Volume 26, numéro 2, 2026

EN :

This article examines Afrocentric Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) as a liberatory research praxis emerging from a multi-year, youth-led initiative situated within the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Drawing on youth-generated research projects, public presentations, creative artifacts, and program survey data developed through the Black Student Summer Leadership Program (BSSLP), the paper analyzes how Black secondary students engage Afrocentric YPAR to investigate anti-Black racism in schooling, affirm identity and belonging, and mobilize research for institutional and community engagement. Grounded in Afrocentric epistemologies, decolonial praxis, and Black feminist thought, Afrocentric YPAR positions youth not as research subjects but as knowledge producers, theorists, and institutional actors. Findings synthesized across multiple cohorts highlight recurring themes related to educational exclusion, mental health and well-being, curriculum representation, and pathways to leadership and futures-making. The article argues that culturally grounded, youth-led research disrupts Eurocentric research logics while advancing epistemic justice in education. By centering Black youth knowledge, creativity, and collective inquiry, this work contributes to scholarship on participatory research, culturally responsive education, and the role of student-authored knowledge in transforming educational systems.

EN :

Many schools are engaging in critical discourse to better understand and meet the needs of their students; for those facing structural marginalization, strengths-based approaches can promote student wellness and engagement. The current project was completed through a partnership between University of Alberta researchers and staff at Boyle Street Education Centre (BSEC). Together, we sought to understand how BSEC staff conceptualize strength-based approaches to learning in an alternative education environment, and how BSEC staff support students by putting a strength-based approach into practice. Thirteen school staff participated in two focus groups, examined using thematic analysis. Three themes are described, including (1) creating a safe, welcoming, and calming environment; (2) individualizing; and (3) resisting colonial approaches to education. Reflections from BSEC staff provide insight into the ways that the school is addressing the underlying systemic inequities their students face through strength-based, reconciliation-first approaches.

EN :

In this paper, we argue for action research-based, school-university partnership projects as a form of professional and personal learning for northern and rural educators by sharing the perceptions of 30 Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators participating in the Northern Oral Language and Writing Through Play Project. Our inductive analysis of five focus group discussions suggests that through their collaborative action research, participating educators gained knowledge, developed new strategies, and increased reflection in their teaching practice. While our action research-based partnership project may build educator capacity to support students’ Indigenous language and cultural development, expanding their learning beyond the partnership may be challenging.

EN :

In response to rising concerns of violence in the classroom, the Public Schools Branch (PSB) implemented PBIS in eighteen schools on Prince Edward Island. While research indicates that the efficacy of PBIS cannot be measured school-wide in the first year, senior leadership at the PSB was keen to measure the impact of the first year implementation on school leaders. This study examined the effects of PBIS implementation on the PBIS leadership team by investigating the administrators’ and PBIS school leads’ self-efficacy and perceptions of well-being, including factors such as hope and optimism in the first year of implementation. Using a case study approach, this study investigated how PBIS implementation influenced leadership self-efficacy and the degree to which the initiative fostered a sense of positivity among school leaders during its initial rollout. This paper outlines implementation successes, identifies key barriers, and offers recommendations to guide future efforts. Although all participating schools reported a net positive perception of PBIS, numerous barriers to implementation were identified. The overarching goal of this study is to support reflective practice and continuous improvement of PBIS, in alignment with the Public Schools Branch’s priority of fostering safe, inclusive, and caring learning environments (Public Schools Branch, 2025).

EN :

This action research study explores the effects of peer review on sixth-grade students' essay writing proficiency and self-efficacy. Over a six-week period, structured peer review sessions were implemented in two English Language Arts classes with 37 students. This study collected pre- and post-surveys, exit tickets, and researcher journals for analysis. Results revealed improvements in students' essay scores and in the organization of ideas following peer review, along with enhanced self-efficacy, leading to increased engagement and independent revision ability. By empowering students to take ownership of their learning and fostering a supportive classroom environment, peer review promotes critical writing skills and student collaboration.

EN :

Caring for an autistic child often incurs a toll on the family unit, a reality that is often more pronounced for parents of diverse (i.e., racial, cultural, ethnic) backgrounds. The Ecological Validity Framework (EVF) emphasizes the importance of cultural diversity, though research on its applications for parent training programs are in its infancy. The present study is a preliminary evaluation aimed to pilot the ‘Parents Taking Action’ (PTA) parent training program in Canada with a heterogeneous sample of racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse parents. Using a within-subjects case study design, we evaluate the efficacy of PTA, as well as offer recommendations for future trials in line with feasibility protocols. Our results indicate PTA effectively increased parents’ knowledge of autism spectrum disorder, reduced stress, and improved self-efficacy for some. Taken together, the findings support the notion that culturally adapted interventions should inform materials to support ethnically diverse parents of children with special needs.