In this brief, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) welcomes new Minister of Education, the Honourable Jennifer Whiteside. The purpose of the brief is to provide context and recommendations for action on key issues of concern in the BC public education system. It brings together in one place many of the BCTF's concerns and proposals…

This study examines employee perspectives of leader behavior to better understand how these perspectives influence and shape employee work experiences. Creating empowering work environments in today's workplace is an ongoing challenge for leaders and managers. Research has shown that leaders who work to build interpersonal relationships with…

This qualitative case study was designed to explore how student services leaders adapted their leadership behaviors and practices in response to moving to the virtual working environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case study site was a midsized university in southwestern Ontario. The data collected for the study came from three sources:…

Given contemporary attention to diversity and inclusion on Canadian university campuses, and given human rights protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, it is tempting to believe that marginalization is a thing of the past for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) academics. Our qualitative study (n = 8), focusing on…

Although prior research reveals varying levels of inequality in post-secondary attainment for individuals with disabilities, vocational education and training (VET) appears to be more accessible for this group in Canada. Measures of accessibility become more complex, however, when they consider a bidirectional relationship that emphasizes…

Mandatory continuing professional education is accepted across many professions as a re-credentialing mechanism to maintain professional competency. Self-directed learning is a widely recognized type of learning to meet mandatory continuing professional education requirements. The nature and characteristics of self-directed learning has been…

Work-integrated learning (WIL) affords students opportunities to apply skills and knowledge to practical work placements. Students potentially learn professional behaviours appropriate to their chosen industry sector. However, students may also face challenges they may not be prepared to navigate. One of these is gender bias due to assumptions…

This article presents a study about the impact of COVID-19 on childcare center educators in Quebec (Canada). Regulated childcare services were closed due to the pandemic between March 16 and May 31, 2020, in areas considered "hot" (highly affected by the pandemic). During this time, some centers were transformed into "emergency…

The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of employees' affective commitment to an organization. In doing this, we examined the influence of individual work experience and the social relationship it embraced. Three predictors were examined: internal-motivation to remain, job challenge, and workload. All three were significant and…

This paper investigates the language fluency problems of skilled immigrants from mainland China to Canada. It capitalises on interview data to explore the relationships between Chinese immigrants' identities, second language practices, and language skills. It reports the informants' difficulty in integrating into their workplaces and their…

Newcomers to Canada with low proficiency in English or French often face challenges in the workforce (Kustec, 2012). While language classes provide workplace language training, not all newcomers are able to attend face-to-face classes (Shaffir & Satzewich, 2010), suggesting a need for outside the classroom, occupation-specific language…

We tested four proposed dimensions of a Culture Conducive to Women's Academic Success (CCWAS; i.e., supportive leadership, freedom from gender bias, equal access to opportunities, and support for work-life balance) on a sample of women faculty from Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering (NSE) departments/units. The results of our serial and…

From the perspective of newcomers to Canada, using English as an additional language (EAL), this study explores how newcomers' interlocutors might impede workplace communication. Six participants speaking EAL and with a variety of language backgrounds shared their workplace experiences. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured…

For racialized academics, life in the academy can be marred by racial violence that leaves them caught between their commitment to their craft, desire for educational attainment and development, and the mental anguish that can dominate their existence. Drawing from experiences of the author and other Black faculty members in Canadian tertiary…

Neoliberal discourse dominated education policy for decades and fueled reform movements with lasting effects. Through a critical lens this qualitative case study explored policy direction, the influences that shaped multiple years of reform initiatives and the impact of these changes in one Canadian province. Data sources including policy…