Gender at the intersection with race and class in the schooling and wellbeing of immigrant-origin students.

BACKGROUND: In French-language secondary schools in Quebec, among all immigrant-origin students, those originating from South Asia have the highest dropout rate. However, girls belonging to this group consistently outperform their male peers of similar ethnic background. This stirs questions about the reasons for this relative outperformance and its linkage with overall wellbeing among these girls. METHODS: A mixed methods approach guided data collection. It involved in-depth interviews with female and male students of South Asian origin (n = 19) and with individuals holding educational roles in the lives of youth (n = 25). An additional anonymous questionnaire aggregated parent perspectives (n = 36), though this article focuses primarily on qualitative lessons. RESULTS: This article shows three main reasons for why South Asian female adolescents in Quebec French-language secondary schools outperform their male counterparts in schooling attainment: parental expectations after migration, socialization at home, and relationships at school. According to our findings, academic perseverance among these girls does not necessarily translate into their improved wellbeing or their involvement in an advantageous process of acculturation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights that although gender, ethnicity, and class can create an interlocking system of oppression in certain social spheres for a specific group of women, it can emerge as advantageous in other contexts for the same group. This provides educational policy makers, as well as school and community workers, with guidance and avenues for action that can promote the wellbeing of immigrant-origin girls through involvement in beneficial processes of acculturation aligned with their improved academic performance.

'WE CAN'T GET WORMS FROM COW DUNG': REPORTED KNOWLEDGE OF PARASITISM AMONG PASTORALIST YOUTH ATTENDING SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THE NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA, TANZANIA.

Records at the Endulen Hospital in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tanzania, reveal that soil-transmitted helminth infections and protozoa are consistently in the top ten diagnoses for Maasai pastoralists, indicating a significant public health concern. Nevertheless, Maasai pastoralist adaptations to life in close proximity to livestock and to unreliable access to water raise important questions about experiences of, and resiliency to, parasitic infections. Though these infections are particularly prevalent among youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), a focus on resiliency highlights local capacity to recover from and prevent illness. For instance, how is human parasitism perceived and experienced among communities displaying behaviours that studies have associated with transmission of diarrhoeal diseases, such as open defecation? Among these communities, how is parasitism seen to impact the health and development of children? And, what resources are available to endure or mitigate this heavy disease burden among affected communities? This study draws on formative research carried out in May 2014 in anticipation of an innovative school-based and youth-driven water, sanitation and hygiene education intervention rolled out in two boarding schools in the NCA in subsequent months. The initiative is grounded in a One Health approach to health promotion, drawing on partnerships in medicine, public health and veterinary medicine to appreciate the unique interactions between humans, animals and the environment that shape well-being among pastoralist communities. Qualitative data generated through group discussions with secondary school youth (n=60), Maasai teachers (n=6) and a women's group (n=8) in the NCA convey existing knowledge of the prevalence, prevention and treatment of human parasitism. An underlying principle of the larger initiative is to engage youth as creative agents of change in developing and sustaining locally relevant health promotion strategies. Findings highlight practical knowledge around certain 'neglected tropical diseases', namely helminths, among pastoralist communities in the NCA, in turn feeding into the development of the science fair and related interventions.

An equity-oriented admissions model for Indigenous student recruitment in an undergraduate medical education program.

BACKGROUND: With the 2015 publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's calls to action, health professional schools are left grappling with how to increase the recruitment and success of Indigenous learners. Efforts to diversify trainee pools have long looked to quota-based approaches to recruit students from underserved communities, though such approaches pose dilemmas around meaningfully dismantling structural barriers to health professional education. Lessons shared here from developing one multi-layered admissions strategy highlight the importance of equity-rather than equality-in any recruitment for learners from medically underserved communities. SUMMARY: The promotion of fairness in the recruitment of future practitioners is not just a question of equalizing access to, in this case, medical school; it involves recognizing the wider social and structural mechanisms that enable privileged access to the medical profession by members of dominant society. This recognition compels a shift in focus beyond merely giving the disadvantaged increased access to an unfair system, towards building tools to address deeper questions about what is meant by the kind of excellence expected of applicants, how it is to be measured, and to what extent these recruits may contribute to improved care for the communities from which they come. CONCLUSION: Equity-based approaches to student recruitment move health professional schools beyond the dilemma of recruiting students from marginalized backgrounds who happen to be most similar to the dominant student population. Achieving this requires a complex view of the target population, recognizing that disadvantage is experienced in many diverse ways, that barriers are encountered along a spectrum of access, and that equity may only emerge when a critically, socially conscious approach is embedded throughout institutional practices.

BACKGROUND: Depuis la publication en 2015 d'un appel à l'action de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada, les établissements de formation en sciences de la santé sont à la recherche de moyens d'accroître le recrutement et la réussite des apprenants autochtones. Les efforts visant à diversifier le bassin d'apprenant ont longtemps été axés sur la mise en place de quotas pour les étudiants issus de communautés mal desservies, mais de telles approches entraînent des choix difficiles quant au démantèlement approprié des obstacles structurels à la formation professionnelle dans le domaine de la santé. Les leçons tirées de l'élaboration d'une stratégie d'admission à plusieurs niveaux montrent l'importance de l'équité ­ plutôt que de l'égalité ­ dans tout recrutement d'apprenants issus de communautés défavorisées. CORPS DU TEXTE: : La promotion de l'équité dans le recrutement des futurs praticiens va bien au-delà de la garantie d'un accès égal, dans ce cas, à l'école de médecine; elle passe par la reconnaissance des mécanismes sociaux et structurels plus larges qui donnent aux membres des couches dominantes de la société un accès privilégié à la profession médicale. Cette reconnaissance exige de ne plus se contenter de donner aux personnes défavorisées un meilleur accès à un système injuste, mais à mettre en place des outils permettant de s'attaquer aux problématiques sous-jacentes liées au type d'excellence attendu des candidats, à la manière dont elle doit être mesurée et à la contribution que ces recrues peuvent apporter à l'amélioration des soins pour les communautés dont elles sont issues. CONCLUSION: Les approches fondées sur l'équité permettent aux écoles professionnelles de santé de dépasser le dilemme du recrutement d'étudiants issus de milieux marginalisés qui se trouvent être les plus semblables à la population étudiante dominante. Pour y parvenir, il faut adopter une vision complexe de la population cible et reconnaître que les désavantages sont vécus de nombreuses manières différentes, qu'il y a tout un éventail d'obstacles à l'accès, et, enfin, que l'équité ne sera pas établie tant qu'on n'aura pas intégré une approche critique et socialement consciente à l'ensemble des pratiques institutionnelles.

The Mock Academic Faculty Position Competition: A Pilot Professional and Career Development Opportunity for Postdoctoral Fellows.

PROBLEM: Medical educators face a dilemma in countries like Canada, where policy makers and strategic planners have prioritized highly qualified personnel and expanded recruitment of advanced trainees at a time when early-career specialists face prolonged job insecurity as they transition to professional employment. The University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine hatched the Mock Academic Faculty Position competition to test the school's existing capacity to address the pressing career development needs of highly trained graduates. APPROACH: The competition was piloted in May-June 2014. Approximately 180 postdoctoral fellows were invited to compete; 34 submitted portfolios. The Postdoctoral Program Office established a longlist of 12 applicants. Through reviews, a selection committee identified 3 finalists to participate in a daylong event consisting of a research presentation and committee interview. The event was followed by approximately 70 audience members at any given time who were invited to complete anonymous evaluation forms and/or exit interviews. OUTCOMES: The selection committee deduced a vast majority of applicants did not sell their skills effectively or demonstrate research programs independent from supervisors. Exit interviews conducted with 40 audience members indicated 36 (90%) picked the same finalist as the selection committee, 34 (85%) found the process "nerve racking," and 28 (70%) had no previous idea of what goes on inside an academic committee interview. NEXT STEPS: A key recommendation for future iterations is early attention to systematizing feedback to ensure more direct impact for nonfinalists. Alternative initiatives for those gearing up for industry or public-sector work are being prepared.