Articles by author: Brock University

• Experiential education gets government boost

  Tuesday, May 08, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 7 May 2018 – R00098

  Brock University has received new funding to further its extensive programming in experiential education.

  The nearly $280,000 in annual funding from the Government of Ontario’s Career Ready Fund was announced on April 27 and will see the University implement additional efforts in several key programming areas of experiential learning. Funding has been allocated until Spring 2019.

  “As a leader in experiential learning, Brock has implemented countless opportunities across all of its Faculties, from creating escape rooms at a local military museum to surveying rock formations in the Canadian north,” said Cara Krezek, Director of Co-op, Career and Experiential Education.

  For Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Mitzie Hunter, the effect the funding can have on students is life-changing.

  “Ontario’s students are highly educated and incredibly talented, but without some work-related experience on their resumé, it can be challenging for them to land that first job after school,” she said. “With support from the Career Ready Fund, students and new graduates will gain the meaningful, real-world experience they need for a successful career start, and employers will have access to talent that can make an immediate impact on their success.”

  The new support allows Brock to bring in three additional staff members to enhance the experiential curriculum, assist students in accessing co-op opportunities and ensure the appropriate development of workplace-related skills.

  “By adding to our dedicated team of experiential learning specialists, we will continue to grow our programs and prepare our students to succeed in their studies and careers,” said Krezek.

  The funding will also directly assist students as they prepare to enter the workforce by creating new experiential opportunities in large first-year courses, providing innovative virtual-reality experiences in partnership with the Brock University library and weaving further opportunities throughout programs in every Faculty at Brock.

  “Our students are building skills and relevant experiences that relate to their field of study,” said Krezek. “The new funding will provide them additional tools to understand the skills and competencies they have learned, as well as teaching them how to convey those things to an employer in an interview, on a resumé or during a networking situation.”

  Faculty members will receive similar support from the Career Ready Fund. Beyond the previously mentioned additions in resources and staffing support on campus, additional funding will also be dedicated to encourage and support faculty to explore and implement programs online and internationally by partnering with stakeholders from other educational institutions, the Niagara region and around the world.

  “By increasing our experiential efforts, as well as student and faculty opportunities, Brock has created a focused and achievable plan for the Career Ready funding we have received,” said Krezek. “Our long-established legacy of experiential learning, combined with the ratification of experiential education definitions by our University Senate, has ensured our efforts continue to break new ground while also remaining sustainable.”

  Faculty members and community partners who are interested in accessing funding available through the Career Ready Fund grant are encouraged to visit Brock’s Co-op, Career and Experiential Education website.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• Many Ontario schools failing students who have an intellectual disability: report

  Friday, May 04, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 4 May 2018 – R00097

  New research by Brock University and Western University shows that public education in Ontario elementary and secondary schools is failing many students who have intellectual disabilities. This, despite recent developments in human rights and education law, as well as a shift in special education delivery and efforts to make schools more inclusive.

  The finding is one of many insights gained from the report “If Inclusion Means Everyone, Why Not Me?” released Friday, May 4 in Toronto. The launch of the report is the culmination of a year-long collaboration involving Community Living Ontario, Brock, Western, ARCH Disability Law Centre, Brockville and District Association for Community Involvement and Inclusive Education Canada.

  The report’s authors, including Brock Faculty of Education Professor Sheila Bennett, Western Professor Jacqueline Specht and Luke Reid, Staff Lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre, shared their conclusions with students of Ryerson University’s Disability Studies program Friday.

  Data was compiled from survey results of 280 parents or guardians of students who have an intellectual disability who were enrolled in Ontario’s public education system or who had graduated in the last five years. Subsequent in-depth interviews were conducted to gain a greater understanding of the students’ experiences in school, including academic, social and extracurricular opportunities, as well as various aspects of their relationships with the school.

  The survey results were grouped into five categories:

  • Academic and social barriers: 67 per cent of parents or guardians reported that students who have an intellectual disability often did not have access to the appropriate curriculum; 53 per cent said students did not have the proper academic accommodations to make the curriculum accessible to them; 62.7 per cent said students often did not participate in extracurricular school activities.
  • Exclusion: 45 per cent said students who have an intellectual disability were excluded from school or the classroom for disability-related reasons.
  • Conflict: 74 per cent of parents or caregivers reported high levels of conflict with schools or school boards and 56 per cent indicated they had very limited recourse to appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.
  • Planning and communication: 32 per cent of parents reported they did not feel they had been involved in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan, even though school boards have a legal obligation to consult with parents with respect to the development of an accommodation plan.
  • Leadership: Students who have an intellectual disability and their families were often dependent on the style, belief systems and interpretation of service delivery of school leadership.

  “Leadership by school officials was consistently identified as crucial to the quality of the education that students received according to the parents and caregivers we interviewed,” said Specht, Director of the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education, and Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western. “Parents frequently noted that school principals could have an especially profound effect on the school culture and the quality of their child’s education, and that good leadership at the administrative level was often crucial in conflict resolution.”

  The personal narratives of parents also highlighted the significant additional hardships that exclusion exerted on families and students.

  “Parents described the painful loss of educational and social opportunities their child experienced, as well as their own issues,” said Bennett. “This included loss of work time, enhanced stress levels, financial strain and frequent disruptions. It was clear from our work that exclusion was one of the most painful and trying instances for parents.”

  In addition, responses to the survey indicated that, in many ways, parents were equally dissatisfied with many aspects of their children’s education, in both inclusive and segregated placements.

  “Despite the general dissatisfaction, there were some notable benefits that accrued to students in more inclusive settings,” Bennett said. “For instance, students in inclusive settings were far more likely to be included in extracurricular and unstructured school activities, meaning that they had a much greater opportunity to socialize with their peers outside of the traditional classroom. It was also evident that students in an inclusive high school setting were far more likely to be enrolled in for-credit courses, allowing them to more fully reap the benefits of our education system.”

  The report concluded that significant reforms to the Education Act were needed, as well as a new strong and responsive education standard pursuant to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The report’s authors also encouraged the Government of Ontario and local school boards to undertake similar efforts to better understand the experiences and challenges of students who have disabilities generally.

  “The full inclusion of students who have an intellectual disability remains an unmet goal for our education system, even though school boards have clear obligations to ensure that students can fully access all the benefits of the education system,” said Reid.

  The report, “If Inclusion Means Everyone, Why Not Me?” is available online. A French version is available here.

  Sheila Bennett, Professor, Faculty of Education, Brock University, Jacqueline Specht Director, Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education Professor, Faculty of Education, Western University and Luke Reid, Staff Lawyer, ARCH Disability Law Centre are all available for interviews.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  * Ron Laroche, Director of Communications, Marketing and Fund Development, Community Living Ontario, rlaroche@communitylivingontario.ca, 416-707-4907

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  Categories: Media releases