EDU 300. Educational Issues Library Research Assignment
Assignment Guidelines
FALL 2019
Professor Alex Da Costa
Educational Issues Library Research Assignment
Due Date: October 8
Value: 25% of final mark
Process: Completed Individually
Purpose:
This assignment is intended to support your awareness of the perspectives, assumptions, beliefs, research, evidence, and critiques
related to a current educational issue in Canada. It is also intended to help you evaluate these elements in written texts. This
requires that you explore the complexities of your selected issue and understand various points of view. This means that you must
find a variety of perspectives and points of view. Education is complex with multiple perspectives on any given issue. In your initial
exploration, avoid taking a single position and explore various perspectives, including those with which you do not agree.
The assignment is also designed to acquaint you with the University of Alberta’s library system in terms of research in education.
You will need to search for resources, BOTH peer reviewed and trade articles that address the issue you are exploring. You are
required to write using APA citation style (which is the Faculty of Education’s accepted style).
Sources:
• Focus on one educational issue from the “Current Educational Issues” listed below and posted on eClass. If there is
another topic you would like to explore that is not on the list, please consult with me and receive APPROVAL prior to doing
research.
• Locate at least six different sources that offer information related to the issue you have selected. (At least 4 sources must
be articles from peer-reviewed academic journals (such as journals like the Canadian Journal of Education, Race Ethnicity
and Education, Alberta Journal of Educational Research, or Decolonizations: Indigeneity, Education, and Society, Journal of
Curriculum Inquiry, etc.). The remaining 2 sources may include additional peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters,
professional education-related journals (such as the ATA Magazine), newspaper articles, videos, interviews with
appropriate sources, etc. Be conscious of accurate APA citations both in-text and in your reference list. Focus your
research on Albertan or Canadian issues and sources, where possible. (Note: such issues may also involve an
international focus, where ‘international’ means that you are situating Alberta and/or Canada within an international
framework for your study or situating Alberta and/or Canada in a discussion of international issues in education.)
• Important note: Please label with an asterisk the articles in your reference list that are from peer-reviewed sources.
Format and Style
• Cover page – your name and ID, instructor name, paper/assignment title, and date
• 5-6 pages recommended (not including the reference list and title page). Any writing over 7 pages will not be read.
• Double spaced
• Use 1-inch margins
• Use 12 point font in Times New Roman
• Include page numbers (do not number the title page)
• In-text citations and complete reference list using APA citation style (see the library’s APA guide for help:
https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/apa-citation-style [The reference lists is titled References, is centered on the page and
should be on a separate page at the end of your paper].
• You may use headings/sub-headings to organize your paper
• Note: Minimize spaces between sections and paragraphs to decrease loss of space for text and argumentation.
Content:
You MUST use the 7 section headings that are provided here in your paper (see template example starting on page 3 for headings).
1. Select an issue that interests you. Clearly describe the context of the issue (Why is this an issue? Why is it significant? Is it
controversial? If so, why or how?). State your pre-research perspective and your philosophical stance, and briefly describe
what has influenced your perspective and philosophical stance.
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2. Describe the different perspectives on the issue present in the various articles clearly identifying the evidence or
argumentation used to support the perspective. Perspectives could involve, for example: benefits and/or challenges,
support and/or critiques of, positive outcomes and/or drawbacks, in favour and/or against, etc.
3. In conclusion, how has the research influenced, changed or reinforced your initial thinking? Reference the key evidence
that supports your conclusion. Basing your conclusion on evidence moves your thinking away from opinion to an
evidence–based viewpoint. Be cautious of making generalizations such as “all special needs students should …”
List of Possible Current Educational Issues:
Trends in education are always emerging and their characteristics and potential impacts are discussed among politicians, teachers,
communities, and in the media. You will need to present at least two different perspectives on your topic, which means that
choosing a topic that generated much debate could generate productive possibilities for exploration. General areas of focus might
include classroom-related questions, institutional questions around schools themselves, teacher-related issues, larger schoolsystem
related issues, or societal issues that impact the education and experiences of education.
For this assignment, choose one of the following and address benefits and challenges (or multiple perspectives):
After- and Other-than-School Education: museums; field schools; community-based learning; home-schooling, un-schooling, or deschooling.
Assessment: standardized assessment; alternative assessment; culturally responsive and locally-relevant assessment; grade
contracting; no-zero policy; pass/fail grading; credit recuperation.
Community and Parental Engagement: parent-teacher meetings; welcoming and unwelcoming environments; family involvement;
Indigenous family and community perspectives and relationships; cultural capital and parental involvement.
Gender, Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability: gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in school; anti-oppressive pedagogy and curriculum (e.g. antiracist,
feminist); gender identities; gender equity; intersectional curriculum; multicultural education; immigration and education;
refugees and education; social justice education; diverse learners (e.g. Autism spectrum); mis- and missed representations (e.g.
negative stereotypes); poverty and education; racism and education; colonialism and education.
Indigenous Education: land-based education; decolonizing education; culturally responsive/relevant/responsible pedagogy and
curriculum; anti-colonial education; education for reconciliation; treaty education; Elders and knowledge holders as teachers;
relational understanding and Indigenous science; Indigenous ways of knowing; reflective process and story circle learning;
Indigenous language education approaches; settler colonialism in Canada and education.
Learning sciences: brain-based learning; constructivism and socio-constructivism; motivation; situated cognition; enactivism;
student-led learning; learning in groups; multiple literacies and intelligences.
Literacy and Numeracy: multiple literacies; close reading; English as additional language learners; English dialects; multi-lingual
instruction; illiteracy; number sense; language-, culture-based mathematics.
Pedagogy and Curriculum: critical pedagogy; experiential learning; play-based learning; palce-based pedagogies; public pedagogies
(e.g. media); differentiated instruction; project-based learning; embodied learning; whole child; wholistic learning; socio-emotional
learning; 21st century learning; mindfulness; character education; citizenship education; environmental education; global
curriculum (global and local learning); international or global development education; teacher identity; student identity.
Schools, Educational Policy, and Administration: classroom sizes; professional learning communities; classroom management;
school culture and climate; educational leadership; curriculum development; educational law; dress codes; school lunch/breakfast
programs; bullying; school gardens; teacher certification; Aboriginal education (Aboriginal perspectives, histories, cultures,
languages); Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action; Residential Schools; Treaty Education.
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Template
Educational Issues Library Research Assignment
Title Page: What is your Question for Inquiry?
• The reader should be able to know from your title what the topic is that you are addressing and the question you
are asking, e.g. “Examining the Nature of Standardized Testing as a Learning Assessment Tool”
[Section 1]: Introduction
• Introduce your chosen issue / question and briefly discuss the general context of the issue. Why is this an issue?
How is it defined within an educational context? Is it controversial or highly debated? Why?
• Briefly explain and define any concepts or terms that are important for the reader to know in order to understand
your analysis of the issue. (For example, and in relation to these given topics, things like ‘standardized testing’ or
‘standardization’, ‘anti-racist education’, ‘gay-straight alliances’, ‘sex education’ should all be defined so it is clear
how you are using the concept. Drawing on your chosen articles as a means to define concepts is one approach.
IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT presume the reader is familiar with the topic or terminology.
[Section 2]: Pre-research Perspectives
Demonstrate Critical Reflection and ANSWER for the reader: What are two of your pre-research perspectives on this topic? Why is
this topic important to you?
[Section 3]: Summary of arguments that favor or provide benefits
Briefly outline the studies/research and the context within which they took place (W5 – who, what, where, when, why); what
are the writers suggesting is the impact of this trend/practice/approach?
Your thoughts on this research (these articles) and how it has influenced your beliefs and argument in relation to the topic =
critical reflection
[Section 4]: Summary of arguments dealing with the challenges / negatives
Briefly outline the studies/research (W5 – who, what, where, when, why); what are the writers suggesting is the impact of
this trend/practice/approach?
Your thoughts on this research (these articles) and how it has influenced your beliefs and argument in relation to the topic =
critical reflection
** (If two of your articles depict similar findings/perspectives, you should combine that discussion into one longer paragraph to
avoid redundancy and demonstrate synthesis of the literature.)
[Section 5]: Final Reflection on various perspectives
Explain your concluding perspective and provide evidence to support your position based on the research. Has your initial position
been influenced, changed or reinforced based on your research? AVOID value-based commentary such as ‘____ is better’ or ‘all
schools should …’ (remember your research has been very limited in terms of scope). How might this research now influence your
conduct and practices with future students?
Remember, basing your conclusion on evidence moves your thinking away from opinion to an evidence-based viewpoint.
[Section 6]: Conclusion –THEN, provide a general concluding paragraph: synthesize main points and mirror the introductory
paragraph in that it echoes or answers what you set out to do.
[Section 7]: References – list of all your references using APA style.
