Graduate Theses
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- ItemA Scoping Review of the Mental Health Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Newcomber Children and Youth in Canada(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-05) Thompson, Kerry AnnThe COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, disrupted the daily lives of children and youth globally. It posed an unprecedented threat to their mental health due to the quarantine orders, the death of family members, and the disruptions in the economy. Studies have shown that the global prevalence of mental illness amongst children and youth increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet little is known about the research exploring the effects of the pandemic on one of the most precarious populations of minors: immigrant children. This scoping review aims to map and explore the scope and depth of the research literature relating to the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on newcomer children and youth in Canada. The researcher scoped literature written in English in Canada from March 2020 to fall 2024. A comprehensive search of ten (10) databases produced one hundred and forty-three (143) possible studies to be scoped. Fifteen (15) duplicate copies were removed, and another one hundred and sixteen (116) were removed for other reasons. After the inclusion and exclusion process was applied, one study met the criteria for scoping. Three themes emerged from this scoping review: Economic Support, Resilience, and Social Support, with sub-themes: r food insecurity, adaptation, resourcefulness, the collapse of the economy, and assimilation and acculturation. The findings indicate that there is a glaring lack of research on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on newcomer children and youth in Canada. The lack of relevant literature on this topic and the negative impacts of the epidemic on newcomer children and youth mental health in Canada related in the lone study, underscores the need for further research on the topic.
- ItemUnderstanding Early Years Educators’ Perspectives on Imaginative Weapons Play(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-04) Paulino-Liscano, Tara CamillePlay is a child’s inherent right as emphasized in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The value of play is reinforced in Articles 28 and 29, stating that play is indispensable in children’s development as it fosters agency and learning. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013) underscored the importance of children’s play as it “promotes the development of creativity, imagination, self-confidence, self-efficacy, as well as physical, social, cognitive, and emotional strength and skills” (p. 17). Play should also be pleasurable and enjoyable for children when interacting with their peers and adults (Lansdown, 2022). Adult’s involvement in children’s play enables them to obtain a better understanding from a child’s point of view (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2013). Imaginary play is beneficial to children as they create meaning out of their lived experiences by taking on a role, creating their own rules and rehearsing story lines (Burris and Tsao 2002). However, adults’ hierarchization of play (Heikkilä, 2021), especially when the play does not conform to curriculum standards and Imaginaries of a child (Rosen, 2015), tend to be curtailed by the teachers (Delaney, 2016). This research will explore the perspectives of educators on imaginative weapons play.
- ItemParents’ Perceptions of Their Involvement in the Specialized Support Their Autistic Children Receive in Nova Scotia, Canada(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-04) Mora, WilsonThe specialized support offered to autistic children during their early years, along with their families, has experienced considerable transformations over the past decade. The approach behind specialized support has shifted from a traditional paradigm rooted in biomedical knowledge to one emphasizing the family capacity-building paradigm. In practical terms, services are evolving from a professional-centered framework to a family-centered approach. This qualitative study aimed to explore parental experiences regarding their involvement in services that provide support to autistic children in Nova Scotia. A total of four parents of autistic children under the age of six participated in an online semi-structured interview. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted, identifying four categorical themes: involvement in programming and decision-making, barriers experienced by families, and opportunities in specialized autism services. The findings provided valuable insights into the role of parents of autistic children navigating autism services in Nova Scotia. Parents described their experiences in navigating services with minimal involvement, wherein practitioners assumed the leadership and guidance of the decision-making process. Moreover, parents reported several challenges in accessing and navigating specialized services, which were particularly heightened for one parent living in a rural area of Nova Scotia. Parents shared significant insights and strategies for actively engaging in services to support their autistic children during early childhood. Thus, the perspectives of parents are crucial for the formulation of high-quality services tailored to the unique realities faced by each family with an autistic child.
- ItemPrying into the Cavities: An Abolition Feminist Archival Inquiry of the 2015 Dalhousie Dentistry Restorative Justice Process(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-04) Yao, XinyuIn 2014, the “Dalhousie Dentistry scandal” erupted with the public’s discovery of a series of misogynistic and homophobic postings within a private Facebook group featuring only male Dentistry students. In response, Dalhousie University deployed a months-long restorative justice (RJ) process involving the group members and other Dentistry students. The process elicited mixed responses within the University and the broader community. This thesis delves back into the competing discourses from an abolition feminist perspective, ten years after the incident. The goal of this critical archival inquiry is to complicate a “plausible history” (Enke, 2018) regarding the institutionalization of RJ, especially its use as a gender violence response. Using Ahmed’s (2021) method of “hearing with a feminist ear”, the thesis evaluates from documents produced by the Dalhousie University administration, Dalhousie University students, the news media, and local feminist activists. Through its examination of public, media and institutional discourses, the project seeks to understand the contradictions and tensions that emerge as practices from grassroots movements are adopted by neoliberal institutions.
- ItemYouths’ Everyday Morality: Understanding the Role of Values and Emotions in a Mixed Methods Study(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-04) Wong Garcia, Nicole JenniferThis study explores how emotional intensity, and values relate to different types of everyday moral judgments in youths. A total of 81 participants, aged 16 to 24, completed an online survey which consisted of 3 measures: 4 videos for two types of moral dilemmas (2 for Care/Fairness, and 2 for Authority) from Moral and Affective Film Set (MAAFS) (McCurrie et al., 2018), items from the self-transcendence and conservation subscales of the Portrait Values Questionnaire [PVQ] (S. H. Schwartz et al., 2001), and emotional reactivity measures through 5 video stimuli. The youths provided quantitative and qualitative information for this study. Emotional intensity was found to predict Care/Fairness moral situations, whereas conservation values were found to predict Authority-related transgression. Qualitative responses highlighted different themes that relate to moral foundations, like harm, unfair advantage, and disrespect to others. On the other hand, the themes of normalizing behavior or how fair it is to judge the actions of the characters gave us a further understanding of youth’s everyday morality. Finally, ambiguity was identified in the reasoning of the young people, since some condemned an action, while others justified it, thus evidencing the complexity of their moral evaluation.