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Title: Parent involvement in assessment for learning: improving parent involvement in schools
Contributors: April M. Zakresky (author), Andrew Kitchenham (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This action research study researched if parental involvement in schools would increase and a shift in mindsets about assessment practices would occur through teaching the Six Big Assessment for Learning Strategies (Network of Performance Based Schools, 2007) to parents, teachers, and students. Parents, teachers, and students were taught two of the Six Big Assessment for Learning Strategies monthly in September, October, and November. The study tracked the levels of parent involvement through the numbers in attendance at the Parent Assessment for Learning launches, and extracted themes and levels of agreement regarding views about assessment practices. Data were collected using different methods including: checklists, descriptive feedback from public meetings, semi-structured and focussed group interviews, and surveys. The results of this study suggest that parent involvement in the school will continue to increase in the future and that shift in mindsets about assessment practices has occurred in parents, teachers, and students through teaching the Six Big Assessment for Learning Strategies. --P. ii.
Discipline: Education
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:04:19.955Z

Title: Elementary school counsellors' perceptions of their role with families
Contributors: Jennifer Vivienne Martha Ritchie (author), Paul Madak (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Elementary school counsellors (ESC) play a crucial role in facilitating partnerships between family and school. lbis study explores ESCs' perceptions of their role with families. lbis qualitative, inductive research utilizes a descriptive/ exploratory approach. The participants were four ESCs, with backgrounds in teaching, and elementary school counselling, working in elementary schools within one school district in the Northern British Columbian public school system. Data were obtained using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data analysis processes included: sorting, coding, categorizing, and memoing. The participants discussed a number of ways of working with families to promote the child's progress in school. A variety of role and family related challenges emerged from the participants' discussions. Strategies to address these challenges are explored. Findings from this study indicated that ESCs use consultation processes to work in partnership with families, and with the child, to support the child's positive academic and social development.
Discipline: Education-Counselling
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:15:17.723Z

Title: Mother-daughter communicative relationships during adolescence and early adulthood.
Contributors: Capreece S. Bowers (author), Sherry Beaumont (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This thesis examined communication patterns of mothers and daughters of two age groups (adolescents, ages 12 through 16, 'n' = 24; and, young adults, ages 20 through 35, 'n' = 21). Mother-daughter dyads participated in discussions about five hypothetical issues and completed self-report measures of mother-daughter relationship conflict. Conversations were audiotaped and coded for rates of overlaps between speaking turns, simultaneous speech, and successful interruptions. It was hypothesized that there would be greater differences in the conversational styles of adolescent daughters and their mothers as compared to adult daughters and their mothers, and the magnitude of conversational style differences would be positively related to perceptions of relationship conflict. Results partially supported the hypotheses. The predicted differences in mothers and daughters conversation styles as a function of age were found. However, findings did not support the hypothesis that conversational style differences would predict perceptions of relationship conflict.
Discipline: Psychology
Date added: 2017-03-30T16:59:42.161Z

Title: Integrated case management : a preliminary study to determine what helps and what hinders - the parent perspective
Contributors: Victor J. Gladish (author), Trudy Mothus (Thesis advisor), Corinne Koehn (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This preliminary study explored what helped and hindered the Integrated Case Management Care Team process from the parents' perspective. The researcher conducted 8 semi-structured interviews with 10 parents of children who have had an ICM Care Team within the past 3 years. The data was analyzed using Flanagan's (1954) Critical Incident Technique (CIT). In striving to meet modern standards for the CIT (Butterfield, Borgen, Amundson, & Maglio, 1005), several procedures were used to examine the reliability and validity of the categories. One hundred eighteen incidents were found to be helpful in achieving the aims of the Care Team, while 60 were found to be hindering in achieving those aims. A total of 8 categories and 15 subcategories became the organizational scheme of the data. A majority of the incidents are represented by these categories: (a) Structure and Function of the Team (b) Outcomes (c) The Team Members (d) Communication and (e) Cultural Issues. As in previous studies (e.g., Rutman, Hubberstey, Hume, & Tait, 1998), communication was found to be a vital aspect of ICM. An overarching these that emerged is that parents value the care team process and the commitment that the members demonstrate towards their children. However they also all expressed concerns with the agencies providing services to children and with the school system - and this often was related to budgets, power, and bureaucracy. Several helpful hints for successful Care Teams are provided. The parents in this study emphasized that they need to feel valued and respected as members of their child's Care Team. Moreover, they stated that this is achieved when they are involved in decision making, when they are treated as equal to other team members, and when they are regarded as being an expert on their own child.--Page iii.
Discipline: Education-Counselling
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:12:30.523Z

Title: Pain reactivity and illness behaviour in kindergarten-aged children
Contributors: Elizabete Rocha (author), Ken Prkachin (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Little is known about the factors that influence pain and somatization in young children. This study tested a proposed model to examine the predictors of pain reactivity and illness behaviour in children. A sample of 157 kindergarten aged children requiring routine inoculation and their mothers participated. To assess the prediction that mothers' sensitivity to variations in facial pain expressions would influence children's pain reactivity, mothers watched and rated 12 video clips of facial pain expressions. Next, children's responses to inoculation were videotaped and coded for pain reactivity using the Facial Action Coding System. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing: their child's previous experience with medical procedures, family history of pain, parental encouragement of illness behaviour (Illness Behavior Encouragement Scale}, level of somatic complaints (Children's Somatization Inventory}, and temperament (Behavioral Style Questionnaire). A multiple regression examining the predictors of pain reactivity was significant, F(6, 151 ) = 4.1, p < .001. Children's temperament and experience with previous medical procedures were significant predictors. A multiple regression examining the predictors of illness behavior was significant, F(3, 154) = 2.6, p <.05. Pain reactivity was the only significant predictor. These findings suggest that continued consideration be given to the role of children's previous experiences with medical procedures and temperamental style in response to painful stimuli. Moreover, because pain reactivity was significantly related to illness behaviour, interventions designed to minimize non-adaptive pain response in children who exhibit extreme reactivity may lead to decreased somatization. Results are discussed in terms of future research directions and clinical implications.
Discipline: Psychology
Date added: 2017-04-11T21:17:24.048Z

Title: Exploring the connection between parental trait anxiety and adolescent emotional intelligence.
Contributors: Shirley Giroux (author), Andrew Kitchenham (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Parental anxiety and emotional intelligence (EI), while peripherally linked in the research literature, have rarely (if ever) been tested for a direct relationship. This thesis involved research that established a link between those two constructs. To make that connection, quantitative data was collected using the Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i:YV) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to link parental self-reports of trait anxiety with their Grade 10 children's self-reports of EI. Additionally, a demographic survey was utilized to compare differences in STAI and EQ-i:YV score across a variety of groups. The findings indicated the possibility of a relationship between parental trait anxiety and adolescent EI as confirmed by the finding of a correlation between increased levels of parental trait anxiety and diminished stress management abilities. Additional findings included strong suggestions that less-anxious parents spend more time with their children and also have children with higher scores on many (most) of the EQ-i:YV scales, indicating that those children that share more than three meals a week and generally spend more time with their caregivers have stronger EI abilities. --P. ii.
Discipline: Education-Counselling
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:10:50.233Z

Title: Kindergarten readiness: a handbook for parents
Contributors: Carlie Painter (author), Andrew Kitchenham (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Parents of children entering Kindergarten are anxious and eager to help their children prepare for this major milestone in life, however many are unapprised of the best methods to assist. They focus heavily on academic preparedness such as reading, writing, and mathematics, and do not consider preparing their children socially, emotionally, and physically. This project describes my development of a Kindergarten readiness handbook for parents, applying my personal experience as a Kindergarten teacher as well as qualitative content analysis to analyze the literature on early learning and other parent handbooks and resources. The handbook deals with five domains of Kindergarten readiness: social-emotional development, motor skills development, language and literacy development, self-care, and family and school partnerships. Along with information about these four domains, the handbook offers suggestions and strategies for parents to support their children with the transition to Kindergarten. This easy-to-understand handbook offers parents a concreate resource to help guide their children's journey to formal schooling. --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Education-Special Education
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:27:22.75Z

Title: Off track to 2050?: a study of present and future interurban transportation emissions in British Columbia, Canada, relative to its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act of 2007
Contributors: Moritz Alexander Schare (author), Ken Wilkening (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) emissions from transportation contribute to anthropogenic climate change and are expected to increase significantly in the future. CO\u2082 emission inventories exist for various transportation modes at the global scale, but are rare at the subnational scale and even rarer for interurban (versus urban) transportation. In this dissertation, I present a detailed analysis of CO\u2082 emissions and emission factors for interurban transportation for the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, and an analysis of a wide variety of emission scenarios for BC\u2019s interurban transportation system, comparing modelled emissions to the 2020 and 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets set by the province\u2019s 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act. Nine modes of transportation were included: passenger (private vehicles, ferries, aviation, intercity buses, trains) and freight (trucking, marine, rail, aviation). Annual CO\u2082 emissions from BC interurban transportation were approximately 11.2 Mt CO\u2082 in 2013, of which freight trucking was the greatest contributor with 48.5% of total CO\u2082 emissions. The second largest contributor was private vehicles (17.1% of total CO\u2082 emissions), while the third largest contributor was marine freight (16.8% of total CO\u2082 emissions). Of 106 scenarios modelling future changes to the interurban transportation system, only 15 were able to meet BC\u2019s 2050 emission reduction target, and only two were able to meet both the 2020 and 2050 targets (assuming interurban transportation had to meet the same emission reductions as prescribed for the economy as a whole). Only scenarios with the highest reduction rates were able to meet the reduction targets, and with every passing year, meeting them becomes more challenging.
Discipline: Natural Resources & Environmental Studies
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:30:19.143Z

Title: The long-term relational impacts of child sexual abuse by a parent
Contributors: Bernadette Ridley (author), unknown unknown (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia College of Arts, Social, and Health Sciences (Degree granting institution), unknown unknown (Committee member)
Abstract: This qualitative autoethnographic research study examines the long-term relationship impacts of child sexual abuse (CSA) by parent. Using snowball sampling seven resilient women were recruited for this research. From an autoethnographic and feminist perspective the researcher shares her personal story of CSA in solidarity with the seven women participants. Through semi-structured interviews the women contributors gave deep and rich relational personal her/stories about being sexually abused by their fathers. Using a “six-phase” model of thematic analysis, member checking, and qualitative transparency, two over-arching themes, and eight subthemes emerged from the data. Finally, through this research study it was apparent there needs to be more research about the understudied long-term relational impacts of being sexually abused by a parent and the mother’s and families role in colluding with the perpetrator.
Discipline: Social Work
Date added: 2017-05-15T16:28:30.718Z

Title: Screening for success: Evaluating reliability for a screening tool for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in adulthood.
Contributors: Chantelle Wilson (author), Cindy Hardy (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Psychology
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:02:43.823Z

Title: Exploring parental engagement at a Yukon high school
Contributors: Tyler Bradford (author), Peter MacMillan (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This study employed a mixed methods research design to investigate parental engagement at a Yukon high school. The purpose of this study was to explore what strategies this Yukon high school was employing to ensure parental involvement in their children's high school education what current strategies parents found most effective and what strategies parents would like to see to help them become more involved in their children's high school education. Parents were first invited to complete a survey and had the opportunity to opt-in to the interview portion of the study. Following the analyses of the quantitative and qualitative data the combined results of the study were used to prepare recommendations for the Yukon Department of Education and High School principals across the territory containing recommendations to assist schools to involve parents in a meaningful way, thus implementing Article 18 of the Education Act. --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Education-Multidisciplinary Leadership
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:22:02.116Z

Title: Concerns of French immersion parents in supporting their children's learning at home
Contributors: Belinda Grace Harrison (author), Paul Madak (Thesis advisor), Colin Chasteauneuf (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Education
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:16:51.858Z

Title: Parents appreciating their adult children with Down syndrome
Contributors: Susanne Muirhead (author), Glen Schmidt (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract avaialble.
Discipline: Education-Counselling
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:10:37.91Z

Title: An investigation into the needs of parents with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Contributors: Velma Abraham (author), Cindy Hardy (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Psychology
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:01:36.711Z

Title: Parents' perceptions on learning in a rural school
Contributors: Linda Madeline Rummel (author), Paul Madak (Thesis advisor), Colin Chasteauneuf (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Education
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:17:32.519Z

Title: Rainbow families: Cross-cultural adoption and the best interests of the child.
Contributors: Nicole M. Hemstad-Leete (author), Si Transken (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Adoption is a process where people who are not biologically related to each other come together to create a family. When parents adopt children whose ethnicity is other than the parents, this is known as cross-cultural adoption. There are many people who believe that culture and ethnicity are the most important factors in determining whether children should be adopted, stating that children should only be adopted into families who share the same ethnicity and culture. Cross-cultural adoption can and does create families and is one such alternative that presents an option which provides permanency for children. It is in the child's best interest to be raised in a family rather than in foster care. Borrowing from the grounded theory approach, using snowball sampling, comparative data, ethnography and thematic analysis, this study will examine the experiences of families formed through cross-cultural adoption. As a parent to four children who joined my family through cross-cultural adoption, my lived experiences are woven throughout the thesis through the process of auto-ethnography. Final analysis confirm that cross-cultural adoption can and does work when children are encouraged to learn about their culture and ethnicity, are taught to be proud of their heritage and history, and have been encouraged to hold themselves in high regard.
Discipline: Social Work
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:05:23.47Z

Title: A parent handbook for parents of French immersion students
Contributors: Maxine Champion (author), Andrew Kitchenham (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Parents who have chosen a French immersion education for their children, at times, feel unable to help their children at home or feel that they may unknowingly negatively affect their children's learning by doing activities in English. This project is the creation of a parent handbook for these parents. This project was focussed on giving parents suggestions, strategies, and ways to support their children with their homework and with their overall learning. Through the use of content analysis of five other parent handbooks, this handbook was created. Parent involvement in their children's education is an important positive influence on the achievement of all children. With this handbook, parents of French immersion students have been given concrete, easy to use ways to involvement themselves in their children's learning. --Leaf ii.
Discipline: Education
Date added: 2017-04-10T22:07:12.102Z

Title: Mental health of children from divided families.
Contributors: Skye A. Perry (author), Glen Schmidt (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: Most divorce literature found negative effects for children, yet recent research implies psychosocial-economic determinants are more problematic for the development of mental illness, with positive outcomes for some children. Unmarried unions are excluded from past research, and northern rural issues are absent from the limited Canadian studies. This study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches in the content analysis of case files at a children's mental health centre in northern British Columbia. ... A high prevalence of children from separated parents was found, yet adjustment was the only mental health problem significantly associated with this group, with few gender differences. Single mother households and blended families, experiencing multiple stressors, were common. --P.ii.
Discipline: Social Work
Date added: 2017-03-30T17:03:28.714Z

Title: Telling a different story: Implications of contructivism for the counselling of parents of children labelled with disabilities.
Contributors: Jay Alan Goddard (author), Ron Lehr (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: No abstract available.
Discipline: Education-Counselling
Date added: 2017-03-29T17:31:13.541Z

Title: Tiny specks in microscopes: the impact of human service workers on the lives of parents with intellectual disabilities
Contributors: Jacqueline Harper (author), Gordon Ternowetsky (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
Abstract: This exploratory study used grounded theory methodology to examine the interactions between human service workers and parents with intellectual disabilities. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 parents. These parents were all receiving voluntary, formal support services. The findings of this study indicated that parents recognized that they needed voluntary, formal support services to manage some aspects of their lives. Other findings indicated, however, that support was not always viewed as being beneficial. Human service workers were often perceived as social control officers. A number of mechanisms such as coercion and blaming were used to maintain social control. The social control parents experienced led them to feel a sense of hopelessness about their situations which resulted in parents inventing new ways to adjust or adapt to their situations.
Discipline: Social Work
Date added: 2017-04-11T21:16:10.079Z