Adult Learning in Aboriginal Community-based Inner-city Organizations

Dr. Jason Brown of the Faculty of Education, UWO, is the lead author of a report featured on the Canadian Council on Learning web site.

“The study was a participatory research project on the nature and experience of informal adult learning within community-based inner-city human service organizations from the perspectives of Aboriginal volunteers and staff members who are residents of the local community.”

Western Innovation Fund Announces Grant Recipients

The Western Innovation Fund grant recipients were announced today on Western’s Home Page. Congratulations to Immaculate Namukasa and George Gadanidis, both from the Faculty of Education on receiving funding for their work on Rich Online Mathematics Tasks: An Interactive Database.  

Other recent grant recipients from the Faculty are featured on the Faculty of Education research web pages.

Kehler’s Research Featured in London Free Press and UWO Homepage

Research currently underway by Dr. Michael Kehler, Faculty of Education, was featured in today’s London Free Press and on yesterday’s UWO Home Page. Co-investigators for the study are Dr. Kevin Wamsley, Faculty of Health Sciences and Dr. Michael Atkinson, University of Loughborough, U. K.

Excerpt from London Free Press story:

“Some young men are reluctant and anxious to participate in phys-ed. A young man told me the other day how awkward he felt when it came to phys-ed and that he didn’t feel physically adept,” Kehler said.

Male adolescents who show little interest in phys-ed don’t often talk about their experiences in the gymnasium or on the playing field because they’re afraid of getting labelled “feminine” or “gay,” Kehler said.

The results can be harmful — particularly in an era when obesity rates among adolescents are rising fast — because teens will feel discouraged about keeping active, he said.

Kehler said little research has been done on the role of gender in physical education, especially in boys.

He was awarded $111,000 yesterday by the Social Sciences Health Research Council to turn his pilot project at area Thames Valley schools into a national three-year study.

Other coverage: CanWest, Medical News Today

Edmund’s Book Featured in Annual Review of New Books by Western Faculty

Alan Edmund’s book, Special Education in Canada, co-authored by Gail Edmunds, is featured in this week’s edition of the Western News (on page 11).

…[Edmunds] and wife Gail use the power of storytelling in “Special Education in Canada” to tell the real-life stories of six children with exceptionalities. The stories outline the challenges of students with learning disabilities, behaviour disorders, intellectual disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities and those who are gifted and talented.

Alan is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education.

Centre for Inclusive Education’s First Newsletter

The Centre for Inclusive Education recently released its first newsletter.  The newsletter will be published twice a year. The first issue includes articles on last year’s conference, researcher profiles and descriptions of ongoing projects. Congratulations!

Bridges Project Featured by Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)

Helping women span the distance: the Bridges program
(From the Learning Link, CCL)

“For many adults, returning to school is not an easy process and is often fraught with feelings of inadequacy. For women living with abusive partners, the experience is often even more difficult.

That’s where the Bridges program, an innovative adult-learning program in London, Ontario, comes in.” Go to article

Principal Investigator of this project is Susan Rodger, Faculty of Education.

Alan Leschied comments on local youth violence

A story by Randy Richmond in the London Free Press (February 23, 2008) quoted Dr Alan Leschied, Faculty of Education.

Assault charges laid against a group of girls in London who swarmed two people three weeks ago underlies that new reality of violence in society, Alan Leschied, an expert in youth violence at the University of Western Ontario, said yesterday.
“We can’t just say, ‘Let girls be girls anymore,’ ” Leschied said. 
Girls are becoming more involved in violent crime each year, Leschied said, citing Statistics Canada reports.
“Boys tend to act alone and move on,” he said, but girls tend to play in, and manipulate, larger social groups.
If those groups move into bullying, large-scale physical violence can be the next step.

Virtual Math Contest - Dr. George Gadanidis

A February 8, 2008 story by Daniela Simunac on the front page of the London Free Press featured the Math Performance Festival spearheaded by Dr. George Gadanidis, Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario.

“The goal is to make math more appealing, a concept many math teachers have introduced into their curriculum….’Children don’t talk about math at home, or if they do, it’s usually in a negative light’, he [Dr. Gadanidis] said.

‘We want to show that math can be discussed with family and friends as you would a good book or a movie.’ Gadanidis said.”