Toscano, Julia UROP Poster

Analyzing ”The Third Path” Through the Four Frames of the Ontario Kindergarten
Program Document
By: Julia Toscano
Supervised by: Dr. Jessica Whitley
Faculty of Education: Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program
INTRODUCTION
RESULTS (Continued)
Beyond the role of supporting academic success, educators have a vital role in fostering student
well-being through the construction of relationships with their students (Boland & Tranter, 2018;
Hargreaves & Shirley, 2018). This lens is considered to be a part of a more modern discourse of
education, stepping away from the belief that schools are strictly designed for implementing
academics.
The Ontario Ministry of Education’s full-day Kindergarten Program is founded upon this relationshipbased
approach (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2016). However, there are a multitude of resources
adopted regularly by educators and school boards, which may or may not reflect this holistic vision
of education. One resource which has been increasingly adopted by school boards across Ontario
and beyond is titled The Third Path (Tranter, Carson, & Boland, 2017).
This study sought to explore the conceptual relationship between the 8 conditions of The Third Path
(Safety, Regulation, Belonging, Positivity, Engagement, Identity, Mastery, and Meaning) and the
Ontario Kindergarten Program, by conducting a content analysis guided by the four frames of the
Kindergarten document, namely: Belonging, Engagement, Expression and Well-Being.
Within each of the conditions of The Third Path, there were mentions of content related to the Four
Frames within the text to varying degrees. This suggests that the resource displays a presence of
the Kindergarten document when defining its conditions. For example, in The Third Path’s condition
of Positivity, the following frames were evident (Belonging= 9%, Engagement= 32% , Expression=
0.01%, Well-Being= 56%). Findings such as this confirm that the four frames align with the ethics of
The Third Path within its conditions.
There are various concepts that showed traits of multiple frames combined as well. For example,
attachment is a topic that is mentioned in the Third Path’s Safety Condition as an important
consideration for classroom management (Tranter et al., p. 37), and the concept of attachment
shows traits of both well-being and belonging, considering it addresses a students’ attachment style
rooting from parenting styles and needs for safety and security (Tranter et al., 37-41). This can be
seen when looking at the frequency in which belonging and wellbeing are mentioned in the Safety
Condition, Belonging appears in 47% of mentions for the chapter and Well-Being appears in 36% of
mentions in the Safety condition. Therefore, the frames are key components to the document that
each contribute to a multi-faceted approach to teaching.
METHODOLOGY
An in-depth analysis of the Ontario Kindergarten Program, specifically the Four Frames guiding the
document was first conducted.
– A summary of each frame was created, focussing on its distinct traits.
– Each summary was converted to short definitions of each frame and corresponding key
words.
The definitions and keywords were next used to detect mention of each frame while analyzing The
Third Path.
– As Third Path was being analyzed, the frequency of mentions of the frames and content
embodying the ethics of each frame was calculated.
– The presence of each frame within the 8 conditions of The Third Path was determined and
compared to evaluate the significance of the Four Frames within the resource.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, The Third Path resource contains significant overlap with the Four Frames of the
Kindergarten Document, specifically the frames of Belonging, Engagement and Well-Being.
Considering the relationship-based approach to teaching which is espoused in The Third Path, the
four frames reflect the core values for this method of teaching. The balancing of ensuring students
feel a sense of belonging in the classroom community, engagement in learning tasks and the
educator being mindful of student well-being can create a multifaceted approach to teaching with
relationships at the forefront. Even though there is a smaller number of mentions of Expression of
Literacy and Math Behaviours in the resources, there were still incorporations of literacy and
mathematical thinking in the Third Path.
Limitations of the study included that this research project was conducted on an individual basis.
This perspective makes it subjective in nature, due to the singular bias of the researcher. For future
research, it would be beneficial to conduct further research with a diverse panel of researchers to
see if similar findings could be confirmed.
RESULTS
This chart displays the data from the content analysis of The Third Path, identifying the mentions of
the keywords and concepts associated with each frame. The numbers reflect the frequency of
mentions within the 8 Conditions of the Third Path.
This research has beneficial implications for teachers because it validates that The Third Path is a
resource that significantly embodies the Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum. Finding resources for
teachers that align with curricular standards is vital for teachers from a professional learning
standpoint. A resource like The Third Path can prove of value for teachers because it brings
awareness to the impact teachers have on student wellness, and how they can support it in the
classroom to raise well-rounded learners.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND REFERENCES
Thank-you to Dr. Jessica Whitley for your guidance and support throughout the research process.
Thank you to the University of Ottawa’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) for
financing this research.
REFERENCES:
It is evident that well-being is the most mentioned frame in The Third Path, in terms of key words and
associated concepts, and reflected 43% of the total count. The least mentioned frame is Expression,
which focuses on Math and Literacy Behaviours, which reflected 3%.
From the perspective of the Third Path, the frames were most commonly mentioned in the Belonging
and Identity conditions with the Meaning condition showing the least evidence of the four frames of
the Kindergarten document.
Tranter, D. Carson, L. Boland, T. (2018) The Third Path. Nelson Education Ltd.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2016) The Kindergarten Program. Ontario Government.
Hargreaves, A. & Shirley, D. (2018) Well-being and Success: Opposites that need to attract. EdCan
Network. Retrieved from: https://www.edcan.ca/articles/well-being-and-success/
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