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Environmental, cultural, and social issues are becoming increasingly complex, and the educational context is no exception to this trend. The relevance of teachers' creativity in examining situations from different angles, in imagining new approaches, in adapting to the varied needs of students, and in training them so that they too can grasp the teeming complexity seems obvious. However, creativity sometimes seems to be taken for granted among teachers and educational programs leave a gap around this theme. Since the scientific literature tends to show that teachers' creativity is still little explored in educational contexts, this doctoral research studies its manifestations within a group of teachers enrolled in a professional master's program in preschool and elementary education (Université de Sherbrooke, Canada). Within the framework of this program, each one elaborates a professional development project over a three-year period. Using a variety of authentic data sources (observations in natural occurring situations, reflective writing by participants, and semi-structured interviews), their creative process is documented and analyzed. This multiple-case study (n = 9) that draws on the concept of creativity as related to that of professional coherence reveals that the pursuit of greater professional coherence not only enables the implementation of creative skills to foster teachers' professional development, but also elicits beautiful risk-taking.

Since the industrial era, chemicals have been ubiquitous in worldwide ecosystems. Despite the discontinued release of highly toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment, the levels of some POPs are still being measured in the Canadian Arctic. These contaminants are of great concern due to their persistence, toxicity, and levels of bioaccumulation in food chains. Animals occupying top trophic positions in the Canadian Arctic, particularly polar bears, are exposed to these contaminants mainly through their diet. Our study investigated the levels of 30 metals (including total and methyl mercury) alkaline and alkaline earth metals, 15 polycyclic aromatic compounds and their alkyl congeners (PACs), 6 chlordanes (CHLs), and 20 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in 49 polar bears from the Canadian Arctic. Contaminant burden was measured in liver, muscle, and fat in bears of different sex, age, and locations. A principal component analysis did not distinguish differences between age and sex profiles for most contaminants. However, the concentrations measured and their distribution in the tissues confirm findings observed in past studies. This study highlights the importance of continual monitoring of polar bear health (e.g., newly detected PACs were measured within this study) and evaluating those impacts for the next generations of polar bears. [Display omitted] • We profiled 110 contaminants from 4 contaminants classes in 3 polar bears tissues. • This is the first study to quantify PACs in polar bear tissues. • PCBs and chlordanes were highest in fat. • PACs and metals were highest in liver. • Some contaminants exhibit patterns by location but not age or sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]