Education, Faculty of

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    Connecting with nature during COVID-19: the effect of a Time on the land program on perceptions of experiences of affect and stress in adults
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2023) Greenwood, Brooke E. M.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Greidanus, Elaine
    Social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, imposed significant barriers for individuals seeking mental health supports and coping resources which negatively impacted wellbeing. Over the past couple of decades, spending time in nature has become an increasingly popular coping resource for enhancing wellbeing. To bridge affordability, safety, and accessibility, Dreamcatcher Nature Assisted Therapy developed a Time on the Land therapeutic recreation program to provide a unique opportunity for individuals and families to escape the unique stressors imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and connect with nature by interacting with animals and exploring rural farm environment located in Ardrossan, Alberta. With a focus on investigating emotional wellbeing, this mixed-methods pre-post research study explored the effect of Time on the Land on perceptions of perceived stress, affect, and potential mechanisms underlying such changes in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic (July to November 2021). Data was gathered from 48 participants and datasets were compared at two points in time; baseline, and post-session after participants attended a one-hour session of Time on the Land. Significant differences in perceived stress, negative affect, and positive affect were observed. Participants reported subjective experiences of Time on the Land derived five common qualitative themes which were considered as perceived mechanisms that facilitated changes in stress and affect: (1) being immersed in the moment, (2) a psychological sanctuary, (3) a greater sense of purpose, (4) gained broader perspective, and (5) human-nature relationship. Further, mixed methods analysis provided opportunity to identify and explore implications of harnessing nature-based experiences within therapeutic, and daily settings. Findings extend previous theoretical perspectives, highlight potential new pathways of benefits, and explore how an interactive relationship between humans and nature enhances adults’ emotional wellbeing.
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    An exploration of family achievement guilt among Canadian university students
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2023) Sanghera, Harleen; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Gunn, Thelma; Dixon, Sandra
    As an understudied topic with no peer-reviewed Canadian literature, family achievement guilt is the socioemotional experience related to having educational opportunities not afforded to one’s family members. In this study, 852 university students completed an online questionnaire that measured students’ family achievement guilt, maladaptive outcomes, empathic concern, and cultural congruence. First-generation students and racialized students were found to have higher levels of family achievement guilt compared to continuing-generation students and White students, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that family achievement guilt had a positive association with depression, anxiety, stress, and empathic concern. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between family achievement guilt and cultural congruence. Using thematic analysis, seven themes were created to capture the qualitative data from the short answer question. Overall, the emerging area of family achievement guilt research calls for the attention of researchers, post-secondary institutions, and mental health professionals to better support a diverse student body.
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    An examination of work-related stress and resilience in Canadian teachers
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2023) Edge-Partington, Moriah; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Gunn, Thelma
    Teachers are susceptible to work-related stress, including burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma. Yet, little is known about how resilience may serve as a protective factor and the prevalence of work-related stress in teachers. The aim of the current study was to examine work-related stress and resilience among K-12 Canadian teachers. Participants (N = 313) completed an online survey assessing work-related stress and resilience. Moderate to high work-related stress and significant associations with resilience were found among teachers. Significant differences were also found for teachers with low, intermediate, and high resilience. Furthermore, resilience significantly predicted lower work-related stress. These findings suggest resilience may serve as a protective factor. Analysis of short-answer responses highlight the challenges teachers are facing, and coping mechanisms for managing burnout and stress. These findings demonstrate a need for individual and systemic supports to help reduce vulnerability to work-related stress and promote resiliency in teachers.
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    The use of fashion as a mood enhancer and its effect on mental health in emerging adults in Canada during a global pandemic
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2023) Wenderski, Malgosia; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Wasilewski, Julia; Jung, Jaehee
    Literature demonstrates that clothing has a positive influence on aspects of mental health, and this study frames the use of clothing to enhance one’s wellbeing as a coping mechanism. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lifestyles as individuals were isolated in their homes in accordance with lockdown restrictions. There were global reports of isolation and diminished mental health (Rajkumar, 2020). It was unknown if emerging adults continued their high engagement with clothing during the peaks of the pandemic. The relationship between clothing, mood, and mental health is also unknown. This thesis surveyed 574 emerging adults (individuals 18 to 29) in Canada to investigate how the peaks of the pandemic had affected both clothing engagement and the use of clothing as a mood enhancer, and how this relationship impacted mental health. The mixed methods study found that participants either increased or decreased their engagement with clothing. Greater fear of COVID-19 predicted and positively correlated with fashion involvement and mood enhancement through clothing. Emerging adults reported multiple motivations to enhance mood through clothing, including bolstering the self concept, self-esteem, and comfort. While there was no relationship between mood enhancement and mental health, the thematic analysis revealed reports of both positive and negative effects of clothing on mental health. The study found that emerging adults used clothing as a coping mechanism to support their wellbeing. Furthermore, engagement with clothing, or a lack thereof had consequences to their experience. Participants shared that clothing enhanced their self-esteem, mood, self-empowerment, self-congruency, and self-efficacy. Emerging adults who did not sustain high engagement with clothing reported negative impacts to self-esteem, self-efficacy, connection with self, and mood. Future research is encouraged to further explore and clarify the relationship between clothing, mood, and mental health.
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    Blackfoot healing curriculum through storytelling and art: Faceless Dolls, a young-adult illustrated novella
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2023) Heavy Shield, Hali; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Hasebe-Ludt, Erika
    The study “Blackfoot Healing Curriculum Through Storytelling and Art: Faceless Dolls, a Young-Adult Illustrated Novella” is an arts-based dissertation of creative exploration in which I sought healing through storytelling and visual art pedagogy. K-12 programs of study and post-secondary education that incorporate the arts have effectively engaged and connected with teachers and students, particularly with youth. In this thesis, I explored the research question: “How can an illustrated novella that expresses Blackfoot storytelling pedagogy promote learning and healing from trauma?” I chose a qualitive arts-based approach and methodology that aimed to create meaning from written and visual text and to expand my own and my audience’s understanding of my research question. This framework recognizes that art can convey truths about knowledge of the self and others. I included 25 of my own artworks to convey such truths together with the written narrative. Under the umbrella of arts-based research, I engaged in fiction-based research, namely “social fiction” based on Patricia Leavy (2017), to write a realistic and authentic portrayal of a Blackfoot youth’s experience in my home community of the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta. I based my creative and scholarly work on four Blackfoot values: aatsimoyihkaan (spirituality), kimapiitpitsinni (kindness), ikakimaat (do your best) and kakoysin (being aware/observant). I found that my own arts practice, based on these Blackfoot teachings enabled me to experience transformational change through imagination, creativity, and holistic learning and knowing. Colonization and the Residential School system have left a devasting legacy of woundedness and trauma. In doing the research for the novella, I have identified how both traditional and contemporary Indigenous art and storytelling practices can be modes of survival and recovery, heal woundedness, and garner spiritual wisdom and well-being by attending to Blackfoot values in a K-12 education context.