This is a review of Jones, C. T., Shanouda, F., & Binhammer, L. (Eds.). (2025). Troubles online: Ableism and access in higher education. AU Press
The concept of educative cities acknowledges that education transcends school boundaries, permeating the urban space and involving multiple social actors. The International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC) promotes and documents transformative initiatives worldwide. This article aims to analyze 47 experiences highlighted by the IAEC, focusing on implemented actions, mobilized principles, challenges encountered, and results achieved, based on the public policy cycle framework. This is a qualitative-quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study based on content analysis of documents published by the IAEC. The cases were analyzed according to the Educating Cities Charter principles and the five stages of the public policy cycle. Findings reveal strong adherence to principles such as lifelong learning, cultural access, and democratic citizenship. Civil society organizations and educational institutions played a key role in implementation. However, themes like sustainability, social responsibility, and citizen participation remain underrepresented. Challenges include resource constraints, institutional conflicts, and lack of sustainability planning. The cases analyzed demonstrate significant progress and innovative practices but also highlight the need for greater balance in principle application and improved formulation and evaluation stages. This study contributes to strengthening the network of educating cities and supports the development of more equitable and integrated urban education policies.
Online higher education is often framed as a flexible and equitable pathway for expanding access to postsecondary learning. For Indigenous students, however, digital learning environments exist at the intersection of opportunity and ongoing colonial harm. This literature review critically examines research published since 2014 on Indigenous participation and experiences in online higher education across North America and Australia. Guided by Indigenous sovereignty, relational accountability, and digital divide theory, the review synthesizes findings related to infrastructure and access, cultural and pedagogical alignment, psychological and social dimensions of learning, and evidence-based practices for Indigenous-centered online course design. The literature reveals that dominant online learning models frequently reproduce Eurocentric assumptions that marginalize Indigenous epistemologies, contributing to reduced sense of belonging, lower persistence, and widened achievement gaps. At the same time, studies document the potential of online education to support Indigenous access, cultural resurgence, and self-determination when courses are designed in partnership with Indigenous communities and grounded in relational, place-based pedagogies. The review concludes that online learning itself is not inherently colonizing; rather, outcomes are shaped by the epistemological frameworks that guide its design and implementation. Implications for research, practice, and policy emphasize the need for Indigenous-led digital education, data disaggregation, and sovereignty-affirming approaches to emerging technologies.
This book review examines Creativity, Society, and the Role of Socially Engaged Art in Higher Arts Education by Kai Lehikoinen. The review considers the book’s central argument that socially engaged art should be recognised as a pedagogical and epistemic field within higher arts education rather than treated as a peripheral form of service. It discusses the book’s major conceptual contributions, its relevance to arts education, and its strengths in linking artistic practice, institutional responsibility, and social engagement. The review also reflects on several areas where the argument could be developed further for readers in arts education.
Abstract This ethnographic study explores how relational practices such as inclusive communication, peer support, interdepartmental cooperation, and leadership visibility influence school climate and culture across six high schools within the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Drawing from the unique dual perspective of the researcher, an Assistant Professor and certified occasional teacher, the study provides situated observations collected over a two-month period in the 2024–2025 school year. The findings are based on anecdotal field notes gathered during regular teaching assignments in varied school contexts, including inner-city and affluent schools with diverse student populations. Thematic analysis revealed three central themes: inclusive communication and trust-building, peer support and informal collaboration, and shared leadership through interdepartmental cooperation. Visibility and relational leadership from school administration were positively correlated with school-wide engagement and student well-being, while their absence often aligned with lower morale and cohesion. The study also considers Indigenous pedagogies as frameworks for fostering relationality and inclusivity. Implications for teacher education, leadership development, and culturally responsive school practices are discussed, with recommendations for future research to explore these dynamics longitudinally and across broader school systems.
Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) remain marginalised in mainstream education despite their potential to enrich lifelong learning pathways and strengthen cultural identity. This conceptual paper argues for a decolonial framework that repositions IKS as central to educational design across the lifespan, from early childhood through adult and community learning. Drawing on decolonial theory, Ubuntu pedagogy, and critical Indigenous scholarship, the paper explores how Indigenous epistemologies can foster self-directed learning, intergenerational knowledge transfer, and resilience in marginalised communities. A systematic reading of scholarship on IKS integration highlights persistent barriers: policy centralisation, Western epistemic dominance, and insufficient teacher preparation. To address these challenges, the paper proposes a three-dimensional framework for decolonial lifelong learning: (1) Epistemic Inclusion, embedding IKS as valid and legitimate knowledge; (2) Pedagogical Plurality, incorporating land-based, oral, and spiritual ways of knowing alongside formal schooling; and (3) Community Co-creation, positioning elders and local practitioners as co-educators. This framework not only contributes to epistemic justice in South Africa but also resonates with global debates on Indigenous rights and sustainable education. The paper concludes that reimagining lifelong learning through Indigenous knowledge is essential for addressing inequities and for cultivating future-oriented, culturally sustaining education systems.
This paper critically examines the development of financial literacy education in Ontario’s secondary curriculum, focusing on its integration into mathematics. Using a critical discourse analysis approach, we trace the historical and political forces shaping financial literacy education since its formal introduction in 2010. We analyze policy documents, curriculum changes, and ideological influences, highlighting how financial literacy has been framed primarily as a tool for individual financial responsibility rather than systemic economic understanding. Our findings reveal a shift from broader conceptions of financial literacy—including equity, ethics, and citizenship—toward a narrower, transactional approach emphasizing personal financial management. We argue that while the inclusion of financial literacy in mathematics has increased its visibility, its current framing limits opportunities for critical engagement with economic systems. We propose a reframing of financial literacy expectations that emphasizes authenticity, mathematical connections, and citizenship to foster a more socially aware and inclusive financial education.
The study examines preservice early-grade teachers' perceptions of play-based learning (PBL) in teaching mathematics, focusing on its effectiveness and alignment with curriculum demands. Using a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 150 preservice teachers in Ghana’s Upper West Region through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses (Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U) were conducted via SPSS. Findings reveal that preservice teachers view PBL as beneficial for engagement and conceptual understanding but face challenges in balancing it with structured curricula. Educational level influences perceptions, while sex does not. The study highlights the need for structured PBL integration in teacher education programs.
Indigenous lifelong learning is based on passing down knowledge between generations, maintaining cultural traditions, and education connected to specific places. In the borderland area of Entikong, Indonesia, Indigenous Dayak communities face systemic obstacles to getting an education that respects their culture. They often come across curricula that overlook their heritage. This study presents Go Buya, a game-based learning tool created with the help of local elders, educators, and cultural practitioners to connect traditional knowledge with formal education. Grounded in a culturally sustaining teaching approach, Go Buya weaves Dayak stories, symbols, and civic issues into the gameplay. This promotes student engagement, affirms identity, and encourages critical thoughts about civic duties. Using a Design and Development Research methodology, the project took place in three stages: community consultation, game design, and classroom testing in three borderland schools. The results showed an increase in student curiosity, intergenerational conversations, and collaborative learning, which are essential parts of Indigenous lifelong learning. Students examined their civic duties through culturally relevant scenarios, building relational accountability and ethical thinking. This study highlights the promise of cultural tools to revive Indigenous education in underserved areas. Go Buya serves as a model for how Indigenous knowledge can shape new teaching methods, support cultural survival, and encourage lifelong learning in Indigenous and international communities.
Co-operative education is a type of work-based education in which senior high school students are placed in supervised workplace settings and gain credits towards a graduation diploma. The purpose of this retrospective research was to examine how learning occurs in co-operative education workplaces and the role of co-workers in facilitating student learning. The conceptual framework guiding this research consisted of three theories: Billet’s (2014) theory of mimesis, Munby et al.’s (2003) theory of metacognitive routines, and Snyder’s (2000) hope theory. Three former high school students (one with an IEP and two at risk of dropping out) who had been in automotive co-operative education placements participated in semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the participants valued the skills that were taught in the workplace, and learning involved co-workers who provided individual instruction consisting of observing, imitating, and receiving feedback. The co-workers created a supportive social environment, and their interaction with the students resulted in feelings of social belonging, success, as well as the motivation and hope to graduate high school and develop career goals.
Canada’s national ‘Take Our Kids to Work Day’ (TKWD) initiative celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. The annual event allows Grade 9 students across the country an opportunity to learn workplace skills in lieu of their attending classes. This conceptual paper explores how this initiative intersects with child rights and child welfare and includes the critical reflections and the active voice and participation of a youth co-author who participated in TKWD by working at child welfare organization. While presenting the strengths of this initiative, we explore the ways in which young people are viewed as objects of educational policy versus active participants, and agents in their own learning. In (re)conceptualizing this initiative through a child right’s lens, we argue young people must be active participants who fully understand their workplace rights to fully participate in TKWD.
The purpose of this paper is to look at the use of Indigenous pedagogies in mandatory Indigenous education courses in teacher education programs to support the learning of teacher candidates as a way to reduce colonized perspectives, pedagogies, and viewpoints in mandatory Indigenous education classrooms.
The minimum requirement for admission to a master's program is normally the successful completion of an undergraduate or baccalaureate degree in an honours program or the equivalent from a recognized university. Inuk student Bryan Vandenbrink is an exception to these expectations. Here, in a loosely autobiographical format, Bryan tells his education story from early high school in Iqaluktuuttiaq through to completing an MSc at the University of Guelph. Co-authors Thomas McIlwraith and Shoshanah Jacobs add short reflections on the journey and identify barriers to post-secondary education for Indigenous students and how those barriers can be reduced.
Mimi (she/her), a socially awkward Nehiyaw undergraduate student, has an active online life but struggles to connect with her peers in real life (irl), eventually training GenAI to mimic her unattainable crush. This simulacra is the most prominent relationship in Mimi's life until she forms a bond with Lenore (she/they), the resident Elder at Indigenous Student Services, over their shared IndigiGoth subculture. Lenore helps Mimi consider the risks of immersing too deeply in technology, and encourages her to instead take the risks required to connect with others in order to cultivate a more balanced and rewarding life. Then, Mimi unwittingly participates in the rescue of a tech-savvy rez dog, finding unexpected connection and community throughout the process.
Through the proposed manuscript, we will describe the development and implementation of a graduate-level Indigenous Psychology course offered in Spring 2025 through the University of Alberta Faculty of Education. “We” are faculty members in professional psychology programs at the University of Alberta. Together, we developed and co-instructed the course. We open this proposal by introducing ourselves, beginning with Gwendolyn. My name is Gwendolyn Villebrun. I am Dene/Metis and I am, along with my late mother, a member of the K’atlodeeche First Nation (located near Hay River, NT). My nehiyaw/Metis father is from Fort Chipewyan, AB. I was raised in the NT, but have lived most of my adult life in Amiskwacîwâskahikan, Edmonton, AB located on treaty 6 territory. I have been a registered counselling psychologist for 20 years and have served primarily urban Indigenous people impacted by the Residential Schools. My name is Melissa Tremblay. I am a mother of three children, citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta and member of the Lac St Anne Métis Community Association, located in rural Alberta west of Amiskwacîwâskahikan. On my dad’s side of the family, we come from Cree and Métis people, and on my mom’s side, we have French and Norwegian relatives. Having introduced ourselves, we next turn to background information from the research literature to situate our decision to offer a graduate course in Indigenous psychology. Theoretical Significance and Practical Importance Given the harms that the profession of psychology has enacted on Indigenous peoples combined with the ongoing impacts of colonization, it is necessary to develop graduate programs that support the engagement of trainees in social justice activities, mitigate misunderstanding, and promote culturally safe practices, specific to Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing (CPA, 2018; Fellner, 2020). To the authors’ knowledge, the only published account of an Indigenous-specific psychology course offering was carried out by Trenholm and colleagues (2019), who described challenges and opportunities that arose in developing a graduate certificate in Indigenous counselling in New Brunswick. Therefore, although increasing attention is being paid to Indigenous ways of knowing in graduate programs, literature related to professional psychology courses in Canada is limited, and there is a lack of documentation of ways in which Indigenous-specific professional psychology graduate courses can be developed and implemented. Class Structure and Reflections Through this manuscript, we will discuss the process of course development, as well as our course structure, objectives, and experiences as co-instructors. We were intentional to engage in careful consultation and planning for over two years before our course began. The course provided an immersive experience including ceremony, engagement with Elders and knowledge keepers, ongoing critical self-reflection, time on the land, academic learning, and fostering of connections. We will share the reasoning behind the decisions we made regarding course structure and implementation, and reflect on the successes and challenges we faced as co-instructors of this unique course. Finally, we will discuss implications for other professional psychology programs seeking to offer content in Indigenous Psychology.
This paper provides insights from educator-researchers and their interpretations of reflections from research participants in Year 1 of a 5-year research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) responding to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). The project engages in community-based research and foregrounds the importance of local community partnerships. The four land-based experiences and two online reflection circles share an inside view into the learning and unlearning experiences of educators, research assistants, and community partners. The experiences, guided by and connected with local Syilx community, reveal the inner journey of navigating complex reconciling conversations. The educator-researchers, authors of this paper, sought feedback from over 100 participants in the study and found that research participants were impacted by the experiences in ways that set them on transformative inner decolonizing journeys, and which resulted in requests to further deepen learning and community connections.
Teacher education programs have taken the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action seriously (TRC, 2015), with many adding a mandatory Indigenous education course to their programs as well as weaving Indigenous knowledges into other courses. Still, there appears to be a disconnect between learning about Indigenous Peoples and integrating this knowledge into the classroom. This study examines the self-reported efficacy of pre-service teachers’ understandings and application of Indigenous knowledges at various stages in their program. Drawing upon a decolonizing theoretical approach and mixed methods methodology, data from a survey and personal autoethnographies are utilized to shed light upon the disconnect. Findings indicate that while the mandatory Indigenous education course led to an increase in efficacy, the explicit weaving of Indigenous knowledges in other courses needs to be made visible. The lack of time to both decolonize pre-service teacher thinking and consider how this knowledge can be applied in the classroom, points to the necessity of an additional Indigenous education course as part of teacher education programming.
As guiding author of this paper, I am a syilx (Okanagan) artist and storyteller. iskwist mahúya (I am mahúya). I am a syilx suknaʔqín educator with kinship ties and responsibilities to Interior Salish relatives and tmixʷ (all of the interconnected life-forces). I consider myself a kinship connector, a web maker, connecting students to Storyways pedagogy and praxis that have worked effectively for millennia to ensure regeneration of life. I utilize frameworks such as First Peoples’ Principles of Learning, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action, Professional Standards for BC Educators Standard 9 that pertains to respect and values of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada, and UNDRIP, as pathways to respective Indigenous People’s diversity. I embody inclusion, and appreciation for diversity in my own practice with a collective pedagogy and praxis of well-being and food security being the goal. I consider myself a mentor and guide for learners on their learning journeys, to help develop and apply their understandings of syilx and Indigenous Storyways as pedagogy for responsible relationships with and between humans and the natural world. Together with four my co-authors—a Cree-Ojibwe scholar-educator, a Métis and mixed European educator, a White prairie settler descendent educator, and a scholar-educator-mother of European descent—our work takes up the challenges of decolonizing and Indigenizing learning environments (Association of Canadian Deans of Education, 2017; Donald, 2021; Hare, 2022) and navigating the challenges and embracing the opportunities of Reconciliation. This paper foregrounds local syilx knowledge and wisdom and uplifts the voices of syilx people. We will share insights from year one of a five-year SSHRC Partnership Grant with the Okanagan Nation Alliance, IndigenEYEZ, Kelowna Museums, the Kelowna Art Gallery, Central Okanagan Public Schools and UBC Okanagan. The researchers, authors of this paper, sought reflections from over 100 participants in the study and found that research participants were impacted by the land and historical/cultural/language learning experiences in ways that set them on transformative inner decolonizing journeys, and that resulted in participant requests to further deepen learning and community connections. The feedback collected emerges from reflective writing that took place following each of four land-based experiences and two online reflection circles. It opens a view into the learning and unlearning experiences of educators, researchers, and community partners. The experiences, guided by local syilx community members, reveal the inner journey of navigating complex reconciling conversations. The reflections provide understanding of the ideas which spoke most resoundingly to the research participants. It demonstrates how participants are beginning to understand their role in reconciliation. Many participants shared that their takeaway—pʔax̌, or spark—was the new way that they see, view, and experience this place as a source of medicine and life that must be treated with reverence and respect and that needs to be protected for future generations. The inner educator transformations led to shifts in teaching practice in their classrooms and this is part of the ongoing story.
