Examining Cultural Factors in Learning

Donna Forsyth

Donna Forsyth

Work is well underway in the Assessing and Supporting Young Children’s Oral Language and Writing Development through Play in Classrooms, Daycares and Homes in Northern Communities Project funded by a $2.8 million SSHRC Partnership Grant awarded to the University of Toronto, the University of Saskatchewan, and Brandon University over a seven-year period (2013-2020).

The project aims to bridge the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children’s literacy and to strengthen and sustain research and teaching capacity in northern rural Canadian communities.

Donna Forsyth, co-investigator and a co-applicant for this BU Faculty of Education project, will work with educators in northern and rural Manitoba school divisions as part of the nation-wide research.

“The cultural identity is essential in a child’s academic achievements, but is often unrecognized in classroom instruction,” says Forsyth, Assistant Professor in BU’s Faculty of Education and former curriculum consultant with the Manitoba Government. “This is vitally important in Manitoba because of our growing cultural diversity.”