MSVU e-Commons
The MSVU e-Commons is the institutional repository for Mount Saint Vincent University. It allows MSVU faculty, students, and staff to store their scholarly output, including theses and dissertations. Works in the e-Commons have permanent URLs and trustworthy identifiers, and are discoverable via Google Scholar, giving your work a potential local and global audience.
In addition to free storage, the e-Commons provides Mount scholars with an open access platform for disseminating their research. Depositing your work in the e-Commons complies with the requirements for open access publication of work supported by Tri-Agency funding (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC).
If you would like to deposit your work in the e-Commons, or you have any questions about institutional repositories, copyright, or open scholarship, please contact the MSVU Library & Archives.
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Alexa McDonough Institute for Women, Gender, and Social Justice Celebrating Writing Week Department of Applied Human Nutrition Department of Biology Department of Business Administration and Tourism Department of Chemistry Department of Child and Youth Study Department of Communication Studies Department of English Department of Family Studies and Gerontology Department of History Department of Mathematics Department of Modern Languages Department of Political & Canadian Studies Department of Psychology Department of Sociology & Anthropology Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management Department of Women and Gender Studies Faculty of Education Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection This is a collection of essays MSVU students have written using source texts from MSVU Library's Lesbian Pulp Fiction Collection.Library MSVU Art Gallery MSVU Senate MSVU Theses Nancy's Chair in Women's Studies Open Educational Resources SE space/L’Espace ES
Recent Submissions
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Experience of Food Insecurity and Cultural Foodways: A Case Study with Newcomer Mothers from Nigeria Living in Urban Nova Scotia
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025) Oyagbohun, Adeola Victoria
Background: Household food insecurity (HFI) disproportionately affects recent newcomers to Canada. Rates are even higher among households with children and those of African descent, with race and migration status amplify vulnerability. Monitoring of HFI at the population level, however, does not capture access to culturally appropriate food. Understanding how disruptions in cultural foodways affects the experience of HFI among racialized newcomers is of particular concern for
urban communities such as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Nova Scotia, where newcomers exceed a third of the population.
Research Question: This study explored how and why changes in cultural foodways impact the food security of newcomer Nigerian mothers with young children living in urban Nova Scotia. It specifically aimed to examine how changes in food practices affect mothers’ immediate food security situation and their long-term ability to maintain their cultural food identity.
Methods: An exploratory qualitative multi-case study design was used for this study. Six Nigerian mothers who had lived in HRM for five years or less, had young children, and had experienced food insecurity were purposively recruited as the “cases”. Data were collected using a participatory approach that included semi-structured individual interviews with two of the six participants as lead participant researchers, and subsequently two small group (n=3) workshops where participants
prepared and shared a traditional Nigerian meal together and participated in facilitated group discussions. Data organization and thematic analysis were supported by MAXQDA 24 software and informed by the Dietary Transition Trajectories Framework and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory.
Findings: Participants' experiences of food insecurity were shaped by precarious employment, the rising cost of living, high prices of cultural foods, and limited access to culturally appropriate food sources. Mothers adopted coping strategies such as bulk purchasing, ingredient substitutions, travelling long distances for food, and collaborative buying networks. Although some used food banks, the lack of culturally appropriate options often reinforced feelings of exclusion, stigma, shame,
and helplessness. Emotional impacts included anxiety, guilt, and concerns about children being disconnected from their cultural roots and developing unhealthy eating habits. While some mothers gradually integrated Canadian foods into their diets, others remained strongly attached to traditional foodways, highlighting the deep link between food, cultural identity, and emotional well-being.
Implications: This study advances understanding of how changes in cultural foodways intersect with food insecurity for racialized newcomer mothers with young children, and their families. It highlights the need for theoretical models of food insecurity to better account for cultural food access and identity preservation. Future research should explore the experiences of children and other racialized newcomer groups in culturally disrupted food environments and examine the role of immigration,
settlement and employment status on the experience of food security. Supporting culturally meaningful food access is crucial for fostering inclusive food systems and communities, and to promote successful newcomer settlement and well-being.
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Sharing Stories, segment III: Future Hopes
(Nutrition Standards in Child Care Project, 2017) Mann, Linda; Rossiter, Misty; Kelly, Erin
Nova Scotia has long been concerned about the health and welfare of young children in child care centres. However, with increasing rates of chronic disease in the province and more knowledge about the influences on the development of healthy eating behaviours, change to the way we support young children is needed. In 2007, the province embarked on a revision of the regulations and guidelines that promote healthy eating in regulated child care settings. This video tell the stories we heard and represent to us a reminder that, although we may individually support young children in different ways as they learn to eat, we are all trying to achieve the same thing; to help children grow up with a healthy relationship with food that will last them a lifetime!
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Sharing Stories, segment II: Challenging Moments
(Nutrition Standards in Child Care Project, 2017) Mann, Linda; Rossiter, Misty; Kelly, Erin
Nova Scotia has long been concerned about the health and welfare of young children in child care centres. However, with increasing rates of chronic disease in the province and more knowledge about the influences on the development of healthy eating behaviours, change to the way we support young children is needed. In 2007, the province embarked on a revision of the regulations and guidelines that promote healthy eating in regulated child care settings. This video tell the stories we heard and represent to us a reminder that, although we may individually support young children in different ways as they learn to eat, we are all trying to achieve the same thing; to help children grow up with a healthy relationship with food that will last them a lifetime!
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Sharing Stories, segment I: Amusing and Enjoyable Moments
(Nutrition Standards in Child Care Project, 2017) Mann, Linda; Rossiter, Misty; Kelly, Erin
Nova Scotia has long been concerned about the health and welfare of young children in child care centres. However, with increasing rates of chronic disease in the province and more knowledge about the influences on the development of healthy eating behaviours, change to the way we support young children is needed. In 2007, the province embarked on a revision of the regulations and guidelines that promote healthy eating in regulated child care settings. This video tell the stories we heard and represent to us a reminder that, although we may individually support young children in different ways as they learn to eat, we are all trying to achieve the same thing; to help children grow up with a healthy relationship with food that will last them a lifetime!
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African Nova Scotian Dream Keepers: Culturally Responsive Teaching and Promising Practices
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025) Morrison, Martin A.
The systemic educational inequities experienced by African Nova Scotian learners have been well documented over the years. The Nova Scotia government’s acknowledgment and institutional responses to these inequities, have so far failed to address the persistence of the disproportionate representation of African Nova Scotian learners scoring low on provincial student performance assessments, and high in school suspensions. This study explored two research questions: (1) How are teachers of students of African ancestry culturally responsive? and (2) What are the fundamental characteristics and approaches to culturally responsive pedagogy in the context of the history and experiences of people of African ancestry in Nova Scotia? It relied on a qualitative methodology informed by principles embedded in critical ethnographic studies. My methods included consultation with the African Nova Scotian community to identify teachers who are culturally relevant and responsive to the needs of African Nova Scotian learners, and who have championed promising practices and approaches. I conducted one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with four African Nova Scotian and six white teachers using anti-racist, Africentric and culturally relevant and responsive lenses to analyze the data. Decolonialism and critical race theory were applied in the literature review to help analyze and better understand the Nova Scotian context. My study relied on the expertise of African Nova Scotian community members through community consultations to indicate which teachers they understand to be culturally relevant and responsive to the needs of African Nova Scotian learners. My findings reveal that research participants generally prioritized: (1) the value of growth and learning to academic success, (2) the necessity of creating safer learning environments so students can bring their full selves into the classroom, while practicing the ability to communicate across their differences effectively, and (3) the importance of teaching students to critically reflect on the ways systems preserve the human rights and dignity of every individual, and to take appropriate actions when they do not. In terms of characteristics, the participants demonstrated an ability to empathize with students, which inspired an internalized commitment to their students’ social, emotional, cultural, and academic needs. The research participants were able to develop meaningful and authentic relationships with their students and community. They were able to focus on students’ well-being based on the needs identified through the relationship and improve their ability to become better equipped to respond to their students’ academic, social, emotional, and cultural needs through an ongoing commitment to teaching and learning. The interaction and overlapping of these findings model the type of allyship required to respond to the inequities experienced by racialized learners. This dissertation concludes with recommendations for Bachelor of Education programs, in-service teachers, and the education system in general.