Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
Thank you for the invitation to come before you today to speak about some of the research that I have been part of.
I come before the committee as a Ph.D. candidate at Queen's University and member of the Families Matter Research Group, which is led by Dr. Heidi Cramm out of Queen's University.
My doctoral research has focused on better understanding the educational experiences of adolescents living in Canadian military families as they frequently relocate and transition between schools and across education systems. I'm a civilian with no military experience; however, I grew up in a Canadian military family and have first-hand experience of what it's like to be a military-connected student. I also became a certified teacher in Ontario in 2015.
I'm here to share with you today what we currently know about how frequent relocations can impact the educational experiences of military-connected children and youth. To date, the knowledge base has been overwhelmingly informed by American research and often captures the perspectives of parents and educators.
From available research, we know that military families relocate three times more frequently than civilian families. Given the frequency of relocations that military families can experience, it has been reported in the United States that military-connected children and youth can attend up to nine schools before graduation.
Socially, relocating requires military-connected students to leave behind old peer networks and develop new friendships. This can be particularly challenging for adolescents, given the important role peer networks play in adolescent development. Since relocations do not always occur at the end of the school year, participation in extracurricular activities may also be put at risk for military-connected students. Again, depending on when a relocation occurs, tryouts or sign-ups for clubs and sports either at the school and/or community levels may have already passed, creating further social implications.
Academically, military-connected students may experience challenges such as curricular gaps and/or redundancies, particularly if they relocate across jurisdictional boundaries where differing standards and requirements exist. Given differences in standards and requirements across education systems, entry into school as well as post-secondary opportunities for military-connected students can be impacted.
For military-connected students with special needs, the challenges I've discussed can become further compounded and added to the challenges and stressors that military families face when trying to access and re-establish health care services following a relocation. Unbeknownst to most Canadians, there is no dedicated health care system that provides services to military families. As such, military families access publicly funded services and can be put on a waiting list for two to three years. However, military families may have to relocate to a new location before gaining access to services, thus starting this process all over again.
With differences that exist across special education systems, such as eligibility requirements, services offered and delivery methods, relocations and school transitions for military-connected students who require access to special education services can become increasingly complex and challenging for military families to navigate, particularly if they relocate to isolated or rural locations, where the availability and accessibility of specialized services can be limited.
It's important to note that despite available research focusing overwhelmingly on challenges faced by military families during times of relocation, positives associated with relocating have also been cited within the research, such as having the opportunity to start anew, travel and meet new people.
In the 2013 ombudsman report “On the Homefront”, it was identified that child and youth education is consistently identified as one of the dominant reasons for release from the Canadian Armed Forces. Despite this, there has continued to be a lack of Canadian research conducted on the educational experiences of military-connected children and youth. In fact, I am one of only a few individuals within Canada who is conducting research on this topic and trying to raise awareness of a unique population whose needs and experiences are not well understood.
At this critical point in time, where there is emphasis being placed within Canadian defence policy to support military families and reduce the implications of their high mobility, it is critical, moving forward, to increase Canadian research capacity to ensure that future strategic decisions to support the educational experiences of military-connected students are informed by Canadian evidence rather than international evidence, where key contextual differences can exist.
Thank you again for this opportunity. I look forward to our discussion today.