Bill Murphy

Richard Dube

Susan Reschny

Tamara Murray

Ted Amendt

About Richard Dube
Richard Dubé teaches K-8 music in inner city Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He has studied the Orff approach at the University of Saskatchewan and subsequently received his Masters Certification in Orff Shulwerk from the University of Alberta. Richard has completed his Level III in World Music Drumming with Dr. Will Schmid, his Level I in Drum Circle Facilitation with Arthur Hull, and HealthRhythms training with Dr. Barry Bittman and Music Therapist, Christine Stevens. Richard received his Masters in Curriculum Studies having researched the emotional and spiritual impact learning how to make and play a plastic version of the Native American Flute had on students at an urban Aboriginal high school. In 1995, Richard founded the volunteer based Heart of the City Piano Program that continues to provide piano lessons for over 500 at-risk children in cities across Canada. Richard founded the Circle of Peace in 2000 providing World Music Drumming for at-risk youth. Richard performs with the African drum ensemble Enije led by Ghanian Master Drummer Joseph Ashong. He also leads drum circles and team building sessions through World Music Drumming. In 2006, Richard was awarded the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal recognizing individuals who have made a significant volunteer contribution to their province and is a symbol of the pride and vision of Saskatchewan and its people. Most recently, Richard received the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association’s Excellence in Aboriginal Initiatives Award for 2007 for his work benefiting First Nations people. Richard is an ardent Music Advocate and works hard to promote quality music education for all Saskatchewan students. He believes that music helps us to connect to our emotions and the spirit within in a way that helps us to ground ourselves spiritually and emotionally, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling life. Richard’s most recent work involves engaging parents and their children together through a full day of making Northern Spirit Flutes at White Buffalo Youth Lodge in Saskatoon.

Richard Dube’s Research or Northern Spirts Flutes or Heart of the City

Richard Dube’s Abstract
This narrative inquiry explores how the “Songs of the Spirit” Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research.

Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students’ being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, “it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,” (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about “a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have” (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26).

The research findings indicate that the “Songs of the Spirit” curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in “vigilance mode” to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey.

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About Tamara Murray
Tamara’s career began in the Kinistino School Division, after her graduation from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992. She worked in a small school as the Learning Assistance and Release Teacher for children in grades 3 to 9. Tamara then returned to Saskatoon where she has taught primarily grades 5 to 8 for Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools. Currently, Tamara is teaching at an alternate school for youth in grades 6 to 9 who have experienced challenges with the structure of the regular school system.

Tamara’s experiences with teaching middle years students, combined with her experiences as a parent of children early in elementary school, prompted her to attend to the issues of homework within the family setting. She began her master’s program at the U of S in 2006 and she will complete it in 2008 with her narrative inquiry entitled, Parents’ Stories of Homework: What does it mean for children, parents and families?

Tamara is the mother of two sons. Jonah is nine years old and Elijah is seven years old. Both boys are actively involved in swimming and playing electric guitar. Tamara’s partner, Matthew, works for the City of Saskatoon and as primary caregiver to their sons. They currently have two pets: a bearded dragon named “Drake” and an Havanese dog named “Panda.” They also have a Bull Mastiff dog on the way.

In her limited spare time, Tamara finds her ‘zen’ through gardening, playing games with her children, baking, and reading many fantastic books. Because Tamara thrives on the excitement of learning new things, who knows what her future might hold!

Tamara Murray’s Abstract
The objective of this program of research was to listen to parents’ voices on homework with a focus on what homework means for their children, themselves and their families.  While, within this body of literature, there is consensus on a definition of homework, a multitude of studies on homework and its effect on academic achievement and the development of work habits, and an extensive body of literature on types of homework assignments, there are no qualitative studies on homework from parents’ perspectives. Within schools, teachers are positioned as knowing professionals and parents are positioned as helpers, who know less about the learning process.  Power and authority rest with educators who make decisions important to teaching and learning – decisions about homework policies and practices, for example – often with little or no parent input or participation.  Because teachers ask for little input from parents, parents rarely feel they can talk to teachers about their children’s experiences with homework and the resulting impact on their family.

Determining what knowledge parents hold about homework, how they feel about homework, how homework impacts their children, how homework impacts them as parents, and how homework impacts their families was the focus of this narrative inquiry. The parents’ stories highlight the non-academic benefits the parents believe exist for their children through their engagement with homework. They also bring to the fore the many reasons homework can be problematic for their children and for them as they attend to the individuality of their children and the complexity of their family lives. They raise important issues for educators to consider in relation to homework: the implications variations within families, schools, teachers, parents and students may have for homework policies and practices; the need for reciprocity in home/school communications, the development of equitable rather than hierarchical relationships between parents and educators, and a rethinking of systemic structures which lead to conformity rather than reform. Possibilities for changes in teacher education, both preservice and inservice; for a rethinking of policy and practice for both parents and educators; and for the direction of future research all emerge in this work.

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About Bill Murphy

Bill Murphy’s Abstract
In this thesis I have recorded the stories of lived experiences of three Mi’kmaw women who are parents of children I taught in a public elementary school. In our conversations, the three mothers speak of themselves as Aboriginal women, dealing with the school system their children attended. In these narratives I also share my stories of our working together in a successful partnership shaped around positive, inclusive, and respectful ways.

I begin the thesis with my personal introduction to parental inclusion in school as a new teacher in a small Northern Canadian Aboriginal community. My inquiry then opens up as I inquire into the positive and negative events in the lives of these three Mi’kmaw women as they story and inquire with me into their children’s interactions with schools.  The stories of these parents and of their encounters with schools are then laid alongside selected literature which stresses the importance of parental inclusion and participation in the school experiences of children.  It is also a literature set that informs readers about the extent of racism faced by Aboriginal parents as they struggle to defend their children against the bureaucratic focus on efficiency in most public schools. I conclude with a discussion of the possibilities for schools and for Mi’kmaw parents. These possibilities include working side by side, both on and off the landscape of school, toward the goals of providing positive learning experiences for Mi’kmaw youth and allowing parents to play an active participatory role.

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Ted is a dedicated educator who is passionate about community engagement. I have learned so much from him!

About Ted Amedt
Ted Amendt is Director of First Nations and Métis Education with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education.  His position has responsibilities for policy development, capacity-building, research, partnerships, and, programs.  His work in the Ministry has also included policy development in the areas of community engagement and community education.  Prior to this, Ted worked in a Saskatoon Community School, devoting much time to community engagement.  Ted has recently completed his thesis at the University of Saskatchewan for his Master of Continuing Education degree, on the topic of community engagement in schools.  Ted has over ten years of experience in the provincial education system as both a practitioner and policy-maker.  Ted is Métis and a proud single parent of his nine year-old son Joel.

Ted Amendt’s Abstract
A growing body of research demonstrates the links between parental involvement and students’ outcomes. Some benefits of this involvement include improved academic achievement, higher grades, increased attendance, and better social skills (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Dryfoos & Knauer, 2004; Coalition for Community Schools, 2003). Despite these benefits, many educators report challenges in engaging parents and community members within the school. The purpose of the research was to explore the processes two school staffs used to facilitate community engagement by utilizing community education practices and, within each individual site, compare to any increase in community engagement at the school.

Over the 2006-2007 school year, the researcher spent time connecting with staff members and parents at two schools – a suburban elementary school, and an inner-city community school.  Through observation, interviews with administrators, focus groups with parents, and focus groups with staff members, the researcher obtained information regarding staff members’ growth in community engagement, development of community education practices, and the impact of those practices on community engagement in the school. Through analysis of the data, the researcher identified themes, conditions for community engagement, and promising community education practices.

Data from observation, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated the importance of leadership, developing relationships with parents, creating a welcoming school environment, focusing staff development on community education, and creating opportunities for staff members and community members to come together, for community engagement to be successful. The research captured the importance of making beliefs and assumptions explicit, and identified how these beliefs can be helpful or harmful in engaging youth, families, and community members. The research study demonstrated that as staff members at Eagle Point School and Sunrise Community School increased their level of understanding of community education and created community education practices, they experienced greater community engagement in their respective schools.

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About Susan Reschny

Susan Reschny’s Abstract
This qualitative research study explored perceptions of parents who believe their child was bullied by a teacher. The definition used for this study was from McEvoy (2005),”a pattern of conduct, rooted in a power differential that threatens, harms, humiliates, induces fear, or causes emotional distress”(p. 1).

Three individual parent or parent partners were asked to share their stories about their perceived experiences with a bullying teacher. A number of questions guided this research: How do parents come to believe their child is being bullied by a teacher? What are the specific behaviours of the teacher that are perceived by parents as bullying? How do parents respond to their belief their child is being bullied by a teacher? What is the result of the parental response? What are the implications for teacher practice and education?

Themes and patterns were derived from the interview data using reflective analysis techniques. The data revealed parent participants came to the belief their child was being bullied by a teacher through their children’s stories, first impressions of the teacher, validation from others regarding their perceptions and their child’s physical and behavioural changes. Teacher bullying behaviours identified by the participants paralleled those discussed in the literature. Parents responded to their belief their children were being bullied by following understood school protocol and meeting with the teacher. When parents felt the teacher had employed power tactics, they were motivated to take further action. The participants’ past experience with schools, and power and authority perceptions also affected parental responses. Parents expressed feelings of guilt for not acting more quickly to safeguard their child. Parents reported the school communities did not directly address the teacher bullying issue.

Implications emerged for all stakeholders in the school community. For professional associations, school division administrators and board members the focus for change rests with a re-examination of bullying policy and professional codes of ethics. For school principals, symptoms of teacher bullying behaviours and teacher stress and may need more attention. For teachers, building relationships and presenting a professional and caring demeanor are significant considerations influencing parental perceptions. For parents, validation to action comes from listening to their children’s stories and recognizing the symptoms of teacher bullying. Validation and getting involved in their school community may prompt intervention.

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