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Students with disabilities are far less likely than their peers to participate in work-integrated learning (WIL). This gap may contribute to the high levels of unemployment for people with disabilities. Unemployment rates compound when accounting for intersectional identities, with disabled people of color experiencing even higher rates of unemployment. Skill development through opportunities such as WIL is critical to ensure equity-deserving groups can transition successfully from post-secondary institutions into the workforce. Without a transparent, collaborative accommodations process in an environment that is actively reducing stigma and ableism, it is likely students with disabilities will continue to be underrepresented in WIL and the workforce after graduation. This paper presents an overview of disability, barriers to participation, and relevant Canadian legislation. The authors then propose an outline for developing a collaborative accommodations process for WIL opportunities.

Many countries grapple with the tension between commitment to inclusive education reform and the closure of special schools. This tension is particularly problematic for countries, like Australia, that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD is clear that closing special schools is pivotal to protecting the rights of students with disability to an inclusive education. Some provinces in Canada are considered to be leaders in the movement away from segregated education for students with disability. This paper reports on a critical review of the Canadian literature to develop a conceptual framework of drivers for, and barriers to special school closure. Drivers and barriers were identified at four levels: (1) societal level; (2) system level; (3) school level and (4) community level, with implications for each discussed. The findings will inform policy implementation in countries striving to meet their CRPD obligations.

This article first describes and then proposes a practical solution to the professional dilemma between the duty of impartiality and the duty of human rights advocacy that many teachers experience when teaching and talking about politically sensitive issues with students. The article begins by presenting an analysis of the source and signification of the tension between impartiality and human rights advocacy based on evidence from research on teachers' perspectives, the conceptual literature on teaching and learning about controversial issues, and the legal and ethical framework of education. Then, drawing on scholarship on respect for students' right to freedom of religion, the article advances and defends set of basic pedagogical guidelines for teaching and talking about politically sensitive issues that permit teachers to maintain a professional stance of impartiality without abrogating their responsibility to act as human rights advocates. Key to squaring the circle between impartiality and human rights advocacy, the article argues, is for teachers to strive to remain descriptive in their treatment of politically sensitive issues and insist on high standards of reasoning and evidence while at the same time respecting students' right to an opinion, no matter how mistaken that opinion may seem.

This study assesses the coherence of Canada's educational policy regime with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) "Refugee Education 2030" strategy. We articulate a theoretical framework that combines theories about policy coherence, policy attributes, and policy tools, which informs a two-phase methodology. First, we conducted jurisdiction-based scoping reviews of policies in Canada's 13 provinces and territories which have constitutional authority over education. This yielded a sample of 155 documents, which we then analyzed for its vertical coherence with "Refugee Education 2030." Our analysis focused on five categories of need in the UNHCR strategy with respect to refugee students, namely access to education, accelerated education, language education, mental health and psychosocial support, and special education. The findings reveal there are policies across Canada that target responses to the five categories of need. Although some policies are exemplary in their coherence with "Refugee Education 2030," Canada's refugee education policy regime is characterized by many inconsistencies and significant gaps. Policymakers in Canada could use the specific findings to develop or revise policies to address shortcomings. Researchers and policymakers in other countries who find value in our approach could replicate the study's method in their own jurisdictions, using the instruments provided in appendices to identify strengths and gaps.

Although there is increased attention to the mental health needs of university students, far less attention has been given to mental health-related university policies. Many Canadian public universities have mandated leave policies that specify the conditions under which a student may be required to take a leave of absence from university. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of current mandated leave policies in public Canadian English-speaking universities. Applied framework analysis methodology was used to examine the approaches to balancing the needs of students experiencing mental health challenges and providing a safe environment on campus. Three primary themes regarding mandated leave policies were identified, including (a) approaches for addressing mental health concerns, (b) balancing the needs of the student with the needs of the institution, and (c) guidelines, standards, and quality assurance. Implications for mandated leave policies and approaches to students experiencing mental health challenges are discussed.

Despite the potential instructional benefits of integrating devices such as cell phones into schools and classrooms, research reveals that their improper use can negatively impact student behaviour, learning, and well-being. This paper reviews the literature and litigation on cell phone use in schools due to controversies over cheating, cyberbullying, sexting, and searches of student cell phones. Recent studies suggested that the presence of cell phones and related technologies in classrooms could detract from students' academic performances while contributing to higher rates of academic dishonesty and cyberbullying. The growing prevalence of cyberbullying is especially concerning because it can have severely negative, even tragic, effects on student mental health and safety. However, given the relatively discreet nature of cell phone use, regulations about their use can be difficult to enforce. After reviewing literature and litigation on the potential risks associated with inappropriate cell phone use in schools, this paper offers suggestions for educators to consider when devising or revising policies balancing students' individual rights with their safety and well-being before ending with a brief conclusion.

Determining the depth of discrimination against gender and sexual minority groups in Catholic schools of selected western nations is best undertaken from an international-comparative perspective. In this article, we compare the Canadian case of Alberta's 'washroom wars' and a 'gender row' over uniform changes in an Australian Catholic high school. In each case, practises inclusive of gender diversity in Catholic schools were framed as a departure from Catholic doctrine. To explore how oppressive structures exist and operate within schools, we examine media accounts of each case using Critical Discourse Analysis and contextualize this analysis by examining Canadian and Australian educational and legal settings. We find that despite differing legal frameworks, some Catholic schools continue to place Canonical law above the rights of transgender and gender-diverse students in both countries. We therefore argue that it is the Catholic system's institutional stance on gender and sexual diversity that perpetuates discrimination.

The Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) process has been long established within Ontario special education practice and provincial legislation. Borne out of advocacy for advancing the right to education for children with disabilities, the IPRC process is now being critically explored as to whether the process itself creates an infringement on students' access and rights to quality education. Drawing on historical and contemporary shifts in education policy and human rights in Ontario, this paper presents the case that the current structure of the IPRC is outdated and may function as a significant barrier to students' academic futures.

Through a faculty-wide program enhancement campaign implemented in a British Columbia university, we investigated sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) awareness and inclusion in a Canadian teacher education program. Comparing data from curriculum mapping of course outlines, close analysis of a departmental cross-section of 49 undergraduate syllabi, exit survey data, and 20 interviews with faculty and staff involved in the program, we observed how sustained conversation at all levels of program delivery is indispensable. Curriculum hours of formal SOGI-specific instruction were limited, yet most teacher candidates self-reported that they felt sufficiently prepared to support non-heteronormative students. Findings indicated that SOGI inclusion relies less on formal curriculum than the responsiveness of educators--under sway of progressive policy changes--to have informal, identity-inclusive conversations and to forge connections to curriculum content.

Indigenous languages are struggling for breath in the Global North. In Canada, Indigenous language medium schools and early childhood programs remain independent and marginalized. Despite government commitments, there is little support for Indigenous language-in-education policy and initiatives. This article describes an inaugural, countrywide, federally-funded, Indigenous-led language revitalization research project, entitled NE?OL?EW__("one mind-one people"). The project brings together nine Indigenous partners to build a country-wide network and momentum to pressure multi-levels of government to honour agreements enshrining the right of children to learn their Indigenous language. The project is documenting approaches to create new Indigenous language speakers, focusing on adult language learners able to keep the language vibrant and teach their language to children. The article reflects upon how this Northern emphasis on Indigenous language revitalization and country-wide networking initiative is relevant to mother tongue-based education and policy examples in the Global South. The article underscores the need for both community level initiatives (top-down) and government level policy and funding (bottom up) to support child and adult Indigenous language learning.

This article looks at some of the issues and possible responses for funding in special education, with a focus on the author's experiences as a special education teacher in Manitoba. Issues include making necessary changes to align funding with changes in policy, the problems associated with several different funding models, and the practicality of providing tiered levels of funding in diverse, inclusive classrooms. Programming alternatives include using tiered levels of funding to redistribute resources, training educators to implement inclusive strategies effectively, and keeping in mind the reason for a need to alter funding formulas to respect the rights of our students.

In this article, we share findings from an analysis of Ontario Catholic school board policy documents (N = 179) containing Canada's newest human rights grounds: gender expression and gender identity. Our major finding may be unsurprising--that Ontario Catholic boards are generally not responding to Toby's Act (passed in 2012) at the level of policy, as few boards have added these grounds in a way that enacts the spirit of that legislation. While this finding is likely unsurprising, our study also yielded findings that unsettle any facile binary of "Catholic boards/bad" and "public secular boards/good" in relation to gender diversity. We also leverage our findings to suggest a striking possibility for a vigorous and doctrinally-compatible embrace of gender expression protections in Catholic schools, if not gender identity protections. We argue that fear of gender expression protections may stem from an erroneous conflation of "gender expression" with "gender identity" when these are in fact separate grounds--a conflation that is also endemic within secular Ontario school board policy; this doubles as a conflation of gender expression with "transgender," as the latter is unfailingly linked with gender identity human rights. We make a series of recommendations for policy, and a case for Catholic schools embracing their legal duty to provide a learning environment free from gender expression discrimination without doctrinal conflict and arguably with ample doctrinal support, so that students of all gender expressions can flourish regardless of whether they are or will come to know they are transgender.

The purpose of this research was to identify conflicts in the rights and responsibility of Grade 9 test takers when some parts of a large-scale test are marked by teachers and used in the calculation of students' class marks. Data from teachers' questionnaires and students' questionnaires from a 2009-10 administration of a large-scale test of Grade 9 mathematics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Written comments by teachers were analyzed into themes. Results were interpreted using a framework comprised of a policy document and two theories that are relevant to large-scale testing: the rights and responsibility of test takers as documented in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA/APA/NCME/JCSEPT, 2014), expectancy-value theory of motivation, and theory regarding the developmental stage of students in Grade 9. Several conflicts were identified. Potential solutions to conflicts were presented.

The purpose of this study is to outline a new approach to the comparative analysis of student finance systems based on social rights, an approach widely applied in other areas of social policy. It focuses on rights codified in national legislation and financed by central governments, and the collection of indicators measuring formal eligibility and entitlements using model family analyses techniques. We illustrate the usefulness of the approach by exploring the relationship between the generosity and the degree of low-income targeting of student support in 21 OECD countries. The results show that student support is less generous in countries that concentrate benefits on students from low-income families.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a complex, often invisible, connective tissue disorder that has arguably profound psychosocial and academic impact on postsecondary students. It is an underdiagnosed and misunderstood condition that is the focus of little research, particularly within the social sciences. Several factors influence the academic experiences of postsecondary students with EDS, including institutional issues, faculty attitudes, accommodations, school attendance, and technology use. Psychosocially, adjusting to new or changing diagnoses, dealing with the stigmas and misperceptions of others, and the ongoing identity formation of youth are major factors for students. Since there is a notable shortfall in academic literature with the specific focus of EDS in postsecondary education, this review draws from the peripheral fields of chronic illness and disability studies for support.

Comprehensive sexuality education is increasingly being employed on a global scale, with controversies arising regarding the content of such education and the rights of children to access sexuality education versus parents' rights to decide the moral education of their children. In this paper, we utilise crip theory and a critical disability studies lens to analyse controversies surrounding parents' rights versus children's rights in the context of comprehensive sexuality education in Ontario, Canada. Using a disability studies perspective, this paper discusses the erasure of disabled children and youth in debates over children's and parents' rights while problematising the liberal humanist and legal frameworks often employed in comprehensive sexuality education and children's rights. As such, we theorise how a more relationally attuned version of both children's rights and comprehensive sexuality education can avoid oppositional politics and the reification of liberal humanist and ableist ideologies.

This study explored the barriers to success experienced by students with psychiatric disabilities (PD) enrolled in college programs. The students in the PD group were compared to a matched group of students with learning disabilities (LD) on graduation rates, endurance levels, grade point averages, self-assessment of cognitive, academic, and student skills, on integration into the disability support system, and on the character, number, and severity of the distractors which they experienced. Students with PD were found to have significantly lower graduation rates than students with LD. There were no significant differences between the groups in endurance levels and in grade point average (GPA). In self-assessment of cognitive, academic, and student skills there were very few differences between the groups. There were, however, significant differences in the degree to which each group was integrated into the disability support system, an access barrier associated with the interaction between the disability-related experiences of the PD group, and the model of disability support offered by the college. There were also significant differences between the groups in the number and in the severity of the distractors which they experienced. These results suggest that distractor barriers reduce the time which PD students are able to commit to the academic requirements of their program. A number of recommendations for further research are made.

Considering Canada's Tri-Council statement on the ethical conduct for research involving human subjects, we discuss some of the ethical challenges of doing research on teaching and learning in which one's own students and teaching act as the context of such scholarly activity. We advocate establishing basic principles based in the complex relationships in teaching and learning, making reference to the such issues as the potential social consequences for students of choosing not to participate in SoTL research. We propose some principles for those new to teaching and learning research to consider as part of their own ethical considerations.

This paper compares the systems of support in inclusive education in Canadian and Icelandic schools. The rationale for comparing these two support systems is grounded in the idea that they were developed in two countries with a long tradition of inclusive school development. They shifted the responsibility and the necessity of support for all learners towards the regular school, as it is embedded in the Salamanca Statement. The comparison is based on research findings from two comprehensive qualitative studies on inclusive education (Óskarsdóttir 2017. "Constructing Support as Inclusive Practice: A Self-Study." Doctoral Thesis University of Iceland, Reykjavík; Koepfer 2013. "Inclusion in Canada." Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt) and is focused on the role of support as an integral part of inclusive practices. A system of support can be considered an inevitable pillar of inclusive education, in order to remove barriers, to enable participation in educational and social activities and to ensure equitable access to learning. Although the organisation and implementation of support is contextualised and bound in different historical and political frameworks, this international comparison shows that both countries -- with all its ambivalences and conflictual settings -- emphasise a human-rights based understanding of inclusion. They are on a cultural transformation process of schools to implement support for all pupils.

Within Canada, the needs of students with exceptionalities are addressed through a variety of policies and procedures that allow those students to receive effective and meaningful education. However, in most provinces and territories these policies are serving more as barriers than supports in addressing the needs of students with acquired brain injuries (ABI). Within Canada, only two provinces acknowledge ABI as an exceptionality in any significant way. For the most part, ABI is under-recognized and often poorly responded to in Canada's educational systems. The issues associated with the problematic delivery of services to students with ABI include: the lack of federal guidelines as to the definition of "exceptionality", the lack of awareness of ABI as an exceptionality requiring accommodation, the connection between the categorization of exceptionalities and funding, and the lack of training and support for educators. The ramifications of these issues and the changes in educational policy needed to adequately address these issues are discussed with reference to children's right to education. (Contains 2 tables.)

Recognizing that learning to teach cannot be separated from learning to inquire, I argue that teachers have specific relational and ethical responsibilities to their students, particularly in the context of a diverse society. Using my research experiences with Aboriginal people as examples, I propose an ethical framework based upon four underlying principles: a commitment to difference or to the "relational other" Levinas (1981); a respect for persons Kant (1956); a commitment to reciprocity Buber (1970); and a sense of care Noddings (1986).

What happens when children are asked to give up their right to special education in order to access a French immersion program? By examining one mother's efforts to secure gifted support in a French immersion program, this critical inquiry offers a parental perspective of the special education issues of accessibility and inclusion. The two children at the center of Beatrice's narrative, Julie and Liz, initially received attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) diagnoses and were subsequently identified with a gifted exceptionality. After outlining Beatrice's interlocking challenges with special education identification and support in French immersion, key themes are discussed along with their related implications for research, policy, and practice. In Beatrice's experience, a bilingual program proved to be a loophole, where one's legal right to access gifted special education support was circumvented. While the author focuses on a Canadian French immersion setting, the findings outlined in this paper have larger implications for bilingual programs around the world, such as dual language education programs.

This paper's purpose is to extensively review the historical understanding of conscience and the current juridical interpretation of freedom of conscience under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982). It then briefly notes that given the challenge faced by Ontario's Catholic schools in providing for inclusionary policies for gay students--in particular the provision of Gay Straight Alliance clubs, and the potential claim by Catholics to freedom of conscience under the Charter--it appears that litigation is inevitable.

This review examines outcomes, tensions, and variables contained in eight Canadian legal cases, which are important because of their profound implications for current and future stakeholders of Catholic education. These cases prompt educators to re-examine the understanding of student rights, teacher rights, and the rights of the Catholic school boards. It is not the intention as researchers and authors to defiantly question Catholic school boards' authority to promote the Catholic religion; rather it is to contrast this authority with the rights of all citizens outlined within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This project aimed to create a descriptive map of international research which explores the notion of the continuum of educational provision for children with special educational needs. It also aimed to determine and examine the nature of how the continuum of provision is conceptualised, operationalised and enacted in a sample of selected countries. Commissioned by the National Council for Special Education, it also identified implications for the development of provision within the Irish context. The research involved a systematic identification and thematic review of theory, identifying and examining literature associated with the conceptualisation of the continuum; it examined the policy and provision across 55 administrations as publically reported, primarily to international agencies; it carried out more detailed examination of policy and practice in 10 countries using a survey and vignette study; and it involved a series of interviews with a range of individuals in a range of settings in four countries with differing approaches to supporting children with special educational needs. This paper outlines the overall findings of the research. It focuses in particular upon the need to change how we think about provision associated with continua, recognising the lack of international coherence in approaches to support for pupils with special educational needs. It identifies in particular the opportunities presented by a reconceptualisation of the class and the management of class resources, and the role key personnel can play in creating links between diverse services.

This article reviews the historical context in which Canadian legislation and policy for children with special needs has evolved. The potential for the rights of students with special needs in light of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is outlined. The role of the Federal and Provincial governments in legislation and policy vis-à-vis special education is reviewed along with a chronology of some significant Provincial efforts to implement policy and legislation both before and after the Charter provisions came into effect. Centrality of individual planning, and current efforts to determine the extent to which policies have been implemented, and their impact, are reviewed. Finally, some landmark pieces of litigation regarding the education of students with special needs are identified, and key outstanding questions from an educational perspective are presented.

The history of civil rights in Canada illustrates a growing trend by the government to support the physical, emotional, mental, legal, and financial needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered citizens. However, the education system presents a slightly different climate. Despite numerous policies and initiatives, gay and lesbian students continue to report incidents of homophobia and an overall lack of emotional support by educators and administration. This article examines current research on gay and lesbian students' emotional needs, polices that address them, and the vital role that teacher training plays in setting the stage for equitable practices in education.

A recent Canadian survey demonstrated that completion of a higher education degree is a determinant factor in employment. The survey revealed that the link between completing a higher education degree and employment was strongest for immigrants (Statistics Canada, 2015). It is therefore very important to help immigrant students, including immigrant students with disabilities, complete their studies. However there are barriers to overcome.

This article analyses the content and legal implementation of the right to education as a human right in Canada. It seeks to expose the extent to which Canadian legislative mechanisms have succeeded in protecting the right to education of students with disabilities by using students with epilepsy as a test case. To that end, the article examines the barriers faced by students with epilepsy in realising their right to education. It explores the content of the right to education in international law so as to provide an ideal against which the legal implementation of the right to education in Canada can be measured. In examining the degree to which legal implementation of the right to education for students with disabilities lives up to the ideals espoused in international law, the article analyses the effectiveness of the legal mechanisms that implement the right to education for students with epilepsy in addressing the three types of barriers faced by these students. The revelation of where students with epilepsy fall through the cracks serves as a reflection of the limits of current legal mechanisms in protecting the right to education for students with disabilities.

This study investigated young children's perceptions of their role in curriculum development in one Canadian preschool. There is no consensus that children have a role to play in developing curriculum. However, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) confirms children's right to be listened to about all aspects of their lives. Based on interviews with 34 children and three teachers, this study demonstrates the children feel they play an active role in curriculum development and implementation, but teachers make the final decisions about curriculum content. The children expressed a desire to influence the curriculum in new ways, but their ability to do so may be constrained by structural factors within and beyond the preschool. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article responds to Bruce Collet's article "From Refuge to Polis: Shifting the Rationale for Religiosity in Schools." In this rejoinder my intention is to shift the discussion from school-as-refuge to school-as-polis and to ask whether the integration interests of recent immigrants and refugees might not be better served by a more inclusive approach to religiosity in schools that is less about collective exception and more about social transformation.

In Canada, as in many countries, public continuing education of the non-vocational general interest type for people in post-work languishes on the margins of political discourse. This case study of one such traditional program for seniors run by a school board in Ontario explores the experiences of older adults and the meanings they attach to their learning. The goal is to better understand the roles and effects later life learning has in promoting health and well-being at both the individual and community levels. This study analyzes qualitative data collected through interviews, classroom observations and documents, referring to the micro, meso and macro levels of theory in adult education, psychology, health and social gerontology. The three main learning outcomes identified include: 1) the effects of enduring interest, 2) classrooms as social support networks, and 3) the awareness of the right to learn. The article examines how these outcomes function as health promoting mechanisms for individuals and communities. The results indicate the vital role played by affordable and accessible public continuing education program for retirees, especially seniors at risk. They also suggest the need for further quantitative research to measure the impact of learning on health and the quality of later life.

Today's children may be exposed to violence in their environment, through the media, at home, and in school. Some children live in countries at war, while others survive in neighborhoods where street gangs prevail. Most parents and children used to assume they could depend upon schools to be safe places, free from abuse and violence. Now it seems that schools are not the safe places everyone thought them to be, and so it is not surprising when the media turns its attention to school violence and bullying. These news stories do make parents and the general public wonder, "Who is responsible for the children's safety at school?" In this paper, the author examines the issues of bullying and violence in schools and suggests the need for a strong, consistent coalition of students, parents, teachers, administrators, community activists, physicians, and legislators to assemble the resources and join forces to ensure each child's safety and protection. Brief overviews of eight articles about bullying and violence in children's lives are also presented.

How to best provide quality educational services to students with disabilities, and other special needs, is a flash point issue for education systems in Canada. The news stories are frequent and engaging. A family or parent demands one thing and a school district offers something else. Sometimes the demand is for more special services and sometimes for more access to regular education. The public often seems confused by the term "inclusion" and by the continuing struggle to establish a fair and equitable--but also sensible--Canadian approach to the matter. In exploring special or inclusive education, the author's point of view has developed over several decades based on his experiences in three distinct roles. First he has an educational perspective based on more than 40 years as a teacher, school principal, district official (special education) and a university instructor (teacher educator). Second, he has an advocacy perspective from his role as a volunteer in parent and family associations for people with intellectual disabilities (Canadian Association for Community Living) on a local, provincial, national and international level. Finally, he has a human rights perspective from his work in Canadian and international human rights efforts and as a member and current chair of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. In an attempt to bring some clarity to the issue, the author shares some thoughts on what it takes to make inclusive education work and identifies some key questions--and tentative answers. (Contains 8 notes.)

This article considers multicultural education policies in relation to recent political and social events in England, France and Canada. The authors start from the assumption that the promotion of multiculturalism is thought to be a beneficial aim in schools. In light of this, they contrast this aim with the large civil unrest witnessed in 2005 in England and France, along with a recent 2006 court decision in Canada regarding minority rights in schools. They contend that effective multicultural policies must be developed at both the state and local levels, otherwise multicultural education policies will remain superficial at best. (Contains 2 notes.)

This study, which was sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, was conducted in French-language minority schools in seven Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Using an open-ended interview guide, 47 principals were asked about the tensions and possibilities relating to ethical leadership in linguistic minority contexts. Results show how the presence of an ethic of critique is strongly rooted in a context of struggle for the protection of a French-speaking identity as well as linguistic and cultural survival. Participants' number of years experience as school principals significantly influences their ethical posture. New school principals use only one ethic, the ethic of justice, whereas seasoned principals use a consolidated ethical framework which includes the ethic of care and the ethic of critique. An emerging professional ethic is also observed, built both on each person's ethical nature and his or her life experience. Most importantly, this type of professionalism, very much nurtured by relationships, is auto-regulated rather than externally regulated, as with a deontology code. (Contains 4 figures, 2 tables, and 4 notes.)

This paper explores spatial theory, and particularly a Foucauldian analysis of space, power, and the subject, as a frame within which to examine moves toward security in North American urban schools. We bring into play empirical data from an ethnographic study of New York City and Toronto schools where policies and technologies of record-keeping, identification-verifying, and spatial arrangements are producing altered experiences of subjectivity and the ways in which youth, workers, and researchers experience public (school) space. What is possible to know in ethnographic studies of these new high-security school sites? We argue that notions of "risk" and "otherness" in the nation state, and the exploitation of real fears in the wake of real school violence, have permitted a culture of acute surveillance that significantly alters the enterprise of school-based, ethnographic research. (Contains 7 notes.)

Every way of thinking is both premised on and generative of a way of naming that reflects particular underlying convictions. Over the last 15 years, a way of thinking has reemerged that strives to reposition students in educational research and reform. Best documented in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, this way of thinking is premised on the following convictions: that young people have unique perspectives on learning, teaching, and schooling; that their insights warrant not only the attention but also the responses of adults; and that they should be afforded opportunities to actively shape their education. Although these convictions mean different things to different people and take different forms in practice, a single term has emerged to capture a range of activities that strive to reposition students in educational research and reform: "student voice." In this discussion the author explores the emergence of the term "student voice," identifies underlying premises signaled by two particular words associated with the term, "rights" and "respect," and explores the many meanings of a word that surfaces repeatedly across discussions of student voice efforts but refers to a wide range of practices: "listening." The author offers this discussion not as an exhaustive or definitive analysis but rather with the goal of looking across discussions of work that advocates, enacts, and critically analyzes the term "student voice."

In Canada over the past two decades many legal disputes have arisen concerning education for children with learning disabilities. Most often these disputes are concerned with equal access for children with disabilities and centre on the notion of appropriate education. Issues concerning equal access to appropriate education have a long history and are now addressed in the Canadian Charter of Human Rights (Section 15 [1]) as well as most provincial human rights codes. This paper reviews three prominent legal cases concerned with appropriate education for children with learning disabilities and also considers a prevention model of learning disabilities with the intent of providing one way to alleviate the legal susceptibilities of education systems. The prevention model presented here emphasizes the importance of strengthening academic results of children at-risk for poor achievement associated with learning disabilities. By promoting an education system where children at-risk for learning disabilities are identified and provided with effective instruction in the early primary years, not only will legal susceptibilities be alleviated, children at-risk for learning disabilities will be provided with a healthy and productive beginning to their educational careers.

A case study is reported involving 32 applied and academic program student volunteers aged 15-18 years from two high schools located in Northern Ontario, Canada. Students were interviewed regarding a number of educational policy and school climate issues. The study examines perceptions of rights as an aspect of the school learning environment. The need for greater school community and additional supports for struggling students was voiced by students across both program groups. Students strongly endorsed either a meritocratic or an equalitarian perspective on rights issues with both philosophies represented to some extent in both program groups. Surprisingly, students across both program groups expressed little interest in their education rights or their legal rights generally. The importance of fostering school community and student interest in rights issues is discussed. Also considered is the role of the social science researcher in providing youth a forum for the discussion of social policy issues.

Zero tolerance policies stem from the culture of fear that pervades many schools today--fear of violence, bullying, and unruly behaviour. The code of conduct is clearly spelled out and if students disobey, the retribution is swift--usually suspension or expulsion. The rules are designed to apply equally to everyone, irrespective of age, gender, cultural background, personal characteristics, parental influence, or school experiences. Under the guise of "equity," zero tolerance policies are, in fact, inequitable, inhospitable and discriminatory. They contravene what they hold dear as educators and as a society. Further, they are ineffective on a number of fronts. The author of this article finds the concept of zero tolerance oddly out of place in a public school system and jarring to her sensibilities as an educator. She stresses that it is much more suited to the culture from which it came--the U.S. military, where conformity and control are paramount. Teachers recognize that children come from various cultures and backgrounds, with different parental and community influences, that each classroom of students has its own unique characteristics, and that these are to be appreciated, not squeezed into a common mould. Zero tolerance policies do the opposite; they fail to recognize individual differences and the context in which behaviour occurs. (Contains 5 notes.)