Youth-voice driven after-school science clubs: A tool to develop new alliances in ethnically diverse communities in support of transformative learning for preservice teachers and youth

Abstract

In this paper, we draw on data collected in the context of a three-year action research project that involved the development of after-school science clubs in three high schools in ethnically diverse communities, made possible through a partnership between a university, the schools and the community. We document the evolution of a youth-voice driven science club over time and the kind of transformative learning it supported for youth who are for the most part first-generation immigrants growing up in an underserved urban centre. We also explore how the alliance between the university, the school and the community enriched the learning ecologies of the participating youth and how it was experienced by the instructors and preservice teachers who pursued service learning projects in the clubs as part of their university course work in education. We show how such diverse experiences offer rich insights into ways of building alliances among schools, community resources and the university to support equity-driven practices that are inclusive and supportive of ethnically diverse youth with complex immigration histories

The Commitment to Promoting a Culture of Equity in Quebec Secondary Schools: Insights from School Stakeholders — A Secondary Publication

“…Regarding the participation of immigrant students in extracurricular activities, the lack of opportunities to engage in such activities would disadvantage these students [40] . Indeed, our results tend to show that costs and required equipment, constraints related to transportation, and lack of information about registration are obstacles to the physical accessibility of immigrant students to these activities.…”

“…Finally, few stated equity practices aim to establish new structures or ways of doing things that challenge the entire educational community. In this regard, it is believed that the implementation of initiatives focused on the voices of immigrant students, dialogue with the community, and the expansion of different forms of engagement contributes to making educational opportunities more equitable [40] . Although few declared equity practices move in this direction, two require a transformation of the work of educational actors to collaborate with the educational community in questioning and collectively transforming the exclusionary processes affecting them.…”

Inclusive Education in the Context of Ethnocultural Diversity: Understanding the Process of Exclusion to Act in the School — A Secondary Publication

“…The articles in this paper remind us of the importance, in implementing inclusive education, of listening to the voices of students from a migrant background through the realization of various school and extracurricular activities, as well as fostering a horizontal dialogue between school staff, families, and the community [63] . The article by Farmer, Connelly, and Greenblatt, which focused on the presentation of an inclusive education training and coaching initiative in two schools in the Canadian province of Ontario, showed how teachers continually questioned how best to support the student's "voice" in an inclusive approach in order to avoid the trap of speaking on behalf of the other [64] .…”

Inclusive Education in the Context of Ethnocultural Diversity: Understanding the Process of Exclusion in Order to Act in the School – A Secondary Publication

“…The articles in this issue underscore the importance, of implementing inclusive education, listening to the voices of students from immigrant backgrounds through various school and extracurricular activities, as well as fostering horizontal dialogue between school staff, families, and the community [63] . The article by Farmer, Connelly, and Greenblatt, focused on presenting an initiative for training and supporting inclusive education in two schools in the Canadian province of Ontario, shows how teachers continuously questioned the best way to support the "voice" of the student in an inclusive approach to avoid the trap of speaking on behalf of the others [64] .…”