Laura Sokal
Biographic Data
| ID | 86250 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Laura Sokal |
| GIVEN NAMES | Laura |
| FAMILY NAME | Sokal |
| SIGNATURE | SOKAL L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Winnipeg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7543-8416 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 34 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Commitment Under Pressure
This study examines how the education sector in one Canadian province has navigated post-pandemic recovery between 2023 and 2025, drawing on cross-sectional survey data from a convenience sample of sector employees in the 2023–2024 (n = 1411) and 2024–2025 (n = 742) school years. The findings revealed selective improvement over time, including increased organizational commitment among teachers and other education workforce members, alongside redu…
Logistic regression of post-pandemic organizational commitment in teachers, principals, and educational assistants
Canadian educators' post-pandemic recovery and students’ unmet needs
We investigated post-pandemic recovery in education sector employees by role in 2024. The frameworks of the job demands-resources model and ecological systems theory were employed. Canadian educators ( N = 243) completed surveys exploring their mental health (well-being, resilience, recovery), intention to leave their jobs, and their perceptions of students' current and post-pandemic needs. Quantitative findings revealed educators who intended to…
Identifying teachers’ strengths to face Covid-19
An appreciative inquiry approach oriented eight semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers from Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Spain, Canada, Bangladesh and India to identify their intrinsic and extrinsic strengths and understand how they were able to translate them into practice during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Commitment and determination, collegial support and solidarity were some of the common driving forces identi…
Post-Traumatic Growth and Protection From Burnout in Teachers During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Teachers have demonstrated a wide range of responses to the challenges of teaching within a pandemic. The current study investigated the relationship between resilience and post-traumatic growth in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on administration of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in 2022, four teachers demonstrated high levels of resilience, indicating the potential that they had experienced post-traumatic growth. Follow-up interview…
Global Competence in Canadian Teacher Candidates
The purpose of the study was to determine the global competence of 115 Canadian teacher candidates using a new measurement tool. Non-parametric tests indicated several differences in self-reported global competence within individual indicators across the three areas of Exploring, Engaging, and Acting with global competence. Two indicators showed that male teacher candidates reported higher levels of global competence than did females in the Explo…
This Is Us
During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,930 Canadian teachers were surveyed about their burnout and resilience levels, as well as their job demands and resources. Latent profile analysis revealed that teachers were responding to their experiences in five distinct patterns, or profiles, of burnout or resilience. Survey data were then used to match each profile group with their salient demands and resources. A continuum model of recomme…
How effective is online pre-service teacher education for inclusion when compared to face-to-face delivery
Research has recognized that enhancing pre-service teachers’ attitudes, efficacy, and decreasing concerns about inclusive education are essential factors in teacher preparation. However, no research has compared the relative ability of online courses to affect these factors when compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The current study used pre–post survey methods to measure the effects of the online versus face-to-face formats of teach…
Investigating Student Teaching Directors’ Definitions of “Teacher” and Paradigms of Disability in Canadian Teacher Education Programs
Directors of Student Teaching from teacher preparation programs across Canada were surveyed and then interviewed in follow-up focus groups to determine the opportunities and barriers they perceived during processes of placing pre-service teachers with disabilities into practicum settings. These data are interrogated within three theoretical frameworks about disability—the medical model, the social model, and the critical disability theory—to dete…
Promising practices for preparing Canadian teachers for inclusive classrooms
Teacher preparation in Canada benefits from innovative programming that supports vibrant, inclusive classrooms. We examine two Canadian-made programmes: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning, with particular focus on the social emotional learning block, and the Teaching Continuum, a model for inclusive physical education settings. We use the 3H Model of inclusive teacher education to analyze the fit of these two approaches to pre…
Measuring the use of inclusive practices among pre-service educators
The inclusion of all learners in mainstream classrooms is an objective for schools internationally. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed Inclusive Practices Scale (IPS) to determine if the intention to use inclusive practices could be predicted from participants' attitudes and efficacy scores. Participants included 390 pre-service educators from four countries (Australia, India, Canada, and Hong Kon…
Canadian teachers’ attitudes toward change, efficacy, and burnout during the Covid-19 pandemic
Canadian teachers (N = 1626) took part in a longitudinal, national survey conducted at two points early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that teacher efficacy, attitudes toward change, and perceptions of administrative support were correlated with teacher resilience and burnout at the onset of the pandemic. Over the first three months of the pandemic, teachers demonstrated increasing exhaustion and cynicism but also increased efficacy …
Supporting Teachers in Times of Change
Burnout in teachers has been broadly investigated, but no studies have investigated burnout in teachers during a pandemic. The current study is based on a survey of 1278 Canadian teachers and examined whether the Job Demands-Resources model was a useful lens for examining teacher burnout in this unprecedented context. Results supported the model in general terms in that most demands were most strongly correlated with the initial exhaustion stage …
Academic achievement of diverse K-12 students in inclusive three-block model classrooms
The academic achievement of diverse kindergarten to grade 12 students in inclusive classrooms implementing the Three-Block Model (TBM) of universal design for learning was investigated. Fifty-one teachers and 684 of their students, including students with disabilities, students who were English language learners (ELL), and Indigenous students, participated in treatment and control groups. Results indicated significant differences between the two …
Can Teachers’ Self-Reported Efficacy, Concerns, and Attitudes Toward Inclusion Scores Predict Their Actual Inclusive Classroom Practices?
This research was undertaken to determine if significant relationships exist between teachers’ self-reported attitudes, concerns, and efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms and their actual classroom behaviour in Winnipeg, Canada. Five teachers completed 3 scales measuring their attitudes to inclusion, their level of concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their level of efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms. They were obs…
How important is practicum to pre-service teacher development for inclusive teaching? Effects on efficacy in classroom management
Sixty pre-service teachers were surveyed about their confidence, concerns, and efficacy for inclusive classroom teaching before and after a course on inclusive education. Some students experienced a practicum in an inclusive setting alongside the coursework, and some students did not. Both groups made significant gains in all dependent variables and their subscales from pre- to post-treatment. However, the students who experienced a practicum in …
My Brother's Teacher? Siblings and Literacy Development in the Home
Frequency of sibling literacy interactions were examined in 134 families with at least two children, where at least one of the children attended school in grade one to grade four. Parents in the majority of families reported that their children read together on a regular basis without a parent present. This held across various demographic constellations including gender of the older child. However, children from families with three or more childr…
Prevalence of Gendered Views of Reading in Thailand and Canada
Recent large-scale testing of reading achievement indicates significant gender differences favoring girls in all countries tested, a situation that some researchers believe is the result of boys viewing reading as a feminine activity. Given that Canada has one of the world’s smallest gender gaps in reading whereas Thailand has one of the largest, a matched sample of 168 boys from Canada and Thailand were studied to examine potential differences i…
Good-bye, Mr. Chips
Boys will be “Boys”
Sixty-nine grade 2 boys participated in a study of the effects of book genre and sex of reading model on boys’ (a) view of reading as feminine, (b) intrinsic motivation toward reading, (c) interest in reading, and (d) attitude to reading. Differential effects occurred in boys based on whether they liked or disliked reading and whether they viewed reading as a feminine activity. Findings are examined in the context of gender schema theory as a way…
Parents, Children & Adolescents
Measuring the use of inclusive practices among pre-service educators
The inclusion of all learners in mainstream classrooms is an objective for schools internationally. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed Inclusive Practices Scale (IPS) to determine if the intention to use inclusive practices could be predicted from participants' attitudes and efficacy scores. Participants included 390 pre-service educators from four countries (Australia, India, Canada, and Hong Kon…
Good-bye, Mr. Chips
My Brother's Teacher? Siblings and Literacy Development in the Home
Frequency of sibling literacy interactions were examined in 134 families with at least two children, where at least one of the children attended school in grade one to grade four. Parents in the majority of families reported that their children read together on a regular basis without a parent present. This held across various demographic constellations including gender of the older child. However, children from families with three or more childr…
How effective is online pre-service teacher education for inclusion when compared to face-to-face delivery
Research has recognized that enhancing pre-service teachers’ attitudes, efficacy, and decreasing concerns about inclusive education are essential factors in teacher preparation. However, no research has compared the relative ability of online courses to affect these factors when compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The current study used pre–post survey methods to measure the effects of the online versus face-to-face formats of teach…
Academic achievement of diverse K-12 students in inclusive three-block model classrooms
The academic achievement of diverse kindergarten to grade 12 students in inclusive classrooms implementing the Three-Block Model (TBM) of universal design for learning was investigated. Fifty-one teachers and 684 of their students, including students with disabilities, students who were English language learners (ELL), and Indigenous students, participated in treatment and control groups. Results indicated significant differences between the two …
How important is practicum to pre-service teacher development for inclusive teaching? Effects on efficacy in classroom management
Sixty pre-service teachers were surveyed about their confidence, concerns, and efficacy for inclusive classroom teaching before and after a course on inclusive education. Some students experienced a practicum in an inclusive setting alongside the coursework, and some students did not. Both groups made significant gains in all dependent variables and their subscales from pre- to post-treatment. However, the students who experienced a practicum in …
Parents, Children & Adolescents
Boys will be “Boys”
Sixty-nine grade 2 boys participated in a study of the effects of book genre and sex of reading model on boys’ (a) view of reading as feminine, (b) intrinsic motivation toward reading, (c) interest in reading, and (d) attitude to reading. Differential effects occurred in boys based on whether they liked or disliked reading and whether they viewed reading as a feminine activity. Findings are examined in the context of gender schema theory as a way…
Good-bye, Mr. Chips
Prevalence of Gendered Views of Reading in Thailand and Canada
Recent large-scale testing of reading achievement indicates significant gender differences favoring girls in all countries tested, a situation that some researchers believe is the result of boys viewing reading as a feminine activity. Given that Canada has one of the world’s smallest gender gaps in reading whereas Thailand has one of the largest, a matched sample of 168 boys from Canada and Thailand were studied to examine potential differences i…
My Brother's Teacher? Siblings and Literacy Development in the Home
Frequency of sibling literacy interactions were examined in 134 families with at least two children, where at least one of the children attended school in grade one to grade four. Parents in the majority of families reported that their children read together on a regular basis without a parent present. This held across various demographic constellations including gender of the older child. However, children from families with three or more childr…
How important is practicum to pre-service teacher development for inclusive teaching? Effects on efficacy in classroom management
Sixty pre-service teachers were surveyed about their confidence, concerns, and efficacy for inclusive classroom teaching before and after a course on inclusive education. Some students experienced a practicum in an inclusive setting alongside the coursework, and some students did not. Both groups made significant gains in all dependent variables and their subscales from pre- to post-treatment. However, the students who experienced a practicum in …
Can Teachers’ Self-Reported Efficacy, Concerns, and Attitudes Toward Inclusion Scores Predict Their Actual Inclusive Classroom Practices?
This research was undertaken to determine if significant relationships exist between teachers’ self-reported attitudes, concerns, and efficacy to teach in inclusive classrooms and their actual classroom behaviour in Winnipeg, Canada. Five teachers completed 3 scales measuring their attitudes to inclusion, their level of concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their level of efficacy for teaching in inclusive classrooms. They were obs…
Academic achievement of diverse K-12 students in inclusive three-block model classrooms
The academic achievement of diverse kindergarten to grade 12 students in inclusive classrooms implementing the Three-Block Model (TBM) of universal design for learning was investigated. Fifty-one teachers and 684 of their students, including students with disabilities, students who were English language learners (ELL), and Indigenous students, participated in treatment and control groups. Results indicated significant differences between the two …
Canadian teachers’ attitudes toward change, efficacy, and burnout during the Covid-19 pandemic
Canadian teachers (N = 1626) took part in a longitudinal, national survey conducted at two points early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that teacher efficacy, attitudes toward change, and perceptions of administrative support were correlated with teacher resilience and burnout at the onset of the pandemic. Over the first three months of the pandemic, teachers demonstrated increasing exhaustion and cynicism but also increased efficacy …
Supporting Teachers in Times of Change
Burnout in teachers has been broadly investigated, but no studies have investigated burnout in teachers during a pandemic. The current study is based on a survey of 1278 Canadian teachers and examined whether the Job Demands-Resources model was a useful lens for examining teacher burnout in this unprecedented context. Results supported the model in general terms in that most demands were most strongly correlated with the initial exhaustion stage …
Promising practices for preparing Canadian teachers for inclusive classrooms
Teacher preparation in Canada benefits from innovative programming that supports vibrant, inclusive classrooms. We examine two Canadian-made programmes: The Three-Block Model of Universal Design for Learning, with particular focus on the social emotional learning block, and the Teaching Continuum, a model for inclusive physical education settings. We use the 3H Model of inclusive teacher education to analyze the fit of these two approaches to pre…
Measuring the use of inclusive practices among pre-service educators
The inclusion of all learners in mainstream classrooms is an objective for schools internationally. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed Inclusive Practices Scale (IPS) to determine if the intention to use inclusive practices could be predicted from participants' attitudes and efficacy scores. Participants included 390 pre-service educators from four countries (Australia, India, Canada, and Hong Kon…
Global Competence in Canadian Teacher Candidates
The purpose of the study was to determine the global competence of 115 Canadian teacher candidates using a new measurement tool. Non-parametric tests indicated several differences in self-reported global competence within individual indicators across the three areas of Exploring, Engaging, and Acting with global competence. Two indicators showed that male teacher candidates reported higher levels of global competence than did females in the Explo…
This Is Us
During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,930 Canadian teachers were surveyed about their burnout and resilience levels, as well as their job demands and resources. Latent profile analysis revealed that teachers were responding to their experiences in five distinct patterns, or profiles, of burnout or resilience. Survey data were then used to match each profile group with their salient demands and resources. A continuum model of recomme…
How effective is online pre-service teacher education for inclusion when compared to face-to-face delivery
Research has recognized that enhancing pre-service teachers’ attitudes, efficacy, and decreasing concerns about inclusive education are essential factors in teacher preparation. However, no research has compared the relative ability of online courses to affect these factors when compared to traditional face-to-face instruction. The current study used pre–post survey methods to measure the effects of the online versus face-to-face formats of teach…
Investigating Student Teaching Directors’ Definitions of “Teacher” and Paradigms of Disability in Canadian Teacher Education Programs
Directors of Student Teaching from teacher preparation programs across Canada were surveyed and then interviewed in follow-up focus groups to determine the opportunities and barriers they perceived during processes of placing pre-service teachers with disabilities into practicum settings. These data are interrogated within three theoretical frameworks about disability—the medical model, the social model, and the critical disability theory—to dete…
Identifying teachers’ strengths to face Covid-19
An appreciative inquiry approach oriented eight semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers from Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Spain, Canada, Bangladesh and India to identify their intrinsic and extrinsic strengths and understand how they were able to translate them into practice during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Commitment and determination, collegial support and solidarity were some of the common driving forces identi…
Post-Traumatic Growth and Protection From Burnout in Teachers During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Teachers have demonstrated a wide range of responses to the challenges of teaching within a pandemic. The current study investigated the relationship between resilience and post-traumatic growth in teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on administration of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in 2022, four teachers demonstrated high levels of resilience, indicating the potential that they had experienced post-traumatic growth. Follow-up interview…
Logistic regression of post-pandemic organizational commitment in teachers, principals, and educational assistants
Canadian educators' post-pandemic recovery and students’ unmet needs
We investigated post-pandemic recovery in education sector employees by role in 2024. The frameworks of the job demands-resources model and ecological systems theory were employed. Canadian educators ( N = 243) completed surveys exploring their mental health (well-being, resilience, recovery), intention to leave their jobs, and their perceptions of students' current and post-pandemic needs. Quantitative findings revealed educators who intended to…
Commitment Under Pressure
This study examines how the education sector in one Canadian province has navigated post-pandemic recovery between 2023 and 2025, drawing on cross-sectional survey data from a convenience sample of sector employees in the 2023–2024 (n = 1411) and 2024–2025 (n = 742) school years. The findings revealed selective improvement over time, including increased organizational commitment among teachers and other education workforce members, alongside redu…
Psychology (20 works) · Medicine (11 works) · Pedagogy (11 works) · Mathematics education (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Pandemic (7 works) · COVID-19 and Mental Health (6 works) · Political science (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion (5 works)