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With the tuition cost of traditional colleges and universities soaring and education technology advancing, online courses and degree programs are becoming more common. Some critics argue that an online degree cannot provide all the important features of a traditional college education, from extracurricular activities to new professional networks, but the evidence disputes much of that criticism, especially for certain groups of students. Indeed, some aspects of online education may provide a better experience than a traditional brick-and-mortar college for some students. (Contains 49 footnotes.)

There is growing acknowledgement that optimal early childhood development is crucial not only for health, well-being, and competence but also for society at large. This second paper in a series focuses on the period from birth to age 6 and draws on research from Canada and other countries to address several questions of children's development, including the following: (1) What are the known threats to young children's optimal development?; (2) Which types of targeted programs promote the development of vulnerable children and under what circumstances?; and (3) To what extend is the current approach to targeting early childhood programs consistent with what we know about what is required to promote young children's development? The paper discusses research evidence from evaluations of three categories of programs intended to promote development of at-risk children: child-focused programs, parent-focused programs, and two-generation programs. The research evidence examined clearly demonstrates that the most effective way of enhancing the development of at-risk children is through center-based, group programs. The research evidence shows that the development of at-risk children is not promoted by programs that are solely parent-focused or by two-generation programs. Following an executive summary, the paper's chapters are: (1) "Supporting the Development of Canada's Children; (2) "Identification of Vulnerable Children"; (3) "Targeted Child-Focused Programs"; (4) "Targeted Parent-Focused Programs"; (5) "Two-Generation Programs"; (6) "Universal Programs"; and (7) "Policy Implications." (Contains 232 references.) (HTH)

This working paper is intended to enrich an initial description of alternative businesses and A-Way Express Couriers, in particular. (A-Way, a 12-year-old community organization, is a psychiatric survivor-run alternative business.) The paper begins with a brief commentary on the psychiatric survivor movement and research on it. The paper traces the emergence and entrenchment of learning as a key feature of psychiatric survivor-run or alternative businesses. The methodology used is to re-read previous research projects and results through the lens of informal learning. Early research on psychiatric survivor-run businesses is reviewed in view of a definition of social learning with these three dimensions: solidarity learning, reshaping the definition of self, and organizational learning. A more detailed examination of informal learning processes at A-Way builds on a previously generated profile and is organized according to the three dimensions of social learning. Comments are based on face-to-face interviews with five employees from each of these three groupings within A-Way: couriers on commission, part-time office staff on salaries, and full-time management on salaries. The final section constructs a narrative account of one woman's learning at A-Way--how over nine years she moved from courier to executive director of the business on a journey that evokes the richness and complexity of informal learning in this context. (YLB)

A challenge for contemporary rural educators (especially teachers) is how to imagine rural education in a way that is not entirely focused on defining the rural as a problems space or as something simultaneously left behind by history and outmigration. Problems of community economic development come into the picture when we attempt to imagine rural schools that support and contribute to their communities rather than mostly serving as way-stations for outward bound youth. These are the kinds of questions raised by the ACCLAIM project, organized by the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Ohio University, West Virginia University, the University of Louisville, and the University of Kentucky. ACCLAIM is doing ground-breaking work in the United States simply by asking a number of key questions about the relationship between math education and rurality that concern what difference place might make in math education. Because this is a relatively new area and one which has not been researched in the Canadian context the author decided to take up an invitation from Craig Howley of ACCLAIM by raising a series of questions with math educators in rural Nova Scotia addressing five key questions (the final three of which are central to the ACCLAIM mission): (1) What difference does place make in mathematics and what difference does it make in mathematics education?; (2) Mathematics has been presented as a decontextualized, metalanguage that sits outside politics, culture and place. It is also constructed as a representation of pure intelligence because it is not linguistically anchored. Finally, because it is lifted out of context, math is often used as a sorting and selection mechanism both in school and for occupational and academic placements outside school. What has been the impact on this way of seeing and using mathematics on contextualized teaching; (3) What kinds of mathematical knowledge sustains place?; (4) What sorts of mathematical knowledge accommodates place well?; and (5) What kinds of mathematical preparation suits a rural world of greater scarcity? In the film "Putting Mathematics in its place: In conversation with David Reid and Christine Knipping," developed for ACCLAIM, they take up the questions above. The author takes up a baker's dozen of issues that seem to him to arise from the conversation. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This paper is one of several intended to consider early childhood care and education within the context of Canada's National Children's Agenda. The paper takes the position that a blended, coherent system of early childhood development programs incorporating child care, early childhood education, and family support services should be available in every community. The current array of policies and programs in Canada is examined, and options are considered for developing the proposed system of early child development programs. The paper is organized into five sections: (1) an introduction to early child development programs; (2) the roots of early child development programs in Canada; (3) a description of existing early child development programs; (4) a discussion of dominant public policy directions; and (5) a proposed agenda for creating a system of early child development in Canada. (Contains 53 references.) (EV)

This discussion paper provides a rationale for the development of professional teaching standards in Australia. It is the result of a 2000 national forum on professional teaching standards held in Melbourne, Australia, which included 150 educators who explored contemporary issues associated with such standards and constructed a framework for collaborative and strategic action. The paper is designed to stimulate discussion about the need to identify and deploy standards of professional practice for accomplished school teachers. Nine sections examine: (1) "Purpose of This Discussion Paper"; (2) "The Broader Professional Teaching Standards Agendas"; (3) "Some Threshold Questions and Issues"; (4) "What Constitutes a 'Profession' and What Does it Mean To Be a 'Professional'?"; (5)"Why Does the Teaching Profession Need Standards of Accomplished Professional Practice?"; (6) "Who Would Benefit From the Identification and Use of Standards of Accomplished Professional Practice?"; (7) "How Have Some Other Countries Addressed the Issue of Professional Teaching Standards?" (8) "Upon What Premises and Principles Ought the Identification and Use of Standards of Professional Practice for Accomplished Teaching in Australian Classrooms Be Based?"; and (9) "What Should the Accomplished Australian Classroom Teacher Know, Understand, Do, and Value?" (Contains 33 references.) (SM)

Noting that there has been no national policy on child care, Canada has relied on non-profit organizations and privately owned businesses to provide most of its child care services. Historically, federal funding policies and provincial choices have produced wide differences across the country in the distribution of non-profit, for-profit and government-operated services. After many years of relative political inattention in Canada, the federal and provincial governments committed to developing a national early learning and child care program by agreeing to bilateral agreements. As Canadian child care was poised for growth in 2005, important policy decisions about how best to deliver child care services needed to be made. This paper presents new evidence as well as reviews existing evidence that supports reasons to look to the non-profit and public sectors as the optimum sites for the expected growth of Canadian child care services. It makes the case that if Canada is to avoid "big-box" child care (and more for-profit child care generally--both international and home--grown), then careful attention must be paid to the research and policy evidence about what happens when public funds and public policy support for-profit child care. (Contains 11 footnotes, 4 tables, and 2 figures.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of Alberta's Principal Quality Practice Standard as a framework for the roles and responsibilities of school principals. Methodology: Three principals participated in the study, and each principal had more than 25 years of teaching and school administration experience. Each principal was interviewed about preparation for their role as school administrator, and asked about job-embedded supports for each of the dimensions included in the Principal Quality Practice Standard. Participants in the study self-reported in two questionnaires framed on a five-point Likert scale, and each was personally interviewed to preserve their "voice" intact toward reporting. Results: Results indicate that principals regard site-based leadership as practical for engaging leadership candidates toward administrative roles. Site-based leadership programs that offer university credit are also highly regarded to satisfy qualifications for principals to continue their professional educational growth in academics. Master's-level university courses provide a necessary understanding of leadership change, growth and development for principals to be effective instructional leaders. Conclusions: Results show that principals with classroom teaching experience present a "grassroots" approach to school leadership, that transforms their administrative role into a more active role as Instructional/Learning Leader(s). Recommendations: Educators who assume school administrator roles are responsible for developing leadership capacity in their staff members. The Alberta Principal Quality Practice Standard is a benchmark that highlights several dimensions of principalship that elucidate areas of professional responsibility in which leadership candidates must be engaged.

There is growing evidence that students throughout the world no longer see the US as the primary place to study; that in some form this correlates with a rise in perceived quality and prestige in the EU and elsewhere; and further, that this may mean a continued decline in the US's market share of international students. There clearly are a complex set of variables that will influence international education and global labor markets, including the current global economic recession. Ultimately, however, we think these factors will not alter the fundamental dynamics of the new global market, which include these facts: the international flow of talent, scientific or otherwise, is being fundamentally altered as nations invest more in educational attainment and human capital; the US will continue to lose some of its market share over time--the only question is how quickly and by how much; and without a proactive strategy, nations such as the US that are highly dependent on global in-migration of talented students and professionals are most vulnerable to downward access to global talent, with a potentially significant impact on future economic growth. This study provides data on past and recent global trends in international enrollment, and offers a set of policy recommendations for the US at the federal, state, and institutional level. This includes our recommendation of a national goal to double the number of international students in the US over the next decade to match numbers in a group of competitor nations, and requires recognition that the US will need to strategically expand its enrollment capacity and graduation rates to accommodate needed increases in the educational attainment rate of US citizens, and to welcome more international students. Attracting talent in a global market and increasing degree attainment rates of the domestic population are not mutually exclusive goals. Indeed, they will be the hallmarks of the most competitive economies. (Contains 6 figures and 41 endnotes.)

This study addresses the issue of how new forms of work organization (NFWO) are affecting job skill requirements. Practices such as job rotation, problem-solving teams and self-directed workgroups are thought to increase job skill requirements because they tend to broaden job responsibilities. The study uses the 1999 and 2000 waves of the Workplace Employee Survey (WES) to examine how participation in these three new forms of work organization affects skills needs. As with studies from other countries, this study suggests that these new forms of work organization do lead to new job skill requirements. Moreover, to some extent firms use training to meet the increased skill needs associated with these practices. It is also likely that firms make greater use of existing skills possessed by their employees or to some extent forsake training, because it is too costly. It is also found that employees reporting increased technological complexity since the start of the job are much more likely to have increased skill requirements. This suggests that "more complex," often computer-based, technologies tend to eliminate routine tasks from jobs and introduce more cognitively demanding tasks. Given this tendency, the principal issues for public policy are to what extent the use and benefits of NFWO are limited by skill deficiencies amongst segments of the working population and to what extent the introduction of NFWO may limit the labour market prospects of individuals without a post-secondary education. Appendices include: (1) Employer and Employee Questions on Job Rotation, Problem-Solving Teams and Self-Directed Work-Groups; (2) Employee Questions on Job-Related Training Provided or Paid by the Employer; (3) Definitions of Selected Independent Variables Used in this Study; and (4) Variable Means, 1999 and 2000. A bibliography is also provided. (Contains 9 tables and 21 footnotes.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "Nouvelles formes d'organisation du travail, competences et formation."]

This discussion paper explores interactions among formal learning, informal learning, and life conditions and opportunities experienced by aboriginal people in Canada. The contradictory importance of education for aboriginal people is examined with respect to three related aspects of these relationships. First, the paper summarizes students' accounts of their experiences in conventional and alternative school settings in three Saskatchewan communities, exploring how these relate to the students' broader cultural and home environments. Second, it examines the formal and informal educational experiences of a small group of adults surveyed in an urban Indian and Metis Friendship Center. Finally, the paper explores issues that arise around the emergence of entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurship, areas posed by many commentators as a possible way of bridging formal and informal learning and overcoming the longstanding marginalization of aboriginal people from labor market and economic participation. The paper concludes that gaps remain in the attainment of educational success by aboriginal people, relative to the general population, when viewed in terms of conventional educational indicators. However, the aboriginal youth and adults involved in the study place a high value in formal schooling, mainstream economic activities, and entrepreneurial opportunities to provide routes for individual and community advancement. The study suggests that the aboriginal peoples could benefit more if the educational system better integrated their skills and culture and acknowledged the strengths that the aboriginal people bring to learning. (The paper lists 40 references.) (KC)

Germany and Canada are at opposite ends of the debate over language integration and ascension to citizenship. German naturalization contains an explicit language criterion for naturalization. The first German immigration act will not only concentrate on control aspects but also focus on language as a criterion for legal immigration. Canada does not base entry or citizenship on knowledge of either of its official languages. Acquisition of a second language in Canada is voluntary and largely dependent on labor market incentives. This paper offers a comparative review of Canadian and German legal and educational programs. Nine sections focus on the following: "Canadian Immigration Policy: Post 1945"; "Canada's Citizenship Act and Language Requirements"; "Historical Development of Germany's Immigration Policy"; "Confirmation of German Citizenship"; "'Aussiedler' Language Tests"; "Canada's Market-Based Language Tests and Instruction"; "Canada's Language Benchmarks"; "German Language Training"; and "Evaluation of Second Language Acquisition in Canada and Germany." Five appendixes contain excerpts from the German and Canadian law and data on the language support program for ethnic Germans and foreigners in Germany, status 2000. (Contains 3 figures, 11 tables, and 64 references.) (SM)

The planning office of a large urban university produced an induced course load matrix (ICLM) analysis to support the university's plans for undergraduate enrollment growth at its three campuses. The ICLM tables, based on the complete course histories of the 1993 entering cohort, summarize the program and course selections of a cohort of students as they progressed through their studies. While the analysis involved some technical challenges, the results are useful in a number of ways. In particular, the results show how program enrollments create instructional demands across academic divisions and how some departments play an important part in service teaching at the university. Because the course load analysis involves detailed quantitative data, senior administrators were consulted during the initial planning of the project, and care was taken to present the results clearly and succinctly. Ultimately, the results were well received and have been incorporated into several planning exercises. (Author)

This study provides an overview of the return on investment to post-secondary education in Canada, by gender. In it, three time series are developed respectively on the cost-effectiveness of non-university post-secondary diplomas (1981-1996), bachelor's degrees (1989-1996) and university degrees (1981-1996), including bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The method used is based on a calculation of internal rate of return (cost-benefit approach) and is applied to the data from the Consumer Finance Survey. The results as a whole indicate that rates of return to post-secondary education are positive and vary by gender and level of education. The results are also consistent with those of Canadian studies on rate of return to education over a single year. In addition, the analysis indicates that rates of return are sensitive to the state of economic activity, and there is a positive correlation between rates of return and unemployment rates. Lastly, after screening the data to adjust for the effects of the economic cycle, the authors identified a slightly positive trend in rates of return to university degrees. According to their estimates, the trend rates of return increased by approximately one percentage point between 1981 and 1996. The structure of this paper is as follows. Part 2 examines the conceptual questions related to the rate of return to education and considers various definitions. Part 3 discusses the main methods used to measure the rate of return to education. Part 4 provides a brief review of empirical studies on the question. Then the methodological approach, assumptions and basic concepts used are discussed in Part 5, and the authors' findings are set out in Part 6. Lastly, in the conclusion, the authors summarize study highlights and make some suggestions for future research. Two appendixes include: (1) Table of Main Findings; and (2) Technical Aspects. (Contains 12 footnotes, 4 tables, 6 charts, and a bibliography.)

Recent research suggests that changing maternal employment and family composition are associated with children's behavioural development. This report assesses whether, and if so to what extent, changes in these areas may affect the behavioural development of children, using information from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The study investigates how maternal employment, employment transitions, and spells of unemployment, are related to children's behavioural development from 1994 to 1998. The analysis focuses on the quality of maternal jobs using, for example, number of hours worked per week. As well, the report also investigates how changes in family composition such as becoming a lone parent family or entering into new two parent families, may affect children's behavioural development. Three behavioural scales are used in the paper as dependent variables: indirect aggression, emotional disorder-anxiety and conduct disorder-physical aggression. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, evidence is found to support the existing literature, although it is relatively weak. Maternal employment, in particular the number of employment transitions (expressed as periods of unemployment), is found to be associated with higher levels of behaviour problems in children, particularly for indirect aggression behaviour. As well, stable family composition is associated with relatively better behaviour scores. Family composition which changes over time tends to be associated with relatively worse behaviour scores for children. More research and analysis of this area is necessary to uncover the complex interplay of the variables. A bibliography is included. (Contains 13 tables and 3 endnotes.)

The reciprocal process of engaging in and learning through work was examined. Reciprocity between how workplaces invite individuals to participate in and learn through work (its invitational qualities) and individuals' engagement in the workplace was proposed as a means of understanding how learning through work proceeds. Workplaces' invitational qualities were shown to be shaped by workplace norms and practice and by affiliations (for example, cliques, associations, occupational groupings, and employment status) and to be frequently characterized by inequitable distribution. The distribution of and access to opportunities for practice were shown to be directed toward sustaining the work practice and/or the interests of particular individuals and groups who participate in it. These reciprocal processes of participation in workplace were illustrated through an analysis of the participatory practices of three workers--a union worker, a grief counselor, and a school-based information technology consultant--over a 6-month period. The work of all three individuals was examined through the lens of an analytical framework comprising categories of activities and interdependencies. In all three cases, there was evidence of exercise of individuals' agency in shaping the organization of their work and evidence of new learning opportunities arising from events that were structured by workplace practices and leading to significant new learning. (Contains 34 references.) (MN)

This paper analyzes the effects of language practice on earnings among adult male immigrants in Canada using data from the 1991 Census of Canada. It examines whether destination language skills are complements to or substitutes in generating earnings with respect to other kinds of human capital (schooling and pre- and post-migration labor market experience). Results show that earnings increase with schooling, pre-immigration experience, duration in Canada, and proficiency in the official languages (English and French). There is complementarity between language skills and both schooling and pre-immigration experience. Greater proficiency in the official languages enhances the effects on earnings of schooling and pre-immigration labor market experience. Language proficiency and post-migration experience appear to be substitutes, in that among people with greater language proficiency, the impact of time in Canada on earnings is smaller. (Contains 15 references.) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (SM)

The experience of long-term poverty affects many child outcomes, in part through a family stress process in which poverty is considered to be one of the major factors causing family dysfunction, depression among caregivers and inadequate parenting. Recent scholarship extends the classical Family Stress Model by researching the ways in which neighbourhood contexts might mediate or modify these relationships. Neighbourhoods vary from the affluent to the economically deprived and since the long-term poor rarely live in well-off neighbourhoods, measures of neighbourhood disadvantage add little to family poverty in the prediction of child health and behaviour problems. But neighbourhoods also differ in the degree to which they are socially organized, cohesive and supportive to the enterprise of raising children. Sociologists refer to this as the "social capital" of neighbourhoods and propose that such social capital may ameliorate the effects of poverty and help parents raise children to achieve their full potential. This study reports the construction of measures related to social capital (Collective Efficacy and Social Support) at the neighbourhood, rather than the individual level, and the use of these along with a battery of census characteristics and other explanatory variables in the prediction of outcomes for longitudinal children aged 4 to 15 in the NLSCY [National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth]. The authors used statistical modeling to study the impact of higher or lower amounts of social capital in a national sample and in a smaller sample of some 200 neighbourhoods (as defined by census enumeration areas). The results support some aspects of an expanded family stress theory in that the effects of long-term poverty upon child outcomes are mediated, but also moderated by neighbourhood social capital, and by family "burnout" (dysfunction and parental depression). The study confirms previous research showing that certain parenting styles are strongly associated with children's health and behaviour problems, and that neighbourhoods account for small but significant proportions of the variation in child outcomes. An innovative result is that the degree to which long-term poverty impacts child outcomes varies according to the characteristics of neighbourhoods. The authors caution that their study cannot provide national estimates of the impact of neighbourhood social capital on child outcomes. A bibliography is included. (Contains 3 figures, 12 tables, and 30 footnotes.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "La pauvrete, le capital social, les competences parentales et les resultats des enfants au Canada."

Unlike many recent immigrants who entered Canada as highly trained professionals in their countries of origin, most of Canada's immigrant garment workers are working-class women with little education. The Apparel Textile Action Committee (ATAC) and Homeworker's Association (HWA) are among the bodies that were established to assist immigrant garment workers in Canada who lost their jobs to industrial restructuring and became home workers. The experiences of both bodies has made it clear that the training available to these women does not meet their needs as immigrants with a limited command of English. A study of the informal learning outcomes of HWA's members yielded the following findings: (1) most immigrant garment workers have little expectation that taking classes will lead to better jobs and higher pay; (2) although most immigrant garment workers do not expect that English-as-a-second language (ESL) classes will make them fluent in English, their ESL classes serve important social and educational purposes by giving participants a place to develop a sense of sociability with other workers and learn strategies for negotiating their lives as non-English speaking immigrants and their rights as workers; and (3) although classes are obvious places to look for informal learning, the HWA's executive meetings provide environments for explicit "political learning." (MN)

A survey of 1,500 Canadian adults looked at the full range of adults' learning activities, including informal learning related to employment, community volunteer work, household work, and other general interest. Findings indicated those in the labor force, or expecting to be in soon, participated in informal learning related to current or prospective future employment such as the following: informal learning projects to keep up with new general job or career knowledge, informal employment-related computer learning, and learning new job tasks, problem-solving and communication skills, occupational safety and health, and new technologies. Those involved in community volunteer work participated in related informal learning on interpersonal, communication, and organizational or managerial skills, and social issues. Those involved in household work participated in related informal learning on home renovations and gardening, home cooking, and home maintenance. Most people participated in informal learning related to their general interests, such as health and well being, environmental issues, finances, hobby skills, social skills, public issues, computers, and sports and recreation. Participation in all forms of schooling and continuing education increased dramatically over the past two generations; educational attainment of the active labor force increased accordingly. Major barriers to course participation were inconvenient times or places; no time; family responsibilities; and expense. (YLB)

Insights from a variety of research streams were synthesized to identify the key ingredients of a high-quality work environment in Canada's health care sector and ways of achieving high-quality workplaces in the sector. The following sets of interacting factors were considered: (1) the work environment and the human resource practices that shape it; (2) job design and organizational structure, including technology; (3) employment relationships; and (4) industrial relations. The study documented the links between work environments, employment and industrial relations, and "healthy" outcomes for workers and organizations and drew on a broad base of evidence to formulate a model of a high-quality work environment. The evidence established that Canada's health care organizations can and must achieve a virtuous circle connecting work environments, individual quality of work life, and organizational performance. The following were among the 11 recommendations emerging from the study: (1) policymakers should provide a stable policy and funding environment in which to make workplace improvements; (2) although different health care unions and professional associations have unique needs, their leaders must develop a common, long-term workplace improvement agenda; and (3) managers should promote workplace cultures that value employees as assets and work to rebuild commitment and trust between employee and employer. (Contains 93 references.) (MN)

This paper highlights the religious accommodations that Ontario (Canada) universities have undertaken to create an inclusive, supportive learning community for all students, faculty, and staff. It outlines the demographic changes and public policy surrounding religious accommodation issues in Canada and in Ontario in particular, focusing on the Ontario Human Rights Code policy on creed and accommodation of religious observance. The paper then discusses some of the multifaith tensions present in Ontario university communities, including the lack of clarity of basic definitions, secularism, ambivalence toward religious expression, discrimination, diversity within diversity, intergroup tensions, and discrepancy of views concerning current accommodation measures. The paper describes the accommodation needs of different groups, including Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and other groups, along with successful accommodations for worship and ceremonial space, athletic facilities, residence life, and classroom and food service issues. Finally, the paper discusses social climate issues, such as harassment, dress and modesty requirements, curriculum, and counseling and health services. (MDM)

Using the qualitative research method known as folknography, the authors led a research team to the heart of Illinois farm country to ask the question "What are the perceptions of the people of the Midwest concerning math and math education?" A review of the literature includes Canadian and Australian references on the topic, as well as information from the United States, and the targeted geography and population is described. Research followed the pattern of a similar study conducted in Appalachia in 2004. A preliminary survey was planned to gather benchmarking statistical data and to open respondents up to the possibilities of a folknographic interview. Folknographers entered the field in May 2006 to perform focused and intensive field research. Findings include: (1) belief that young people can not perform simple math; (2) perception that too much technology has a significant and negative impact on developing minds of students; (3) connection between acquiring math knowledge and achieving a dynamic career; (4) recollections of tyrannical or cruel math teachers; (5) desire for a school or school system that makes learning math an exciting and motivating experience. Folknographic narratives are included to illustrate each finding. Bibliography is included. Four appendixes conclude the document: (1) Perceptions of Math in the Mid-West Interview Questions: Adults (18-55); (2) Perceptions of Math in the Mid-West Interview Questions: Seniors (55-Over); (3) Perceptions of Math in the Mid-West Interview Questions: Youth (Ages 10-17); and (4) Perceptions of Math Survey Mid-West. (Contains 4 charts.)

Both the United States and Canadian provinces have moved to enhance educational choice within their educational systems to improve educational productivity. In spite of this similarity of purpose and means, the two nations are taking very different approaches. Most Canadian provinces have moved to full provincial financing of schools and to the allocation of school choice based on group rights assigned to French-speaking and English-speaking citizens. In contrast, the United States has decentralized authority via charter schools, vouchers, or tax deductions, thereby enhancing individual rights. Both nations also have adopted federal and state/provincial assessment systems. The consequences of these actions are still unfolding and merit continuing assessment of outcomes. Eventual assessment may involve the educational, financial, and political success of two distinctive models, one driven by centralized institutions designed to facilitate the delivery of educational services to groups that possess constitutionally protected educational rights, and the other driven by markets that provide local educational services at public expense. (Contains 23 references and 8 figures.) (RT)

Young people from lower class origins continue to face major barriers to university education in Canada. This paper documents both substantial inter-generational class mobility and continuing inequalities in formal educational attainments by class origins. While Canada now has the world's higher educational attainments in its youth cohort and has experienced rapid growth in adult education participation as well, those from professional/managerial families remain more than three times as likely to attain a degree as those from working class origins. There is also mounting evidence that escalating financial costs are again increasing the relative class inequalities in university education. These large and increasing class inequalities are compared with the much more equitable and extensive participation in informal learning found in a recent national survey, as well as the underemployment of working class people in the Canadian job structure. In light of these educational and economic inequalities, needs-based student subsidies and democratic workplace reforms are seen as major means to address persistent discrimination against the learning capacities and aspirations for university education of those from lower class origins. (Contains 4 tables and 37 references.) (Author)

Many immigrants, refugees, and aboriginal Canadians learn their own languages in the normal, informal way. These minority languages learned informally are not valued as a skill that yields returns in the labor market in the same way the official languages or formally learned languages do. What counts as a skill in a society, in a given point in time, is the product of complex phenomenological, social, economic, ideological, and political processes. Discourse is key to this process of social and cultural reproduction. The discourse of Ontario employers socially constructs the definition of what counts as a skill in Ontario workplaces and thus what warrants value in the labor market. The notion of skill is a construction that is socially created and hence changeable. If we want to change the unjust situation that affects the speakers of minority languages, we need to change the discourse surrounding minority languages to one that truly values minority languages as skills worth conserving, maintaining, and putting to use. (Contains 18 references.) (YLB)

A study analyzed the schooling, further adult course participation, and informal learning of organized and unorganized workers in different occupational classes across Canada. Data were obtained from the first Canadian national survey of 1,562 adults' informal learning practices, conducted in 1998, and field notes and interview transcripts drawn from participants in the auto plant case study of the Working Class Learning Strategies project conducted at five union locals in southern Ontario in 1995-2000. The study found that unionized and non-unionized industrial and service workers in Canada are increasingly highly educated, increasingly participating in adult education courses and devoting substantial amounts of their time to informal learning activities outside organized education and training programs. In addition, the study found that working people are generally engaged collectively and individually in an extensive array of employment-related and other informal learning activities that are neither fully recognized by most employers or union leaders nor given prior learning credit by educational institutions. The study concluded that underestimation of the current range and depth of workers' knowledge and skills by union leaders represents a significant barrier to further growth of the labor movement. Recommendations for strategies to facilitate union growth are suggested, based on what has worked most effectively in these locals of differing general organizational strength and demographic profiles. (KC)

The Skills and Knowledge Profile (SKP) is a tool developed in Canada to document learning styles and strategies of adult learners. The instrument was developed as a systematic approach to capturing the learning styles of unemployed and employed adults across sectors. It is made up of these six sections: (1) Learning Access and Personal Information; (2) Personal Informal Learning; (3) Job-Related Informal Learning; (4) Non-Formal Courses and Workshops; (5) Future Learning Plans; and (6) Your Comments on the Profile. The SKP was created through action-based research using learners in a unionized factory, community-based women's employment program, and community-based literacy program. Volunteers at all three sites committed their time and efforts to filling out the SKP and then provided feedback on the clarity, usefulness, and ease of using the tool. Feedback has been incorporated into the SKP in a continuous process. The evaluation can be used by individuals to sort out their skills and to focus their efforts on a career path. The SKP is not only a tool, but also a reflection of a positive trend in adult education by which adult learners build on and share their own wealth of knowledge and skills. (This paper documents the evolution of the SKP from its inception in the spring of 1997 to the end of 1998.) (KC)