Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Meaghan Furlano, PhD Student, Sociology, Western University

Actress Sydney Sweeney is once again embroiled in controversy. This time the debate isn’t centred around Sweeney selling soaps infused with her bathwater or posting pictures of MAGA-inspired red caps. Instead, the Euphoria star is making rounds for her role in a contentious ad campaign with American Eagle Outfitters.

While the entire campaign sparked debate online, one particular ad has drawn especially intense criticism.

In it, Sweeney lounges artfully on a chaise while fastening a pair of American Eagle jeans. In a breathy voiceover, she says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour.”

As the camera slowly pans upward and she turns her eyes toward the viewer, Sweeney concludes, “My jeans are blue.”

Commentators and social media users have argued the campaign serves as a conservative dog whistle, conveying thinly veiled support for white supremacy and eugenics.

American Eagle released a statement defending the ad on August 1, writing “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” on Instagram.

Innocent marketing or intentional dog whistle?

Eugenics is a discredited ideology rooted in white supremacy and scientific racism. It promotes the false belief that racial groupings are biologically determined, and that some groups are genetically superior to others and should selectively reproduce to preserve their “good genes.”

Historically, the end goal of eugenics has been to eliminate so-called “bad genes” — often associated with non-white, disabled, poor or otherwise marginalized communities — so social elites can maintain their dominance.

Fashion advertising playing on eugenic themes has a long history. Commentators have gestured to similarities between the Sweeney ad and the infamous 1980s campaign for Calvin Klein featuring a then-15-year-old Brooke Shields, who rolls around in her Calvins while talking about genetic codes, evolution and survival of the fittest — language evocative of eugenic thinking.

The American Eagle campaign appears to be a direct homage to the Calvin campaign, but is rhetoric reminiscent of eugenics really something we want to reference in marketing?

The return of ‘traditional’ femininity

The American Eagle campaign is pointedly titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” with “jeans” sometimes swapped out for “genes.” It’s clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek.

But this is not just a harmless ad. If the campaign didn’t reflect broader cultural tensions, neither U.S. President Donald Trump nor Sen. Ted Cruz would have commented on it.

“The crazy Left has come out against beautiful women,” Cruz wrote in a tweet about the controversy. A right-wing media outlet went further, claiming body positivity was bringing “the giggling blonde with an amazing rack … to the brink of extinction.”

With its celebration of Sweeney’s conventionally attractive appearance, American Eagle has reintroduced the “traditional” feminine figure loudly and proudly. In this sense, the campaign symbolizes a changing of the cultural tides: out with body positivity, in with the “amazing rack” and all it signifies.

In our present cultural moment saturated with conservative messaging, Sweeney — a young, thin, white and sexualized Hollywood star — is hardly a surprising figure to hear extolling the quality of her “genes” (sorry, jeans).

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From the rise of tradwife influencers and SkinnyTokers to the ritualized feminine performance of “morning shedders,” the campaign lands squarely within a broader revival of regressive feminine ideals wrapped in aspirational, white-washed beauty.

Exorcising self-love from the corporate agenda

As a feminist media scholar interested in the intersection of pop culture and the far right, my ongoing research explores the rise of anti-feminism and right-wing politics. We are no longer in the age of popular feminism, when corporations eagerly appropriated feminist rhetoric to sell their products and services.

In its place, brands are reverting to traditional imagery: thin, white women styled for the male gaze — a term referring to the objectification and sexualization of women in popular media, from film and television to fashion ads. It’s a strategy that has long worked for them, and it’s one they’re glad is back in vogue.

The aesthetic regression encapsulated in the Sweeney American Eagle campaign reveals what many critics suspected all along: the corporate embrace of feminism was never sincere.

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How neoliberalism colonised feminism – and what you can do about it

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Campaigns touting “love your body,” “empowerment,” and “confidence” in the late 2010s and early 2020s were intentionally designed to court progressive consumers and profit from the popularity of feminism. The core business model of these corporations — sell insecurities and reap profits for shareholders — had not fundamentally changed.

If anything, as other scholars argue, self-love marketing encouraged women to not only upgrade their bodies but also their minds. It was no longer culturally acceptable that women look good; they had to also feel good about their bodies. That standard required more work and, of course, products, which brands happily supplied.

Spurred on by an increasingly conservative political climate, many brands are no longer shy about expressing their motives. Thin is back in and whiteness is re-associated with rightness.

Living through the cultural backlash

As I have argued elsewhere, we are currently living in backlash times. In her 1991 book, journalist Susan Faludi wrote that backlash is “a recurring phenomenon” that “returns every time women begin to make some headway toward equality.”

Although many news articles are describing a consumer “backlash” to the Sweeney American Eagle campaign, I’m referring to something different: the rise of a cultural backlash against progressive social movements and politics. This backlash is currently taking shape across political, legal and economic domains, and it goes beyond a single ad.

Today’s current backlash is a reaction to popular feminism, Black Lives Matter, DEI and incisive systemic analyses found in feminist, anti-racist and queer scholarship and activism. The Sweeney campaign is just one expression of this larger pattern.

Faludi shrewdly observed that “images of the restrained women line the walls of the popular culture’s gallery” during periods of backlash. That insight feels newly relevant.

Just days after American Eagle dropped its campaign, Kim Kardashian’s company SKIMS released their “sculpt face wraps” — a product designed to give users a more “sculpted” jawline. On the SKIMS website, product images show women ensnared in products that resemble Hannibal Lecter’s famous mask or a surgical brace. They are disconcerting, to say the least.

If Faludi has taught us anything, it’s that a trend of images showing women restrained — physically or to rigidly defined roles — are not only harbingers of a menacing future, but are indicative of a chilling present that we must recognize to resist.

Meaghan Furlano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign is part of a wider cultural backlash – https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-sweeneys-american-eagle-campaign-is-part-of-a-wider-cultural-backlash-262417

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Samuel Starko, Forrest Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia

More than a decade since the start of the longest ocean warming event ever recorded, scientists are still working to understand the extent of its impacts. This unprecedented heat wave, nicknamed “The Blob,” stretched thousands of kilometres over North America’s western coastal waters, affecting everything from the smallest plankton to the largest marine mammals.

Between 2014 and 2016, when this heat wave occurred, water temperatures soared between two to six degrees C above average.

One would be forgiven for thinking this is no big deal. After all, temperatures fluctuate more than this on land most days. But not so in the ocean, where temperatures are normally much more stable because of the enormous amount of energy it takes to change them.

Although the duration of this multi-year warming event made it the first of its kind, it offers a glimpse into a future with climate change, where heat waves like this will be more frequent.

In our newly published systematic review, we synthesized the findings from 331 scientific studies documenting the ecological impacts of this marine heat wave across ecosystems, all the way from Alaska to Baja California.

Our results offer a stark warning for how profoundly ocean life can be upended by heat waves that are now a dominant signature of climate change.

Species on the move

One of the most common responses to this extreme event was that marine species moved into places where they are not normally found as they searched for cooler water. Most headed north.

In total, we identified 240 species that were found outside of their normal ranges. More than 100 of these were found further north than they had ever been recorded before, with some moving up to 1,000 kilometres.

These species on the move included everything from fish and invertebrates to seabirds and marine mammals. But species don’t all have the same discomfort level with warm water, and some species are more mobile than others. So, marine communities didn’t simply pick up and move together to avoid the heat.

Instead, marine heat waves like this one are causing a massive reorganization of ocean life, as new predators, prey and competitors intermingle for the first time. The newcomers have the potential to alter food webs and displace local species with far-reaching consequences.

Heatwave effects on linked species and fisheries

One of the key lessons from this heat wave is that impacts on one species can have effects that ripple throughout entire ecosystems. For example, the shifting availability of key forage fish like anchovies and sardines contributed to mass die-offs of starving seabirds and whales.

Warm, nutrient-poor waters also triggered unprecedented blooms of toxic algae. This led to the closure of Dungeness crab fisheries on the West Coast that cost local economies tens of millions of dollars.

Widespread ecological disruption

The marine heat wave also transformed coastal habitats, including kelp forests and seagrass beds. Kelp forests, sometimes called rainforests of the sea, were impacted along several thousand kilometres of coastline.

In some cases, local extinctions of these habitats have persisted for years following the event, with sustained impacts on the critters that rely on them. We still don’t know whether these changes represent permanent losses or whether any of these ecosystems will be able to recover.

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Diseases flourished in the warmer waters. The previously abundant sunflower sea star was hit particularly hard. Warmer waters likely increased the susceptibility of this species to an ongoing epidemic. This led to losses severe enough to have it listed as a critically endangered species.

Similarly, increases in seagrass disease contributed to declines in the health and abundance of the habitats these plants create.

Preparing for warmer water

Our review highlights how we are unprepared to respond to these challenges in real time.

With marine heat waves becoming more prevalent, we need to prepare for what is coming. Climate models indicate that these events will only get stronger as greenhouse gas emissions continue to warm our planet.

Global ocean temperatures have continued to rise over the decade since The Blob, with several years since being declared the hottest on record in the ocean, only to be surpassed the following year.

Actions such as restoring lost habitat or reducing additional stressors, like overfishing, may help ecosystems cope with some of these shocks. However, these benefits may be limited and offer only a temporary solution to a problem that is worsening.

Our review demonstrates how unpredictably these heat waves can unfold across marine ecosystems and how widespread their impacts can be. In the face of such drastic change, climate adaptation measures will only get us so far.

To stave off the worst impacts of heat waves driven by climate change, governments and industry must urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2014-16 marine heat wave was a warning. The question now is whether we will listen.

Samuel Starko receives funding from the Forrest Research Foundation, the Australian Research Council and Revive & Restore. During this research project, he also received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Mitacs.

Julia K. Baum receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A Professor at the University of Victoria, she is affiliated with the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre’s Kelp Rescue Initiative.

– ref. The world’s longest marine heat wave upended ocean life across the Pacific – https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-longest-marine-heat-wave-upended-ocean-life-across-the-pacific-260792

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jacquie Gahagan, Full Professor and Associate Vice-President, Research, Mount Saint Vincent University

As we move closer to the start of the fall term, returning to school is often a source of conversation and excitement.

Thinking about post-secondary education, and discussing what attending a new institution will be like or what program one will major in, is related to building a future that often hinges on educational attainment and income.

However, what is often missing from back-to-school conversations is the reality that approximately 50 per cent of youth who have experienced living in care in Canada do not complete high school, and even fewer attend post-secondary institutions.

The implications of a lower level of educational attainment can include a higher likelihood of poverty — including homelessness, food insecurity, worse health outcomes and fewer employment opportunities — and an increased interaction with criminal justice systems.

Barriers for youth aging out of care

In Canada, youth who age out of the child welfare system are among the most vulnerable members of society and require specialized, integrated government system planning.

Despite their resilience, many of these young people face overwhelming barriers and systemic discrimination. Without sustained support, many fall through the cracks. This is not a reflection of individual failure, but of a system that criminalizes vulnerability instead of fostering opportunity.

To address the needs of this population, Canada must shift from punitive responses toward meaningful investments in education and equity-focused policy change and supports for youth from care, prioritizing learning from those with lived experience.

Supports must be of a “wraparound” nature — meaning they are uniquely tailored and intensive, designed for people with complex needs and taking an approach that draws on and affirms young people’s identities, cultural contexts and strengths.

Systemic neglect has consequences

Research shows youth with care experience are drastically over-represented in Canada’s justice system and are 20 times more likely to be involved with it compared to their peers.

This is not coincidental — it is the result of systemic neglect, the school-to-prison pipeline and the absence of support at critical transition points.

When youth age out of care, often as young as 18, they are expected to navigate adulthood with no family network, limited life skills and inadequate financial supports. The result is a predictable cycle of poverty, homelessness and criminalization.

The cost of this approach is staggering. Incarcerating a single youth can cost $300,000 to $500,000 per year, with total public expenditures exceeding $1 million per youth over the course of a justice-involved life.

Seeking better outcomes

These resources are spent on reacting to crisis, not preventing it. In contrast, providing access to post-secondary education — including tuition waivers, housing supports and mentoring — costs an average of $85,000 to $100,000 over four years.
The difference is not just financial. Youth who access education are far more likely to achieve stable employment, experience better health outcomes and contribute positively to their communities.

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Education is not a luxury, it is a fundamental right and a powerful tool for interrupting intergenerational cycles of trauma. Yet fewer than 10 per cent of former youth in care in Canada complete a post-secondary credential.

This low rate is not due to lack of ability or ambition, but rather reflects the lack of targeted, consistent supports. Provinces that have implemented tuition waiver programs are beginning to see the transformative potential of this approach. Despite this, access remains uneven and supports are still insufficient.

Just and fiscally responsible approach

The criminalization of youth from care is a policy failure and reflects a societal willingness to spend more on punishment than prevention. Canada, like many other OECD countries, has a practical incentive to reverse this trend. Making early and data-driven investments in education, mental health services and housing for youth aging out of care is not only more humane, it is also a fiscally responsible and socially just approach.

By shifting public investment from incarceration to education, Canada can reimagine the future for thousands of young people. These youth deserve the same chances we would want for any child: a fair start, a quality education and the opportunity to thrive. It is time to stop criminalizing care-experienced youth and start investing in their potential.

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Health of former youth in care could be bolstered by stronger tuition waiver programs

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Strong economic returns

Investment in education, housing and mental health for youth leaving care has been shown to reduce justice involvement and lead to strong economic returns. A review by Ontario’s Advocate for Children and Youth found that extending support for youth aging out of care leads to long-term economic and social benefits.

In Ontario, every dollar invested in extended care from ages 21 to 25 could yield $1.36 million in savings or earnings over a lifetime through improved educational attainment, reduced reliance on social benefits, lower rates of criminal justice involvement and increased contributions through taxes.

Similarly, a more recent Québec study estimated that raising the age of care from 18 to 21 would cost $146 million but generate up to $254 million in benefits.

Investing in education for youth from care is a cost-effective, humane and socially responsible alternative to allowing justice involvement to become their default path.

How we can all benefit

The current punitive system invests heavily in the costliest outcomes — justice involvement — while underfunding pathways that foster resilience, success and societal connection and contribution.

A national commitment to educational equity for youth from care is a sound fiscal strategy and a transformational approach to ensure all youth in Canada can benefit from post-secondary education.

As a society, we all benefit from this approach.

Susan McWilliam, PhD, Outcomes & Evaluation Consultant, Mental Health & Addictions, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, co-authored this story.

Jacquie Gahagan receives funding from CIHR, SSHRC, RNS.

Dale Kirby receives funding from SSHRC.

El Jones receives funding from North Pine Foundation.

Kristyn Anderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why bolstering post-secondary education for former youth in care is a wise investment – https://theconversation.com/why-bolstering-post-secondary-education-for-former-youth-in-care-is-a-wise-investment-261926

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Roberta Soares, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Different countries and regions use various models for integrating immigrant students who need to learn or improve the language of schooling.

In Québec, one model for young people is the classe d’accueil, which could be translated in English as welcoming class or reception class.

It is part of the linguistic, school and social integration program of the Ministry of Education of Québec. According to provincial documents, the welcoming class is for those “in need of support” to improve their language skills.

It can be used from preschool to high school in the province, but it is notably used in secondary schools and in regions where the number of students learning the language of schooling is high, such as Montréal.

Students who do not speak French well enough to be placed in the mainstream class are placed in the welcoming class for French learning. Students in high school study mainly French, but also math, arts and physical education. This happens separately from students attending the mainstream class.

Interviews with students, school workers

My doctoral research focused on the placement procedures of newly arrived immigrant high school students before and after their stay in the welcoming class in Montréal.

I collected and analysed different types of data: documents, school observations and interviews with 37 school workers and seven students to learn about their experiences and views on the subject.

My research suggests that, even though the welcoming class is considered a “transition” to the mainstream class, the reality is more complicated.

In fact, some students may never get to the mainstream class. My research results reveal long stays in the welcoming class, immigrant students being placed below the age level of the students in the mainstream class and placements in general adult education and special education.

Challenges for immigrant students

Some students may stay years in the welcoming class if they are not considered ready to be placed in the mainstream class.

For some older teenagers who arrive without language skills of the host society, there are great chances that they can, after secondary school, be sent to adult education. They can end up studying with adults much older than them, which can influence their motivation.

Placement in special education means that they can be considered as having learning disabilities or directed towards technical programs that prepare them directly for the labour market.

A ‘deficit’ approach to seeing students

According to school workers I interviewed in my study, only some of the students meet the requirements of the host environment in terms of performance and behaviour and can therefore achieve educational success.

The students who fail to adapt can be seen as having individual or cultural “deficits” – for example, learning difficulties or academic delays. Some school workers highlighted structural issues of the host environment. They notably mentioned viewing school systems as under-resourced to meet immigrant students needs.

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My research suggests what is meant to be a temporary support becomes a sorting mechanism to stream immigrants into an educational track that can lead to limits on higher education and lower-paying employment.

Thus, there is a need to critically look at how the decisions are made to place and keep students in the welcoming class and who they serve.

Families not sufficiently informed

According to students in my study, they (and their parents) are not sufficiently informed about the education system in their host province.

Consequently, they tend to accept placement decisions – in the welcoming class, general adult education and special education – without fully understanding the implications.

Other research has also shown how immigrant parents might not be familiar with the local education system and thus might not question recommendations by school workers.

In fact, since their focus is on their children’s safety and learning, they tend to trust the educational system and its professionals to guide them.

Placement decisions shape futures

Long stays in the welcoming class, as well as special education and adult education placements, can have profound consequences in the lives of immigrant students, especially those who are racialized, come from low-income backgrounds or have experienced interrupted schooling.

Based on the accounts of students in my study, being placed in the welcoming class, special education or adult education can deepen dynamics of othering. As other researchers have noted, “specialized” or “separate” forms of education often add to how students are viewed through a lens of difference, especially racialized, linguistic and cultural difference.

The discourse of integration can mask processes of categorizing and managing students based on conformity to dominant norms.

However, this is not to suggest that people in school systems who facilitate placements to the welcoming class, special education or adult education lack good intentions for immigrant students.

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Navigating special education labels is complex, and it matters for education equity

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Many school workers seem to be doing their best under difficult conditions. It is a systemic issue, rooted in the structure of the school system. Nevertheless, if the system itself reproduces inequalities, acknowledging good intentions is not enough.

Thus, to create equitable education for all students, it is essential to:

1) ensure immigrant families have clear and accessible information about their rights and options by providing adequate support such as translation services, and by ensuring full student and parent participation in decision-making.

2) offer training and support to educators that encourages asset-based, instead of deficit-based, thinking, to legitimize and embrace different ways of learning).

3) consider inclusive models inside the mainstream classroom by providing sufficient school resources to facilitate a broader range of placement options.

In these ways, by moving to more flexible, equitable and student-centred approaches, our school systems can practise different ways of supporting student academic success.

The research carried out during the doctoral program received financial support from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

– ref. How language classes for immigrant students can perpetuate inequity – https://theconversation.com/how-language-classes-for-immigrant-students-can-perpetuate-inequity-259867

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Joanna Pozzulo, Chancellor’s Professor, Psychology, Carleton University

As the end of summer approaches, many will find themselves preparing to usher in a new school year.

This transition period can be difficult, leading to a significant increase in stress and anxiety.

Bibliotherapy — the use of books and literature to support mental health and well-being — may be helpful.

The term bibliotherapy was coined in 1916, but the notion of using books or reading to support health and well-being was around well before then.

In recent years, bibliotherapy has been experiencing a resurgence to support mental health in clinical and non-clinical settings.

Mental health practitioners and scholars who study literature or books, as well as the intersection of medicine and human experiences of illness and wellness, are taking an interest in bibliotherapy in varied ways.

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As a professor of psychology and Director of the Mental Health and Well-Being Research and Training Hub at Carleton University, I have created the Reading for Well-being Community Book Club. Through this hub, I select evidence-based books on various dimensions of well-being and self-improvement.

Each month, members receive a newsletter with my selection and review, along with a link to an electronic discussion board to comment on the books. All are welcome to join and there are no fees.

Bibliotherapy, practised as prescribed reading by a mental health professional, can help with anxiety and depression with positive effects being sustained over a longer period.

If you seek to be proactive with maintaining your mental health, or are mildly concerned about how well you are doing (the mental health continuum model of “green, amber and red” zones might help you consider this), self-help books are among the resources that can provide a supportive option until you have access to a professional, or in conjunction to working with a trained professional.

When choosing books for this purpose, choose evidence-based books.

Here are five books offering strategies on how to ease the stress and anxiety associated with back-to-school transitions.

Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage you by Ethan Kross

Kross, a professor and leading expert on emotion regulation, explores the science of emotion and provides several evidence-based strategies to help you manage it in a healthy way.

One of the most powerful statements in the book is the very last one Kross makes: “We have the power to shift our lives,” which illustrates our capacity to improve well-being.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in emotion regulation.

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Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion by Wendy Suzuki with Billie Fitzpatrick

Neuroscience professor Suzuki takes you on a science-filled journey of how anxiety works in our brains and how you can change those pathways for a more positive experience.

Three themes that emerge centre around making time for meditation, exercise and sleep. These elements may help you move from bad to good anxiety.

The notion of good anxiety is about coping and changing our perceptions and reactions to anxiety so that it becomes a strength and motivator; “our superpower,” as Suzuki notes.

Suzuki provides numerous guided strategies to help make the shift to good anxiety.

The Resilient Teen: 10 Key Skills to Bounce Back from Setbacks & Turn Stress Into Success by Sheela Raja

Raja, a clinical psychologist and professor, provides evidence-based strategies to help teens build their resilience, which is the ability to maintain well-being when stressors arise.

Using the strategies described can help readers develop resiliency.

This is a book for teens, and those who interact with teens, who want techniques to help deal with stress and anxiety.

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Breathing is My Superpower: Mindfulness Book for Kids to Feel Calm and Peaceful by Alicia Ortego

This book features the character Sophia, who describes several child-friendly breathing techniques to help regulate emotions.

Some basic yoga techniques also are described to help ease anxiety. The techniques in the book can be practised by a child alone or with an adult.

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Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival

This is a child-friendly picture book on how worry can grow and become more difficult to manage if ignored.

By helping another child who experiences worry, the character Ruby learns that talking about worry can help manage it.

This book can be used as an entry point to talk to children about their emotions.

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Reading for Well-Being podcast

Podcasts provide several benefits for health and well-being. Listeners can gain access to leading experts around the world and content may be presented in a way that helps people gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

I created the Reading for Well-Being podcast to facilitate my book club’s knowledge mobilization (providing research findings in a manner that can be used by the general public).

I interview the authors of my selected book club picks to help listeners better understand the science and strategies for improved well-being. Book club members can submit questions to the authors in advance of an episode’s recording.

Reading books about wellness or self-help can be a useful tool in coping with stress and anxiety associated with going back to school. But, remember, choose books that are written by professionals with advanced training from reputable institutions. For severe anxiety, seek help from a doctor or trained mental health professional.

Joanna Pozzulo receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council.

– ref. Back-to-school transitions can trigger stress and anxiety — these 5 books can help – https://theconversation.com/back-to-school-transitions-can-trigger-stress-and-anxiety-these-5-books-can-help-261042

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James McKendry, Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Healthy Aging, University of British Columbia

Protein is having its moment: From grocery store shelves to Instagram feeds, high-protein foods are everywhere. Food labels shout their protein content in bold, oversized fonts, while social media overflows with recipes promising to pack more protein into your favourite dishes.

And according to the International Food Information Council’s Food and Health Survey, “high protein” topped the list of popular eating patterns in 2024. But does the hype match the science?

Yes and no.

Protein is essential to good health and boosting protein intake can support healthy aging and fitness goals, but the rush to pile on grams — often driven by marketing more than medical need — raises questions. How much do you really need? Can you overdo it? What’s the best source of protein?

This article breaks down the facts, debunks common myths and answers the most pressing questions about protein today.

What is dietary protein and why do we need it?

Protein is one of the three essential macronutrients your body needs in large amounts, alongside carbohydrates and fats. While carbs and fats are primarily used for energy, protein plays a more structural and functional role. It helps build and repair tissues, supports immune health and produces enzymes, hormones and other vital molecules.

Proteins are made of amino acids. Your body can make some amino acids, but nine must come from food. These are called essential amino acids. That’s why protein is a daily dietary requirement, not just a delicious post-workout bonus.

Unlike fat and carbohydrates, which the body can store for later use, protein doesn’t have a dedicated storage system. That means you need to replenish it regularly. In extreme situations — like prolonged fasting or severe illness — your body will break down its own muscle to release amino acids for energy and repair. It’s a last-resort mechanism that underscores just how essential protein is for survival.

How much protein do people need?

The amount of protein an individual needs to consume each day may vary based on age, physical activity levels and the presence of health conditions. However, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for daily protein intake is the same for almost everyone: 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/d).

For example, a woman weighing 65 kilograms should aim to consume approximately 52 grams of protein daily.

An important caveat is that the RDA is set to prevent protein deficiency, not to promote optimal health. Older adults who have a reduced ability to utilize the nutrients they consume, athletes whose bodies need more substrate for tissue growth and repair, and pregnant or breastfeeding individuals whose protein intake is shared with another being, often need more protein. Sometimes as much as 1.2 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. Therefore, an older person of the same body mass (65 kilograms) might need between 78 g and 130 g of protein daily, far exceeding the RDA.

Is there such a thing as too much protein?

While several expert groups agree that consuming more protein can be beneficial in certain situations — particularly for older adults — there is probably little to no advantage in consuming protein amounts exceeding two grams per kilogram per day.

The good news is that if you are generally healthy, increasing your protein intake will not shorten your lifespan, cause your kidneys to fail, give you cancer or lead to bone loss.

When should I consume my protein?

A prominent social media influencer recently claimed that post-menopausal women must consume protein within a very short window (~45 minutes) after exercise, or any benefits from exercise will quickly dissipate and they will lose all their muscle. This is absolutely not the case.

The idea of an “anabolic window” — a brief period after exercise when recovering muscles make the best use of protein — has long been debunked. Perhaps more accurately described as a garage door rather than an anabolic window, there is a generous period of at least 24 hours to consume protein after exercise.

This means your muscles remain sensitive to the muscle-building effects of protein for a long time after exercise. So, focusing your efforts on consuming enough protein each day is much more important than stressing about guzzling your protein shake in the changing room immediately following your workout.

As long as you’re eating enough protein each day, feel free to consume it on a schedule that fits your daily routine.

But if increasing the amount of protein that you eat at each meal helps you feel fuller and curb your appetite, you may be a little less likely to overeat or indulge in sweet treats.

And with the increasing off-label use of Type 2 diabetes medications such as GLP-1 agonists, which significantly reduce appetite, putting protein on your plate first might — and it’s a considerable might — help slow muscle loss that accompanies this drastic weight loss. However, this is rather speculative, and resistance exercise will probably be your best option for slowing muscle loss while on these medications.

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Are all proteins created equal?

Protein is found in a wide variety of foods, from animal sources such as meat, fish, eggs and dairy to plant-based options like legumes, soy products, whole grains, nuts, seeds and even some vegetables. Protein is also widely available as a nutritional supplement, with whey, casein and collagen being among some of the most popular options.

Animal-based proteins are often touted by many online as superior, especially when it comes to supporting muscle growth, but the reality of protein quality is more nuanced.

Animal proteins often contain more of the essential amino acids and are more bioavailable, meaning they are easier for the body to absorb and use. However, a well-planned plant-based diet can also supply all the essential amino acids the body needs — it just takes a bit more variety and intention.

If that wasn’t enough, and you find yourself trying to wrap your head around food labelling, you’re not the only one. When it comes to high-protein products seen all over the grocery store, meat, dairy, shakes and bars are no longer the only options. Now, consumers are bombarded with high-protein popcorn, chips and even candy. Most of these, like diets promoted by influencers, are unnecessary “health halo” gimmicks.

My advice would be to follow a varied, whole-food, protein-forward diet — much like the dietary guidelines. And whatever your preferred protein source — animal- or plant-based — fill about a quarter of your plate or bowl at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This approach will greatly support your overall health, especially when combined with a diverse diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with regular physical activity.

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Nutrition and healthy aging: The role of protein quality in combatting muscle loss

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The bottom line is that protein is an essential nutrient, and consuming enough of it daily is crucial for maintaining good health. But meeting your body’s protein needs doesn’t need to be complicated.

James McKendry receives funding from The University of British Columbia and The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada

– ref. An excellent source of protein: Health, hype and hard truths – https://theconversation.com/an-excellent-source-of-protein-health-hype-and-hard-truths-259984

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Lana Parker, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Windsor

Back-to-school is around the corner, which means that many parents will soon receive requests from schools to pay fees, contribute supplies or support fundraising activities.

But many families are already shouldering significant financial concerns. This raises the question why Ontario schools have become so reliant on direct fundraising contributions from parents.

Though the Ontario government insists it has never spent more money on education, a closer look at the facts and figures reveals that the budget allocated to education is woefully short of covering necessities.

My research, “Infinite Demands, Finite Resources: A Window into the Effects of Ongoing Underfunding and Trends of Privatization in Ontario Schools,” draws on discussions with educators to share insiders’ perspectives on how underfunding looks and feels in schools.

Increased demands, shortfalls

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released a 2022 report showing that, even amid the increased complexity of teaching during the pandemic, the Ontario government increased class sizes, cut funding and teaching staff and continued to permit the backlog for school infrastructure repair to balloon to nearly $17 billion.

Using the current government’s budget projections, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office has forecast the education system will see a $12.3 billion shortfall over the next decade.

While some people might ask whether these cuts are a marker of prudent financial stewardship, the numbers once again reveal a different story.

The CCPA report showed that while Ontario had robust GDP growth of nine per cent in 2021 and 6.6 per cent in 2022, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office found that, in 2017, “overall program spending in Ontario averaged roughly $2,000 per person, per year less than the average of the other provinces.”

In other words, the province has adequate funding, but is choosing to under-serve certain portfolios. For example, Ontario announced in its latest budget it will invest $28 billion on highways over 10 years.

Public investment with future returns

The choice to underfund education is shortsighted because research shows education is a public investment that can generate a high level of future returns.

This under-investment in education has real consequences for the day-to-day quality of schools. Parents who have children with special education needs have long been raising the alarm that their children lack access to adequate testing and supports, which is a direct function of insufficient funding.

Ontario’s principals, teachers and other educators issued an urgent statement in February 2025 advising the public of chronic underfunding and subsequent system challenges that “threaten the very foundation of the education our children and young people deserve.”

How boards are managing shortfalls

My recent research shines a light on the need for more sustainable funding.

The 11 highly experienced educators and one education organizer in my study described how school boards are trying to manage budget shortfalls by asking schools to increase fundraising and by asking school principals to look for private sector contributions.

They discuss how fees are becoming commonplace for extracurricular activities, which places a burden on families.

They decry the loss of materials for school libraries, arts programs and performance spaces. And they warn that the system cannot take many more years of disinvestment.

Full scope may not be clear to parents

Because educators are employed by public school boards and are responsible to the Ministry of Education, they might not be empowered to express their concerns to parents directly. Even parents who participate in school council meetings or fundraising efforts may not understand how much of an issue education underfunding is in their child’s school.

However, with their decades of experience, the educators in my study are unambiguous about the current situation.

One educator shared, “The students who suffer the most are the ones who are in our ESL programs and who are in our special education programs.”

Another noted, “With the formulas that would have been used pre-pandemic, I would have had four and a half, maybe five special education resource teachers and last year I had fewer than two.”

Yet another revealed, “There’s hundreds of kids in our neighbourhood who have never had a music teacher.” Another spoke about playgrounds, noting their board was being encouraged to seek private donations:

“That was part of the message we got the other day: ‘Look over to this school. The
[foundation name] came and built their playground. Maybe y’all should try that.’ We’re being told that we should be seeking out these donations. That’s highly problematic.”

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Music also matters in the real world

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These are losses of public education goods and services that not that long ago would have been available to all children.

As one of the participants noted:

“There are a number of opportunities that used to exist that no longer exist, and then parents get upset because they think, ‘Well, when I was in school, all of this was around. What happened?’ … Really, it’s about the underfunding.”

Province appointing supervisors

Recently, the Ontario government appointed supervisors to some boards, announcing that “investigations showed they each had accumulated deficits.”

In so doing, the government is asserting more control over public education and runs the risk of political partisanship (one of the appointed supervisors is a former Progressive Conservative MPP).

Journalist Wendy Leung with The Local, who has covered the significance of these appointments, reports the move also “hampers public scrutiny over what’s happening at the boards.”

Taking over boards can be seen as a distraction tactic as the government is asking them to meet growing needs with fewer resources.

Instead of increasing funding, which is necessary and long overdue, the government is likely to cut costs in the short term by privatizing services, a trajectory researchers have documented for some time. These shifts to the private sector are shortsighted attempts to balance a budget that only serve to raise the taxpayer burden over time.

People in Ontario — and across Canada — should be proud of our public education systems. They are held in high regard globally. But education requires ongoing financial investment in our children’s futures.

It took robust political will to compel governments to offer free public education to all children.

This history suggests it will take ongoing pressure from parents applied directly to the Ministry of Education, or via engagement with school councils and school boards, to demonstrate their desire for fair and sustainable public schooling and ensure governments do not shortchange education.

In this way, support for children today will be improved, and the proud inheritance of public education will be strengthened and viable for generations to come.

Lana Parker receives funding from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is affiliated with the Public Education Exchange.

– ref. Should back-to-school require parent fundraising? Ontario schools are woefully underfunded, and families pay the price – https://theconversation.com/should-back-to-school-require-parent-fundraising-ontario-schools-are-woefully-underfunded-and-families-pay-the-price-261036

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Emanuele Blasioli, PhD Candidate in Management Science, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University

The rise in vaccine-preventable diseases around the world is threatening decades of progress in public health and putting millions of people at risk.

The decline in vaccination coverage in the United States illustrates the global problem. Rates of most routine vaccinations recommended for children by age 24 months by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which focus on 15 potentially serious illnesses, have declined.

Canada has not been spared from this phenomenon. As of July 19, there have been 4,206 measles cases (3,878 confirmed, 328 probable) in 2025 reported by 10 jurisdictions (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec and Saskatchewan).

This decline in vaccine coverage is often attributed to misinformation and disinformation. As data analytics researchers, we used operations research techniques to understand why people are vaccine-hesitant. In our study, we explore how anti-vaccination sentiments and attitudes can be better understood through an integrated approach that combines social network analysis with insights into psychological reactance and the influence of eHealth literacy on health-related behaviours.

So what fuels skepticism about vaccines? It’s a complex blend of personal, social and environmental factors.

How our brains decide (and often get it wrong)

People typically use mental shortcuts, known as heuristics, to simplify complex issues.

The purpose is to minimize analytical efforts and speed up decision-making, which can sacrifice accuracy for the sake of efficiency. This results in distortions known as cognitive biases, which influence judgment and decision-making.

Vaccination decisions are influenced by these processes in the same way as any other decision.

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How cognitive biases and adverse events influence vaccine decisions (maybe even your own)

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Skepticism toward vaccines has often been associated with fears related to possible side-effects. These fears are fuelled by our broad tendency to overestimate negative consequences, a mechanism known as risk-perception bias.

A recent study published in Nature Scientific Reports confirmed that vaccine-hesitant individuals are more sensitive to risk, and give undue weight to potential side-effects.

Another study, from the journal Vaccine: X, looked at cognitive biases related to vaccine hesitancy and revealed four factors significantly associated with hesitancy. These are:

• fear of vaccine side-effects (skepticism factor),
• carelessness about the risks of not being vaccinated (denial factor),
• optimistic attitude, believing they are less at risk of illness (optimistic bias factor) and
• preference for natural products (naturalness bias factor).

Existing beliefs can also significantly interfere with evaluations and decisions, since people are inclined to seek information that reinforces and confirms their convictions. Confirmation bias interferes with the rational evaluation of evidence related to vaccine safety and efficacy.

The effect of this bias becomes particularly relevant when analyzing how susceptible individuals are to misinformation — a major barrier to vaccine uptake.

The myth of rationality

Assuming human beings can make fully rational decisions is helpful for developing simulations and models, like those in game theory. Game theory is a powerful analytical tool often used in operations research to understand phenomena arising from the interaction of multiple decision-makers, allowing us to predict the possible scenarios that may unfold.

Insights from behavioural economics and cognitive psychology suggest that any assumption of rationality is often wildly optimistic.

“Bounded rationality” describes the constraints within which reason operates. Human judgments suffer from a scarcity of information, time limitations and our limited ability to analyze.

Still, even the most effective information would not be enough to convince all vaccine-hesitant individuals. In some cases, it can have the opposite effect.

Understanding psychological and attitudinal predictors of vaccine hesitancy allows us to compare their influence in different contexts. Contexts define the environmental background (or setting) in which individuals decide about the vaccine.

These comparisons show that thought patterns and attitudes that feed into vaccine hesitancy can be modified, unlike stable risk factors, including demographic factors, such as unemployment, lower education, younger age, rural residency, sex and migrant status.

Change in vaccination decision over time

Immunization behaviours evolve over time, influenced by social dynamics. Researchers have studied why voluntary vaccination programs for childhood disease sometimes fail, showing how self-interested decision-making leads to lower vaccination rates and prevents the complete eradication of the illnesses that vaccination could otherwise control.

Assuming parents can make perfectly rational decisions, the study outlined two scenarios:

1. The benefit of vaccination for their child, accepting there might be some risk of side-effects;

2. The benefit of not vaccinating, knowing they can avoid side-effects, and hoping their child won’t catch the disease.

Whenever these choices seem equally good to parents, the researchers found there is a critical drop in vaccination uptake, especially for highly contagious diseases.

Another study investigated why vaccination rates swing wildly up and down over time instead of remaining steady.

The authors focused on how people copy each other’s behaviour and looked at two actual vaccine scares that happened in England and Wales, one in the 1970s with whooping cough vaccine and another in the 1990s with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

They found that parents oscillated between vaccinating and not as they followed the herd in whatever choice seemed safest, causing boom-and-bust cycles and unstable community protection from the targeted illnesses.

Such dynamics can also result in localized pockets of under-vaccination that benefit the unprotected through herd immunity, but also risk unvaccinated groups becoming high-risk clusters if that protection deteriorates.

Echo chambers in social media

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven how damaging misinformation, disinformation, information voids and information gaps can be to public health, including immunization coverage and vaccine hesitancy.

The relationship between social media misinformation and vaccine hesitancy can be understood by looking at two elements: how much individuals are exposed to it and how persuasive social media is.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine-skeptical content on social media had a significant negative effect and fuelled doubts about vaccine safety and effectiveness, particularly when not subjected to flagging by fact-checkers.

The impact of unflagged vaccine-skeptical content in driving vaccine hesitancy was estimated to be 46 times greater than flagged misinformation content.

Factually accurate but potentially misleading content — such as a rare instance where a young, healthy individual passed away shortly after being vaccinated — also plays a critical role in driving up vaccine hesitancy.

In our own research, we and our collaborators argue that investigating the role of social media networks can help us develop new strategies to promote and increase evidence-based vaccine literacy.

Elkafi Hassini received Discovery and Alliance grants funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada that supported this research.

Emanuele Blasioli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Vaccine hesitancy: How social and technological issues converged to spawn mistrust – https://theconversation.com/vaccine-hesitancy-how-social-and-technological-issues-converged-to-spawn-mistrust-261938

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Christophe Gagné, PhD candidate, Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

People often turn to pets to boost their mood and find companionship. Improving well-being and reducing loneliness are among the most cited reasons for adopting an animal companion.

But even though the belief that pets bring many benefits to their owners is widespread, research shows that having a pet is not a panacea for bolstering human psychological well-being.

Despite this, pets are often portrayed in the news and on social media as effective solutions to reduce stress and loneliness, reflecting a popular belief in their health benefits. This can lead people to adopt pets without fully considering the responsibilities and demands involved, which can have negative consequences for both themselves and their pets.

As social psychologists studying human-pet relationships, we take a more nuanced approach, examining when, how and for whom pets can — or cannot — enhance well-being.

What the research says

Many studies have found that pet owners are less anxious, lonely and stressed out compared to people who don’t have pets. Pet owners also report being more satisfied with their life.

These studies often catch our attention because they tap into something many of us believe: that our pets are good for us. This type of research offers reassurance and validates the deep bond we may feel with our animal companions. But they only tell one side of the story.

Other studies have found no significant link between pet ownership and human well-being. In other words, people with pets don’t necessarily report higher well-being, nor do they have better mental health than those without pets.

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Our research into pet ownership in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic was surprising: it found that owning a pet was generally associated with lower well-being and mental health.

The study included both pet owners and those without pets, aiming to compare the two groups on various well-being indicators during the pandemic. Pet owners reported lower well-being than non-pet owners during that time, including higher levels of loneliness.

These inconsistencies across different studies show that the connection between having a pet and feeling good isn’t so straightforward. Our study indicated some of these complexities. For example, compared to owners of other pets, dog owners reported higher well-being.

To make sense of these mixed findings, researchers have started to look more closely at the nature of the relationship between owners and their pets. This approach may help us better understand the factors that influence whether pet ownership is beneficial for our well-being.

The quality of the connection

Just like our relationships with people, our bond with pets is complex. Many aspects of this connection can influence how much we benefit from it. It’s not just having a pet that counts, but how we bond and interact with them.

For example, owners who experience anxiety about being away from their pets or question their pet’s affection — reflecting an insecure attachment to a pet — also report feeling more depressed. Perceiving our pets as less understanding or more insensitive to our needs is also associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness.

In contrast, the more people feel that they share characteristics with their pets (for example, loyalty, a mutual love of sleeping), the more likely they are to report higher well-being. Pets are also perceived as living in the present, not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Interacting with our animal companions mindfully can help us focus on the present moment as well, which also promotes greater well-being.

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By nurturing the positive aspects of our relationships with pets and working through the more difficult ones, we may ease the stress associated with some of the challenges of caring for them, including the financial resources required or the anxiety we feel when they get sick.

Some challenges of pet ownership

In fact, pet ownership comes with responsibilities and challenges that don’t seem to be discussed as often as the benefits. These more difficult aspects of caring for a pet can sometimes be emotionally distressing and negatively impact a pet owner’s psychological well-being.

Having pets, no matter how much we love them, requires time, energy and financial resources. For some, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, this responsibility may represent an additional source of stress. In our study, pet ownership was linked to lower well-being among women and among those with two or more children at home — groups already facing increased child-care and household demands.

Similarly, pet ownership was associated with lower well-being for people who were unemployed or in less stable forms of employment (for example, students, homemakers). Limited financial resources may have made pet care more challenging.

Likewise, having to care for a sick animal can be emotionally distressing for the owners. Caregivers of chronically sick dogs report feeling hopeless and powerless, especially when they cannot help to alleviate their dogs’ suffering.

Other factors, such as the pet’s behavioural problems and the grief experienced after losing a pet, can also be difficult for owners. For those contemplating adoption, it’s important to take these realities into account to make an informed decision.

Meeting our pet’s needs

There are many important factors to consider when welcoming a new animal companion into our homes. Above all, we need to ensure we have the time, energy and resources to meet their needs.

Choosing a pet carefully, based on what we realistically can offer and on reliable information about their characteristics and needs, gives us the best chance of having a positive and successful relationship.

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Supporting our pets’ needs can also improve our own well-being as owners, showing the potential for mutually beneficial interspecies relationships. But when those needs are not met, both pets and their owners can end up feeling stressed and unwell.

When considering adopting a pet, it’s important to ask: why do we want a pet? If the idea is to improve psychological well-being, our research suggests we might need to think again.

Catherine Amiot is a member of the emerging Board of Directors of the PHAIR Society, an academic society that seeks to promote research on human-animal intergroup relations. She has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and from the Fond de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) for the research conducted in her laboratory which is presented in this article.

Christophe Gagné does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Pets don’t necessarily improve their owners’ well-being – https://theconversation.com/pets-dont-necessarily-improve-their-owners-well-being-259973

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ardavan Eizadirad, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier University

Summer is popularly imagined as bringing joy to all young people. Yet it is not an equal break or of the same quality for all students.

Learning loss is the decline in academic skills and knowledge that can occur when students are not engaged in structured learning, especially during extended breaks like summer.

It disproportionately impacts Black and low-income students who face greater systemic disadvantages within the education system.

Black families face challenges in accessing culturally relevant and affirming summer opportunities. As work by education researcher Obianuju Juliet Bushi and others has documented, for many Black families, the question isn’t just “what will my child do this summer?” It’s “where can my child go to be safe, affirmed and supported?”

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Where can Black children go in summer? Black families face disparities and need equitable options

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Without access to affordable enrichment programs during the summmer, many students fall behind in reading and math, further widening the opportunity gap when school resumes in September.

As the manager of research with the charitable, Black-led non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics and Character Education (YAAACE) in the Jane Finch area of Toronto, I share insights about how culturally responsive community programs can address opportunity gaps, and how parents in Black families can support their kids’ successful transition back to school.

This article draws on insights from conversations I have had with various YAAACE program participants, parents and educators, as well as leadership, including Devon Jones, Nene, and Dave Mitchell.

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Anti-Black racism in education

Despite Canada’s reputation for multiculturalism, systemic anti-Black racism remains deeply embedded in the education system, contributing to unequal opportunities for students.

The opportunity gap refers to the unequal access to resources, supports and learning experiences that affect students’ ability to succeed, often based on race, income and geography.

In March 2025, the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a report, “Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System.”

The findings confirmed that Ontario’s schools are saturated with systemic barriers for Black children and their families. These barriers include: disproportionate discipline; being streamed into non-academic tracks; lack of Black leadership in schools; Eurocentric curriculum; insufficient disaggregated identity-based data collection; and lack of access to culturally affirming environments.

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‘Dreams delayed’ no longer: Report identifies key changes needed around Black students’ education

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The cost is devastating and contributes to academic underachievement, racial trauma, disengagement and the reproduction of the school-to-prison pipeline.

This is particularly the case in low-income communities.

Centring Black excellence

Black youth often face higher exposure to poverty, systemic underemployment, community violence and the emotional weight of intergenerational trauma and racism.

While these experiences shape the mental health and academic outcomes of students, schools often lack culturally relevant supports or trauma-informed responses.

Summer programs are one important part of countering anti-Black racism in schools. These can support student transitions by mitigating learning loss and helping to close the opportunity gap.

Programs that centre Africentricity and Black excellence led by staff with lived experiences provide culturally responsive and emotionally supportive environments that affirm Black identities.

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This builds confidence in Black students and ensures students return to school in the fall better prepared to thrive academically, socially, emotionally and culturally.

Community-driven youth programs

Since 2007, YAAACE has provided academic, athletic, family supports, employment and mentorship to more than 1,000 children and families annually across Toronto. Its programs are led by Black educators and mentors who reflect the community and understand the lived experiences of the youth they serve in low-income communities like the Jane and Finch neighbourhood.

YAAACE’s seven-week Summer Institute offers a model that affirms identity, cultivates belonging and accelerates achievement. Each summer, approximately 300 students from grades 3 through 12 attend the institute, which blends literacy and numeracy instruction with culturally responsive learning, arts-based programming, robotics, mentorship and athletics.

Students are taught by Ontario certified teachers and supported by Black staff and practitioners trained in trauma-informed care. For families who can’t afford camp fees, the program is free or subsidized.

This is a results-based, community-driven intervention that mitigates the opportunity gap for Black students from low-income communities by creating access to experiential learning opportunities. It’s also violence prevention and intervention that builds character and supports students, with a focus on the early years.

Cycle of empowerment

YAAACE’s Inspire Academy Mathematics Program provides early access to high school math courses. Grade 8 graduates earn a high school math credit through an intensive summer course led by a team of teachers and teacher assistants in a supportive, inclusive environment. In cases where students are behind provincial standards, they receive additional supports with low staff-to-student ratios.

Based on assessments administered by the teachers and reports provided to all the parents, students leave the institute more confident in their academics, better prepared to return to school and grounded culturally in who they are. Families report higher levels of engagement and lower levels of stress knowing their children are in safer, affirming spaces.

Many of YAAACE’s youth return as peer leaders and mentors, reinforcing a cycle of empowerment.

Programs like YAAACE do not just help kids do better in school. They also reduce long-term costs to the health-care, justice and social service systems by interrupting cycles of trauma and marginalization before they escalate.

Tips for parents

Summer is a crucial time to support children’s learning and well-being, especially for Black families navigating systems that often overlook their strengths.

Below are three practical ways to support your child during the summer break and when school starts in September.

Centre empowering examples of Black identity and culture: Expose your children to books, films, music and conversations that celebrate Black history and excellence, Africentricity and positive role models. Affirming cultural roots builds pride, resilience and a sense of belonging in systems that too often erase or distort those narratives from stereotypical perspectives.

Create routines that balance learning and Black joy: Set daily routines that include reading, writing or problem solving but just as much make space for rest, play, creativity and movement rooted in Black joy. Learning should be holistic and joyful. It’s important as parents, guardians and community leaders that we not only talk about this but more importantly model it.

Stay engaged and be an advocate: Get to know your child’s teachers and school administrators, review school policies to be familiar with how to navigate them (for example, getting accommodations for your child’s needs) and request culturally affirming resources. Don’t hesitate to raise concerns, as your advocacy helps create more supportive learning environments and shows your child that their success is worth fighting for.

Partnerships with Black-led organizations

Trauma-informed, culturally responsive education must become a system-wide standard.

This becomes a reality by building long-term partnerships with Black-led community organizations. It means embedding mental health supports and curriculum content that reflect the cultural identities and lived realities of Black diasporas. And it means collecting disaggregated race-based data to track progress and guide informed decision-making.

It starts by funding proven data-driven programs, training educators and holding systems accountable to measurable outcomes.

Ardavan Eizadirad receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

– ref. Accessible, high-quality summer programs and Black joy support Black children’s return to school – https://theconversation.com/accessible-high-quality-summer-programs-and-black-joy-support-black-childrens-return-to-school-261908