National Adult Literacy Database

Large-scale educational reform requires a significant investment of resources and, if unsuccessful, risks wasting students’ and teachers’ time. The authors of this paper look at previous attempts at educational reform in many countries and ask what lessons Canada can take from these efforts.

Educational change is a slow process that requires adequate time and resources, but decision-makers often wish to see rapid results, the authors note. Educational reform efforts have typically swung back and forth between different ideologies, with resulting criticism that reforms are based on educational trends rather than evidence; are implemented too hastily; and are without effective assessment systems.

These common criticisms point to the importance of considering empirical evidence when initiating large-scale educational reform programs, and of the need for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the impact of change.

Added: 2012-04-24

12. Connecting the Dots... (2007)

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Citation

Linking Training Investment to Business Outcomes and the Economy

Authors: Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), Allan Bailey

Canada’s preparedness to compete in the increasingly competitive, knowledge-based, global marketplace appears to be in jeopardy because of a lack of awareness that investing in the human capacity of Canada’s workforce is paramount to success. This paper reviews some of the key issues relating to Canada’s economic performance and explores critical linkages between weak national productivity growth, business performance and underinvestment in training and skills development.

In their reflections, the authors consider the following questions: What is the real benefit to Canada’s national economy from training employees? What is the payoff to businesses for investing in training? What is the evidence that training improves the bottom line? Are there any credible and easy-to-use strategies organizations can adopt to evaluate business returns and performance improvements from training?

Added: 2008-06-19

See also:

Un investissement rentable

13. Creating the learners society needs: An examination of knowledge building (2007)

Lessons in Learning - September 6, 2007

Although Canadian workers have more education than ever before, numerous surveys of business leaders suggest that employers are dissatisfied with their employees’ so-called “soft” skills, such as teamwork, problem-solving, communication skills, and self-motivation. Recent research suggests that a learning strategy called knowledge building can help students acquire and develop these skills.

The authors note that the traditional view of Canada’s classrooms is that the teacher is solely responsible for identifying learning needs, planning lessons, developing meaningful learning experiences, and evaluating students’ mastery of the curriculum. Students are expected to be relatively passive in this setting, an approach that allows many of them to pass standardized tests, while failing to develop skills that will be needed in the workplace.

By comparison, knowledge building focuses on a community of learners collectively creating and recording knowledge. In a knowledge-building environment, students, rather than teachers, are invested with the individual and collective responsibility of identifying holes in their knowledge; develop plans to close them; and assessing progress in attaining their goals.

This type of collaborative and self-directed learning is the norm in the world of work, especially in the knowledge industries that are driving most of the job growth in Canada, the authors point out.

Added: 2013-01-10

See also:

Former les apprenants pour combler les besoins de la société : Examen de la construction du savoir

14. The cultural divide in science education for Aboriginal learners (2007)

Lessons in Learning - February 1, 2007

Aboriginal people in Canada are sharply underrepresented in science and engineering occupations. As well, Aboriginal students take advanced high school science classes and enrol in science-related postsecondary programs at much lower rates than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

This paper suggests that this disparity may have cultural roots. The Aboriginal world view sees people, landscape, and living resources as a spiritual whole, while, in contrast, the Western science approach seeks greater understanding through breaking apart the whole and analyzing it into its smallest parts. These cultural differences can create difficulties for Aboriginal students in classrooms dominated by the Western science perspective.

The authors suggest integrating Aboriginal content into science classrooms and taking a flexible approach that allows local knowledge to be used alongside textbook knowledge. They suggest consulting with local elders about how best to integrate traditional knowledge into the curriculum.

They also describe current initiatives in both Canada and the United States that are integrating Aboriginal perspectives into curricula and looking at ways to encourage Aboriginal people to pursue further education in scientific fields.

Added: 2013-02-25

See also:

Différentes perspectives culturelles nuisent à l'enseignement des sciences chez les apprenants autochtones

15. Do students entering university have the basic writing and math skills they need? (2005)

Lessons in Learning – October 28, 2005

While recent testing suggests that Canadian students’ comprehension of basic skills is generally not declining, proficiency exams administered within some universities do show very slight declines in the skills of incoming students. Even though this decline is small overall, the authors of this paper say it does offer lessons in learning for students, their families, professors, universities, and governments.

The transition from high school to university provokes anxiety for many students, who worry whether they can handle the increased independence. Families can help by encouraging students to make use of available support services.

Universities can help by providing social and academic support services that offer the most effective help for students. The authors suggest that professors and administrators look at the examples offered by universities where students consistently express satisfaction with the level of support.

The authors also encourage governments to recognize that pursuing policies designed for the sole purpose of increasing the number of students in first-year university courses can have unintended consequences, including the need to offer costly support services for students who are perceived to lack required skills.

Added: 2013-05-14

See also:

Les étudiants possèdent-ils les compétences de base en écriture et en mathématiques dont ils ont besoin au moment de leur arrivée à l'université?

16. Does placement matter? Comparing the academic performance of students with special needs in inclusive and separate settings (2009)

Lessons in Learning – March 18, 2009

There is ongoing debate about whether students with special needs are better served in inclusive classrooms or in separate settings with peers who share similar challenges. The authors of this discussion paper have reviewed 30 studies that compare inclusive and separate learning settings for students with learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, language impairments, and mixed disabilities. The studies were carried out in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

They conclude that all else being equal, inclusive settings appear not to academically disadvantage most students with special educational needs and, in many cases, appear to offer an advantage over separate settings.

However, these results are not homogenous and effects are generally small in magnitude, suggesting that while inclusive settings are generally preferable, factors other than classroom setting are probably more important determinants of academic success.

The authors point to the importance of teacher capacity building; the need for thoughtful implementation of inclusion; and the necessity of establishing realistic class sizes and ratios of students with special needs.

Added: 2012-03-12

See also:

Le placement compte-t-il ? Comparaison du rendement scolaire des élèves ayant des besoins spéciaux en contexte « inclusif » et en milieu « spécialisé »

17. Effective literacy strategies for immigrant students (2009)

Lessons in Learning – September 23, 2009

The authors of this document discuss some of the findings of a study commissioned by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada to examine the academic performance of young immigrants whose first language is neither English nor French.

The study, which focused on young people living in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, showed large differences among different groups of immigrants. For example, Chinese-speaking immigrant youth tend to do as well or better than Canadian-born youth in measures of academic success while Spanish-, Creole- or Vietnamese-speaking immigrant students were shown to perform well below their Canadian-born counterparts.

The authors point to the importance of strong literacy skills in achieving academic success and call for a flexible, varied approach to helping new Canadians learn English or French.

They also reviewed literature about instructional strategies for teaching literacy skills to immigrants. Based on their findings, they recommend cooperative reading, systematic phonics instruction, multimedia-assisted reading techniques and structured writing as useful strategies.

Added: 2012-02-10

See also:

Stratégies de littératie efficaces à l’intention des élèves immigrants

18. The effectiveness of work-experience programs in Canadian high schools (2009)

Lessons in Learning – October 22, 2009

Work-experience programs take many forms, including job shadowing, cooperative education, virtual work experience, and apprenticeships. At the heart of the efforts put into establishing these programs is the assumption that they offer such benefits as increased engagement in work and learning, improvements in academic achievement and high school graduation rates, and smoother transitions from high school into the labour force or post-secondary studies.

In 2009, the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), with support from the Ontario Ministry of Education, undertook an examination of these assumptions. The CCL’s researchers reviewed 35 international studies that looked into the effectiveness of high-school work-experience programs.

They found that evidence of the impact of work-experience programs on such measures of academic achievement as grade point average was inconclusive. However, the programs seemed to be associated with higher rates of high school completion, as well as improvements in self-esteem, engagement in the workplace and in school, leadership, and motivation.

The authors of this document point to lessons to be learned from the study, including the need to match students and placements carefully; prepare students in advance; and assign a coordinator to oversee the program.

Added: 2012-02-17

See also:

Efficacité des programmes d’expérience de travail des écoles secondaires canadiennes

19. Equality in the classroom: The educational placement of children with disabilities (2007)

Lessons in Learning - May 1, 2007

This paper examines the issue of full inclusion for students with disabilities versus placement in special-education classrooms, with particular reference to an Ontario case that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The authors note that while there is clearly some evidence that special-education placements can be the best option for some students, full inclusion is the preferred option for many parents. The Ontario case centred on a young girl with cerebral palsy who was unable to communicate through speech, sign language, or other systems; was visually impaired; and used a wheelchair. At the request of her parents, she was placed in her neighbourhood school on a trial basis.

After three years, her teachers concluded that she was not benefitting from a mainstream environment. A review committee agreed that she should be placed in a special-education class. Her parents disagreed and appealed the placement at the board, tribunal, and Ontario Divisional Court levels, all of which upheld the decision to place the girl in a special-education class.

The parents took their case to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled in their favour. The Attorney General of Ontario appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which overturned the Appeal Court decision.

The authors of this paper say that the Supreme Court’s reasoning raises a number of points about the placement of students with special needs. They note that the appropriate educational placement of students depends upon the nature and extent of their disabilities; educators are obligated to assess educational progress periodically and take that assessment into account in planning a program that is best for the student; and the educational best interests of children may differ from the preferences of the adults in their lives.

Added: 2013-01-29