In 2016, 235,000 Canadians experienced homelessness, and on any given night, there are 35,000 Canadians who are homeless. Many have significant mental-health needs. This article describes a series of storytelling workshops offered at a shelter and medical clinic to provide a space for homeless people to reflect, share their voices, gain…

Would you like to help your students adjust to university life? Perhaps you are simply interested in allowing them to feel more integrated into a department right from the start of their first year? These were the types of issues that we were hoping to address when we founded the MySci Advisors Program, a peer-mentoring group for first year…

Peer education is used as a health promotion strategy in a number of areas, including sexual health. Although peer education programmes have been around for some time, published systematic evaluations of youth sexual health peer education programmes are rare. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of youth sexual health peer…

Educational Leadership in Teaching Excellence (EnLITE) is a one-year program (Sept to Aug) at the University of Guelph. It is designed to engage mid-career faculty in the theory, practice and scholarship of teaching and learning, and to establish and support a faculty community of practice which provides mentorship and leadership in teaching and…

The Focus Group Initiative (FGI) at North Delta Secondary School (NDSS) began in 2001 with the long-term goal of giving the kids an opportunity not only to demonstrate their leadership abilities, but also to use those skills to improve whatever school or community projects they were involved in. Once students were trained to be focus group…

Compared to traditional classification methods, developing a peer group using the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) data allows institutions to add comparative dimensions, to update the peer group, and to track changes at peer institutions over time. Peer selection and…

First Nations youth in Canada demonstrate disproportionately high rates of negative behaviors such as violence, substance abuse, and leaving school early. An understanding of historical context and current environment helps explain these patterns. Providing culturally relevant opportunities for youth to build healthy relationships and leadership…

School violence is not gender-exclusive to boys; girls are also capable of violence. Research shows that girl-to-girl violence stems from competition for male attention and tends to be relational in nature, which typically takes the form of social alienation, spreading of rumors, and otherwise manipulating the victim's peer group. By proactively…

Students around the globe have unique first-year experiences but struggle with many of the same challenges. This monograph focuses on their journeys and provides insights for educators interested in learning about how institutions across the globe provide supports to students dealing with first-year transition issues. Based on the successful…

Describes nine Canadian programs for counseling groups of students. Topics include introducing computer-assisted guidance, future challenges for counselors, sociometry, sexuality, parent counseling, reluctant students, shyness, peer groups, education for living, and guidance advisory committees. (JAC)