Showing papers in "Canadian Journal of Education in 1998"

Predictors of Achievement in Basic Skills: A Canadian Effective Schools Study

Abstract: What factors beyond social class account for between-school variation in achievement? We examined this question by analyzing the school-by-school achievement test results in language arts and mathematics for Grades 3 and 6 in all elementary schools of the Calgary Board of Education. Social-class variables (average family income of the catchment area of each school and a social-adversity index) explained up to 45% of the variation in achievement tests. Characteristics of the student body (mainly the relative absence of English-as-a-second-language and special-needs students from the tests, and the amount of parent involvement) together explained an additional 6%-11% of the variation. School-based variables (particularly teachers' years of experience and principals' positive attitudes to the tests) explained a further 3%-6% of the variation, after the other factors had been allowed for. Variables that seemed to have no practical effects on achievement included class size.

Conducting Respectful Research: A Critique of Practice

Abstract: This article evolved out of my work as both teacher and researcher in a prison school for women. I explore the possibility of conducting respectful research within a prison context while acknowledging that the issues raised here are important to researchers at other educational sites also. Discussion of my shifting positions within the research context is central, particularly my experience of moving from the position of "outsider" to what I came to understand as that of "someone familiar." I explore how this particular shift affected the research process, using examples from field work to problematize aspects of research in practice in particular, informed consent, participant observations, interviews, reciprocity, and documentation. In conclusion I pose questions that arose for me during this research, questions I hope will contribute to continuing conversations about the practicalities and possibilities of conducting respectful research in schooling contexts.

Limited Vision: The Ontario Curriculum and Outcomes-Based Learning.

Abstract: Outcomes-based learning, as described in recent policy documents in Ontario, offers a narrow, controlling vision of teachers and learners, and of diversity and ecology Although the documents profess an integrative vision, they provide lists of "expectations" that students are required to reach In this article we criticize these documents for their failure to acknowledge the experiences of either learners or teachers, for superficial treatment of diversity and ecology, and for an internal contradiction that imposes a rigid, lock-step system upon an integrative vision of teaching and learning Their attempt to describe education using the metaphor of lists, as in lists of parts to be assembled in a machine, is outdated We suggest other metaphors a spiral, coil, or mobius strip and discuss one example, the early childhood schools from the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy, to illustrate these more complex metaphors

Veiling the "Other," Unveiling Our "Selves": Reading Media Images of the Hijab Psychoanalytically To Move beyond Tolerance.

Abstract: This article examines media reports about a girl's expulsion from a Montreal high school for wearing the hijab. Using psychoanalytic concepts, I show how these media images created a sense of self for Montreal's Francophone and Anglophone communities. The discussion is framed by the larger question of tolerance, which often sets the context for reading media images as either positive or negative forms of representation. I call for moving "beyond" tolerance, for probing the relationship between self and other lying at the heart of representational practices in order to apprehend more fully the dynamics that fuel acts of stereotyping and intolerance. Rather than simply calling upon educators to move beyond tolerance to read media images psychoanalytically, the article displays what such a reading entails and outlines its value for teachers.

Setting Right the Delusion of Inclusion: Implications for Canadian Schools

Abstract: Canadian schools have been subject to considerable pressure over the past few decades to adopt educational practices that support inclusive education. Accordingly, change initiatives in this direction are readily apparent in our schools in every province and territory. Despite this seeming progress, many students, their parents, and educators are openly concerned about quality and equity in contemporary education. Given these concerns, I argue that before authentic progress toward inclusion can be realized, three key areas of education practice need to be reviewed and transformed. I outline the problems and paradoxes associated with policy, organization, and legislation on the education of students with exceptional learning needs, and discuss implications for Canadian schools and for faculties of education in particular.

A Reply to Perry D. Klein's "Multiplying the Problems of Intelligence by Eight"

Abstract: Responding to a tough, tough-minded, and sarcastically titled critique poses a problem for the target of the piece. Adopting the Chomskian confrontational mode, he can reply back even more vociferously, showing that he can be even tougher and nastier than his critic. Adopting the Piagetian conciliatory tone, he can reply in muted points, conceding some errors and looking for points of agreement and for constructive compromises. By temperament, I locate myself somewhere between these two stances. I seldom start an argument, but I am unlikely to let criticism pass without comment. I take into account the tone of the critic. In the end, however, I am less interested in winning the debate than in advancing my own understanding and, one would hope, the understandings of those who listen carefully to both sides. The bulk of my response is a series of points, loosely coupled to the presentation in Perry Klein's article. However, it is important to set my response in context, and that involves clarifying two major areas.

Family Variables as Predictors of School Achievement: Sex Differences in Quebec Adolescents.

Abstract: This study explored differences between males and females in school achievement outcomes at the secondary level, as well as sex differences in perceived parental and family influences on school grades. The 525 participants (243 males and 282 females) were rural and suburban secondary students, aged 14 to 16. Females were found to surpass males in many school achievement outcomes. Regression analyses revealed both similarities and differences between males and females in the perceived parental practices associated with school grades. Differences can be attributed to parents' differential socialization practices for females and males, similarities to less sex-role stereotyping by parents, particularly with respect to parental involvement in schooling. Our findings illustrate the importance of considering sex differences when exploring links between parental and family influences and school grades at the secondary level, and show the need for more investigations of parents' contribution to sex-differentiated school performance.

The Impact of Centralized Examinations on Teacher Professionalism

Abstract: The proliferation of centralized examinations erodes teacher autonomy by decreasing teachers' responsibility for evaluation, enforcing centralized curriculum, reducing teachers' control over the outcome of their labour, and introducing new and inappropriate measures of teacher productivity A case study of provincial testing in Alberta, however, reveals that teachers have retained their assessment skills and their responsibility for evaluation technique, and so cannot be said to have undergone deskilling Instead, Alberta's teachers appear to have undergone ideological proletarianization, an alternative form of control in which workers are delegated considerable technical discretion but only in the implementation of externally set goals La proliferation des examens du ministere implique l'erosion de l'autonomie des enseignants par la diminution de leur responsabilite en matiere d'evaluation, par la mise en place de programmes centralises, par la r6duction du controle qu'exercent les enseignants sur les resultats de leur labeur et par l'introduction d'outils qui mesurent de fagon inad6quate la productivite des enseignants Une 6tude de cas portant sur les examens provinciaux en Alberta revele toutefois que les enseignants conservent leurs aptitudes a 6valuer et leur responsabilit6 en matiere de techniques d'evaluation; on ne saurait donc parler de d6qualification En fait, les enseignants albertains semblent avoir subi une prol6tarianisation id6ologique, soit une autre forme de controle dans laquelle les travailleurs se voient confier d'enormes pouvoirs techniques, mais seulement pour la mise en ceuvre de buts 6tablis de l'exterieur

"In These Shoes is the Silent Call of the Earth": Meditations on Curriculum Integration, Conceptual Violence, and the Ecologies of Community and Place

Abstract: How about the spirals in Starry, Starry Night [sic] and the sunflowers [sic] in picture of same name? Both can be connected to math and/or science. Spiralling procedures can be written in Logo teaching the concept of stepping. Estimations of number of sunflowers in head as well as patterns created by seeds while still in head are other ideas. You could sprout sunflower seeds and collect data: How many days average to sprout? What percentage of seeds sprouted? Does size of seeds affect sprouting speed? etc., etc. Sounds like an interesting unit. (Lugone, 1996)

Exploring the Moral Sphere Through Dramatic Art: The Role of Contemporary Canadian Plays in Moral Pedagogy

Abstract: Dramatic art is an overlooked and under-appreciated instructional medium for moral pedagogy. I propose an alternative pedagogical approach that uses plays both to sensitize students about the intricate layers of the moral sphere and to provoke students to reflect critically on moral agency. Because parallels exist in the dynamic nature of moral and aesthetic judgment, a play's simulated moral dilemmas offer richly enlightening narrative contexts for stimulating sensitive perceptions of the circumstances that determine distinct forms of moral choice and moral conduct. Examples from two contemporary Canadian plays demonstrate that recent Canadian drama offers penetrating studies of prevalent moral issues; I explain how teachers can use such plays with students to provoke philosophical speculation and reasoned judgments about viable forms of moral conduct.

Born of Incidents but Thematic in Nature: Knowledge Construction in Practicum Settings

Abstract: Many difficulties confront researchers who attempt to illuminate the nature of knowledge construction in practicum settings. My study explored the reflective practices of four student teachers as they undertook a 13-week extended practicum in suburban sections of a large Canadian city, but I here focus specifically on the experiences of one of these student teachers to illustrate an alternative way of thinking about the nature of knowledge construction in such settings. Central to this alternative is the difference between an incidental and a thematic rendering of reflective practice. Although the former is frequently the focus of researcher and practitioner attention, I contend that the latter more accurately portrays the nature of beginning teachers' field-based experiences.

Rankings of Canadian Universities, 1997: Statistical Contrivance versus Help to Students.

Abstract: Maclean's is a major Canadian mass-circulation magazine, with emphasis on Canadian and, secondarily, U.S. and North American content. In its issue of 24 November 1997, Maclean's (MM) published its seventh annual rankings of Canadian universities. Perhaps because of the increased popularity of notions such as cost effectiveness, efficiency, and value for one's "educational dollar," the rating or ranking of universities has become an increasingly popular exercise in higher education. In this spirit, the expressed intention of the Maclean's venture was to "take the measure" of Canadian universities by creating a "ranking road map" for purposes of assisting students. For 1997, MM again converted preliminary raw data and information, across several indices, to ranks (first, second, etc.), derived from these an overall rank for each university, and then from these finally constructed a linear rank ordering of all universities. This research note presents analysis of several statistical and related aspects of the 1997 rankings.

Educators' Knowledge of Rights.

Abstract: We surveyed educators in the four western Canadian provinces to determine their knowledge of rights in educational matters. In this article we provide both overall response rates and also results of comparisons between male and female respondents and between administrators and teachers. Differences in responses from rural and urban educators, and in responses from educators in denominational and public schools in Alberta and Saskatchewan, are also reported. We found a considerable amount of self-confessed ignorance; on only 5 of the 14 items on which the educators' knowledge was tested did a majority of respondents provide the correct answer. As educators may be expected to influence students' attitudes and values, the low level of knowledge regarding rights that we found may be cause for concern.

Success for All: Evaluating an Early-Intervention Program for Children at Risk of School Failure.

Abstract: We examined the implementation of an early-intervention program called Success for All in Montreal, Quebec Our study included 425 high-poverty students at risk for drop-out, from four elementary schools The program was implemented in an inner-city school where 40% of the students had special needs, due particularly to learning disabilities We analyzed data for 128 experimental and 136 control participants using the PPVT-R, Woodcock, and Durrell reading measures and a self-concept measure Regular students from the experimental program performed significantly better than control students on the Word Attack and Word Identification subtests of the Woodcock reading measures, as well as on the Durrell measure Special-needs students in the experimental program performed significantly better on Word Attack and Word Identification than did their peers in the control schools There were no significant differences in self-concept

Educational Uses of Story: Reclaiming Story as Art

Abstract: In light of recent, renewed interest in story as an educational means of making sense of experience, it is surprising that transference of knowledge (be it cognitive, moral, social, or cultural) remains a dominant concept. Valuing story's traditional use as a vehicle for a particular subject matter contrasts with its use as an art form. I claim that stories cannot be used solely to dispense knowledge, to create emotional climates in classrooms, or as a model for curriculum. Teachers and researchers need to articulate the artistic values of story so that students can be helped to articulate their experience and thus become literate. People think through stories; they are a means by which students can explore pressing themes, can become aware of the interplay between the stories of their lives and those, for example, of fairy-tale characters, and can gain skill in transforming both real and fictional experiences into original narratives.