Mount Saint Vincent University

Located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq People, Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) is strongly committed to fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across all facets of the university, within its local community, and in society at large. Founded in 1873, MSVU has been nationally recognized for its legacy in the advancement of women, its leadership in online and experiential learning, and its personalized approach to education focused on nurturing socially responsible global citizens.

MSVU is made up of more than 4,000 students (representing close to 70 countries), 600 faculty and staff, and more than 36,000 alumni. Its research centres provide unique learning opportunities for students while facilitating critical advancements in food security, healthy aging, Alzheimer’s disease, literacy, early childhood development, women in STEM, community engagement in military affairs, and more. Faculty members and departments across Arts, Science, Education and Professional Studies offer early access to hands-on research opportunities enabling graduate and undergraduate students to enhance their education by working alongside forward-thinking researchers.

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Articles

The European Union’s new transparency rules require companies to watermark content produced by generative AI systems, in a machine-readable format. (Unsplash)

An invisible AI watermark is coming to your messages. Your relationships may pay the price

Med Kharbach, Mount Saint Vincent University and Johanathan Woodworth, Mount Saint Vincent University

If checking each other’s messages for AI fingerprints becomes a habit, even casual communication may be marred with suspicion and doubt.
Children thrive when they feel they belong. They do better when they are emotionally regulated, when their routines are predictable and when parents and teachers work together. (Getty Images/Unsplash+)

Dispelling 6 myths about back‑to‑school readiness

Conor Barker, Mount Saint Vincent University

Parents might often worry about academic performance. While that is important, it is also vital that children feel a sense of belonging at school.
AI has changed the conditions under which trust, learning and assessment now happen. A person walks through the University of Montréal campus, in Montréal in September 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Why the real test of Canada’s AI strategy is in university classrooms

Johanathan Woodworth, Mount Saint Vincent University

AI policy guiding university learning and teacher education must address how technology changes the social and emotional conditions of teaching and learning.
Support is lacking and un-co-ordinated across child-care licensing regulations, curriculum frameworks, standards of practice and workforce preparation. (Children Nature Network/Nappy)

Canadians love outdoor play and land‑based learning — but regulations get in the way

Beverlie Dietze, Mount Saint Vincent University; Kelsey Robson, Lakehead University, and Melanie Manitowabi

Reform needs to address liscencing regulation, curriculum frameworks, standards of practice for early childhood educators and post-secondary preparation.
Focusing solely on the physical conditions that can coincide with Down syndrome disregards the important nuance of lived experience. (Unsplash)

Down syndrome isn’t a tragedy — but misinformation about it is

Martha E. Walls, Mount Saint Vincent University and Cornelia Schneider, Mount Saint Vincent University

YouTuber Jesse Ridgway’s post about his family’s decision to terminate a pregnancy due to a Down syndrome diagnosis has sparked debate about the persistence of eugenics narratives.
It takes time for young children to learn about different foods and textures. Preschoolers eat lunch at child-care centre, Mountlake Terrace, Wash, in in 2021. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

For preschoolers, fear of new foods is common — and responding can feel anything but simple

Jessie-Lee McIsaac, Mount Saint Vincent University; Julie E. Campbell, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Melissa (Misty) Rossiter, University of Prince Edward Island

Feeding toddlers can be hard, but research sheds insight into how to help children learn to enjoy a variety of foods and recognize when they are hungry and full.
Heart cut-outs seen in a flower bed at a National Indigenous People’s Day event with youth from Future Paths Network, a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting youth who are Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in their transition out of the foster care system in Ottawa, on June 21, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

The crisis of youth aging out of care is why Canada needs a children and youth commissioner

Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Dale Kirby, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Dr. Melanie M. Doucet, McGill University, and Mary Rita Holland, Mount Saint Vincent University

Canada remains one of the few high-income countries without a national oversight body focused on the well-being of children and youth.
A child’s toy tricycle lies amid the rubble of destroyed homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, in January 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Why Canada must step up to protect children in a period of global turmoil

Catherine Baillie Abidi, Mount Saint Vincent University; Izabela Steflja; Kirsten J. Fisher, University of Saskatchewan, and Myriam Denov, McGill University

Violence against children is a global crisis. States must take urgent action to prevent it or the cost will continue to impact communities around the world.
Recognizing children’s agency and giving them more control over their learning helps foster inclusive classrooms. A notebook seen in a class on the first day back to school at a school in Montréal, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

How alternative teaching models can foster inclusive classrooms

Cornelia Schneider, Mount Saint Vincent University

Inclusive education doesn’t just mean placing disabled children with their non-disabled peers, but re-organizing teaching and learning in the classroom.
Mounties stand with an American flag as they prepare to welcome United States President Donald Trump to Calgary, Alta., in June 2025 to attend the G7 Leaders meeting taking place in nearby Kananaskis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Mark Carney lifted some tariffs against the U.S. Was that a wise tactical move, or a bad blunder?

Nargess Kayhani, Mount Saint Vincent University

Canada has lifted many of its retaliatory tariffs against the United States. Here’s why that was likely a smart move by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Providing access to post-secondary education costs an average of $85,000 to $100,000 over four years, while incarcerating a single youth can cost $300,000 to $500,000 per year. (Joshua Hoehne/Unsplash)

Why bolstering post‑secondary education for former youth in care is a wise investment

Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Dale Kirby, Memorial University of Newfoundland; El Jones, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Kristyn Anderson, Dalhousie University

Without sustained support for education, housing and mental health, many former youth in care become involved in the criminal justice system.
A drag queen who goes by the name Flame reads stories to children and their caretakers during a Drag Story Hour at a public library in New York, Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Pride, pages and performance: Why drag story time matters more than ever

Phillip Joy, Mount Saint Vincent University; Andrea Fraser, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Conor Barker, Mount Saint Vincent University

When children are shown diverse characters and stories, they begin to understand the world from multiple perspectives. A study aims to understand how performers select books.
United States Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC in Washington, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Uninformed comments on autism are resonant of dangerous ideas about eugenics

Cornelia Schneider, Mount Saint Vincent University and Martha E. Walls, Mount Saint Vincent University

Part of a eugenic logic is the ongoing belief that erasing disability and people with disabilities is a desirable and commonsense objective.
Managing the home while caring for an elderly relative involves a multitude of activities and constant coordination of space and relationships. (Shutterstock)

Women caregivers need better financial support

Mary Rita Holland, Mount Saint Vincent University

Women caregivers provide vital support for aging relatives, however, they often go without the support they need to do their work.
Sculptures created by French artist Prune Nourry representing missing girls from a school in Chibok, Nigeria, on display in Lagos in December 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

#BringBackOurGirls: Hashtags alone will not safeguard women’s lives and rights

Tegan Zimmerman, Mount Saint Vincent University and Adebola Esther Osegboun, Federal University, Oye Ekiti

Social media can reach people around the world. However, the simplicity and superficiality of hashtags neither readily lend themselves to feminist causes nor were they designed to be feminist tools.
A lack of comprehensive data exists pertaining to former youth in care, and this needs to change. (Shutterstock)

How a failure to support youth who were once in care may be fuelling unemployment

Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University; Dale Kirby, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Margaret Robinson, Dalhousie University, and Rasnat Chowdhury, University of Toronto

Former youth in care deserve equitable educational opportunities. Better longitudinal data is needed around how youth and adults successfully transition to and complete post-secondary education.
Chronic pain is as much a social issue as a medical issue, which can be addressed with collective action. (Shutterstock)

Prioritizing pain: 5 ways to move beyond managing chronic pain

Shannan M. Grant, Mount Saint Vincent University; Ellen McGarity-Shipley, Dalhousie University; Hayam Bakour, Saint Mary’s University; Jacquie Gahagan, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Mary Lynch, Dalhousie University

While many people living with chronic pain require medication, there is growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches that seek not only to treat and manage pain, but also to prevent it.
No final, os EUA votaram no que é chamado de “masculinidade hegemônica”, uma valorização cultural de traços masculinos estereotipados. A depreciação interminável das mulheres e dos homens “femininos” de Trump venceu. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Depoimento: O papel que o racismo e a misoginia desempenharam na vitória de Donald Trump

Meredith Ralston, Mount Saint Vincent University

A perda da liberdade reprodutiva evidentemente não foi suficiente para que as mulheres brancas fossem contra sua raça, seus interesses de classe - ou possivelmente contra seus maridos.
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