Current Issues

Abstract:

Using the new “emerging adulthood” developmental period (Arnett, 2000) as a theoretical framework, this article emphasizes the chal lenges faced by emerging adults (17- to 24- year-olds) enrolled in adult education. First, emerging adulthood as a developmental period and the additional difficulties experienced by youths with emotional, behavioral and school disabilities during this period are briefly discussed. Then, a description of adult education within the Quebec’s school system and its potential role as a turning point is presented. Finally, barriers to improvement are identified and the need for better knowledge about this clientele to establish evidence-based interventions is asserted.

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Abstract:

In recent years, an increase in the number of large-scale assessment programs in Canada has been observed. However, due to the provincial/territorial control of education throughout Canada, the format and purposes of these assessment programs vary. The central purpose of this study was to document the format and explicit purposes of the current large-scale assessment programs in each of Canada’s ten provinces and three territories. Through document analysis of publicly accessible policy documents, examination of Ministry websites, and telephone interviews with Ministry of Education officials, specific and general characteristics and purposes of large-scale assessment practices in Canada were obtained and analyzed. This analysis provided an opportunity to examine the commonalities and variations in the frameworks guiding the current large-scale assessment culture that is evolving in Canada. Assessment programs were categorized by their explicit purposes as they related to the functions of accountability, gatekeeping, instructional diagnosis, and monitoring student achievement over time.

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Abstract:

This critical policy study provides an understanding of the different actors—individuals, interest groups, and other organizations—involved in influencing and defining, through their narratives what public education in BC ought to be, thus capturing the core intellectual dispositions that informed and determined the kind of policy problems that were posed, the kinds of explanations that were offered, and the kinds of policy options suggested as solutions in the restructuring of public education in BC. The study provides an account of the manner in which policy problems were posed, of the explanations constructed, of the policy directions formulated, and of the policy issues to which policy makers ultimately paid attention with enactment of Bill 34.

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Abstract:

Professional learning communities have become a focus of educational reform in New Brunswick. The implementation and sustainability of this reform is dependent on shifting many of the organizational and operational characteristics of the traditional bureaucratic model into those that support a learning community approach in schools. The study examined traces the process for developing a school-based instrument that identifies systemic barriers that may prevent schools from becoming professional learning communities. The instrument examines culture, leadership, teaching and professional growth & development factors in an attempt to determine the readiness of a school to become a PLC.

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Abstract:

Contemporary secondary schools in Canada and the United States are complex institutions whose organizational structures, program delivery mechanisms, and institutional community members combine to produce distinctive mini-societies within their walls. Replete with complex arrays of rituals, ceremonies, as well as traditions and founded on a variety of basic assumptions, these unique cultural entities have a profound effect on the individuals, and groups who inhabit them. Indeed failure on the part of individual inhabitants to comprehend and accommodate the cultural nuances of the organizations they dwell in has the potential to significantly diminish their prospects for success in those domains. Furthermore, many of the structures and rituals of secondary school life have developed into something akin to cultural icons that have proven to be remarkably resistant to change. This article, therefore, proposes a model of secondary school culture that is intended to serve as a potential starting point for the further examination of these complex institutions.

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Abstract:

This paper provides an analysis of current educational finance debates in Manitoba within a broader discussion of the essential character of public education in Canada. Arguing that public accessibility and equity, public funding, and public control constitute three touchstones of public education, the paper describes the Manitoba debates over provincial and local funding of schools and the use of property taxes to fund education and analyzes them in relation to these criteria. Significant continued local school board funding from property taxes, along with a greater commitment to provincial equalization initiatives, is the direction that the paper suggests offers the greatest potential for sustaining and nurturing a strong publicly funded school system characterized by both public accessibility and public control.

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Abstract:

On national and international assessments, students attending French-language schools in Ontario usually perform worse than students attending English-language schools. Interpreting these results is challenging because the French- and English-language schools differ both in prescribed curriculum and in how the curriculum is taught. In addition, the French- and English-language versions of the tests and scoring procedures sometimes differ. Even how students in the French- and English-language schools take the tests may differ. Finally, the populations of students differ in important ways. In this paper, we illustrate these challenges using results from the 2001 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.

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Abstract:

This paper examines zero tolerance discipline policies in Ontario’s public school system legislated as the Safe Schools Act (SSA) 2001. The intent of our paper is to argue that the SSA set within a discourse of zero tolerance as the panacea to the problems of violence in schools has had a detrimental impact. Since the SSA is part of the episteme of standardized solutions to complex problems, Ball’s interpretation of “policy as text” and “policy as discourse” serves as the guiding framework for the study in which we examine the perspectives of professionals who implement these measures. In conclusion we state that the discursive frames within which zero tolerance policies are situated have shifted to some extent in order to consider other possibilities to the zero tolerance approach.

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Abstract:

Although claiming leadership to be critical to school improvement, few studies seek the informative voice of principals regarding their understandings of roles and sources of leadership. Using a distributed perspective as a theoretical lens to reconceptualize leadership, this article explores principals’ perspectives of leadership in relation to their roles as defined by legislation and policy. By examining the primary merits and limitations of Spillane’s (2006) distributed framework, consideration is given to persistent issues yielding implications for the practice and study of educational leadership. Lastly, I urge further investigation into the extent to which distributed forms of leadership may contribute to school improvement.

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Abstract:

Two reforms have evolved over the past fifteen years in the North American public education system, inclusion and large-scale assessment. The inclusion movement emerged from an educational reform to establish equal access to education, and the implementation of large-scale assessments stemmed from standards-led reform to encourage high standards for students. This article examines the implementation of these two complex educational movements; analyses how the large-scale assessment movement has incorporated inclusive practices; and presents existing examples that attempt to facilitate inclusive processes in large-scale assessment practices.

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Abstract:

Most teacher education programs receive many more applications than they can accept. How should programs select among applicants and how should the programs evaluate the success of their selection processes? In this article we review the criteria utilized throughout North America to select prospective teachers into education programs. The strengths and weaknesses of each criterion are discussed. We propose a conceptual framework linking the knowledge, skills, and attitudes beginning teachers need, the preparation that teacher education programs provide, and the programs’ application criteria. In the conclusion, the authors make numerous suggestions about how to adapt and change the current selection criteria so that the resultant product is the successful teacher. The authors challenge teacher education programs to critically examine their admission criteria.

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Abstract:

The claim that the character education policy of a school board in Ontario, Canada supports citizenship education is examined. 181 documents were analyzed to determine the ways the policy supports and/or undermines citizenship education’s goal to prepare students to become “knowledgeable individuals committed to active participation in a pluralist society” (Sears, Clarke, and Hughes, 2000, p. 153). The findings show that the policy encourages students to acquire specific values, behaviours, and interpersonal skills rather than conceptual or situational knowledge. While the policy encourages active citizenship by promoting the development of decision-making, conflict resolution, and communication skills, it emphasizes participation in activities that support rather than challenge the status quo. The policy also offers some support for developing students’ commitment to pluralism, but its narrow definition of diversity and emphasis on shared values, behaviour, and language contradict these efforts. I conclude that the policy supports citizenship education that adopts an assimilationist conception of social cohesion and/or social initiation as its purpose(s).

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Abstract:

Since 2004, a number of Canadian provinces have initiated comprehensive reviews of their respective public post-secondary education systems. This paper examines the ways in which these provincial post-secondary education reviews are consistent with the pervasive influence of economic globalization on higher education and a more market-driven and commercially-oriented ideological outlook on post-secondary education’s raison d'être. Taken together, these provincial reviews provide an informative and interesting repository of the current tendencies in Canadian post-secondary education policy.

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Abstract: This paper explores the history and processes associated with the transformation of a northern Canadian Aboriginal school into a culture-based community school for its Metis, Inuvialuit and Gwichin citizens. In particular, the role of the principal, a local Aboriginal, as a leader in initiating and facilitating the transformative change is examined. The factors providing the impetus for change and processes fostering change are examined through the critical lens of Kaupapa Maori Theory, a guiding framework for transformative praxis in New Zealand Maori schools. Finally, the paper examines current developments in the area of science curriculum development and delivery within this school community that are consistent with culture- and place-based education practice and the aspirations of the community.

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Abstract: Rural communities that envision a bright future for themselves and their children have become innovative out of necessity—they learn, and adapt, in order to flourish and to provide opportunities for their children. As the formal centers of learning, and often as the largest employer in the community, rural schools become the heart and symbol of learning and community identity. Unfortunately, their policy and legislative environments often lead to tensions between rural priorities/lifestyles and urbanizing/essentializing agendas which impact upon the quality of schooling they wish, or are able, to provide.

This tension was the focus of a study on rural educational priorities and school division capacity, based on a provincial survey and four case studies of rural school divisions representing four educational regions in the province of Manitoba. Findings suggest that three educational priorities remain central to the creation of high quality learning environments in rural schools: Improving Student Outcomes, Quality of Teachers and Administrators, and Educational Finance. This paper elaborates on the challenges facing rural school divisions for these issues, and discusses some of the ways in which four Manitoba school divisions, the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents (MASS), the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (MAST), and Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (MECY) are working to address these difficulties in what has become a policy window (Kingdon, 1995) for rural education in Manitoba.

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Abstract: The sharp decline in voter participation among Canadian youth requires an examination of how our students are being prepared for democratic citizenship. Public schools, including programs falling under the purview of career education, provide the means to prepare learners for vocational, community, and political participation. In Canada, career preparation occurs under a variety of names – Career Planning in British Columbia, Career Preparation in Alberta, Guidance and Career Education in Ontario – to mention a few. In this article, we offer a policy analysis of New Brunswick’s Youth Apprenticeship Program (NBYAP) to determine its respect for the principles of democratic learning (Hyslop-Margison & Graham, 2003). These principles are designed to provide students with a sense of community responsibility, political empowerment and social understanding. Our analysis reveals that NBYAP violates fundamental democratic values that foster student understanding of Searle’s (1995) distinction between brute facts and social facts. Students must appreciate this distinction to recognize how their own agency and democratic decision-making effects change in the formation of social, political, and economic reality.

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Abstract: This paper is part of a larger study looking at the issues involved as two large urban Canadian school boards, in Winnipeg and Toronto, responded to the demands of poor, inner city areas over the last thirty years of the twentieth century. In this paper we focus our attention on the broader stage on which education policy takes place. We draw from our data three overarching themes that we believe are critical for understanding change in inner-city education over this period. These are:
1) The diminishing role of school boards, as provincial governments took more control of education policy and limited the scope of school boards,
2) The importance of unique, and sometimes unexpected local events, and
3) The powerful implications for schools and education policy of increasing population diversity in cities.

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Abstract: Pedagogues and practitioners alike accept the vital importance of an effective professional induction for new teachers. This paper examines the evolution of such a policy in Ontario, from a mandatory pencil-and-paper qualifying test for graduating teacher candidates, to a modest province-wide induction program for newly-hired teachers. It assesses programmatic strengths and weaknesses using both theoretical and practical templates of comparison, and notes the attention devoted to ensuring political validity with interested stakeholders. The authors conclude that the new program combines professional orientation with school-based assessment, while falling short in the crucial area of mentoring.

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Abstract: Over the past two decades, distance education has become a reality of rural schooling in Newfoundland and Labrador. In this article, I provide historical background into the challenges facing rural schools in the province and how distance education was introduced to address that challenge. I also describe how that system of distance education evolved from a system that used the telephone lines and bridging technology to one that uses a combination synchronous and asynchronous system delivered over the Internet. Finally, I examine recent literature concerning the nature of today’s secondary students that would need to avail of this system and relate how this may not be an applicable portrait of youth in rural areas, such as Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Abstract: This paper outlines the genesis, limitations, and future directions for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in the province of Ontario. Recent assessment reforms are analyzed and examined in relation to broader Canadian and international literature. Research describing the impact of Ontario’s large-scale assessment programs on students, teachers, and the school system is also reported. The discussion outlines measures for strengthening large-scale assessment within the province and proposes a set of three overarching principles to guide future assessment-led reform.

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Abstract: The article reviews existing research on cyber-bullying, framed through a policy lens. It is clear that public policy issues for cyber-bullying involve tensions between the values of freedom of speech, the best interests of the child, and parental and school protective authority over the child. Given the complexity of the problem, as well as conflicting values, the development of effective policy requires a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders – policymakers, school officials, parents and youth. It is important to emphasize literature that delineates the differences between conventional bullying and cyber-bullying because the two are very different and must be treated and analyzed separately. Thus, the following sections set out the definitions and mechanisms of cyber-bullying for policymakers contemplating new and/or modified policies, review the characteristics of the problem and the psychology of Internet abuse, explain the physical and mental consequences of it, and outline the results of recent surveys on cyber-bullying. Finally, the article concludes with recommendations on implementing acceptable use policies at the School Board and individual school levels, as well as family contracts for home use.

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Abstract: In a climate of accountability, the development of assessment literacy among school professionals has become critical to school success. The provision of assessment leadership is viewed as the means by which such literacy can be enhanced. The writers examine the conditions under which student achievement gains can be realized. Implications of assessment reform for the instructional leadership role are translated into the knowledge, appreciations and skills that can help principals transform assessment leadership expectations into instructional leadership practice.

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Abstract: This paper discusses the implementation of Nunavut compulsory school attendance policy as part of the Nunavut Education Act (2002). Using a bottom-up approach to policy implementation in the literature and the author’s six years teaching experience in Nunavut, the paper argues that the compulsory school attendance policy may not achieve its objectives unless the District Education Authority (DEA) of each community is allowed the flexibility to adapt the policy to its local context. Because each community in the territory has a different micro-implementation environment, the DEA in consultation with principals, teachers, parents, and other community members would be able to construct effective implementation plans based on the latitude that the policy allows them.

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Abstract: Over the past four decades, the concept of leadership has become increasingly more complex and elaborate. Considerable debate has emerged over the most suitable model for educational leadership. Dominating the literature are two conceptual models: instructional leadership and transformational leadership. This paper will review the conceptual and empirical development of transformational leadership as it evolved through the work of James MacGregor Burns, Bernard M. Bass, Bruce J. Avolio, and Kenneth Leithwood. Moreover, the paper will discuss some of the conflicting opinions and diverging perspectives from many of the critics of transformational leadership. The author argues that transformational leadership will continue to evolve in order to adequately respond to the changing needs of schools in the context of educational accountability and school reform.

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Abstract: Economic growth in New Brunswick is increasingly dependent on the improvement of our educational system. Current initiatives to reform education and improve student performance are based on transforming the province’s schools into professional learning communities (PLCs). A key factor that will determine this reform’s success is the capacity of principals to adopt a collaborative leadership style. This paper examines a study of principal decision-making and the forces both for and against the adoption of the collaborative leadership style required to implement the current school reform. While the majority of principals studied, exhibit the capacity to lead using a collaborative decision-making style, the bureaucratic system in which they work may be preventing them from doing so.

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Abstract: This research inquiry explored the factors influencing successful science program delivery among early- and middle-years schools within a rural school division in central Canada. The study is framed by the author’s personal inquiry into how psycho-social factors at the classroom, school and school division level influence science program delivery. In line with case study methodology, the inquiry uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods and data sources to identify the contributors at the classroom, school and divisional level to science delivery. A validated science program delivery evaluation tool, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ), is used as the foundation for the quantitative data collection and ensuing teacher, administration and science education community discussions. Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model and Rutter’s views on resiliency are used as a framework for interpreting the data collected and understanding the factors supporting successful science delivery. Participants identify a variety of personal attribute and environmental factors and the interplay between these factors as supportive factors contributing to effective science delivery at the classroom, school and divisional level. Implications of this inquiry are discussed, especially within the context of the role of the superintendent in influencing curriculum delivery.

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Abstract: Based on semi-structured interviews with high school teachers in Edmonton, Alberta, the reported study examined teachers' attitudes towards their roles and responsibilities in marketing their school, and the perceived impact of educational markets upon teachers' well-being. The teachers define marketing negatively and narrowly, resist any involvement of teachers in marketing their schools, and feel that working in a market-like environment leads to high levels of stress and uncertainty in their work. Yet many of them provided evidence of their contribution to prospective students' recruitment by promoting their subject matter in the open house. Theoretical and practical implications are suggested.

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Abstract: Adopting a post-structuralist and critical perspective, the author situates The Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002, often referred to as the New College Charter, and its developing Ministerial bodies regarding curricula at the colleges, in discourses of standardization, neoliberalism and globalization. Of concern is the shifting accountability for curricula development and reviews from the state to the local level amidst growing infatuation with market discourses. The author concludes with recommendations for further questioning about the interrelationships of governance and marketplace.

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by Helen Raptis and Laurie Baxter

Abstract: Throughout this era of greater educational accountability, assessment researchers have argued that large-scale comparative assessment data can enhance learning within and across systems of education and can foster reforms based on the practices of high achieving jurisdictions. Other researchers are less optimistic, warning that educational reform is fraught with danger. This paper explores an unsuccessful British Columbia Ministry of Education initiative to reform its mathematics curricula. This case study illustrates the myriad factors which prevent the success of planned reforms.

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by Dr. Joe Fris, University of Alberta and Dr. Angeliki Lazaridou, Athens School of Pedagogical and Technical Education, Athens, Greece

Abstract: In this paper our first purpose is to outline a way of thinking about organizations and administration that has recently been gaining ground among theoreticians and practitioners, one that is portrayed frequently as a replacement for the well established newtonian or systems perspective. This way of thinking is the quantum perspective. Our second purpose is to illustrate how the metaphors of this emergent perspective can add to understandings about leadership, in particular when fostering commitment and dealing with conflict. To these ends, we first describe selected differences between the entrenched perspective on organizations and administration – the newtonian perspective – and the new quantum perspective. In this section we give particular attention to the quantum notion of a pervasive energy field that drives change as well as recent discoveries about the ways humans think. Next we contrast the values ascribed to an individual’s public and private selves in newtonian and quantum organizations. Finally we consider how the newtonian and the quantum orientations in leadership are likely to affect the commitment of an organization’s members. And we relate this to findings from research on the management of conflict.

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