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.


 

Communities in DSpace

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Recent Submissions

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Educational and School Psychology in Newfoundland and Labrador: Current Practices and Preferred Roles
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2024-09) Peyton, Abigail R.
The study surveyed educational psychologists in Newfoundland and Labrador about their practice across the six core competencies outlined in the Mutual Recognition Agreement (2004), as well as their current and preferred roles. Results indicated that although participants engage in all competency areas, their practice is predominately focused on assessment. The findings suggest that the role of the educational psychologist in Newfoundland and Labrador has seen minimal change since Harris and Joy’s (2010) study. However, participants expressed a desire to expand their roles and allocate more time to intervention, consultation outside the educational system, and reviewing current research. The increasing emphasis on multi-tiered systems within schools provides an opportunity to better integrate mental health services, allowing educational psychologists to address the academic, behavioural, and mental health needs of children and youth more comprehensively.
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An examination of psychologists' assessment practices for learning disabilities in Nova Scotia
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2024-08) Kennedy, Ashley
Learning disabilities are prevalent among school-aged students, yet the practices of psychologists who carry out the assessments have not frequently been documented or examined in Canada. This study explored the practices used by school psychologists to diagnose learning disabilities in Nova Scotia. Sixty-one school psychologists participated by completing the multidimensional survey. A large proportion (39%) of participants endorsed diagnostic practices that aligned with the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada’s framework, which requires the measurement of intelligence and cognitive processes. The remaining participants' (61%) practices aligned better with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5); however, 57% of psychologists agreed that IQ tests should be a routine part of these assessments and 85% agreed that IQ tests provide qualitative information about how a student learns. Results showed that as psychologists had more positive endorsements of the usefulness of intelligence tests, and had higher beliefs concerning the biological causes of learning disabilities, they were less likely to follow practices most supported by current research as evidence-based. This study also found that psychologists reported using various methods to operationalize diagnostic reasoning at differing rates: intelligence-achievement discrepancy methods (13.1%), processing strengths and weaknesses methods (21.7%), response to intervention methods (63.3%), and low achievement methods (80.3%). Overall, it appears that psychologists are embracing more practices aligned with the evidence; however, intelligence tests seemingly continue to be used, or endorsed, in ways that do not align well with evidence.
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A Currere Journey Towards a Humanizing Curriculum: An Autobiographical Consideration of Culture and Disability
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2024-08) Jones, Leah M.
This thesis looks at how curriculum can take a humanizing approach through the lens of my own experiences and secondary literature. I specifically use Currere to journey along cycles of time exploring and discovering meaning relating to pedagogical approaches and curriculum theorizing. I use Currere to tell my story and detail my observations within the sphere of education. Using periods of time: past, present and future, I analyze how educators can approach curriculum with an eye towards humanization. I point to the need to acknowledge and embrace the diversity of students and the value of their experiences while being cautious to avoid negative sanctions and dehumanization through politically charged agendas. I discuss the hidden curriculum and its elements along with the need to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion into pedagogical considerations. I use the stages of Currere, namely regressive, progressive, analytic and synthetic to examine the elements of autobiographical curricular theorizing concluding with both pedagogical and personal considerations. The literature review contained herein discusses some of the key themes that arise during the regressive stage, specifically belonging, control, and loss. I discuss how I believe the education system can be incorporative rather than segregating and integrate the needs of diverse students from both a cultural and disability standpoint.
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Criminalization of Racialized Disabled Youth: A Thematic Content Analysis
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2024-07) Kaur, Cathleen
Youth incarceration in Canada has shown disparate trends. The overall crime rate for youth in Canada has decreased, while the number of Indigenous and visible minority youth within youth justice system has risen (Department of Justice, Canada, 2021). The youth at the intersections of disability and racialization are disproportionately represented among the incarcerated. However, there is a paucity of research on the lived experiences of those youth who are both racialized and disabled in prisons across Canada. This research engages an intersectional theoretical framework to critically analyze the narratives of young racialized and disabled prisoners in Ontario through a thematic content analysis of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario’s (DJNO) Prison Project datasets. The sampled datasets were analyzed to provide an in-depth understanding of the oppression within incarceration. The findings of this research reaffirm the overrepresentation of disabled and visible minority youth within the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the unique oppression of disabled, racialized prisoners in Canadian prisons is evident through the prevalence of ableism within the criminal justice system, subhuman and life-threatening conditions of incarceration for disabled, racialized prisoners and the compounding of the consequences of these identities in augmenting their marginalization. The prisons confine, pathologize, stigmatize and dehumanize racialized and disabled people and therefore, act as an extension of the institutions that disability rights movement fought to overthrow. This research speaks to fervent need for criminal justice practitioners to engage with the discourses of criminalization, racialization and ableism within incarceration experiences of prisoners from an intersectional lens.
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An examination of child developmental changes during a global pandemic from parents’ perspective
(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2024-07) Rector, Nicole
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted various aspects of life, including children's development. This study aimed to explore the pandemic's impact on children's language, communication, physical, and social-emotional development from the perspective of parents. It also examined perceived differences in impacts between neurotypical children and children with disabilities. Participants included parents of children aged 0-8 from the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Parents reported whether each developmental area was negatively, positively, or not impacted during the pandemic. Frequencies revealed that social and emotional development was the most negatively impacted area, with 45% of neurotypical children and 55% of children with disabilities affected. A chi-square analysis showed a weak association between disability status and both physical and social-emotional development and a moderate association with language and communication development. Qualitative analysis identified themes across developmental areas and differences between the two groups. Parents reported that increased family time improved language skills for neurotypical children and children with disabilities. Neurotypical children also saw academic gains from more home teaching. Both groups experienced stronger family bonds and greater independence at home, but reduced social opportunities led to higher anxiety, sadness, and social fear. Neurotypical children also had increased confidence and happiness from controlled social interactions. While neurotypical children engaged in more outdoor play, overall physical activity decreased for both groups due to halted recreational activities and increased screen time. The pandemic's impact was mostly negative on children's social and emotional development, indicating a need for support and intervention, especially from school psychologists.