Glendon Professor and Acting Director at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, Jean Michel Montsion, has undertaken some compelling research on Ontario universities’ service delivery to Indigenous and international students, focusing on three universities. He argues that the spatiality – that is, any property relating to or occupying space – of the information hubs created to support these two groups differs significantly. This is because certain institutional assumptions have been made about these student groups, the social presence and activities hosted, and the lived experiences of the students utilizing these services.

“My study of information hubs reveals not only how Indigenous and international students are thought to become contributors to Ontario society, but also raises questions about the framing of traditional and mainstream students,” Montsion explained.

Montsion found that international student services emphasize rapid integration into the mainstream.

In this original article, he reflects on the differences between the two models and brings to light the spatial politics of information hubs in Ontario universities.

This research was supported by the provincial government via the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund; key findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education (2018).

Jean Michel Montsion

Two populations recently targeted in universities’ recruitment efforts

Recruitment is vital to all universities; connecting with and attracting potential students is paramount. One key challenge for Ontario universities, Montsion argues, is to remain competitive in recruiting incoming students while still meeting the institution’s mandate of accessibility, especially for historically under-represented groups. To do this, Ontario’s institutions of higher education are increasingly targeting two populations: Indigenous and international students.

In this new research, Montsion focused on three universities and looked at how they were providing services to these two student groups.  

Universities have historically failed these two student populations

Current higher education strategies to recruit and retain Indigenous students are mindful of public debates about Indigenous rights and historical injustices. Administrators are caught between two approaches: (1) Indigenous education on Indigenous terms and (2) integration or bringing Indigenous students into the mainstream. Universities usually find a middle ground, which Montsion describes as “combining activities that address discrimination, make Indigeneity visible in curricula and through partnerships with local Indigenous organizations, and launch initiatives aimed at mitigating the lack of traditional social support.”

Universities also struggle with serving the needs of international students. They often fail to provide a way for these students to fight isolation and racism, or to help these students to integrate into their new communities.

Fieldwork in three universities

Building on existing research and theories in this area, Montsion conducted qualitative fieldwork from December 2014 to February 2015. “These three universities were selected based on their proximity to the researcher and the institutions’ public reputations in their recent efforts to meet the needs of either Indigenous or international students,” he explained.

Through interviews and observations, Montsion determined how students and university staffers felt about these locations. The information that was gained from this was corroborated with searches on university websites – where formal Communications pieces reside.

Resource centres for Indigenous students; experience desks for international students

Montsion’s research revealed that Indigenous student services are organized as a resource centre. This is done to create a separate space for Indigeneity on campuses, with activities celebrating Indigeneity and connecting with the students’ cultural wellbeing.

A recent graduate explains the multiple roles his university’s resource centre played for him:

When I was in first year, it was nice to know that it [the resource centre] was there and that there were other students around so I can have that kind of camaraderie and collegial kind of togetherness, and also allow me to be proud of who I am, and not be afraid of who I am, because it is kind of intimidating of being like, “I’m Métis and I don’t know what that really means and I am not fully Native.”  

Conversely, Montsion found that international student services take the form of an experience desk to emphasize rapid integration into the mainstream. Here, programs focus on language and cultural training and student success stories – that is, finding post-graduation employment.

Indigenous student services, Montsion found, create a separate space for Indigeneity on campuses, with activities related to the students’ cultural wellbeing.

Key findings raise important questions about framing

These consistent configurations, resource centres and experience desks, say a lot about how Indigenous and international students are thought to become contributors to Ontario society. This also raises important questions about the framing of traditional and mainstream students.

“Indigenous students are framed in contrast to non-Indigenous students and their unspoken relationship to their settler identity. International students are framed in contrast to domestic students and their unquestioned ability to have unproblematic cross-cultural encounters,” Montsion explained.  

He believes that such assumptions should be acknowledged, as part of a larger discussion around questioning how spaces are produced to deliver services to various student groups. This is an important first step, Montsion emphasizes.

To read the article, visit the . To learn more about Montsion, visit his .

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By Megan Mueller, senior manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, �첥��Ƶ, muellerm@yorku.ca

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Professor Colin Coates receiving the ICCS Certificate of Merit from Professor Susan Hodgett, past president of the ICCS, and Professor Andrea Beverley, current president of the Canadian Studies Network – Réseau d’études canadiennes

Coates is the founding president of the Canadian Studies Network – Réseau d’études canadiennes (2010-15), the academic association representing Canadian studies scholars in Canada, and has also served as director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at �첥��Ƶ.

Coates came to York in 2003 when he was awarded a Canada Research Chair in Canadian Cultural Landscapes. Prior that appointment, he was director of the Centre for Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

The citation for the award states that Coates “has made important and diverse contributions in both French and English to historical and interdisciplinary scholarship on Canada, intervening in the fields of environmental history and francophone Canada studies. Through his editorial roles, his participation in innovative research networks and his service to scholarly associations, Dr. Coates is a mentor, collaborator, and advocate for many scholars within national and international Canadian studies communities.… Like so many others, we value Colin as a productive, kind and hard-working member of the Canadian studies community for whom a Certificate of Merit is very well deserved.”

The certificate was awarded at the annual meeting of the directors of the International Council for Canadian Studies held at the Lester B. Pearson Building, Global Affairs Canada, in Ottawa in June. The ICCS is composed of 23 associations and five associate members, which themselves represent scholars in 39 countries and some 7,000 scholars. The current board of directors of the Canadian Studies Network nominated Coates for this recognition.

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The bilingual citizenship ceremony, organized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, was hosted by Glendon’s Canadian Studies program, which offers the course “Canadian Citizenship” twice a year – once in English and once in French.

Audrey Pyée, assistant lecturer in Glendon’s Canadian Studies program, said students in her course learn about notions of civic, political, social and cultural and global citizenship in Canada. Students moderated roundtable discussions with the new Canadians just before the ceremony.

Pyée said the event gives students, “a wonderful chance to speak to the new Canadians and their families about the meaning of Canadian citizenship to them…. They will hear, first-hand, about the experiences of immigrants coming to Canada, so they can better understand the difficulties many face and the opportunities that they seek in becoming citizens.”

Meghan Williams, a student in the course, said, “The event was interesting because it put in context the themes that we have been studying in class. It helped bridge the gap between the class content and the real world. It was rewarding to be able to experience the energy  and to witness the hope that people come with.”

Dyane Adam, former principal of Glendon College and Canadian Commissioner of Official Languages and current Chair of the planning board on a French-Language University, presided over the ceremony and Christina Clark-Kazak, associate principal, Research and Graduate Studies at Glendon, was the guest of honour.

“Our bilingual Glendon campus was such a fitting venue for this citizenship ceremony celebrating Canada’s diversity. I would like to congratulate Audrey Pyée on proposing this partnership and thank Michael Ah-Choon, students in Professor Pyée’s class and members of Master’s in Conference Interpreting Program for making the event such a success.”

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