OUR RESEARCH:
The key domains of character, well-being, pedagogy & diversity
 

Student Research

List of 7 items.

  • School Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) 2024-2025

    Crescent maintained its relationship with SPARC, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and leading independent schools. SPARC amplifies student voices to improve school culture, inform policy, and enhance educational practices. At the start of each school year, Grade 10 students apply to join Crescent's SPARC team, with successful candidates placed into one of four research teams led by a faculty advisor. From September to April, teams met weekly to conduct student-led action research, developing research questions, completing literature reviews, conducting surveys and focus groups, analyzing findings, and making recommendations. Their research culminated with a seat at the SPARC Roundtable at the University of Pennsylvania, where they presented their findings on April 6 and 7, 2025. 

    This year, the SPARC Team had 24 participants across four research teams, each exploring issues important to them. Click on the links below to view their presentations.

  • Crescent School Research Institute 2024-2025

    The launch of a pilot project to engage Middle school Students in the action research process proved to be successful. Crescent students worked on all aspects of research methodology; they then created and shared a powerful 15-minute presentation at the inaugural Research Summit, hosted at Crescent in March.

    The event featured students from partner school Bishop Strachan, a distinguished panel including Sarah Craig, Executive Director, Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario, David Goodman, Research Coordinator, Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, and Dr. Greg Wells, educator, physician, wellness researcher, and CCBE Advisory Panel member, Rich Prosser, Head of Crescent’s Upper School, and Dr. Kristen Clarke, Dean of Teaching and Learning at BSS. This initiative, under the leadership of Trish Cislak, represents a significant achievement and will expand next year to include five additional partner schools.

  • Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) 2023-2024

    This year, we had four student research teams investigating school issues within the realms of character, belonging, brotherhood and well-being. We commend this fine young group of boys for their thoughtful and insightful recommendations for school improvement in each of their research domains. 

    From September through April, the researchers met with their peers, their Crescent teacher advisor and their mentor from the University of Pennsylvania. They spent Intersession Week collating and analyzing their data and preparing their report for the expert panel in Pennsylvania, Crescent staff and the Board of Governors. 

    Their findings were collated in both research briefs and research posters, which are displayed in the Crescent Library. Additionally, their recommendations have been adopted into current practice for the 2024–25 school year. We encourage you to browse their findings below and in their Board Presentation 2024.

    Character
    How Social Pressures Affect Growth and Individuality  
    The ability to share and be yourself in an environment is what we have defined as “Boyhood.” Like any society, there is a degree to how much we can share due to the many pressures from peers, family, or even self-inflicted ones. Everyone faces them and our group wants to figure out the root of this topic and alter it to create the safest environment for everyone.
    Research Poster
    Research Brief

    Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
    Belonging and School Culture: Understanding Gestures as a Way to Build Belonging Between Boys
    Though Crescent is a relatively tight-knit community, many students turn to chirping to gain acceptance and join a friend group. This led us to research these kinds of gestures that are more conducive to belonging and other factors that can improve students' sense of belonging.
    Research Poster
    Research Brief
     
    Relational Learning 
    Building Brotherhood Through Onboarding
    How can the student onboarding process be improved to create authentic relationships and foster brotherhood within the Crescent Community?
    Research Poster
    Research Brief 
     
    Well-Being
    How Safe Spaces Affect the Well-Being of Boys 
    How do “safe spaces” support the well-being of students at Crescent? Safe spaces are defined as places around the school where students can feel comfortable to be themselves and feel safe to be vulnerable.
    Research Poster
    Research Brief 

  • Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) 2022-2023

    Twenty-two Grade 10 students answered the call to investigate four issues central to their core experiences at school. SPARC empowers students to flex their leadership, collaboration and communication skills while honing their research strategies. In the process, they strive to make positive changes to school culture by revealing the ‘hidden curriculum’ at schools; namely, the student perspective. 

    Four research teams explored areas of study relating to relationships and well-being. They travelled to the University of Philadelphia in April 2023 to present their findings at the SPARC roundtable along with 80+ colleagues from nine other independent schools. This cohort of boys will have the opportunity to submit their research or reflections on the research process to be published in the newly formed SPARC Research Journal in the coming months. This is the third year we have participated in SPARC and Crescent is the only Canadian school in the consortium.




  • Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) 2021-2022

    This was the CCBE's second year participating in SPARC. 15 Grade 10 boys committed to weekly meetings and 4 research retreats throughout the year to brainstorm, develop, research and report on two separate projects in service of amplifying student voice in the intentional of improving overall school culture.

    Student/Teacher Relationship
    Loneliness and Belonging
    Access Passcode: 6J.#^u2a

  • Student Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) 2020-2021

    Eleven Grade 10 boys did research throughout the 2020-2021 school year on topics to enhance overall school culture. Our connection to SPARC facilitated this research program and provided the opportunity for our boys to present their findings at a North American roundtable in April of 2021. Research posters can be found below.

     

  • Technology and Friendships - IBSC Collaborative Research

 
 
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