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Title: Above the rim: The NCAA and Equitable Compensation for Student-Athletes

The commercialization of collegiate athletics has profoundly challenged the NCAA’s governance, particularly its reliance on amateurism to justify denying athletes fair compensation. This paper examines the emerging recognition of NCAA student-athletes as employees, arguing that such a shift is essential for equitable compensation, labor protections, and systemic reform. Through a review of historical, legal, and governance frameworks, the research highlights the tensions between financial pressures, labor rights, and the educational missions of higher education institutions. Recent legal rulings, including NCAA v. Alston, underscore the inadequacies of the current model, driving debates over athlete compensation and institutional compliance. 

The paper explores innovative solutions, such as revenue-sharing frameworks and lessons from international governance models, to foster equity and sustainability in collegiate sports. It also emphasizes the role of faculty, administrators, and athlete advocacy in reshaping governance structures to balance commercial interests with fairness and academic integrity. Ultimately, this review calls for a bold reimagining of NCAA governance, aligning collegiate athletics with evolving societal standards while preserving its educational mission. By recognizing student-athletes as employees and embracing collaborative, transparent decision-making, the NCAA and its member institutions can create a more equitable, sustainable future for college sports. 

Title: Hakka-Caribbean-Canadian Youth: Cultural learning and engagement within Hakka Associations

Canadian ethnoracial minority cultures are threatened to be lost due to the dominance of settler cultures within Canada. This threat is particularly critical for the Hakka-Caribbean-Canadian (HCC) community. Hakka roughly translates to Guest people, reflecting this nomadic Chinese subgroup's history of marginalization and migration, initially migrating within China, then internationally to the Caribbean, and finally to Canada. The HCC Community experienced exclusion both from the general Canadian community and also other Chinese-Canadian communities. In response, the community coordinated collective efforts to build community and assert their culture within Canada. The community prioritizes sustaining Hakka culture, which is supported by Hakka associations and maintained by the HCC youth. However, youth engagement and learning of Hakka culture has declined. Motivated by HCC youth's critical role in sustaining Hakka culture and Hakka associations' roles as cultural education hubs, this research aims to examine the relationship between Hakka associations and their youth members.  

Concepts such as cultural identity (Hall, 1990) and social capital (Putnam, 2000) inform this study, providing insights into Hakka culture’s development within the HCC community and the role of the Hakka associations as social spaces. Ethnographic methods will collect data, allowing for the analysis of specific aspects and relationships within the Hakka Associations in Canada. This study will provide an essential understanding of the role of Hakka associations in how HCC youth have come to learn and engage in Hakka culture. The research will also provide insights into the crucial topic of youth engagement that many ethnic associations in Canada currently face.  

Title: Agency in Immigrant Teacher Identity: Complex Dynamic System Theory Perspective

In second language teaching and learning research, the development of teacher agency has been at the forefront since the social turn of language education. The objective of this study is to observe the development of a plurilingual immigrant second language teacher’s agency ( Picardo & Galante 2018) through the lens of complex dynamic system theory (CDST). This research claims that CDST and agency are dynamic, nonlinear, and context-dependent (Larsen Freeman, 2019). The processes in both systems are constantly in flux; the elements are relational, interconnected and interdependent, and the elements in both systems work through iteration and coadaptation.

This research analyzes in-depth interview data of an immigrant English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher’s journey in Toronto. His twenty-five years of working experience in Toronto in multiple contexts (school board, university ESL/EAP centre, community college) manifests how his beliefs, self-regulation, motivation and socio-cultural mediation (Van Lier, 2008) guide him to develop his professional identity, accomplish the highest academic degree, publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, and contribute meaningfully to Canadian society. His agency was also expressed while he was discriminated against systemic injustice both in academia and in his professional life as he challenged the stereotypical view of the so-called white middle-class masculine notion of Western academia and the job market. The research findings will contribute to teacher development in second language teaching and learning in multi and plurilingual contexts. 

Title: Fostering Inclusivity in Science Education Through Epistemic Reflexivity

This roundtable discussion explores how epistemic reflexivity can support inclusive, culturally responsive pedagogy, with a specific focus on science education. Epistemic reflexivity involves reflecting on one’s understanding of the nature of knowledge while considering how positionality, perspectives, and sociocultural contexts shape what one knows or intends to learn. This practice provides educators with tools to address unconscious biases by cultivating the motivation to learn, the ability to judge personal fallibility, and the willingness to reevaluate personal worldviews. In science education, epistemic reflexivity can be used to teach students about the nature of science—how scientific knowledge is constructed, validated, and communicated—by emphasizing its tentative, social, and pluralistic nature. Recognizing that science evolves helps students adopt open-minded, less dogmatic perspectives. Acknowledging science as a human, culturally embedded endeavor dismantles the myth of value-free objectivity without undermining its epistemic authority. Highlighting that there is not just a single scientific method, and that science is one way of understanding the world among other knowledge systems that have valuable insights to offer, promotes inclusivity. By bridging cultural divides and challenging biases, this approach helps educators design curriculum and pedagogy that prepare students to navigate diverse perspectives and contribute to a more equitable, empathetic classroom environment.

Title: Leveraging Systems Thinking Tools to Tackle Complex Problems in Diverse Learning Environments

Using Systems Thinking (ST) tools, such as causal loop diagrams and iceberg models, offers an innovative framework for addressing complex, multifaceted problems across various disciplines. This study explores the learning outcomes of incorporating these tools in educational settings, focusing on their ability to foster critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and enhanced opportunity identification. By visualizing interconnections, feedback loops, and underlying structures within systems, learners can uncover root causes and develop sustainable, inclusive solutions to systemic challenges.

Grounded in a mixed-methods research approach, this study analyzes qualitative and quantitative data from workshops conducted with engineering and entrepreneurship students. Preliminary results demonstrate that using ST tools cultivates a reflective, inclusive problem-solving mindset, helping participants address gaps in traditional approaches and recognize underrepresented voices within systems. These tools also enable students to bridge theory and practice by identifying actionable strategies for addressing challenges such as equity in education, environmental sustainability, and organizational resilience. By embedding systems thinking into pedagogy, this work reimagines educational practices, preparing learners to address systemic inequities and lead impactful change in their communities and professional fields.

Title: Multilingualism in Macao: Context, Challenges, and Recommendations

This paper explores the multilingual environment of Macao, a city where Eastern and Western cultures intersect, resulting in a complex linguistic landscape. Despite having Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese, and English as official languages, Macao faces challenges such as language disempowerment, an instrumental focus on English, and limited proficiency in Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) among students. To address these issues, this study proposes a multi-level framework. At the macro level, the Macao government should implement policies and initiatives encouraging linguistic inclusivity, such as cultural festivals and language programs for new settlers. 

At the meso level, schools are encouraged to value linguistic diversity, build collaborative networks, and foster inclusive environments where students’ mother tongues are respected. At the micro level, teachers, particularly ESL instructors, are advised to adopt translanguaging pedagogies, scaffold learning for low-proficiency students, and engage with parents to support students’ bilingual and multilingual growth. While offering practical recommendations, the study acknowledges limitations, including the generalized nature of its suggestions and the lack of systematic assessments of learners’ multilingual competencies. The paper concludes by emphasizing its contribution to the extant literature, the need for long-term, sustainable policies, and further research to enhance Macao’s multilingual education, preserve its cultural identity, and promote social and economic development.

Title: Stepping Beyond Policy Commitments: The Reality of Supporting Children with ASD in ECE

Education systems have historically mirrored societal inequalities, marginalizing certain groups based on class, gender, race, religion, and disability. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition affecting perception and interaction, has seen rising diagnoses in Canada, underscoring the urgent need for inclusive early childhood education (ECE). This paper examines the persistent gaps between policy and practice in supporting children with ASD, emphasizing systemic ableism and the challenges posed by standardized approaches in ECE spaces. Drawing from critical disability frameworks, the analysis transitions from the medical model, which pathologizes disability, to the social model, which attributes challenges to structural barriers. Through insights from lived experiences, including working with children with ASD, and international studies, the paper critiques symbolic policymaking that lacks actionable resources. It highlights the importance of ethical leadership and moral responsibility among policymakers and educators to ensure meaningful support for neurodiverse learners. 

The findings advocate for sensory-responsive environments, individualized strategies, and consistent funding to implement policies effectively. Educators, as bridges between policy and practice, require professional development and resources to foster inclusive spaces that celebrate diversity. Moreover, embedding frameworks like the social model of disability and prioritizing feedback from stakeholders can guide reforms. This paper concludes that transforming ECE into a truly inclusive system demands collective accountability, resource-backed policies, and empowered educators. 

Title: Caregiver Learning in the Early Years

EarlyON Child and Family Centres in Ontario are attended by families with children from birth to age six, with the child-caregiver dyad participating together, a unique two-generation learning environment (Chase-Lansdale & Brooks-Gunn, 2014). EarlyON provides high-quality early learning for the child, however, less is reported about the adult learning that occurs. Due to the integrated nature of EarlyON Centres in Ontario, it is “extraordinarily difficult to access the separate contribution that the parent program makes” (Canadian Council on Learning, 2006). While caregiver learning is naturally closely tied to their child’s development, this study aims to determine exactly the type of learning occurring for adults in EarlyON Centres.

Qualitative research methodology will be used, specifically a single instrumental case study focused on one centre in Mississauga (Creswell et al., 2007). Semi-structured interviews will be employed to gain a deeper understanding of participants’ unique experiences and how they feel about their learning. Data will be analyzed through sociocultural learning theory and the KUSAB approach to examine the data through the domains of participant knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes, and any resulting changes in behaviour (Rogers, 2014). I anticipate that caregivers will report informal and non-formal learning beyond child development and other parenting skills. My hope is that by determining specific caregiver learning experiences, service providers in the early years sector will gain further clarity on how to strengthen their programs and that additional evidence is provided of the rich interpersonal dynamics of these programs.

Title: Medical Neocolonialism and Institutional Racism: Describing Narratives of Resistance from Nurses Supporting Asylum-Seekers and Refugees (ASR) in Healthcare Spaces in Ontario

Discrimination and racism within Canadian healthcare contribute to significant health disparities among asylum-seekers and refugees (ASR) (Mahabir et al., 2021). As a visible Muslim, granddaughter of refugees, and registered nurse working with ASR, I explore the intersection between colonialism in healthcare, racism, health disparities, and nurse-led advocacy efforts to drive positive change which directly benefit ASR. The impact of racism is especially harmful for ASR given their pre- and post-migratory trauma (Ziersch et al., 2020). While the nursing profession has faced criticism for its historical role in perpetuating colonial harms against racialized populations, Canadian nurses such as Jean Cuthland Goodwill, and Ruth Bailey led the way in advancing health equity, and inclusivity (Brown et al., 2022; Flynn, 2008; Goodwill, 1989; Kimani, 2023; Molloy, 2020; Stake-Doucet, Wilson et al., 2022). While existing research highlights barriers to care for ASR from the perspective of physicians, specialists, and allied health professionals, there is a notable gap in addressing institutional racism, medical neocolonialism, and nursing advocacy (Desmyth et al., 2021; Pollock et al., 2012; Rousseau et al., 2017; Ziersch et al., 2020). 

Preliminary findings indicate the absence of organizational policies for interpreter services, inflexible patient lateness policies, doctors refusing care to patients without OHIP, and insufficient support coupled with negative attitudes from healthcare workers toward ASR. This study employs generic qualitative research (GQI), critical race theory (CRT), and decolonial principles to ask, “how does medical neocolonialism and institutional racism operate in nurses’ interactions with ASR and how do they resist these dynamics and advocate for these patients? In answering that, the study engages nurses in semi-structured interviews to examine their perceptions of medical neocolonialism and institutional racism in healthcare, and how they resist these practices when advocating for ASR.

Title: The High School Misfit’s Guide to Academic Confidence in College (or Lack Thereof)

The pressures of adolescence are complex. Many feel misunderstood, particularly when encouraged to prioritize getting into a good university over expressing their thoughts, feelings, and intentions. However, what impact does this sense of misunderstanding have on their future? The current study examined the relationship between feeling misunderstood in high school and academic self-consciousness in post-secondary education. The study included 175 participants, predominantly men (75%), aged 21 to 65 (M = 32, SD = 6.67). Participants completed a self-assessment survey in which demographic information and responses to a two-part questionnaire, each with six items. The first scale was designed based on the conceptual definition of feelings misunderstood. The second scale was adapted from the Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS) to measure academic self-consciousness. The pilot study demonstrated strong internal consistency for both scales, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.777 for the feelings of being misunderstood scale and 0.778 for the academic self-consciousness scale. The analysis showed that students who felt misunderstood in high school were more likely to feel self-conscious about their academics in college or university (p < .001). This study highlights the importance of creating supportive environments prioritizing healthier academic and personal development expectations. 

Title: Conceptualizing Indigenous-Racialized Settler Relations and Solidarity

As sites of informal education, the historiography produced by museums interpret vast collections through the hegemonic white settler lens, and this storying of the settler colonial nation-state continues to be established and legitimated through educational programming. Much of the literature on settler colonialism and museum education within curriculum studies is focused on formal K-12 and post-secondary education. My research study will contribute to filling the gap in scholarship that investigates decolonial curricula and pedagogies within informal education. To right Indigenous and settler relations and to engage in decolonial work in museums, my research study will ask: How do Indigenous and racialized educators understand and enact decolonial pedagogies of solidarity to challenge settler colonialism in Ontario museums? 

I intend to challenge the centering of traditional theories and concepts deemed foundational by the academy through the study’s theoretical framework of Indigenous conceptions of relationality and the conceptual framework of decolonial pedagogies of solidarity. Further, my chosen research methodology is research-creation, specifically research-from-creation, and the analytic framework is narrative inquiry that is arts-based and transcultural. This study will advance crucial decolonial knowledge and perspectives in informal education as well as support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #67 directed at the Canadian museum sector to comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Title: Equity and Innovation: Insights from Multidisciplinary Innovators to Shape 21st Century Teaching and Learning

This study explores how the biographies of multidisciplinary innovators can inform equitable and innovative practices in K-12 education. Canada’s declining innovation ranking underscores the need for a broader understanding of how to foster creativity and problem-solving in schools. While innovation is often narrowly linked to STEM advancements, this research investigates its foundations across diverse disciplines, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM. Guided by Wegener and Tanggaard’s (2013) tripartite model of innovation—craft, levers, and ethics—this study examines how personal experiences, structural supports, and values drive innovative practices. Cooper and White’s (2012) five-contexts framework (autobiographical, historical, political, postmodern, and philosophical) further shapes the analysis, illuminating how systemic inequities and diverse perspectives intersect with innovation.

Ten multidisciplinary innovators, recipients of fellowships from the Royal Society of Canada’s academies, are featured in a series of in-depth, video-recorded interviews. Questions such as “What factors nurtured or impeded your innovation?” reveal insights into how these five contexts intertwine to foster creativity and innovation. Preliminary findings indicate that inclusive pedagogical practices, which emphasize holistic approaches, the balance between nurturing individual talents and fostering social responsibility, as well as interdisciplinary thinking, are fundamental to promoting innovation. This research provides actionable strategies for the design of equitable curricula that empower all learners, irrespective of their backgrounds, to engage effectively in innovative practices. By expanding the discourse on innovation and equity, this study offers valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and curriculum developers, contributing to more inclusive and forward-thinking education systems in Canada.

Title: An Examination of ‘Sites of Silence’ and the Contradictory Ethics of Studying Them

This paper argues that social work’s historical convergence with policy, care systems and education has engaged in knowledge validation processes that have embedded discourses of violence and subjugation into practice operations. It seeks to understand how this conflict of care and violence manifests within the profession by exploring core ideas developed within the Enlightenment and tracing them to our contemporary contexts. This lays the groundwork for identifying ‘sites of silence’ – unrecognized spaces in our knowledge and educational systems that harbour and remain sources of these exclusionary discourses. The purpose of this paper is not to provide a clear answer on how to explore these sites but, instead, to highlight their existence and invite practitioners and researchers to create epistemological, pedagogical and ethical frameworks which consider their existence and allow for our consideration of them when informing the actions of the social workers of tomorrow. As an example, it proposes a methodology for discovering and exploring these ‘sites of silence’ through ‘mythmaking,’ a process of, in the most basic sense, story creation and analysis built within framings such as diffraction, confluence and assemblages designed to untangle our converging historical knowledge production processes.

Title: Entangled Inclusion: Examining the Complexity of Inclusive Pedagogy in Higher Education

Higher education in Canada and globally is in a state of flux, with emerging technologies, shifting political landscapes, environmental crises, and multiple other factors all contributing to a seemingly endless stream of disruption and ever-increasing complexity. In the midst of all of this, many Canadian institutions have made commitments to advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) on their campuses and in their classes. The question then becomes, what does inclusion look like in the complex educational environments of the present? And, what factors will shape inclusive pedagogy of the future? 
This presentation offers insights into the first question by sharing reflections on the first part of a doctoral research project focused on shaping more inclusive futures of education. This phase involved interviewing and surveying students, faculty and staff on their perceptions of inclusive pedagogy and experiences of inclusion and exclusion in higher education spaces. Taking a critical lens, participants were also invited to reflect on their own agency within institutional power structures. 

Two major themes emerged from the interviews: first, conceptualizations of “inclusion” vary wildly across contexts and individuals. Second, the way inclusion is perceived, practised, and valued is impacted by a complex network of human and non-human factors at the micro and macro level within an institution and society at large.
Collecting these stories and revealing these complex structures offers a starting place for shaping change. The next phase of the research project will use these collective stories to inform a co-design project for the future of higher education.
 

Title: Learning From the Margins: Financial Literacy Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

This paper undertakes a critical review of Knut Laaser and Jan Ch Karlsson’s (2022) “Towards a Sociology of Meaningful Work", focusing on the degree to which their theoretical framework accounts for gender-specific considerations in determining meaningful work possibilities. In their piece, Laaser and Karlsson present a framework they claim determines the degree to which work is meaningful based on three key elements of worker experience: autonomy, dignity, and recognition. They further classify these elements as “objective” and “subjective,” with the former representing formal work characteristics (e.g. terms of employment), and the latter encompassing comparatively informal ways that workers intersubjectively construct meaning (e.g. through development of friendships and bonds of solidarity). Although Laaser and Karlsson explore numerous social, economic, and political factors that mediate the presence of these characteristics, a gender-specific analysis is conspicuously absent.

I argue that while Laaser and Karlsson’s framework accommodates gender-related considerations in its assessment of the objective determinants of meaningful work, their examination of subjective determinants falls victim to what Joan Acker (1990) calls a “disembodied and universal” conception of the worker, a treatment that ignores the inherently gendered and masculine framing of the worker subject in capitalist societies (139). This homogenized conception of the worker suggests that opportunities for subjective autonomy, dignity, and recognition historically available to men are also available to women; this is not the case, a fact which limits the broad applicability of Laaser and Karlsson’s framework. I conclude, however, that a deeper reading of the theoretical sources they cite could inform a more fulsome theory that accounts for intersectional considerations. 

Title: Gender equality in the academic career paths in Canadian universities

Gender inequality in academia persists despite decades of progress in women's educational attainment and professional representation. Women remain underrepresented in higher education worldwide, holding fewer senior academic and administrative positions and facing significant structural and cultural barriers to career advancement. This study adopts an intersectional feminist framework, incorporating Crenshaw's (2018) theory of intersecting identities and Collins' (2015) matrix of domination, to explore the career trajectories of university professors in Canada through a gendered lens. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research examines three objectives: (1) assessing the state of gender inequalities in Canadian universities, (2) identifying structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal factors contributing to these disparities, and (3) understanding female professors' lived experiences. Quantitative analysis of the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society database (n = 2,968) reveals systemic inequities in access to leadership roles, working conditions, and promotion opportunities. A thematic analysis of 25 interviews with female professors across five provinces highlights the nuanced ways gender, race, and ethnicity intersect to shape their professional experiences. This study provides critical insights into the gendered dynamics of academia, emphasizing the need for policies promoting equity and inclusion to address the cumulative disadvantages faced by women in the field.

Title: Demographic Influences on French Fluency Development: A Longitudinal Study of French Immersion Students from Grade 1 to 2

Fluency in reading encompasses letter-sound knowledge, pseudoword decoding, and real-word recognition, serving as a cornerstone for literacy development. In French immersion programs, students’ progression in these areas from Grade 1 to Grade 2 is crucial, yet the influence of demographic factors remains underexplored. Existing literature indicates that higher SES is a predictor of French reading fluency, although exact mechanisms substantiating this relationship are unknown. Additionally, ELLs did not demonstrate definitive deficits in French reading achievements in comparison to non-ELL students, and in some cases outperformed ELLs in regards to French proficiency. However, comprehensive analyses considering variables such as gender and Indigenous identity are scarce.

This study employs linear regression to assess both concurrent differences at each grade level and growth trajectories from Grade 1 to Grade 2 among French immersion students, with a focus on the aforementioned demographic factors. Our findings reveal that gender and ELL status do not significantly impact fluency outcomes at either grade, nor do they affect growth rates over time. Conversely, students from low SES backgrounds exhibit deficits in letter naming and real-word reading in both Grade 1 and Grade 2, with an expanding lag in real-word reading over time. Indigenous students demonstrate deficits in letter naming and pseudoword reading beginning in Grade 2, accompanied by slower growth rates. These results underscore the necessity for targeted interventions addressing the specific needs of low SES and Indigenous students within French immersion contexts to promote equitable literacy development.

Title: Understanding Parent-Child Discrepancies in Reporting Socioemotional Well-Being of Refugee Children

This study investigates the alignment between self-reported and parent-reported socioemotional well-being in resettled Syrian and Afghan refugee children in Toronto, Ontario. We aim to better understand the factors that shape socioemotional health perceptions within refugee families. Discrepancies in these reports can impact the identification of socioemotional challenges and influence interventions. Vulnerable populations, such as refugees, face stressors such as language barriers, socioeconomic pressures, and cultural transitions, that can further impact these discrepancies. The primary research question is: What factors contribute to discrepancies between self-reported and parent-reported socioemotional well-being in refugee children, and how do these discrepancies relate to learning outcomes? 

This research explores how factors that contribute to these discrepancies impact children’s learning outcomes, particularly reading development. One factor that is expected to impact discrepancies is the difference in how parents and children interpret or communicate emotional and behavioral challenges. These differing perspectives may lead to mismatches in identifying and addressing socioemotional difficulties, which can, in turn, create or exacerbate barriers to literacy development. The study draws on data from an ongoing project investigating socioemotional well-being and learning outcomes among Afghan and Syrian refugee children. Findings are expected to clarify whether discrepancies in reports of socioemotional health can be explained by factors such as language environment, family dynamics, or parental education, and whether these differences represent complementary perspectives or highlight critical gaps requiring targeted support.

Title: Asian Female International Graduate Students' Needs and Experiences at the University of Toronto

The uniqueness of being female, international, and a graduate student poses its own challenges that warrant special attention and efforts from institutions and their leaders. Previous studies have addressed issues and challenges faced by international students, including financial stress, homesickness, racism, discrimination, barriers to care, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety (Anandavalli et al., 2021; Kawamoto et al., 2017; King et al., 2021; Lee and Rice., 2007). A multiple case study design will be used to examine female international graduate students’ overall experiences, needs, challenges, and barriers to accessing relevant resources, programs, and services from the students’ perspectives.  Body mapping exercises and semi-structured interviews with up to 10 student participants will be employed. Body mapping is the process of creating a life size human body image using art-based techniques such as painting and drawing to represent aspects of people’s lives and the worlds they live in. Data collected from the body mapping exercise as well as a semi-structured interview will be analyzed using reflective thematic analysis.  Codes for analyzing body maps will consider the visual information and supporting testimonies. This study will identify current challenges, provide practical recommendations to enhance existing programs and services, and introduce new preventative measures that address the unique needs of female international students.  

Title: Building Student Self-Efficacy and Fostering Optimal Student Success with Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

This paper considers the research question: How can educators use culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) to enhance student engagement and foster self-efficacy for optimal student success? It is found that culturally responsive pedagogy consists of (a) understanding their intersectionalities and the intersectionalities of their students to be able to foster collaboration with those from different cultural backgrounds, (b) making lessons relevant to students' lived experiences to foster self-efficacy to stand up against social injustice and (c) focusing on student learning. This paper explores the effective CRP strategies that promote student success by breaking down these three factors (a) identifying educator bias and incorporating content related to student identity and interests, (b) connecting to student lived experiences, providing feedback, and fostering student self-efficacy, and (c) focusing on student learning, feedback and professional development. However, due to the new and emerging nature of CRP, it is found that educators would benefit from professional development that supports teachers to incorporate CRP in subject and age-specific courses.

Title: Inclusivity Begins with Your Name

This study examines how international students in Canada navigate their name choices—English or ethnic—amid systemic biases and cultural identity negotiations. It seeks to understand the factors influencing these decisions, the broader inequities reflected in naming practices, and how educators can support inclusivity. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Culturally Responsive Leadership (CRL), the research critiques systemic racism while advocating actionable equity in educational leadership. Using qualitative analysis of critical incidents with international students, literature on racial microaggressions, and institutional practices, the study highlights the dual pressures of cultural retention and systemic assimilation. Key findings reveal that racial microaggressions, such as mispronunciations, stereotyping, and name avoidance, exacerbate inequities, whereas empowering naming practices affirm identity and promote inclusivity. This research underscores the significance of names as more than personal identifiers, linking them to systemic inequities and calling for critical awareness, institutional reforms, and inclusive practices. By respecting and accurately pronouncing students' names, educational environments can honor diverse identities and foster equity. 

Title: Communities of Practice as Spaces to Enliven Critical Pedagogies: Surfacing Potentialities rooted in Learner Agency

This roundtable presentation will juxtapose the elements that facilitate the sustainment of communities of practice together with the key tenets of critical pedagogies. It will focus on the importance of learner (practitioner) agency in co-creating communities of practice as a central element that enables these communities to enliven the ethos of critical pedagogies. It will examine factors that support the development and 'thriving' of this sense of agency within learner-practitioners. By surfacing the potentialities inherent within communities of practice, and the elements that allow these potentialities to thrive, this study will contribute to the dialogue around building open and co-created learning spaces where ‘solidarity in and through struggle’ can be experienced and explored in meaningful and sustainable ways. 

Title: Around the Fire with Alumni Mentors and Mentees

This engaging discussion will explore the transformative role mentorship plays in shaping students' educational journey and their paths beyond academia. Featuring a diverse range of voices, we will delve into the unique perspectives of both mentors and mentees, shedding light on their shared experiences and personal insights. Together, we will also explore how mentorship prepares individuals for an increasingly diverse and complex workplace, celebrating the fact that every mentor-mentee relationship is as unique as the individuals involved and proving that there is no one-size-fits-all approach in a mentor-mentee relationship. 

Title: Mothers as Ethno-Cultural Knowledge Keepers and Educators: How Immigrant Mothers Provide Ethno-Cultural Education to their Children within Canada

Higher education in Canada and globally is in a state of flux, with emerging technologies, shifting political landscapes, environmental crises, and multiple other global factors all contributing to a seemingly endless stream of disruption and ever increasing complexity. In the midst of all of this, many Canadian institutions have made commitments to advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) on their campuses and in their classes. The question then becomes, what does inclusion look like in the complex educational environments of the present? And, what factors will shape inclusive pedagogy of the future?This presentation offers insights into the first question by sharing reflections on the first part of a 2-phase doctoral research project focused on shaping more inclusive futures of education. 

The first phase of research consisted of 30 interviews and 20 survey responses focused on understanding perceptions of inclusive pedagogy and experiences of inclusion and exclusion in higher education spaces and what factors influence these experiences and practices. Taking a critical lens, the research design and interview questions also invited participants to reflect on their own agency and scope of influence within institutional power structures. Participants included faculty, staff, and students at the University of Toronto and at institutions globally. Two major themes emerged from the interviews: first, conceptualizations of “inclusion” vary wildly across contexts and individuals. Second, the way inclusion is perceived, practised, and valued is impacted by a complex network of human and non-human factors at the micro and macro level within an institution and society at large. Collecting these stories and revealing these complex structures offers a starting place for shaping change. The next phase of the research project will use these collective stories to inform a co-design project focused on more inclusive futures for higher education for diverse learner populations. 
 

Title: Leading with Compassion, Self-Reflexivity, and Inclusion: Engaging Educators with Black Students

Mainstream education has centered on White ways of knowing reinforcing white supremacy and excluding the Black and racialized students lives and the lives of their ancestors (Lopez and Jean-Marie, 2021). When Black children and youth enter the school system, their encounters with systemic oppression are magnified leading to low-expectations, hyper policing of their bodies, streamed in programs below their academic potential, harsh discipline, and pathologizing Black families and cultures (Lopez and Jean-Marie, 2021, p. 52). Anti-Black racism embedded in Canadian educational institutions play a critical role in reinforcing race-based traumatic stress to youth from the moment they enter kindergarten at four years old to when they exit secondary, undergraduate, or graduate schools. Race-based traumatic stress follows a complex racial trauma framework that helps to understand the impacts on the psychological and physiological health on Black youth as they navigate the education system (Cenat, 2023). The racial wounding Black youth encounter can last a life time (Hardy, 2013), and can contribute to multigenerational trauma, absence of opportunity to heal or access the benefits available in Society, and posttraumatic slave syndrome (DeGruy, 2022). 

Transformational change in the education system requires educators and leaders to examine the impact of anti-Black racism, to engage in critical reflexiveness, to work alongside community partners and equity leads, and to lean into an integrated culturally-informed curriculum. Afro-futurism, cultural pride, and affinity groups can be implemented as concurrently with transformational change to support better outcomes for Black youth in their communities. This workshop will identify the impact of anti-Black racism, and structural racism/oppression on learning, reinforce the key strategies for inclusive relationships with teams and colleagues for leaders, creating an inclusive team promoting compassion, critical reflexivity, and inclusion, and discuss strategies for supporting Black youth to develop community within schools.

Title: Navigating Dual Transitions: Career Development Among Emerging Adult Immigrants in Canada

Emerging adult immigrants (EAIs) represent a unique group that face the dual challenges of adapting to a new culture while managing the transition into adulthood. Research on emerging adulthood often overlooks minorities such as EAIs, who experience prolonged unemployment due to immigration-related factors like credential recognition issues. This study investigates how EAIs in Canada utilize their autonomy, competence, and relatedness—core needs from Career Self-Determination Theory—to navigate their vocational trajectories. Semi-structured interviews with EAIs will be conducted and thematic coding will be used to identify patterns in how participants meet their core needs and adjust their vocational behaviors. It is expected that EAIs will actively pursue career autonomy by negotiating choices, competence through acquiring new skills, and relatedness by seeking social and professional support. However, they will likely encounter difficulties fulfilling these needs due to factors related to both immigration and emerging adulthood, with the overlap of these two intensifying the challenges EAIs face as they navigate critical transitional periods. This research provides insights into the intersection of immigration and emerging adulthood and aims to inform programs that address immigrant employment challenges, social inclusion, and smoother transitions into adulthood. 

Title: Food, adult education and civic identity in communities: The case of Dufferin Grove Friends

In the adult education and lifelong learning field, informal learning is described as “the most elusive and shifting domains…but also the most extensive”, which means continued documentation and study is necessary. Significantly, informal learning does not happen in conventional educational settings but is no less critical in fostering and building social connections in a globalized world. As part of a larger exploration of informal adult learning in an urban community setting in Toronto, I conducted a preliminary qualitative project, which uses Dufferin Grove Friends (“DGF”) as a case study. DGF is a community that organically took form in 1993 when its members wanted to cook over an open fire in Dufferin Grove Park. I employed an intersectional and social change approach to address my primary research question, “How does food literacy shape the civic identity of a community?”. 

My theoretical framework connects food literacy, participatory culture and civic identity, which informed my analysis of data collected from DGF’s extensive online community archive and my observations as a community member. I found preliminary evidence of how learning about another’s culture and practices, as well as understanding issues like food provenance and insecurity had an impact on civic identity and behaviour in adults. The majority of civic identity studies have focused on children and youths. Although still a work-in-progress, my broader study could have implications for policymaking in terms of urban planning and community engagement in Toronto and it contributes to calls for a move away from an economic model of adult education, which prioritizes skills and outcomes that are tagged to employment over more humanistic results such as civic consciousness. A more humanistic model of education fosters a more just, diverse, and inclusive learning environment for all. 

Title: Forging Connections in Virtual Classrooms: Shaping Supportive Student-Teacher Relationships in Elementary Education

The rise of virtual learning, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has reshaped traditional educational practices, presenting unique challenges and opportunities for fostering supportive student-teacher relationships. This research examines how virtual learning environments influence the formation, perception, and effectiveness of these relationships in Ontario’s public elementary schools, with a focus on Grades 2-6. Through semi-structured interviews with experienced educators, this qualitative study explores how teachers adapt their multifaceted roles to virtual settings, addressing the diverse academic, social, and emotional needs of students. Themes reveal the dual role of technology as both a facilitator and a barrier to building meaningful connections. The study underscores the need for student-centered approaches, leveraging technology to support inclusive and equitable learning environments. Findings provide valuable insights for educators and stakeholders to ensure that digital learning environments foster supportive, personalized, and effective educational experiences for all students.

Title: Responding, Resisting, Risk-taking – Maintaining an Equitable and Impactful Practice in an Era of Neoliberal Reform

The presentations on this panel explore the ways in which teachers, principals, adult learners and college administrators work towards developing more inclusive, just and caring practices, despite the pressures of neoliberal education reform.  Neoliberal education reforms have increasingly prioritized efficiency, standardization, and reliance on quantifiable outputs, which has led to heightened accountability, increased managerialism and a culture of performativity.  Within this culture, educators and adult learners experience tensions between neoliberal policies and their own values.  In order to navigate these policies in ways that allow them to exercise professional responsibility and an ethics of care, educators and adult learners actively employ strategies of risk-taking and resistance. Using a variety of both quantitative and qualitative methods, the panel will speak to the challenges of developing equitable and impactful education practices within a performative culture.  Combining the various perspectives presented by this panel underscores the pervasive nature of performative culture and the creative ways in which educators and adult learners can push the boundaries to work towards a more equitable and socially just system.  

Title: Investigating virtual learning environments: fostering technology mediated plurilingual pedagogy

Technological innovations allowing co-existence of different languages and cultures across temporal and geographical boundaries of the digital realm (Galante et al., 2023; Lotherington, 2013) create the potential to promote plurilingualism in virtual learning environments (henceforth, VLEs) through different digital resources, such as, social media websites, web conferencing tools, digital multimodal compositions, computer-mediated conversations (CMCs), blogs, online portfolios, fansubbing, mobile technologies, digital collages, digital storytelling, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), virtual realities (VR), augmented realities (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) (Cornillie et al., 2021; Dhimolea et al., 2022; Hébert et al., 2008; Hafner et al., 2015; Ji et al., 2023; Johnston & Lawrence, 2018; Lakarnchua, 2017; Le & Dinh, 2018; Melo-Pfeifer, 2015; Thorne, 2008a; Tour et al., 2023; Séror, 2022) and so on. 

Using the theoretical lenses of complex dynamic systems theory (Larsen-Freeman, 1997), plurilingualism (CoE, 2020; Piccardo et al., 2022), and theory of affordances (Kordt, 2018), I will examine VLEs to investigate the constraints and affordances of using digital tools and resources within the virtual system to promote technology mediated plurilingual pedagogy. Following convergent mixed method design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018), I will collect data from multiple sources (walkthrough of the VLE environment with the teachers, teacher diaries, questionnaire survey with teachers and learners, focus group interviews with learners, researcher memos) from three English for academic purposes (EAP) courses in post secondary institutions. Both quantitative and qualitative (inductive, deductive, and abductive) analyses of the data will allow me to investigate the VLE’s role in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity in the EAP classroom as well as fostering technopedagogic practices that challenge monolingualism and monoculturalism.

Title: The impact of morphological awareness on vocabulary skills in French Language students

The relationship between morphological awareness (MA) and vocabulary acquisition (VA) has become a central focus in literacy research, with growing evidence of a positive correlation between both variables. While MA has been shown to enhance vocabulary within the same language, the extent to which it facilitates cross-linguistic transfer remains unclear. In our research, we will focus on investigating the cross-linguistic effects of French MA on English and French VA over a defined period.  A total of 205 Canadian French Language students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 participated in the present study. The participants spoke French as a first language and attended French Language schools in Toronto, where French was also the language of instruction. A battery of language and literacy measures were administered in both English and French. A demographic questionnaire was completed by parents. A hierarchical regression was used to assess the influence of MA skills on vocabulary above and beyond controlled predictors. Preliminary analysis indicates French MA predicts English and French vocabulary after controlling for age, grade, gender, avg. parent education, and the number of English and French books in the home. The findings of this study aim to deepen our understanding of how MA in one language supports vocabulary development in another, offering practical insights for bilingual education strategies. 

Title: A Career Human Agency Theory Perspective of Emotional Regulation in the Workplace

Understanding how employees practice emotion regulation is crucial for fostering resilience and flexibility, which lay the foundation for individual career development and organizational employee retention. The study explored workplace emotion regulation through the lens of Charles Chen’s meta-theory of Career Human Agency Theory (CHAT), built upon Bandura’s Human Agency Theory. The study collected 15 two-hour semi-structured interviews with Canadian employees (12 women, three men, Mage = 30.1 years) from various industries. Thirty detailed narratives of workplace emotional experiences were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Of these 30 experiences, 22 were negative (e.g., verbal attacks, professional setbacks, and misunderstandings) and nine were positive (e.g., promotions, approval, and receiving help).

Participants demonstrated career intentionality by developing a keen awareness of their emotions, revising their understanding of emotions at work based on social support, and forming intentions about how to manage workplace emotions. Career forethought involved setting goals that reflected participants’ intentionality, past experiences, and emotional self-efficacy. Career self-reactiveness, observed through participants’ immediate responses to these experiences, indicated that they often relied on emotional suppression to keep emotions under control due to a lack of effective regulatory strategies. Common emotions such as anger, disappointment, and sadness were frequently linked to feelings of being underappreciated and unsupported, or from a perceived lack of control over how events unfolded. Participants engaged regularly in career self-reflectiveness, critically assessing their intentions, goals, expectations, self-efficacy, past and current experiences, reactions, outcomes, and feedback, which in turn informed their career intentionality, modified their career forethought, and led to changes in their career self-reactiveness. The findings illustrated that emotion regulation was not exercised in isolation but was deeply embedded in workplace contexts. By focusing on both individual and systemic influences on emotion regulation, this study lays the groundwork for future efforts to improve workplace emotion regulation and support employee well-being.

Title: Burnout and Breakdown: Faculty Mental Health in Contemporary Popular Culture

Drawing from critical media studies and cultural analysis, this study situates portrayals of faculty mental health within the broader context of academic neoliberalism, intersectionality, and institutional dysfunction. The analysis employs qualitative content analysis to examine The Chair, Lucky Hank, and American Fiction as cultural texts. These works are analyzed through the lenses of critical theory and intersectionality to uncover systemic critiques and identity-related stressors. These narratives reveal how faculty mental health is shaped by systemic factors such as precarity, administrative overreach, and the corporatization of higher education. They also highlight the compounded pressures of intersectional identities, including racialized and gendered expectations. Humour and satire emerge as dual tools—coping mechanisms and cultural critiques—that expose the unsustainable pressures in academia while engaging broader audiences. This work underscores the role of popular culture in reflecting and reshaping public perceptions of academic life. By examining portrayals of faculty mental health, it advocates for systemic change in higher education and calls for inclusive narratives that address the well-being of educators.

Title: We Got You Sis: A Black Feminist's Gaze into the Community and Cultural Care Practices of Black Women, Navigating their Sexual and Reproductive Care Needs

My presentation explores how Black feminist methodologies can uncover opportunities for anti-racist praxis and enhance participatory collaboration in research. My individual presentation will reveal how Black feminist thought, critical race, and hip hop feminist theories and associated methods can be enhanced through community based participatory action (CBPAR) research approaches such as, photovoice, to reveal the systemic histories and modern day experiences of Black women when accessing sexual and reproductive care whilst also uncovering embodied and community based strengths that produce grassroots, digital, and self-advocacy within healthcare systems. The ways in which the arts, digital age, cultural influences, and lived experiences can come to the fore in collaborative data collection and analysis with research participants, will be the crux of my presentation, bridging to how both Black feminist, CBPAR, and arts-based methods can create tangible, anti-racist and racially reflexive implications for the healthcare and community sector seeking to pedestal Black women's strengths and resilience's and corroborate with their lived experiences. This conversation will center around the 9 themes derived from my dissertation research, which focuses on the strengths, needs and concerns of Black women's accessing sexual and reproductive care continuums and how this shaped the design for an educational anti-racist toolkit for sexual and reproductive service providers.

Title: Alternative Presentation, Translanguaging: Traversing the scene (س/ښ) of my growing selfscape

As an inclusive pedagogical practice and learning strategy for plurilingual students, translanguaging is the act of using our entire linguistic repertoire to build and share diverse knowledges. In her Italian memoir titled “In Other Words,” Bangladeshi American author Jhumpa Lahiri describes translation and translanguaging to be like building and crossing bridges, continuously traversing across unknown waters (2015). The suspension bridge simultaneously embodies the Pashto letter ښ (kha/sha - depending on the regional dialect), while also embodying the Farsi and Arabic letter of س  (seen) and containing the English letter w within it, crossing over multiple dimensions of my growing selfscape.