSFI and allows for an examination of the many identities that exist within the spectrum of non-heteronormative sexual identities. The non-heteronormative sexual identity context is a fluid spectrum of diversity consisting of various sexual identity labels residing in a space that are referenced in this research as fluidsexuality. Fluidsexuality is a term created for this research and refers to the range of sexual identities present between the binary constructs of heterosexuality and homosexuality. The combined poles of these binary concepts are premised by another term created for this research henceforth referenced as binarysexuality. Within the span of these opposite poles, lies an array of same-gender-sex (SGS) sexually fluid labels. In examining the plethora of emerging SGS labels, this research was guided by autoethnographic methodology through which I explored TSFI identities across Canada. This study investigated the lived experiences of TSFIs and how their lives can inform knowledge development that may result in a rejuvenated adult learning pedagogy focused on diversity and difference.
Embargo
Dis-Connected: Young Adults’ Experience of Growing Up With a Canadian Service Member Parent With an Operational Stress Injury
(2024-04-09) Iverson, Heather; Robertson, Sharon Elaine; Robertson, Sharon Elaine; Domene, José F.; Kawalilak, Colleen
Military-connected families in Canada have expressed concerns regarding the impact of having a parent with an operational stress injury (OSI), such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on their children’s well-being. A recent trend in research has been focused on examining the impacts of parents’ PTSD on the mental health of military-connected children (MCC). However, there remains a paucity of studies that capture the perspective of the MCC themselves, particularly within a Canadian context. This study aimed to explore how young adult children of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran service members make sense of their experience of growing up with a parent with an OSI. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five young adults aged 19 to 23 years, and the transcripts were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). From this analysis, five Group Experiential Themes (GETs) emerged: (a) In a Way, I Lost My Dad, (b) Turbulent Waters at Home, (c) Don’t Rock the Boat, (d) In the Dark, and (e) Duty to Care. The participants’ accounts shed light on the complexity of dealing with a father who was present juxtaposed with a father who was absent. Participants’ narratives depicted tumultuous home environments where maintaining family harmony was a honed skill. Moreover, the pervasive uncertainty surrounding their father’s OSI during their upbringing called for participant resilience and resourcefulness in coping with a situation marked by limited information and communication. Furthermore, amidst the confusion and destabilizing circumstances, participants remained steadfast in their commitment to their families. These findings are discussed in the context of relevant literature. The strengths and limitations of the study are considered and implications for practice and research are presented.