In this study we sought to answer the following regarding student learning: "After bi-weekly implementation of nature-based physical activity (NBPA) in a Physical and Health Education Teacher Education (PHETE) course, did pre-service elementary teachers report a greater perceived competence and motivation to teach children NBPA?" The…

Supplemental instruction (SI) confers student success, as represented by grades, knowledge retention, and student engagement. However, studies often report professional, not undergraduate, program findings. To measure these effects, students studying human anatomy at a university in Ontario, Canada, attended structured (peer-assisted) or…

This paper presents findings from a research study exploring the effectiveness of three environmental education programs. The first was an interpretive program where visitors learned to safely interact with and 'pet' bees (control group), the second was the same interpretive program with the addition of post-visit action resources (interactive…

This article suggests that the implementation of human resource policies such as teacher performance appraisal (TPA) is a disturbance to the school organizational climate. Based on my cross-examination of both school managers' and teachers' discourse, I suggest that a new leadership approach needs to be developed at the school level to effectively…

Outdoor adventure education programs often feature common elements, such as backcountry settings, small group sizes, and different levels of challenges. A mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), offered at a Canadian university for nearly 50 years, involved a three- to four-day wilderness canoe excursion. Research related to outdoor…

"Steps to Inclusion" is a teacher-training resource specifically designed to facilitate inclusive physical education. Teacher-training resources, such as "Steps to Inclusion," can only be effective when systematic and effective adoption is achieved. The diffusion of innovations theory (DOI) provides a useful framework to…

As environmental and sustainability issues are becoming embedded in the school curriculum, there is a need to understand how environmental identity develops within the complex social structure of the classroom. Reflection is a potentially valuable classroom process to consider as it intersects student learning, identity work, and agency. This…

This 3-year study followed 14 kindergarten classrooms in Ontario as they used open-ended tablet applications to support outdoor play and learning. Through the creation of slideshows that incorporated their photos, video, drawings, and audio recordings, the children explored their physical and creative activities outdoors, as well as their…

For those receiving funding from the UK HEFCE-funded Open Educational Resource Programme (2009-2012), the sustainability of project outputs was one of a number of essential goals. Our approach for the hosting and distribution of health and life science open educational resources (OER) was based on the utilisation of the WordPress.org blogging…

Family-focused early learning programs aim to assist parents in supporting their young children language and literacy development. This study examined program access and learning opportunities for diverse families across a wide range of community-based settings in one eastern Canadian province. As well, the study examined practitioners'…

Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

As part of the Canadian Teachers' Federation's (CTF) ongoing work on education-related Aboriginal issues, CTF conducted a survey to seek out the perspectives of classroom teachers on diverse topics related to Aboriginal education with a view to informing practice and policy. CTF received nearly 1,900 responses to the online survey from teachers in…

Nobody's Perfect Program (NP), involving 46 participants, was conducted from the spring of 2007 to the fall of 2009 in Peterborough, Canada. Prior to the program, parents completed demographic information, along with self-report measures assessing learned resourcefulness, the types of interactions with their children, parent resourcefulness,…

Everyone under the age of 20 who has grown up in North America has lived in the common market created by NAFTA--the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a zone linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico, most goods and investments flow freely across borders to users, consumers, and investors. In 1994, NAFTA created the largest relatively…

Can four-day school weeks help districts save money? How do districts overcome the barriers of moving to a four-day week? What is the effect of a four-day week on students, staff and the community? This paper enumerates the benefits for students and teachers of four-day school weeks. Recommendations for implementation of a four-day week are also…