Read about the work of Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose, Dr. Mamata Pandey and Doula Jolene Taylor and others to improve health outcomes for First Nations communities through maternal care,

Read about the work of Dr. JoLee Sasakamoose, Dr. Mamata Pandey and Doula Jolene Taylor and others to improve health outcomes for First Nations communities through maternal care,
Our Autumn 2022 regular issue of [in education] is now available! A special issue will be published soon.
Articles
»Syrian Newcomer Students’ Feelings and Attitudes Regarding Their Education in Canada by Mohamad Ayoub & George Zhou pp. 2-22
»Practice-Based Research Policy in the Light of Indigenous Methodologies: The EU and Swedish Education by Eva Lindgren & Kristina Sehlin MacNeil pp. 23-38
»Confronting Partial Knowledge Through a Pedagogy of Discomfort: Notes on Anti-Oppressive Teaching by Michael Cappello & Claire Kreuger pp. 39-59
»Feminist Resistance Through the Lense of Everyday Lived Experiences of Young Women in India by Nabila Kazmi (she/her) pp. 60-76
»Overcoming the Challenges of Family Day Home Educators: A Family Ecological Theory Approach by Laura Woodman pp. 77-93
Read the issue at https://ineducation.ca
Willow Iorga (MEd’22) was recently awarded one of two Spring 2022 Associate Dean’s Graduate Student Thesis Awards. Willow is currently an Employment Instructor (just promoted to Team Lead of Work Experience and Employer Relations) with the Open Door Society, where she teaches newcomers Canadian workplace skills. She has a BA in geography and an after degree in elementary teacher education, both from the University of Regina. Willow’s award-winning thesis is entitled, “The Immigrant Mother’s Experience of Their Children’s Heritage Language Loss.” What follows is Willow’s research story:
Willow grew up on Pender Island, BC, located off the west coast of Canada, on a 3-acre organic farm/garden. When she was 11, her parents introduced her to world travel, selling their Pender Island property and traveling to Hawaii, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan and Australia. “We backpacked and camped a lot,” says Willow, “Sometimes I liked traveling, but a lot of times I missed my friends back in Canada.” In Australia, Willow experienced a foreign school system. “It was really different, we had to wear uniforms, it was a lot more strict, they taught Japanese instead of French as a second language, and I was really behind in math,” she says.
It wasn’t so much these younger childhood experiences, however, that have given her insights into what it feels like to be a newcomer, informing her current work and research with newcomers. Willow points to living in Quebec in her late 20s as an experience that really helped her feel what it is like not to speak the language of the context in which one lives. “We were living outside of Montreal and no one spoke English and I was in language classes .… In my French classes, I couldn’t understand anything, unless they translated into English, I was just so lost all the time in that class. I know how confused and lonely that period in Quebec was.”
What led Willow to her research topic, immigrant mothers’ experiences of their children’s heritage language loss, was an experience teaching at the Regina Immigrant Women’s Centre, where the majority of her students were Syrian refugee mothers. Willow says, “They would come to class part time, all were homemakers, responsible for taking care of the children and cooking. They had virtually no time to do homework or practice outside of the class. It was a real struggle to make any progress. When we would chat we would use Google translate to communicate, so we could have real conversations. A lot of them would tell me that their kids were starting to forget Arabic. The kids were put into the school system, into ESL classes, and they were forgetting how to speak Arabic. I wondered, ‘How on earth can they have children that don’t speak the same language?’ cause they can’t communicate in English at all, how can they communicate with their kids? That’s why I chose this topic.”
Due to ethical considerations, Willow did not conduct her research with these particular mothers, but she had relationships with newcomer co-workers and peers who participated in her research. Willow’s findings include the following:
What impressed Willow during her research is a story that a Chinese-speaking participant told her: “Her daughter was in Grade 4 or 5, and a new student who came from China joined their classroom. The teacher sat two Chinese Canadian girls next to the newcomer, to help the new student. But the girls couldn’t understand the newcomer. Even though they all spoke Chinese and understood the words, the context didn’t make sense,” says Willow. This story showed Willow how “language evolves and it is really dependent on context and culture. It’s not just the words.”
The recommendations coming out of Willow’s study target schools and administrators, settlement agencies, and the Government:
Willow explains her use of “inclusive linguistic policies” saying, “In my research I found that as a teacher you don’t have to know, speak, or include the child’s language in the classroom. Your attitude alone toward that language can determine whether the student retains it or not. A lot of classrooms and workplaces have English-only rules.”
When asked what she hopes will be the outcome of her research, Willow responded, “For a lot of teachers to change the way they approach language; there are a lot of misconceptions, such as children need to know English to be successful and English needs to be dominant. If you have two or more languages, it is better for your brain development.”
As for future plans, at this point, Willow doesn’t plan to pursue a PhD. For the past four years, she has been a busy mom, full-time instructor at the Open Door Society, part-time teacher at the YWCA, and a master’s student, as well as while a student working as a teaching assistant or research assistant; she is now looking forward to some rest and a slower pace. That decision may or may not sit well with her dad, Dr. Patrick Lewis, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Regina, who was a major influence in her decision to pursue a career in the field of education (and also influenced her to take a thesis-route master’s program). Willow says, “When I was little, I would go to school with my dad who was a teacher, and then I would have to wait after school until he was done his prep work at the end of the day. I was always in his classroom. And when I had to do co-op hours for the career and personal planning program in high school, I always did those in my dad’s classroom.” Another influence was her teaching assistant work with Dr. Fatima Pirbhai-Illich, a professor of language and literacy education at the University of Regina. Willow says, “While I was a geography student, I was a teaching assistant for about 3 years and Fatima had a SSHRC grant and we were doing a pretty big project at Cornwall Alternative School. I was in the classroom a lot with the kids.”
After her geography degree, Willow earned a 2-year elementary education after degree. What Willow enjoyed about her after degree program in education was the internship and field experiences because, she says, “Instead of doing a degree with an idea in your head about the career, you get to be in that environment and decide if you actually want to be in that environment. I was in a Grade 2 class for my internship, and I really didn’t like it. I love kids but I don’t love trying to get them to do math, or be quiet at assemblies, or not hit each other on the playground.” When she graduated, Willow did not chose to apply to teach in a K-12 school system. She says, “You can do so many things with an education degree. There are so many possibilities; you don’t have to be in the K-12 system. I applied to settlement agencies to teach English with adults. When I started teaching I was assigned students who had really low English levels, the majority were refugee women from Syria or Sudan … I did have literacy skills from the elementary program but adult brains are pretty different. So I ended up going back to do my master’s.”
What makes education significant enough to choose a life career in it? Willow says, “I enjoy it. It’s that simple. You have to work your whole life and you have to spend your time doing something, and teaching is something that, no matter what, it’s always enjoyable, always different. I can always change things, and renew things. You have so much creative control. If I’m bored of something, I can change what we’re doing this week.”
William (Bill) Cook (MEd’22) was recently awarded one of two Spring 2022 Associate Dean’s Graduate Student Thesis Awards. Bill is from wapâtikwaciwanohk (Southend, Reindeer Lake) Saskatchewan. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Brandon University in Manitoba. Bill has a BA in Cree Language Studies from the First Nations University of Canada and has taught Cree language at all levels for over 20 years. Bill’s award-winning thesis is entitled, “Indigenous Language Revitalization: Connecting Distant Cree Language Learners With Cree Language Speakers Using Video-Chat Technology.” The following is a Q & A with Bill about his research story:
Q & A with Bill Cook
Why did you chose to do your master’s degree (thesis route)?
I chose the thesis route because when I started considering doing my masters, I was told by a few people that if I were considering doing a PhD program after my masters, then going the thesis route would be beneficial to getting into PhD programs. For me, doing a thesis was much more beneficial than I thought. It taught me how to do a study, how to collect data, how to work with people as participants and co-researchers, and I learned some different methodologies both Indigenous and non-Indigenous on how to approach research. I feel that going this route prepared me to be a better researcher.
Why did you choose the U of R?
I was a Cree sessional instructor at the First Nations University when I met Dr. Andrea Sterzuk. She had taken a couple of Cree courses that I taught. I had inquired about an EdTech grad program and Andrea mentioned a master’s program through the University of Regina’s Faculty of Education called Curriculum and Instruction, which included EdTech courses that interested me. She thought this would be a good fit. I agreed. I applied for the program and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research and the Education Research and Graduate Programs offices were so helpful to me during this process. It also allowed for me to continue working close to home.
What were the circumstances that led to your research thesis topic?
My research topic was Indigenous Language Revitalization: Connecting Distant Cree Language Learners with Cree Language Speakers Using Video-Chat Technology. This topic was an easy choice for me to decide on. I have been teaching the Cree language for over 20 years at all levels of education from instructing kindergarten students to university courses. One question I have been asked by many language learners throughout the years has been “What do I do next to become fluent in the language?” and my answer is always to immerse themselves in the language and, if possible, to move into a community that predominantly speaks the target language. Most times, language learners are not able to move to those locations, which are typically First Nations communities. By identifying that distance was the barrier, I wanted to see if using technology to make these connections would be beneficial in language learning and also if this could be an option to anyone from anywhere for Cree speaking practice.
How did this topic become important to you?
I believe the work in Cree language revitalization is very important work. If we ever lose our Indigenous languages in this country of Canada then where do we go to learn them? This is our home, our land. Our Indigenous cultures, languages, traditions, identities stem from this land; the land is our language. This is all we have, we have nothing else, we can’t go anywhere else. We have a responsibility to reclaim, revitalize, preserve, and maintain our Indigenous languages.
What were your research findings?
In doing my research I found that having regular synchronous video-chats were effective in remote language learning in both language and culture. Fluent speakers can share their language and culture just by being themselves from wherever there is Internet access. Also, when working with non-tech savvy participants, you must assist with the technology or else find them someone they are comfortable with to assist them. Laughter was a dominant factor throughout the daily virtual conversations, having fun with your project is a good thing. It was enjoyable to see everyone getting more comfortable with speaking in Cree as much as they could. Video-chat technology is a good tool for connecting grandparent with grandchild; this grandparent/grandchild pair in my study made bannock in real-time while repeating Cree words of the process. (See video below).
What impacted you most about your findings?
What impacted me the most was that once the connections were made, the conversations began to flow naturally. The project began a life of its own and seemed to have a spirit of its own. The participants were able to adapt to technology. I am so grateful to all my participants for their work. The relationships built during this process allowed for the conversations to happen naturally. I wondered if the participants not being face-to-face would be able to achieve this connection and I was impressed that it had.
What was the highlight during the process?
The highlight for me was to get to do my study in my hometown and spend time with my family back home in Southend was a bonus. It reminded me of my childhood, growing up and doing things like netting, plucking ducks, filleting fish, making bannock, and cooking on an open fire. Another highlight was watching my participants, especially my parents, gaining confidence in using the tech tools. Lastly, hearing the Cree language being spoken between the learner and speaker was enjoyable to observe.
What recommendations did you make based on your research findings?
The recommendations I developed were:
What do you hope will be the outcomes of your research?
I hope to see more opportunities like this study. When the pandemic hit everyone went online to spend time with each other, communicate, and speak, in all languages. I think I have reached an outcome of seeing more people using video-chat tech to communicate and practice language learning. Today, I see many platforms for Indigenous language learning. I hope people continue and grow.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to continue working in Indigenous language and culture revitalization. I recently got accepted to the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization Doctorate Program at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. I look forward to where that opportunity takes my work. I would like to create employment for fluent Indigenous language speakers with or without having Western education degrees/certificates. This is URGENT to do, as we are losing fluent speakers daily and many of them are not certified to teach in a Western setting. Why do we have to wait for fluent Indigenous language speakers to get certified to pass on their languages? I believe there is a way to incorporate and employ fluent language speakers into Indigenous language programs and courses. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Brandon University. There I will continue teaching the Cree language, creating opportunities for other Indigenous languages, and continued service work in the community and online. I have also been offering a weekly Cree speaking practice group called ‘The Cree Group’ using video-chat. We can be found through Facebook. My work continues with Indigenous languages and cultures using different platforms of technology.
What have been your experiences in the First Nations University of Canada and the University of Regina?
The First Nations University and the University of Regina were both supportive during my studies. All the professors and classmates made my experience enjoyable. The atmosphere was welcoming and I felt at home in these spaces. I give credit to the instructors for being so helpful. There were many opportunities to help me along the way which included study groups, writing groups, financial funding and other support systems that played a role in my success. I am thankful for that.
Who were your influences in deciding on a career in the field of education?
I have to give credit to my late brother and mentor Darren Okemaysim kakî-itît for influencing me in my career in teaching the Cree language. He was my teacher; I took many classes from him. He was my mentor, and gave me the opportunity to teach classes alongside him. He always encouraged me to speak the Cree language, rarely did we ever speak English to each other. He once told me “If you continue your work in the Cree language, you will never go wrong” and he was right. Also, my wife and parents are always supportive and influential of what I do. I feel I am on the right path; this is what I am meant to do. There is lots of work to be done in Indigenous language and culture revitalization.
________________________
Links to Bill’s ongoing Cree language and culture work:
Facebook Group page (announcements) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1422458251268465
Bill’s Website where you can sign up for the Cree Group events: https://www.creeclass.com/
Over the past year, Dr. Kathleen Nolan has been working on an HRI-funded research project entitled “Engaging the Public in Critical and Justice-Oriented Global Actions: Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship.”
Q&A with Dr. Kathleen Nolan
What were the circumstances that led to your research thesis topic? How did this topic become important to you?
I’ve been studying this topic of child sponsorship since about 2018, after becoming aware of the large amount of funds raised through child sponsorship and the questionable ethics involved in the process. I noticed many justice-oriented, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who were struggling to raise funds for their work in Canada and throughout the world, and yet this charity-only child sponsorship approach was raising billions worldwide. By “charity-only,” I mean that child sponsorship agencies raise funds but do not educate about poverty nor advocate for change.
So, I began a journey to educate myself and others about child sponsorship by reviewing the research literature around child sponsorship and publishing a critique article entitled Better Than Nothing? (https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i8.5574). The title was selected because that is the question I was asked many times as I conducted this review and critique: “Well, isn’t it better than nothing?” At first, I thought that the article would be the end of my research into the topic but, of course, if you tell people it is NOT better than nothing, you are leaving things rather unfinished. It begs the question of, “If not this (CS) then what?” That led to me applying for an HRI Fellowship to respond to that question.
How are you sharing your findings?
WEBSITE: Your Global Action Tackle Box: Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship: https://www.beyondchildsponsorship.ca
In this educational tackle box, I provide materials and resources designed to tackle child sponsorship (CS) through education and by proposing alternative critical and justice-oriented actions aimed at moving beyond CS. The contents of this tackle box website are drawn from research interviews conducted with academic researchers (in the areas of international development studies, sociology, education, anthropology, and global citizenship education), directors and coordinators of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and independent consultants and global fund raising managers.
ARTICLE: “Please Continue To Not Sponsor This Child” published in the New Internationalist. Read at: https://newint.org/features/2022/04/04/feature-please-continue-not-sponsor-child
Published in the May-June 2022 issue of New Internationalist, this feature article marks the 40th anniversary of “Please do not sponsor this child,” an article published in New Internationalist in 1982. In “Please continue to not sponsor this child,” I revitalize that 40-year-old story with new information from my research study that demonstrates how, over these 4 decades, the more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same. That is, the same set of misguided motivations for sponsors, the same lack of public education around issues of global poverty and inequity and the same level of denial of the role played by the Global North in (re)producing problematic historical patterns of thinking and relationships.
PODCAST: HRI Let’s Talk Research: Episode 3, Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship, with Dr. Kathy Nolan: https://www.humanitiesresearch.org/podcast/
In conversation with Dr. Charity Marsh (Director, Humanities Research Institute (HRI) at the University of Regina), I share information and reflections on the ‘Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship’ research project that was funded through an HRI Fellowship award. The podcast, which is 35 minutes in duration, challenges the listener to reflect on their own views about child sponsorship and the importance of engaging in alternative actions which are critical and justice-oriented.
RADIO INTERVIEW: Garth Materie show on CBC radio (6 minute recording). Listen in at: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-103/clip/15916615
What impacted you most about your findings?
This was a very unique research project for me to do because I began at ground level with my knowledge, not like my usual research in the area of mathematics education. This means that my learning curve was steep and while I still have lots to learn about all of the topics related to child sponsorship—global citizenship education, international development, etc.—I have come a long way in my understanding. I share with people that the audience for the article, the website and the podcast is the general public (your average citizen), and I know this because I’m right there learning with them! Such a new and important topic to learn about.
What recommendations do you make?
This is an important question because the research project’s aim was to propose alternatives to child sponsorship in the form of justice-oriented actions. The website—or what I call the “tackle box”—is structured around 4 drawers, each having a key focus question that is responded to through the voices of interviewed research participants. Drawer 4 in the tackle box, the one that most directly addresses the question “If not CS, then what?, proposes 5 specific actions that people can engage in as alternatives to the charity-focused approach of sponsoring a child. The actions are not easy, but that is to be expected since the issue of global poverty is not easy either; it is highly complex. Actions suggested in this drawer include, for example, deeper reflection on how the goal to be a ‘good person’ can translate into thinking that the Global South needs to ‘catch up’ to the North (which is just not true) and it can do so by just receiving more money, and that we have no role to play in global poverty; this is a tough one because it means deep examination of one’s privilege and complicity.
What are your future plans?
At the moment, I am thinking that these “Moving Beyond Child Sponsorship” resources could be connected more explicitly to high school and university curricula and to the actions of students who are striving to be better global citizens. Potentially, I will place a call for social studies and social science educators to help me with this task. I think that would be a very important follow-up action for this project.
With the considerable increase in Saskatchewan’s ethnocultural diversity, understanding newcomer resettlement and integration processes in local rural and smaller urban communities is critical to the development of services and supports that will contribute to newcomer success, to the benefit of both local communities and the newcomers who reside in them.
To fill in current gaps in understanding, a University of Regina research team partnered with Prairie Skies Integration Network (PSIN) to conduct a local study entitled, “Immigrant Settlement and Community-Newcomer Integration in South Central Saskatchewan: A Local Data-Based Study.” The team consisted of Dr. Miguel Sanchez (Principal Investigator, Faculty of Social Work), Dr. Christine Massing (Co-Lead, Faculty of Education), Dr. Daniel Kikulwe (Faculty of Social Work, York University), Dr. Oluwasegun Hassan, (Saskatchewan Health Authority), Dr. Jérôme Melançon, (La Cité universitaire francophone), Lucrécia Raquel Fuhrmann (Ph.D. Candidate,
Faculty of Education) and Stephen Davis, (Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Education).
The research team set out to study the accessibility of the following five key topics that have been determined to contribute to successful immigrant resettlement and newcomer integration: education, employment, health and wellness, housing, and transportation. What follows is a summary of the educational findings of this study.
The literature confirms that further education allows newcomers to mobilize their existing resources, re-establish their credentials, develop connections, participate fully in the Canadian workplace, and integrate into their new society. For increasing income and employment rates, the research establishes the value of attaining a Canadian post-secondary education.
However, newcomers can find the transition into the Canadian educational system challenging; the system is especially difficult for those living outside of the urban areas due to lack of opportunities. Some newcomers emphasized the need for additional supports for understanding the Canadian system as well as their need to feel a sense of belonging in the system.
Challenges to navigating the education system and accessing further education. The researchers found, “Nearly one-third of survey respondents indicated that ‘knowing English’ was a pathway to further education.” Learning the Language was identified as a “a significant challenge” that must be overcome for newcomers to access further education and employment and thereby to successfully integrate. This study found that several challenges affect language learning including: access to training (which is limited by the lack of transportation, time due to family commitments, and classes tailored to newcomers’ specific needs); age at the time of migration (several participants of the study felt that coming to Canada when they were school aged facilitated their learning of English); and confidence to take risks and speak to others in the new language (opportunities to practice are necessary for learning language.) Access to minority language training, such as French education in Saskatchewan was said to be “especially challenging.”
Other factors related to education and affecting integration include the major challenge of having foreign degrees and credentials recognized. In addition, a lack of childcare and the prohibitive costs of education were identified as challenges associated with attaining further education. Lack of access to childcare had a higher impact on the ability of women to further their education. The cost of education for students who come to Canada on an international student visa is prohibitive, with fees over two times higher than fees for domestic students. Supports offered in educational institutions including educators, staff, and settlement workers were much appreciated by study participants. Recommendations are summarized in the following chart:
Watch for the full report which will be published at https://psinetwork.ca/
In this issue:
A note from the Dean….. 3
Change maker: Tranforming schools and society….. 4
Alumna envisions schools as environments of empowerment….. 10
Why become a teacher? To be a role model….. 16
Alumnus positively influencing change….. 20
Le Bac student helping to preserve Indigenous languages….. 22
Teaching hard truths in a positive way: Kâsinamakewin….. 24
De/colonising Educational Relationships….. 29
Study informs services and supports for South Central Saskatchewan newcomers….. 30
Equity, diversity, and inclusion research partnership agreement announced….. 32
Successful defences….. 34
Funding and awards….. 35
Published research….. 36
New book….. 38
Long service recognition….. 38
New staff|New position….. 39
Student fundraising….. 40
Congratulations to this group of researchers including #UREdu‘s Dr. Christine Massing and doctoral candidates Stephen Davis and Lucrécia Fuhrmann. The study “Immigrant Settlement and Community-Newcomer Integration in South Central Saskatchewan: A Local Data-Based Study” received $19, 982 from Prairie Skies Integration Network – Moose Jaw Region’s LIP.
Today our spotlight shines on Dr. Andrea Sterzuk who has been a professor of Language and Literacies Education with the Faculty of Education since the fall of 2007. In January 2021, Dr. Sterzuk took on a new role as Director of the Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration and Development (formerly SIDRU).
The Centre for Educational Research, Collaboration and Development (CERCD) is a research unit based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. CERCD supports educational researchers and research communities in conducting educational research and development projects that are meaningful to, and serve the needs of, diverse communities in local, provincial, national, and/or international contexts.
In her role as Director, Dr. Sterzuk says, “I support faculty members in their research efforts and I also co-ordinate research projects with external agencies. I work closely with the Dean and Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies to support faculty members in their scholarly and creative contributions and knowledge mobilization endeavours.”
As highlights of her role, Dr. Sterzuk points to the CERCD Lunch & Learn series that her team is hosting with communications experts, designed to help researchers learn to share their research stories with the public. The research unit’s new website is launched and the renovations on the CERCD’s office space are nearly complete. Dr. Sterzuk adds, “There are also several external research projects underway. For example, Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson (Associate Dean, Student Services and Undergraduate Programs) is the principal investigator on a project that investigates the continual professional learning and currency of practice for registered teachers in the province of Saskatchewan. This project is a partnership with the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board and is supported administratively by CERCD.”
Exciting news will be released soon about a new partnership. Stay tuned!
Mark your calendar for the Lunch and Learn Sessions: January 26 and February 2, 2022
The Centre for Education Research, Collaboration & Development is hosting two lunch & learn events on telling research stories, open to University of Regina researchers. Register at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cercd-lunch-and-learn-telling-your-research-story-tickets-250369952267