Pushing Comfort Zones: Promoting Social Justice Through the Teaching of Aboriginal Canadian Literature

In this paper we highlight findings from a teacher inquiry group study designed to explore possibilities for teaching contemporary Canadian literature to promote issues of social justice in secondary classrooms. Drawing on Boler and Zembylas’s notion of a ‘pedagogy of discomfort’, our paper will focus on the experiences of two teachers in the group who, through the selection and teaching of two Aboriginal Canadian texts, moved away from well-established pedagogical practices. We explore the role of the inquiry group in supporting teachers in their attempts to problematize unquestioned assumptions and address the absences in their curricular practices and examine the potential of using Canadian literature to enhance students’ understanding of historical marginalizations and structural inequalities. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of our research for pre-service and in-service educators who face the challenges of teaching in increasingly diverse schools.     

Effects of School Experiences on Substance Use Among Canadian Children: The Power of the Circle of Friends

We used the Canadian data from the Cross-National Survey on Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children (HBSC) to examine the effects of school experiences on substance use among Canadian students, with seven measures on use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Multilevel data analyses with students nested within schools indicated an obvious increasing trend of substance use in each and every measure across grade levels (Grades 6 to 10). Students with low perception of their academic status and students from single-parent households were most likely to use alcohol and tobacco. Female students were more likely to use tobacco than male students. In comparison to student characteristics, substance use was much more strongly related to school experiences. Characteristics of schools in which students' substance use was minor can be described as (a) positive circle of friends, (b) positive sense of belonging to school, and (c) positive parental support. The circle of friends was the most important school-level variable that affected students' substance use across grade levels (Grades 6 to 10). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Real and perceived employability: a comparison among Italian graduates

The research undertaken for this article aims to analyse the correspondence between perceived employability and the actual national employment rate among Italian students and graduates undertaking different courses in a large Italian university. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 2087 students in 19 faculties, and compared with the national indicators of employment rate for each faculty. Using faculty as unit of analysis, the results indicated a significant correlation between participants’ perceived employability and national employment rate. This trend was similar for both genders. However, the results showed a difference between bachelor’s and master’s degrees: the correlation between perceived and actual employability was not significant among bachelor’s participants while it remained significant among master’s participants. The results suggest that graduates are only partially aware of their possibility to enter the labour market and this, in turn, highlights that universities have only partially met the goal to increase awareness about the chances of finding a job among students and graduates.