Fiona Walton teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She has taught at the elementary and secondary levels, and acted as a resource teacher for ten years in schools in Ireland and Ontario before completing seventeen years as a special education consultant, supervisor of schools, teacher educator, special education coordinator, and director of early childhood and school services in the Northwest Territories Nunavut.
I was born in Nyeri, Kenya, East Africa in 1950 and grew up feeling totally at home in a land full of snakes, monkeys, ants, chameleons, and hyenas. I was a wild child whose life focused on being outdoors climbing trees and running without shoes. I had broken my arm three times before I was nine and photographs from that time show me as ragged, dirty, and tomboyish staring with a sullen, defiant look at the camera. School was not a central part of my experience, just a place to be confined before going outside. Freedom was important and has been a theme in my life ever since.
In 1960 my father’s medical needs forced the family to move to England. It was a shock to face London’s drab streets with people dressed in coats and boots against the seeping rain. Everything seemed oppressive and constraining to me as I struggled to come to terms with being in a new country. I did not feel at home. Fortunately I found myself in an experimental, public school in London. It was the heyday of radical educational change for the elementary programs in England and I recall my excitement as we pretended to be ancient Britons by making caves in the school hedges or learned about farming by watching the school principal shear the sheep that grazed in the fields around the school. We learned science through hands-on experiments. We created museums, drama productions, and art exhibitions, and enjoyed an exceptional physical education program. The teachers were caring and passionate about the approaches they used and soon I was on fire with learning. My academic achievement and creativity were fostered and encouraged. I felt special and could not wait to get to school each day. In 18 short months that school and those teachers shaped my fundamental beliefs about education, and while they have gathered depth over the years, the values remain intact. Once you have experienced what is possible in education, it is very hard to accept that school needs to be confined to classrooms, rigid programs, or traditional, transmission approaches to instruction. By the age of 11, I was totally convinced that education deserved to be one of the most exciting things about life.
Before I turned 12, we moved to Ireland, a country I dearly love. Though the educational system was very traditional, the teachers cared about us as young people and pushed us to learn. Moving to Canada in 1975 I was fortunate to teach in Ontario for seven years and in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut for 17 years in dynamic, progressive public school systems. In the NWT and Nunavut the work was often overwhelming as we faced many social problems, and an array of linguistic and cultural complexities in an ever-evolving system. I watched many promising, talented educators burning out in northern classrooms and as I moved to UPEI my philosophy turned more and more towards building resilience in preservice teachers and developing caring, communities to help teachers to stay alive and connected to themselves and students. I believe that when we are intellectually and spiritually alive and engaged, our teaching is infused with energy and passion.
Chapter in a Book
O’Donoghue, F. (1991). “Piniaqtavut.” In P. Goodman and Y. Goodman. The whole language Catalog. Santa Rosa, CA.: American School Publishers.
Publications R Peer Reviewed
R McAuley, A. & Walton, F. (2011, May). Decolonizing cyberspace: Online support for the Nunavut MEd. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12 (4),18-34.
R Tompkins, J., McAuley, A., Walton, F. Metuq, L. and Hainnu, J. (2010, May). Carrying the Suppivik: Protecting embers to light the qulliq of Inuit learning in Nunavut communities. Étudesé/Inuité/Studies, 33 (1-2).Tompkins, J., McAuley, A., & Walton, F. (2008). On Thin Ice: Inuit qaujimajatuqangit and Inuit uqausingit in the Nunavut MEd program. (Manuscript submitted for publication).
Timmons, V., Critchley, K., Campbell, B., McAuley, A., Taylor, J., & Walton, F. (2007). Knowledge translation case study: A rural community collaborates with researchers to investigate health issues. The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions.
Campbell, B., Timmons, V., Critchley, K., McAuley, A., Taylor, J. P., & Walton, F. (in press). Knowledge to action: A community based approach to knowledge exchange. Action Research International.
Taylor, J., Timmons, V., Larsen, R., Walton, F., Bryanton, J., Critchley, K. & McCarthy. (2007). Nutritional concerns in Aboriginal children are similar to those in non-Aboriginal children in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107(6), 951-955.
Critchley, K., Timmons, V., Walton, F., Bryanton, J., McCarthy, M-J, & Taylor, J. (2007a). Building healthy Mi’kmaq communities in Prince Edward Island. Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 27 (1), 1-17.
Critchley, K., Timmons, V., Walton, F., Bryanton, J., McCarthy, M-J, & Taylor, J. (2007b). Mi’kmaq children’s perception on education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 30(2), 217-230.
Walton, F., McAuley, A., Campbell, B., Timmons, V., Critchley, K., & Taylor, J. (2007). Changing landscapes of rural health: Knowledge exchange in Prince Edward Island communities. Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine (Manuscript submitted for publication).
Timmons, V., Walton, F., Roach O'Keefe, A., & Wagner, M. (2006, July). Families learning together: A family literacy program with Mi'Kmaq communities in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Journal of Native Education.
Critchley, K., Walton, F., Timmons, V., Bryanton, J., McCarthy & Taylor, J. (2006a). Personal health practices around physical activity as perceived by the Aboriginal children of Prince Edward Island. Journal of Aboriginal Health, 3(1), 26-34.
Critchley. K., Timmons, V., Campbell, B., McAuley, A., Taylor, J. & Walton, F (2006b). Engaging the community: A case study in one rural community and the knowledge translation process. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2; 75-85.
Timmons, V., Critchley, K., Campbell, B., McAuley, A., Taylor, J., & Walton, F. (2006). Knowledge Translation: From Research to Community. Journal of Rural and Community Development (Manuscript submitted for publication).
O’Donoghue, F. (2003). Canadian children and at-risk students in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Exceptionality Education Canada. 13(2 & 3), 29-46.
O’Donoghue, F. (2002). Legislative & policy Supports for inclusive education in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Exceptionality Education Canada.
O’Donoghue, F. (1998). The hunger for learning in Nunavut schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Toronto: University of Toronto.
O’Donoghue, F. (1985). Hearing impairment in the Baffin region of the Northwest Territories. Aurora, 9-17.
Research Reports
Walton, F., McAuley, A., Tompkins, J., Fortes, E. & Frenette, D. (2010, June). Lighting the Qulliq: The First Master of Education Leadership in Learning (Nunavut): Final Report. A research report presented to the Department of Education, Government of Nunavut. Faculty of Education, University of Prince Edward Island: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Authors.
Walton, F., Favaro, B., Goddard, J. T., Frenette, D., Burgess, J., Cooper, L. & Peters, N. (2009). Promoting educational success for Mi’kmaq Learners on Prince Edward Island. A research report presented to the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island. University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown. Prince Edward Island: Authors.
Walton, F., McAuley, A., Tompkins, J., Fortes, E., & Frenette, D. (2008). Master of education - leadership in learning – Nunavut: Background, history and year-end report. A report presented to the Department of Education of Nunavut. University of Prince Edward Island. Authors.
Timmons, V., Campbell, B. Critchley, K., McAuley, A., Taylor, J., & Walton, F. (2007). Engaging the community: Knowledge translation as transformation in the lives of children in rural Prince Edward Island. A research report presented to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). University of Prince Edward Island. Authors.
Walton, F., McAuley, A., Tompkins, J., Metuq, L., Qanatsiaq, N., & Fortes, E. (2005). Pursuing a dream: Inuit education in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut from 1980 - 1999. A research report submitted to the Department of Education, Government of Nunavut. University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of Education.
Timmons, V., O’Donoghue, F., Critchley, K., Taylor, J., Bryanton, J., & McCarthy, M-J. (2004). Building healthy Mi’kmaq communities on Prince Edward Island. A report presented to the Canadian Population Health Initiative. University of Prince Edward Island. Faculty of Education.
O’Donoghue, F. & Timmons, V. (2003). A literacy needs assessment for Afton, and Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia & Lennox Island, Prince Edward Island. A research report presented to the National Literacy Secretariat. University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of Education.
Department of Education. (2002). School success for Aboriginal youth on Prince Edward Island: A report and recommendations from eight focus groups with Aboriginal youth and parents on native students and educational success. Department of Education, Government of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
O’Donoghue, F. & Pike, G. (2001). Employment equity in PEI schools: Report on the diversity in education project. University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of Education.
Nunavut Teacher Education Program. (1998). Purpose and principles. Nunavut Arctic College. Iqaluit, NT.
Nunavut Boards of Education. (1995). Pauqatigiit: Professional needs of Nunavut educators - Analysis and possibilities. Nunavut Boards of Education, Iqaluit, NT. Report available from F. Walton, University of Prince Edward Island. Faculty of Education.
Baffin Divisional Board of Education. (1991a). Piniaqtavut: Integrated program. Baffin Divisional Board of Education, Iqaluit, NT. Copy of the program available from F. Walton, University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of Education.
O’Donoghue, F. (1991b). Principal training in the NWT. Government of the NWT, Yellowknife, NWT. Copy available from F. Walton, University of Prince Edward Island, Faculty of Education.
Department of Education. (1986). A directive for special needs education in the NWT. Government of the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife, NWT.
Documentary Videos
Sandiford, M., Walton, F., Pitsiulak, S., Flaherty. E., & McAuley, A. (2011). Going places: Preparing Inuit high school students for a changing wider world. Authors.
Sandiford, M., & Walton, F. (2009). Lighting the Qulliq: The First Master of Education Program in Nunavut. A documentary video completed with participants of the Nunavut Master of Education program. Faculty of Education, University of Prince Edward Island. Authors.
