PRISM :: Browsing by Author "Roy, Sylvie"

Browsing by Author "Roy, Sylvie"

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Open Access
Academic and Social Experiences of Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University
(2019-08-28) Zhang, Chuqing; Guo, Yan; Roy, Sylvie; Spencer, Brenda L.
The number of international students studying in Canadian universities continues to rise as a direct consequence of the internationalization of higher education in Canada. International students bring financial, cultural, and academic benefits to Canadian universities. Among all the international students pursuing higher education in Canada, Chinese international students take up a large portion and have become an important population group within the Canadian university community. Although Chinese international students have made tremendous contributions to Canadian universities, they also face many challenges when adjusting to their new environment. This study investigates the academic and social experiences of Chinese international undergraduate students through examining their transition process at one university in western Canada. The study is informed by Bourdieu’s capital theory. Specifically, this study employs a qualitative case study as the methodology and relied on semi-structured interviews as the method. Data for the study were collected from interviews with 10 Chinese international undergraduate students. This study reveals that Chinese international undergraduate students were motivated by different factors to study in Canada; additionally, they encountered various language, academic and social challenges, but each adopted creative coping strategies such as mobilizing their digital social capital to overcome these challenges. This study also suggests that it is important for university instructors, staff and local students to value international students’ cultural capital and their multilingual capital. Insights of the study can inform university policymakers, instructors, and staff to provide a better environment and appropriate support for international students.
Open Access
Adult Beginning Learners’ Engagement in Learning Mandarin as An Additional Language at a Canadian Post-secondary Institute
(2017) Wu, Xueqin; Guo, Yan; Becket, Gulbahar; Xie, Shaobo; Cai, Wei; Roy, Sylvie
This research investigates the Mandarin learning experience of both heritage and non-heritage beginners in a Canadian post-secondary institution to understand students’ engagement in learning Mandarin as an additional language (MAL). It integrates the complexity theory with an ecological perspective on second language education to capture the dynamic relationship between the learning context and the learners’ engagement in learning MAL. The case study methodology was chosen for the research purpose, and data were collected through classroom observations, focused group conversations and individual interviews. Research findings are presented from two perspectives: the learning experience and the classroom teaching and learning practices. Issues related to student engagement were discussed, including motivation, identity, curriculum, and teaching practice. Analysis on the findings reveals the complexity and ambivalence of Chineseness to heritage and non-heritage MAL learners, which must be understood in their particular socio-cultural context. It also advocates for promoting learner agency through the development of their own “Chinese voice”. In addition, in order to encourage students’ long-term engagement in learning MAL, it is important for the curriculum designers to allocate more time for students to practice Mandarin, make the teaching content more relevant to students’ knowledge and experiences, and develop an assessment system that values learner difference while remaining fair to both heritage and non-heritage students. Implications for MAL education are discussed at the end of the thesis.
Open Access
Adult Immigrants Seeking Entry into the Trades in Rural Alberta: Navigating the Processes of Credentialing and Re-credentialing
(2018-07-05) Ross, Douglas Robert; Jubas, Kaela; Roy, Sylvie; Simmons, Marlon; Sewell, H. Douglas; Sawchuk, Peter H.; Lock, Jennifer
The purpose of this case study is to explore a sample of international power engineering students' experiences and perceptions to get a better understanding of the individual and collective strategies adopted to navigate the post-migration transition to the Canadian labour market. Along with document analysis, this thesis analyzes data gained through personal interviews and a focus group with 14 international power engineering students, with the intention of gathering input from their experiences and perceptions of (re-)credentialing to realize successful labour market entry. This thesis offers an analysis of (re-)credentialing as a contested space amidst a process of negotiating an arbitrarily imposed re-training regime. With a sociocultural framework that considers the earlier writings of Lev Vygotsky in support of the contemporary concepts of Pierre Bourdieu, the findings suggest the need for more support of mediated learning experiences to promote abilities to process new and complicated symbolic representations linked to labour market entry requirements. The findings also indicate the profound influence of a field-habitus clash on successful entry to occupations of choice.
Open Access
Arts-based engagement ethnography with newcomer youth in Canada: Learning from their experiences.
(2020-06-12) Smith, Danielle J.; Kassan, Anusha; Domene, José, F.; Mudry, Tanya; Zhao, Xu; Roy, Sylvie
Newcomer youth experience unique challenges when integrating into high schools in their host countries. As newcomer communities grow across Canada, high schools are faced with the increased challenge of meeting their needs. Schools are often the first point of contact for newcomer youth, and their experiences of school integration can directly impact other aspects of their integration experience, including mental and physical health, relationships with friends and family, and the ability to fit into broader society. This research started with the question: How do newcomer youth experience school integration following migration to Canada? Using an art-based engagement ethnography (ABEE), coupled with a social justice framework, our aim was to capture newcomer youth’s experiences of school integration in order to identify ways in which schools, teachers, and practitioners, as well as the broader education system, could better support these students. Using cultural probes (e.g., maps, journals, cameras), qualitative interviews, and focus groups, four participants documented their everyday experiences of school integration. An ethnographic analysis of these materials revealed three interconnected structures (challenges to school integration; responses and resiliencies in the face of challenges, and; understanding of identity during school integration) as well as specific recommendations from participants for improving the experiences of other newcomer students. These are conveyed in two manuscripts that together give both a nuanced look into the experiences of newcomer students and suggestions for practitioners and policy makers who wish to support these youth.
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
A Case Study of University Instructors’ Perceptions and Teaching Practices of Critical Thinking in China
(2019-12-18) Liu, Xiaoli; Guo, Yan; Koh, Kim H.; Roy, Sylvie
Cultivating students’ critical thinking abilities has become a national and an institutional priority in higher education in China. Although China has emphasized critical thinking in its educational policy and implementation for many years, Chines students were still often reported as lacking critical thinking competences. Research is needed to explore how that may transpire in the teaching and learning context in China. However, there is a scarcity of studies about instructors’ perceptions of critical thinking. Particularly, the voice of Chinese instructors is missing. To address this gap, this study explored instructors’ perceptions and teaching practices of critical thinking at one university in China. It drew from Thomas’ (1997, 2002) culturally appropriate pedagogy framework and adopted a qualitative case study methodology. 24 instructors and eight students from NU (WH), China, participated in the study. Data for the study were collected from multiple sources: semi-structured interviews with twenty-four instructors, one focus group with four instructors, and four class observations. Eight students were also interviewed to supplement the instructor interviews. Data were analyzed through open and thematical coding, within the framework of culturally appropriate pedagogy, from contextual, epistemological, personalistic, and process components. Findings revealed that instructors’ disciplinary affiliations were more likely to influence their perceptions of critical thinking. Findings showed that instructors’ interpretations of critical thinking demonstrated Chinese characteristics such as holistic, community-centered, and knowledge accumulation as a foundation for critical thinking. Findings also indicated that Chinese instructors adopted a combination of lecture-based teaching with student-centered pedagogies to foster students’ critical thinking. This study suggests that there is a need to consider sociocultural contexts in teaching critical thinking. Other implications for policies, curricula, and pedagogies for critical thinking are also discussed.
Open Access
Cat's Got Your Tongue - Anxiety and Foreign Language Acquisition
(2022-01) Desgrosseilliers, Patrick; Roy, Sylvie; Boz, Umit; Schroeder, Meadow
This study investigated the impact of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) on English language learning and performance. The project was fundamentally concerned with answering the following two research questions: How do English language students perceive anxiety to be affecting their learning and competency? and What are the factors/contexts that typically result in the manifestation of language related anxiety? In order to discern the impact of anxiety on English language learning and performance, this study viewed the problem through an interpretive lens, employed case study as a methodology and used semi structured interviews as the principal data collection instrument. In total, eight university students based in Mérida, Yucatán, México were individually interviewed about what triggered their anxiety and how they perceived it to be impacting their learning and performance in English. Results indicated that participants perceive anxiety to be a highly negative phenomenon with adverse consequences for English language learning and performance. In this thesis, performance is defined as how skillfully language is deployed while learning is defined as the development of the core abilities needed to function in a language. Data collected from the interview process revealed that the perceived anxiety is triggered by various teaching, learning and ideological variables and that it produces an aversive physiological state. The study’s findings suggest that researchers and practitioners within the field of language education ought to make a number of fundamental adjustments in order to maximize the language learning potential of the students they serve.
Open Access
Chinese-Canadian Bilingual Program: Perceptions of School Culture and Leadership
(2019-09-13) Cheung, Christine Esther; Roessingh, Hetty; Spencer, Brenda L.; Roy, Sylvie
The culture of every school is unique and exclusive to just their setting. A school’s culture evolves over time and it is the responsibility of the school’s leaders to understand it, cultivate it, change it if necessary, work within it, and negotiate it. The culture of a Chinese-Canadian bilingual program can be more distinctive and therefore complex to negotiate by school leaders as stakeholders have culturally and linguistically based expectations of the program that are linked to their own ancestral and/or ethnic culture. It therefore becomes important for leaders of Chinese bilingual programs to understand these expectations and unique aspects of their school culture in order to succeed. The purpose of this study was to identify the components and influences of the school culture of a Chinese-Canadian bilingual program and how the leaders of this program negotiated these components and influences. This inquiry was done through a qualitative research approach that employed a bounded case study methodology. Data was gathered through an anonymous online questionnaire that was given to the parents and teachers of this Chinese bilingual program, as well as through the review of school documents that were available to the public, and from drawing on personal experiences. The findings of this inquiry determined that the leaders of the Chinese Bilingual program must address the funds of knowledge of the parents, teachers, and of themselves. They do so by drawing on the properties of funds of knowledge, culturally responsive leadership, and linguistically responsive leadership, which in turn contribute to strengthening relational trust, shared leadership, and instructional leadership.
Open Access
Christian Privilege and Oppression in Canadian Public Schools
(2017) Knowler, Stephanie; Lund, Darren; Burwell, Catherine; Roy, Sylvie
There is evidence that the Christian religion has privilege in Canadian public schools. This is problematic in a multicultural country where people of various faiths reside. This research ex-plores the manner in which Christian privilege exists and promotes a certain message in public schools. Thirty-two individuals were interviewed, including students, parents, educators and administrators in an effort to access many experiences. Using thematic analysis, specific themes emerged and were examined and categorized. Findings support that there is a place for religion in public schools, but not when it marginalizes or inflicts specific beliefs onto anyone, particularly students. Instead, teaching about religion from a non-biased perspective should be included as meaningful and purposeful instruction. A multicultural model of education is pro-posed in order to create safe schools grounded on inclusion, and offer meaningful instruction where many world views are embraced, challenged and celebrated in order to create informed global citizens.
Open Access
Collaborative Course Development that Moves Forward Via Backward Instructional Design
(2013-05-15) Eaton, Sarah Elaine; Brown, Barb; Jacobsen, Michele; Roy, Sylvie
Open Access
The Conceptualizations of Educators Regarding Multimodal, Embodied Literacy Experiences in Early Years Classrooms Within a French Immersion Context: An Exploratory Case Study
(2021-11-09) Novosel-Ulbrich, Sarah; Lenters, Kimberly; Aukerman, Maren; Roy, Sylvie
Experience with language plays a key role in language development for French immersion students. Multimodal, embodied literacy experiences are critical elements of language growth; thus it is imperative for educators to recognize their role in the development of language learning. Teachers can capitalize on children’s playful curiosities, explorations, and creations by recognizing their role in a child’s language journey and bringing considerations of children’s everyday desires into their pedagogical practice. The purpose of this study was to see how early years (kindergarten and grade 1) educators conceptualize multimodal, embodied learning experiences in their French immersion classrooms. Eight early years teachers were interviewed using semistructured interviews to inquire into their pedagogical practices. All of the teachers discussed the ways in which they create multimodal, embodied experiences to assist their students with language development. However, although the teachers reported affording their students these opportunities, none of them referred to these pedagogical experiences as multimodal or embodied literacies. Finally, teachers did not seem to separate oral or physical experiences from one another; teachers viewed that movement and voice must occur simultaneously for students to grasp the language activity. Lastly, none of the teachers agreed on the specific difficulties experienced by French immersion students, but unanimously stated that there is a substantial lack of resources for immersion educators. This void could be filled by multimodal, embodied literacy practices that students practice naturally throughout the day.
Open Access
Contact de langues en milieu scolaire : l’alternance codique en situation de classe de français au niveau universitaire en Ouganda
(2022-05) Haggerty, Harriet; Amedegnato, Ozouf; Roy, Sylvie; Darin, Flynn; Gbanou, Selom; Feussi, Valentin
My research examined the phenomenon of code alternation in the classroom environment at the university level. Focus was on the teaching/learning of French as a foreign language at the intermediate level. The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of code alternation in the teaching and learning of French in the Ugandan context. The study specifically aimed to identify the languages usually used alternatingly in the French classes, with whom and for what reasons. It also aimed to analyze the students' and lecturers' perceptions and attitudes toward the use of two or more languages in the French language classroom. Additionally the study examined the impact of code alternation on the teaching/learning of French in general, and particularly on the students' communicative competence in French. The results revealed that code alternation played and still plays a major role in the teaching/learning of French in the Ugandan multilingual context as it facilitates the comprehension of the target language as well as communication between the students and their lecturers as well as among students.
Open Access
Creating Coherence Through Implementation of a Strategic Plan: A Case Study
(2019-09-20) Stensland, Tim; Friesen, Sharon; Donlevy, James Kent; Gereluk, Dianne; Roy, Sylvie; Fallon, Gérald
Using case study methodology, this study examined the experiences of 6 senior educational leaders to understand (a) how do school jurisdictions’ senior administrative decision-makers define coherence, and (b) how are those leaders involved, directly and indirectly, in contributing to the development of coherency during the implementation of the district’s strategic plan? Data were gathered through semistructured interviews, artifacts, and reflexive memoing. Three key findings emerged: coherence was defined as a clear strategic priority supported by a shared understanding and a common leadership approach to facilitate its development in the organizational structure, coherence is created through the enactment of the strategic plan, and there was little consistency in the implementation and enactment of the strategic plan. A disconnect was evident between policy implementation and policy enactment in matters of strategic planning. The leaders’ day-to-day decision-making and actions required to create coherence were strained under the organizational structure within which they worked; the binary relationship between formulation and implementation, or thinking and action; the challenging transition from the analytical process of planning, deduction, or reductionism to synthesis; and the challenge of moving from a linear process of planning to an iterative process which supports the emergence of strategic priorities and the development of coherence. Results suggest that the complexity of creating coherence makes it important for organizations to clearly define the outcome and that the common practice of strategic planning needs to be reconsidered if coherence is an intended outcome.
Open Access
Critical Thinking in International Contexts: Poly-Ethnographic Accounts of Multicultural Research Collaboration
(University of Calgary, 2016-05) Woodend, Jon; Fedoruk, Lisa; Beek, Avis; Wu, Xueqin; Roy, Sylvie; Groen, Janet; Li, Xiang; Werklund School of Education
In December 2015, selected doctoral students and faculty from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the University of Calgary (U of C) participated in a seminar hosted by Beijing Normal University (BNU) for interdisciplinary/international collaboration. In this paper the U of C participants outlined their reflections of this experience through a poly-ethnographic approach, with consideration for the Twelfth Dimension Framework for School Systems Success. The main themes that emerged included the role of culture and the impact of power dynamics when working academically on an international level.
Open Access
Critical Understanding on Culture Teaching and Learning in English as a Second/Foreign Language Curriculum
(2018-11-27) Guo, Fanrui; Callaghan, Tonya D.; Roy, Sylvie; Guo, Yan
Most Chinese students who graduate with a college diploma or Bachelor degree have studied English as a foreign language for at least twelve years. However, many of them are still struggling with their performance, especially in the authentic English speaking context. As one of the Chinese students who study abroad, I realize there is a significant gap between the knowledge of English language that I have learned from textbooks and the practice in real life. This gap exists largely because I do not understand authentic English language cultures. The relation between languages and cultures is like that between body and spirit. Languages cannot exist alone without cultures just as body cannot move without spirit. Similarly, English language curriculum is a complex interplay between the language and the cultures. My aim is to investigate the understanding of culture instruction in English language textbooks and curriculum. In this study, I explore my stories of learning and teaching English as a foreign language in China by using autoethnographic approach. Furthermore, I also examine two textbook cases under critical and international comparative perspectives. One is the English textbooks for Grade 10 to Grade 12 in the Chinese public high schools, and the other is for ESL program Level 5 and Level 6 at the University of Calgary.
Open Access
Cultural and Linguistic Lived Experiences of Chinese Student Newcomers in an EAP Program at a Western Canadian University
(2017) Lin, Chuanmei; Roy, Sylvie; Guo, Yan; Tweedie, Gregory Maurice
This study investigates the cultural and linguistic lived experiences of Chinese international student newcomers in an EAP program at a western Canadian university and whether or not intercultural transformations occur in English learning. As Chinese English learners are immersed in the Canadian tertiary education settings, their normative assumptions about knowledge will be challenged. However, through the ongoing process of trial and error, they have experienced a cultural and linguistic integration which accelerates their adaptation to the host country. This study employs qualitative case studies as the selected methodology to document my participants’ identities, investment, and imagined communities which are embedded in their personal trajectories. There are eight themes that emerge from the data collected from the semi-structured one-on-one interviews with ten participants. Gender disparity is also visible in the study’s findings; shaping how learners transformed their identities within the larger society. This study aims to offer an epistemic lens and methodological contribution for western universities and instructors to increase the efficiency of the support offered to the Chinese student body who share the same aspiration to flourish in their future endeavors in a multicultural society, such as the one that exists in Canada.
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
Discourses on Internationally-Educated Tradespeople in Calgary
(2018-09-18) Hilman, Brianna Irene; Roy, Sylvie; Lund, Darren E.; Guo, Shibao; Brandon, Jim; Abu-Laban, Yasmeen
My goal is to examine the ideologies and discourses on internationally educated workers, that is, what people say and how what they say influences the lives of tradespeople in particular, as well as others. What are the ideologies represented and recreated in discourse that surround internationally-educated tradespeople in Calgary, Alberta? How do these ideologies and discourses affect how they are treated in the workplace? To explore these questions, I conducted semi-structured interviews of 36 construction workers and management personnel and used critical discourse analysis on a case study viewed through the lens of difference politics.
Open Access
Effects of Babel in the Church: A Study of Language Planning, Policy and Practice in Japanese Ethnic Churches
(2015-06-03) Barrett, Tyler; Roy, Sylvie
In the globalizing world, it is difficult to understand the cultural, linguistic, religious and policy landscape of Japanese ethnic church communities. Japanese ethnic church communities in Western Canada consist of, and are impacted by, levels of language planning, policy, and practice as they are communities that operate within and without macro-levels of language policies (i.e., Official Language Act and the Canadian Multicultural Act), meso-levels of church policies (e.g., church websites and Facebook pages), and micro-levels that are often determined by perspectives of church members who are typically Japanese people from Japan. Japanese ethnic churches are also spaces that function to legitimize the language and cultural practices of Japanese people who come to Canada for various purposes and periods of time. Since little research has been done to understand the language and cultural practices of Japanese ethnic churches in Western Canada, it is important to ask the following question: What is a Japanese ethnic church community in terms of language and cultural practices? To answer this question, I use language planning and policy (Johnson, 2009) as a theoretical framework and conduct a multi-site case study (Thomas, 2011) that consists of data collected through interviews and observational experiences which are analyzed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 2003; Gumperz, 1982; Onodera, 2004) to understand relationships of power and intertextuality in discourses and in social practices relevant to Japanese ethnic church communities in Western Canada. The analysis reveals that while Japanese ethnic churches are spaces of legitimization that are fueled by strong beliefs about one nation, one culture, and one language ideologies, and subsequently aimed at, and dependent upon facilitating the perceived Japanese language and cultural preferences/needs of first generation Japanese people who come to Canada as adults, church members also perceive themselves as becoming “mixed” to varying degrees as they are impacted by the dominant English language policies, practices, and culture in Western Canada. As a result, legitimization is often context dependent and experienced differently by church members within and without Japanese ethnic churches.
Open Access
Enhancing Undergraduate Student Uptake of Feedback Across Disciplines: Instructor and Student Perspectives
(2021-12) Paris, Britney Michele; Koh, Kim; Jacobsen, Michele; Roy, Sylvie
This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that investigate effective feedback processes in higher education. Each manuscript explores a different research question using a design-based research methodology through the lens of a social constructivist framework. The research questions are: 1) What barriers do instructors experience in providing effective feedback? 2) What barriers do undergraduate students experience when attempting to use feedback effectively to improve their written work? 3) Which feedback processes enable learners to use feedback to improve the quality of their written work? and 4) How do instructors design effective feedback processes? Five instructors were engaged from four different disciplines at a large, research-intensive university in a series of focus groups during the Winter 2020 semester. Students were recruited from one of each of the instructors’ courses to participate in a pre-survey at the beginning of the semester reflecting on their experiences with feedback in the previous semester, a post-survey at the end of the semester reflecting on their experiences with feedback in the Winter 2020 semester, and three focus groups throughout the semester. The goal of this research was to develop set of design principles to inform the planning and implementation of effective feedback processes. These principles are based on a conceptual framework in which both students and instructors are active participants and suggests that effective feedback processes must be built upon high quality feedback, must consider contextual constraints on resources, and include an active student role as part of the process. These principles are an important contribution to the field of feedback literacy as they both build upon and simplify previous attempts at principles and models for instructors to implement.