- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
John ippolito
York University, Education, Faculty Member
This paper draws on a theoretical framework informed by the philosopher of ethics Emmanuel Levinas to examine pedagogical responsibility for minority language students in elementary school classrooms. After making the case that ethics is... more
This paper draws on a theoretical framework informed by the philosopher of ethics Emmanuel Levinas to examine pedagogical responsibility for minority language students in elementary school classrooms. After making the case that ethics is extant in the literature ...
Research Interests:
The work at the schools began as a series of after-school, town-hall type community forums involving the respective school communities (parents, their children, in-service and pre-service teachers, the school's administration, local... more
The work at the schools began as a series of after-school, town-hall type community forums involving the respective school communities (parents, their children, in-service and pre-service teachers, the school's administration, local community agencies), and a university-based ...
Research Interests:
This study considers three methodological orientations for reading the narrative of collaboration taken root in contemporary discussions around publicly funded education in Canada. It looks through and beyond conflict theory and an... more
This study considers three methodological orientations for reading the narrative of collaboration taken root in contemporary discussions around publicly funded education in Canada. It looks through and beyond conflict theory and an archaeological historical approach and turns to a discursive method well suited to close analysis of recorded, text-based exchanges. Selecting discursive psychology and conversation analysis as preferred interpretive tools, it samples an exchange from an institutional interaction between a researcher, a teacher, and two parents in an online discussion forum. The analysis highlights the multiplicity of agendas and work generated across stakeholders by what is ostensibly one shared goal.
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach program hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse elementary school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s... more
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach program hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse elementary school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s families—in conversation with in-service and pre-service teachers, the school’s administration, a local university’s faculty of education and community agencies—discuss issues the families deem important to their experience of public schooling. In addition to a detailed program overview, I present two tiers of participant feedback on the program, the first-tier gleaned from parent surveys and the second tier derived from a series of interviews conducted by parent researchers. Based on a consideration of the qualitative data emerging from this feedback, I offer three readings of the program: the first reading tells a story of how the program is empowering parents and caregivers and bringing them closer to their children’s schooling; the second reading draws four implications that complicate the apparent successes of the program; and the third reading takes shape as a broader epistemic and ethical caution for action-oriented research of this sort.
Research Interests:
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach program hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse elementary school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s... more
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach program hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse elementary school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s families—in conversation with in-service and pre-service teachers, the school’s administration, a local university’s faculty of education and community agencies—discuss issues the families deem important to their experience of public schooling. In addition to a detailed program overview, I present two tiers of participant feedback on the program, the first-tier gleaned from parent surveys and the second tier derived from a series of interviews conducted by parent researchers. Based on a consideration of the qualitative data emerging from this feedback, I offer three readings of the program: the first reading tells a story of how the program is empowering parents and caregivers and bringing them closer to their children’s schooling; the second reading draws f...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This study considers three methodological options for reading the place of minority populations in Canadian education. It looks through and beyond both conflict theory and an archaeological historical approach and then turns to a method... more
This study considers three methodological options for reading the place of minority populations in Canadian education. It looks through and beyond both conflict theory and an archaeological historical approach and then turns to a method better suited to close analysis of recorded, text-based exchanges. In this effort, it settles on discursive psychology and conversation analysis as its primary reference points in identifying key features defining the interactions between adult stakeholders in education . It then assesses this preferred methodology by sampling a brief exchange extracted from an institutional interaction online between a researcher, a teacher and two parents taking part in a discussion forum. The online forum is the most recent phase of what was, until recently, an entirely face-to-face, in-person outreach initiative to open lines of communication between schools and minority parents.The forum thus induces an interpretive shift from content analysis of observations,...
Research Interests:
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach pro gram hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse junior school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s fam ilies—in... more
This paper reports on a university/school board collaborative outreach pro gram hosted by a linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse junior school in Toronto, Canada. The program facilitates a forum where the school’s fam ilies—in conversation with in-service and pre-service teachers, the school’s administration, a local university’s Faculty of Education, and community agencies—discuss issues the families deem important to their experience of public schooling. In addition to a detailed program overview, I present two tiers of participant feedback on the program, the first tier gleaned from parent surveys and the second tier derived from a series of interviews conducted by parentresearchers. Based on a consideration of the qualitative data emerging from this feedback, I offer three readings of the program: the first reading tells a story of how the program is empowering parents and caregivers and bringing them closer to their children’s schooling; the second reading draws fou...
Research Interests:
Abstract This thesis looks at the first published collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time. In this paper an attempt is made to bridge the gap between those critics who see unity in the collection as a whole and those... more
Abstract This thesis looks at the first published collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time. In this paper an attempt is made to bridge the gap between those critics who see unity in the collection as a whole and those who see unity in each ...
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Research Interests:
This presentation draws on the interpretive frameworks of discursive psychology (Edwards & Potter, 1992) and conversation analysis (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 2008) to provide a snapshot of identity formation among adult ESL students taking part... more
This presentation draws on the interpretive frameworks of discursive psychology (Edwards & Potter, 1992) and conversation analysis (Hutchby & Wooffitt, 2008) to provide a snapshot of identity formation among adult ESL students taking part in a Facebook discussion group. It does so by offering a microanalysis of a twelve-turn discussion thread responding to the poll question how important is it for your children to speak and write in your first language in Canada? The focus of analysis is on the extent to which respondents adhere to the lexical priming (Hoey, 2005) in the poll, specifically, to what extent do students reiterate or resist the topic in their use of the most lexically significant items in the poll? The data suggest an intriguing pattern whereby resistance to the priming in the poll question and poll response options is most pronounced for students demonstrating either the strongest or weakest English language proficiency relative to the entire group. These particular st...
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This presentation reports on the preliminary stages of a multi-year adult literacy project. The project is motivated by the intensity of contemporary global migration, where unprecedented numbers of adult migrants are forced into... more
This presentation reports on the preliminary stages of a multi-year adult literacy project. The project is motivated by the intensity of contemporary global migration, where unprecedented numbers of adult migrants are forced into linguistically alien terrains and are often isolated and disadvantaged by language barriers preventing full participation in host societies. The project responds to this challenge with a comparative analysis of the formal and informal language learning experiences of adult migrants in three transit or destination countries characterized by an influx of newcomers: York Region, Ontario, Canada; Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States; and Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. Using a hybrid theoretical framework linking transnationalism (Glick Schiller, Basch & Szanton Blanc, 1995) and translanguaging (Otheguy, Garcia & Reid, 2015), the project undertakes a fluid and multidirectional study of migration and conducts an analysis directed at the first-person experiences of...
In this study, I reframe the debate on minority parents and their children’s educators by moving beyond concerns around student academic achievement and toward the quality of relationships among adult stakeholders. Using an interpretive... more
In this study, I reframe the debate on minority parents and their children’s educators by moving beyond concerns around student academic achievement and toward the quality of relationships among adult stakeholders. Using an interpretive lens based on Foucault’s notion of discourse, I examine three research vignettes drawn from an interventionist research project in two urban elementary schools. This examination identifies and responds to interpersonal, inter-institutional, and inter-epistemological dysfunctions. I make a concluding case for the transformative potential in the interplay of discourses: When inequalities and exclusions are redressed in the research, the project realizes a discursive and ethical possibility.
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This article documents the work of parent-driven research teams in two school boards in the Greater Toronto Area. Motivated by a desire to move beyond a school-centred/family-centred dichotomy, this parent-lead project explores a middle... more
This article documents the work of parent-driven research teams in two school boards in the Greater Toronto Area. Motivated by a desire to move beyond a school-centred/family-centred dichotomy, this parent-lead project explores a middle space for collective learning among multiple stakeholders in publiclyfunded schooling. Drawing on participatory action research and social capital theory, I outline a generic research approach and then provide a more detailed sketch of one full research cycle focused on the theme of discipline. I evaluate the relative successes of the project and conclude by prioritizing the quality of relationships within the research.
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ABSTRACT This article traces diverging trajectories in a situated, participatory research project in 2 public schools in Ontario. While the project operated within a consistent set of objectives to promote educational equity for... more
ABSTRACT This article traces diverging trajectories in a situated, participatory research project in 2 public schools in Ontario. While the project operated within a consistent set of objectives to promote educational equity for immigrant, linguistically diverse students and their families, it generated 2 substantially different models of educational provision at each of the 2 schools: one corresponding to the enrichment approach the project envisioned and the second to a remediation strategy grounded in an institutional discourse of deficit. The problematic we elucidate here is how such diverging outcomes could have been engendered. We begin by describing the conceptual bases for the activist research agenda; we then outline the interventionist, literacy enrichment framework of the project; next, we describe how the project took shape at the 2 research sites; and, finally, our reflective turn at the conclusion of this article represents our best effort to make sense of these contradictory experienced realities.
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Research Interests:
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This thesis looks at the first published collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time. In this paper an attempt is made to bridge the gap between those critics who see unity in the collection as a whole and those who see... more
This thesis looks at the first published collection of short stories by Ernest Hemingway, In Our Time. In this paper an attempt is made to bridge the gap between those critics who see unity in the collection as a whole and those who see unity in each ...