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Numeracy and literacy skills have become increasingly important in modern labour markets. The large gender differences that several studies have identified have therefore sparked considerable attention among researchers and policy makers. Little is known about the moment in which such gaps emerge, how they evolve and if their evolution differs across countries. We use data from large-scale international assessments to follow representative samples of birth-cohorts over time, and analyse how gender gaps in numeracy and literacy evolve from age 10 to age 27. Our results suggest that, across the countries examined, males' advantage in numeracy is smallest at age 10 and largest at age 27. The growth in magnitude of the gender gap is particularly pronounced between the age of 15 and 27. Such evolution stands in sharp contrast with the evolution of the gender gap in literacy, which is small at age 10, large and in favour of females at age 15, and negligible by age 27.

This study uses the PIAAC data to examine the relationships between education system characteristics (e.g. early tracking and vocational education orientation) and distributions of adult numeracy skills. It also investigates the effects of postponing the tracking age and easing university access for students on a vocational track on the average skills and different percentiles of the skills distribution. Correlational analysis suggests that education systems with more students enrolled in vocational tracks have on average higher levels of numeracy skills and more compressed skills distributions between the 50th and 90th percentiles. Further analysis suggests that postponing the tracking age among 14 European countries does not have a significant effect on the average skills of the population. However, it increases skills for individuals at the 10th, 20th, and 30th percentiles of the skill distribution. Expanding university access is associated with an increase in numeracy skills, particularly for individuals at the bottom three deciles of the distribution.

It is well-known that there are large disparities in academic achievement between children of different socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds. This study examines the evolution of disparities in literacy skills between adults of different SES backgrounds. It compares countries' patterns in the evolution of disparities in literacy by SES background as cohorts age and asks which patterns of educational and labour force participation predict a narrowing rather than a widening of these disparities. Since there is no international longitudinal study of skills across the entire adult life span, this study uses three cross-sectional international adult studies (International Adult Literacy Survey, Adult Literacy and Lifeskills and Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) and matches birth years to create synthetic cohorts. Results indicate that there is large cross-national variation in the evolution of skills disparities associated with SES background. Disparities in literacy proficiency tend to widen when SES disparities in high school completion, professional and blue-collar employment increase. Disparities narrow when workers exit the labour force, a finding that is explained by the large inequalities in the employment experiences of individuals from different SES backgrounds, measured by differences in use of literacy skills at work. These results help to explain cross-national variation in the evolution of skills disparities by SES background, which has implications for policies aimed at closing skills gaps over the life course. [Funding from the OECD Thomas J. Alexander Fellowship Programme.]

This is the third paper published by The Centre for Literacy in its Working Papers in Literacy series, which presents fresh perspectives on literacy-related issues. The topics are relevant both to other researchers, to practitioners in the field, and to policy-makers. This paper examines the behaviours and beliefs of a group of volunteer tutors to discover why they did not maintain close contact with their literacy organization. This study began with the assertion that tutors are important actors in the tutor-learner relationship, and that their beliefs and behaviour will affect the tutoring relationship. A better understanding of how and why tutors act in certain ways will help the volunteer programs improve training and support for their volunteers and could ultimately improve the quality of tutoring. After describing the tutors' behaviour in the matches with learners, the study draws a link from an apparent contradiction--that tutors desire to help their learners but are complacent about their learners' progress--to a belief system shared by these tutors. This shared belief system underlies their disinclination to receive support from the organization. The research was conducted using case-study methodology. Data were gathered during semi-structured interviews with eighteen tutors who were entering the program and being trained (4 individuals), those who had tutored for several months (10 individuals), and those who were learner-tutor coordinators (generally with a years' tutoring experience) (4 individuals). Participants in the first two groups were randomly selected, while in the last group all four learner-tutor coordinators agreed to participate. The four beliefs outlined in this paper are: (1) Tutors believe that a learner who does not succeed in a classroom learning format will be helped by one-on-one tutoring; (2) Tutors, while recognizing the wide variety of learner needs, rely on individual attention rather than specific training to function in the match; (3) Tutors value good will over good training; and (4) Tutors defend their volunteer activities based on perceived needs rather than demonstrable progress and results. The combination of these four beliefs creates tutors who feel inadequate yet who function independently because they are motivated and because they believe there is no one better volunteering for the job. These beliefs are traced back to the nature of the program: the volunteers have been told that they are essential to literacy provision, and they are not aware of other educational opportunities for their learners. Interview questions are appended.

This paper uses new administrative data with detailed borrower information and lengthy repayment histories from the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) to measure rates of return on undergraduate student loans. We document substantial heterogeneity in returns based on information available at the time loans were disbursed, including province of residence, field of study, and institution of attendance. Field of study is a particularly important determinant of rates of return, explaining 22% of the variation in predicted returns across borrowers. We explore the implications of this variation for CSLP cross-subsidization across borrowers and potential risk-based loan limits. Given the variation in ex ante predicted returns across borrowers, using all available information at the time of loan disbursement, we study the implications of potential cream-skimming of high-return borrowers by private lenders.

Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that enables them to play an active role in their communities and prepares them to make the most of lifelong-learning opportunities. Using data from the most recent PISA cycles, this paper explores changes in the share of resilient students over time (2006-2015); highlights the importance of school environments and resources in mitigating the risk of low achievement for disadvantaged students; and identifies school-level factors that are associated with the likelihood of academic resilience among socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses reveal that several countries were able to increase the share of resilient students over time, reflecting improvements in the average performance of students, or a weaker relationship between socio-economic status and performance. In the vast majority of education systems examined, the likelihood of academic resilience among disadvantaged students is lower in schools where students report a negative classroom climate. The paper concludes by exploring school policies and practices that are associated with a positive classroom climate. [This work was supported by a contribution to the PISA programme of work from Vodafone Germany Foundation.]

The purpose of this research paper is to look at the definition of academic freedom and how it has evolved over time. Canada's definition of academic freedom grew out of the influences of Britain, Germany, and the United States. The paper begins with a historic look at these three sources. It then focuses on the Canadian definition of academic freedom in relation to Canadian history. Important academic freedom cases are described, and their influences on the definition of academic freedom are discussed. An overview of current trends, including tenure, unions, political correctness, private funding, and accountability mandates, threatening academic freedom are discussed. History has revealed that the concept of academic freedom has been modified and refined as it journeyed through each generation. Each generation has fought for different pieces of the academic freedom puzzle, from religious freedom, to political freedom, to cultural freedom, and it is only by looking back over history one can finally understand what academic freedom truly defends. The fight for academic freedom has been waged so that all academics could enjoy freedom to pursue their research and teaching free from public sanctions. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/SLD)

This paper focuses on children with a migration background and conceptualises their migration experience as adversity. The paper adapts the resilience framework to understand how immigrant children can overcome adversity. The paper discusses policy models that can be derived from adopting a resilience approach to the measurement of immigrant students' integration prospects and proposes a policy analysis framework. The "CHARM" framework helps to assess the extent to which destination country policies and practices support the educational and socioemotional well-being of immigrant children. Namely, it evaluates whether policies to consider (1) Cumulative adversity; adopt a (2) Holistic approach; consider (3) Adjustment as a dynamic process; identify a (4) Relational development; and implement a (5) Multilevel approach. The paper finally applies the CHARM framework to the education policies of Ontario, Canada and underscores the relevance of applying the CHARM framework across countries and jurisdictions to evaluate education policies that can promote the resilience of immigrant children.

In 2006 the Educational Policy Institute released the first edition of "Beyond the Sticker Price: A Closer Look at Canadian University Tuition Fees." The report presented a new way by which to look at the prices and costs associated with university tuition, an alternative to the annual tuition fee report produced by Statistics Canada which more accurately reflects what students and their families actually pay in tuition fees once all various subsidies are taken into account. The purpose of this paper is to build upon the research and analysis conducted for this paper's original release. This paper presents available data from a ten year period, from 1997-98 to 2007-08 and look at real changes in tuition fees, educational tax credits and tax rebate programs over that period. Of particular importance in this paper is the effect of the introduction of new tax rebate programs in four provinces since the last report. These programs have reduced the net cost of education substantially, particularly in Manitoba and New Brunswick. This new data will permit the authors to generate some alternative calculations of net tuition which are substantially more accurate as measures of cost than the simple tuition fee data. These measures, in turn, will permit them to see precisely how changing government policies on education tax credits and programs are affecting the people who receive them. The authors' brief excursion into calculating real costs for students revealed the following: (1) Education tax credits, which act as a kind of tuition rebate, have expanded by over 45 percent nationally over the past decade on a per-student basis; (2) Taking both inflation and tax credits into account, real "net tuition" is up by just 19 percent since 1997-98; (3) Since 1999-2000, the growth in tax credits has more than offset the growth in real tuition. Nationally, once tax credits are taken into account, "net tuition" has only increased 8 percent in the last 8 years; and (4) Very generous tax rebate programs recently introduced in four provinces have seen the "net tuition" figures, once adjusted for these rebates, decrease by as much as 102 percent. At the national level, taking these into account, tuition has actually fallen over the last eight years. One of the key concepts in this paper is that there is more than one way to measure "net tuition". Governments wishing to pay attention to affordability and accessibility need to pay more attention to these differences. It is possible--by ignoring tax credits and rebates completely--to make a case that net tuition costs in Canada are increasing. A more reasonable interpretation of the data presented here is that tuition is anything but out of control, and that tax credits in most of the country are more than offsetting tuition. (Contains 8 tables and 3 footnotes.) [For the first edition of this report, "Beyond the Sticker Price: A Closer Look at Canadian University Tuition Fees," see ED499854.]

Accountability, "the extent to which one must answer to higher authority for one's actions" (Shafritz & Russell, 2000, p. 343), is a critical part of corporate and democratic life. In public institutions, sound accountability processes assure those in executive, governance, audit and "elected official" roles that public resources are being honestly and effectively used for the purpose for which they were intended. Additionally, information available to a broader audience should demonstrate that public institutions are effectively and efficiently managed and successfully perform their mandated roles. Because it is central to the public's trust in their institutions, accountability continues to be a media, political and public policy issue. The Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (ACAATO) commissioned this study of the policies and mechanisms through member colleges are answerable to government and to the public. This study summarizes 7 principles of effective accountability practice drawn from a review of the relevant literature. These are: (1) clear lines of answerability; (2) a clear definition of the "responsibilities" for which an organization's leaders will be held accountable; (3) provisions for the reporting of performance; (4) defining and measuring "outcomes" and widely-recognized "core indicators" which relate "results" to "purpose", recognize the limits of unavoidable costs and available resources and which can be used systematically in decision making; (5) carefully balanced incentives; (6) relevant legal and financial rules and reporting to monitor compliance; and (7) a balance between the processes that hold organizations accountable and the authority needed to respond quickly to a dynamic marketplace. This paper assesses the current accountability policies governing the operation of Ontario's Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) against the above "effective practice" criteria. It concludes that the colleges a held to rigid and comprehensive controls over their financial and legal affairs, real estate dealings and entrepreneurial activity. Prior approval, audit, public financial reporting and Board governance practices ensure transparency. A bibliography is included.

This discussion paper is part of a larger Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) project entitled "Linkages: Connecting Literacy and English as a Second Language" (ESL). The goal of the overall project is for MCL to work with national organizations that support the ESL/Settlement and literacy fields to identify common issues and concerns and to document areas for mutual cooperation in the future. The purpose of the discussion paper is to highlight and summarize current Canadian research over the last five to seven years in terms of key themes, issues, gaps and needed strategies on connections between literacy and ESL. The paper will also reflect the perspectives of a small number of key informants from the literacy, ESL, and settlement fields on key themes. Appendices include: (1) Key Informants; and (2) Interview Questions. (Contains 2 tables and 41 footnotes.)

This discussion paper outlines processes, as well as opportunities and constraints, for "enabling" BC Transfer System institutions to enhance transfer credit information in the BC Transfer Guide, making it more reflective of institutional practices and student mobility. BCCAT's focus is increasing the availability of transfer credit information for students so they may better plan their pathways across institutions, where appropriate to their educational needs and goals. Currently 40 institutions comprise the BC Transfer System. Seven perform receiving functions only, 18 perform sending functions only, and 13 perform both sending and receiving functions. Two institutions with distinctive curriculum and program design do not articulate on a course-by-course basis. BCCAT is proposing that all institutions be enabled to enhance the scope of their role in the BC Transfer Guide by lifting the sending/receiving restrictions and revising the language of the bctransferguide.ca site and appropriate BCCAT documents in a manner commensurate with these changes. BCCAT is aware that any expansion of transfer credit information within the BC Transfer Guide should proceed cautiously with due consideration of the implications to the system as a whole. Therefore, BCCAT is operating under two assumptions in making this proposal: (1) Institutions want articulation agreements to reflect credit transfer and student mobility patterns; and (2) Institutions do not want a significant increase in articulation work. This proposal provides several potential opportunities for students and institutions alike. The key benefit would be an increase in the available transfer information at the BC Transfer Guide website. This would assist students in making more informed choices about their transfer pathways. A further outcome would be increased transparency and accountability of transfer arrangements among participating institutions. Implications arise for all institutions when one expands the scope of its articulation activity. An issue that would require consideration in moving forward under the proposed scenario is the maintenance of articulation agreements, which is a shared responsibility between institutions. In order to consider this proposal and inform development of a possible implementation strategy, BCCAT is seeking feedback from transfer system member institutions: students, faculty, and staff. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This paper examines the ways in which colleagues who have traditionally not worked together, or even met each other, can share experience-based knowledge. It discusses electronic information networks in Canadian colleges, and examines how these networks do and do not develop into communities of learning or communities of practice through sharing conceptualized knowledge, and common values and goals. The study aims to assess the 3-year experiment of creating numerous affinity groups, or national networks of college administrators, staff, faculty, and students who administer, teach, or study in the same domain or discipline. The author sent out an e-mail questionnaire to 134 randomly selected participants in 34 Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) affinity groups which had been in existence for at least 6 months. The author conducted in-depth interviews with nine of the 51 respondents. The author also reviewed case studies and used his own experience in meetings and projects. The findings cover motivation for joining affinity groups, development of trust and common values in face to face meetings, the need for ongoing dialogue, the role of technology in achieving group objectives, and working productively with sectoral councils and initiatives. (Contains 28 references.) (NB)

The paper examines between-country differences in the mechanisms through which education could promote generalised trust using data from 29 countries participating in the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). Results indicate that education is strongly associated with generalised trust and that a large part of this association is mediated by individuals' literacy skills, income and occupational prestige. However, education gradients in levels of generalised trust and in the extent to which they are due to social stratification mechanisms or cognitive skills mechanisms vary across countries. Differences across countries in birthplace diversity and income inequality are correlated with how strongly education is associated with trust in different countries, as well as in the relative magnitude of direct and indirect associations. In particular, the relationship between literacy skills and generalised trust is stronger in the presence of greater birthplace diversity but is weaker in the presence of greater income inequality.

Growth in mixed-sector institutions offering both vocational and higher education qualifications is expected to increase given recent and predicted policy changes. This issues paper focuses on the provision and management of higher education in technical and further education (TAFE) institutes. Issues raised for discussion include the governance of mixed-sector institutions as well as ensuring access and maintaining progression to higher education without sectoral division in the institution. Implications arising from the Bradley review of higher education are canvassed and the authors are inviting discussion on a range of questions related to the nature of policies and practices influencing the provision of higher education in TAFE. A section listing the TAFE institutes that have been registered to offer higher education qualifications and their accredited higher education qualifications, at February 2009 is appended. (Contains 5 tables and 3 footnotes.) [Funding for this document was provided through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

This paper is concerned with the strategies being adopted for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and the lessons that could be learned for them from policies in other countries. Six issues are considered in the paper, each relates to or more of the objectives and particular strategies in the Australia's National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 2004-2010: (1) Workforce/adult training and retraining in the light of ageing and shifting occupational structures; (2) Equity issues for indigenous and other groups; (3) Managing demand and funding so that priorities are met; (4) Developments in qualification structures and quality assurance; (5) Enhancing provider capacity to ensure quality and responsiveness; and (6) Regional and community capacity building. The approach taken was to analyse national strategies, policies, objectives and priorities of government agencies to provide a point of comparison with Australia's National Strategy for VET. Analysis was most focused on the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and limited for Canada, due to the decentralised nature of that system. Implications for Australia are set out by strategy. (Contains 6 footnotes and 2 boxes.)

This project on national standards and accreditation of career practitioners is set against a background of unprecedented interest by governments nationally and internationally in the provision of career guidance services. Currently more is known about the policy and delivery of career guidance than at any other time in history. There is growing interest in the relationship between career guidance and public policy because the benefits of career guidance to individuals, society and the economy have been recognised. In this regard, strategic alliances are being formed between career guidance practitioners and policy makers in order that policy commitments relating to the provision of quality career services are enhanced. Such an alliance is evidenced in the collaboration between the Department of Education, Science and Training and the Career Industry Council of Australia on this project. This project constitutes a very necessary step in a move towards a quality industry. The purpose of this scoping paper is to: (1) identify current standards guiding career practitioners in Australia; (2) review international work on standards including examples of best practice and advise on how this work might be relevant to the development of national standards and accreditation in the Australian context; (3) be informed by outcomes of national workshops, forums, and conferences 2000-2004; (4) identify the current membership requirements of professional career associations and bodies both nationally and internationally; (5) assess how prior learning or qualifications might be recognised and developed to fit within and meet the requirements of the quality standards; and (6) identify the issues that need to be addressed in the development of national standards. To achieve this purpose, this paper is structured around four main sections--international quality standards, national quality standards, standards guiding Australian professions, and the Australian career industry. Following this a number of themes related to the development and implementation of quality standards will be elaborated. A number of issues relating to the development and implementation of quality standards and accreditation in the Australian career industry will then be raised. Appended are: (1) Glossary of terms; (2) Table of Comparative Competencies; (3) Entry-level Qualifications of Australian Career Practitioner Associations; (4) Standards of Australian Career Practitioner Associations; and (5) Comparison of Quality Standards Across Career Case Studies.

In this paper, the author would like to put forward a number of issues to think about and discuss. At the same time, she argues for a better articulated system that more closely matches the needs and goals of various subgroups of English language learners. Adult ESL programs serve diverse immigrant populations with different needs and goals. A One-Size-Fits-All approach limits the effectiveness of services and "cheats" groups at either end of the educational spectrum--those without literacy in their native language at one end, and those with higher levels of education in their native country at the other. If education adapts and varies adult ESL services to differentiate instructional programs according to literacy needs and previous schooling experience, they will have a more educationally sound system. Efforts to change the system and create separate pathways for different groups of immigrants will not happen without investment and planning on all levels--program, state or province and federal--and without focused attention to the specific needs and goals of each subgroup. Creating a better articulated and more focused system will require more resources, but much time and effort is currently wasted in an undifferentiated system that purports to be all things to all people, yet does not serve any given group as well as it could. A bibliography is included.

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.)

Youth represent one of the most culturally diverse groups in Canada. It has been shown that labour market participation among immigrant youth, especially those who are members of a visible minority, has been lower than the Canadian-born. Using the 1996 Census, this paper provides an overview of labour market attachment of immigrant and visible minority youth in Canada. Specifically, we examine the patterns of labour force participation among youth aged 15-29. Comparisons are made between youth who are foreign-born and Canadian-born, as well as between visible minority and non-visible minority youth. In general, immigrant youth are less likely to have work experience than Canadian-born youth. Recent immigrant youth are less likely to participate in the labour market than the Canadian-born as well as immigrant youth who have been in the country longer. Employment outlooks for immigrants who came as children are better than that for those who came as teens or young adults, especially among women. Visible minority immigrant youth are more likely to be unemployed than those who do not belong to a visible minority group. These findings are interpreted in light of the policy implications with respect to youth employment strategies. (Contains 1 footnote, 4 figures, and 5 tables.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "Jeunes et visibles: Acces des jeunes immigrants et membres de minorites visibles au marche du travail."]

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.)

An emerging literature documents the many challenges faced by college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known, however, about how students responded to the adversity. Focusing on two large Canadian universities, we provide some of the first evidence on the coping strategies students reported and the relationships between their endorsement of specific coping strategies and their subsequent well-being. Students focused on compensating for a lack of structure by creating new routines, maintaining social connections, and trying new activities. Conditional on baseline problems indexes, students who initially endorsed social connectedness as a strategy score significantly higher on a comprehensive well-being index five to twelve weeks later. [Additional funding for this research was provided by the Jamal Poverty Action Lab.]

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)

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 describes the early care and educational services for children in Quebec since reforms of 1997 intended to place the interests and well-being of children and families at the center of its family policy. Chapter 1 describes early childhood care and education (ECCE) system prior to and since the reforms. The chapter describes the components of this system as including: (1) center-based child care for children birth to 4 years and family child care for children birth to 12 years, both overseen by early childhood agencies (CPEs); (2) school-age child care programs; and (3) full-day kindergarten for 5-year-olds. Funding for restructuring the ECCE system is detailed, including the gradual introduction of a universal regulated $5-a-day child care program and a massive increase in public funding. Specific measures related to the educational program and child care staff training are described. Chapter 2 focuses on the center-based component of the system and presents issues raised by directors in a 1998 study of child care centers, including financial stability of centers, clientele with special needs, staff compensation and working conditions, complying with regulations, facility-related concerns, and staff morale. Chapter 3 considers the family child care component, examining the reasons behind the government decision to make it the cornerstone of the ECCE system, identifying some pitfalls related to this policy, and discussing ways to ensure that family care services are given a prominent role. Chapter 4 describes school-age child care programs, focusing on their evolution since the introduction of reform and examining their strengths and weakness. Chapter 5 explores additional questions, including issues related to family care provider training, standards for CPEs and commercial child care centers, the lack of males in the ECCE system, the status of family child care providers, and the CPE as a business enterprise. The paper's three appendices discuss parents' expressed preference for family child care, the link between the size of the child care group and the providers' income, and the definition of "family environment." (Contains 41 references.) (KB)

This paper is part of a research paper series that the Applied Research Branch of Human Resources Development Canada commissioned in 2001 to contribute to the development of a research strategy for young Canadians completing their education and starting their careers. The series focuses on various elements of the school-work transitions of Canadian youth. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on the transitional experiences of young women. Research has documented that gender differences exist in educational and occupational choices, experiences, and attainments and that these differences have special characteristics. The additional dimensions of marriage and family can also generate differences in transition pathways between women and men. Two key impressions emerge from this review: how much we know and how little has changed. Female inequality, whether in reference to participation in mathematics and science, different fields of study at post-secondary institutions, employment status, family responsibilities in relation to work, or the income earnings gap, has been remarkably stable over time in the research literature. However, the accounts of persistent stability mask the educational and occupational, and earnings outcomes for certain groups. The least advantaged continue to be female lone parents and low income families. Several recommendations for further research emerge from the studies reviewed in this paper. Further research is needed, especially using longitudinal research designs, to document changes in attitudes, course selection, post-secondary field chosen and eventual occupational attainment. In addition, policies for access to and participation in education and labour market require monitoring. (Contains 17 figures and 5 footnotes.)

With the North American Free Trade Agreement and today's knowledge-based economy, there is a premium placed on post-secondary education and the need to retain graduates in Canada. The share of graduates in the Canadian and the United States labour pools are key to competitiveness. This paper examines Canada's performance relative to the U.S. in terms of post-secondary education (PSE) attainment in the population in the latter half of the 1990s. In particular, it responds to two questions: (1) Does Canada have a higher rate of overall PSE attainment compared to the United States? and (2) Does the United States have a higher rate of university attainment compared to Canada? Findings show that as of 1999, Canada did have a higher rate of PSE attainment compared to the United States. Yet, the gap in attainment between the two countries was not as large as it appeared to be prior to 1997 when a different system of classifying international educational program data was used. Additionally, findings show that by the end of the decade the U.S. had a higher rate of university attainment in the population compared to Canada. However, the difference between the two countries in university attainment is smaller for younger individuals than older. Thus, while a larger percentage of the U.S. population had obtained a university degree, the gap between the two countries may be narrowing. (Contains 1 footnote, 2 tables, and 3 figures.) [This paper is available in French under the title: "Niveau d'etudes postsecondaires au Canada et aux Etats-Unis dans les annees 90."]

We assess the relationship between general literacy skills and health status by analysing data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an international survey of about 250,000 adults aged 16-65 years conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2011-15 in 33 countries/national sub-regions. Across countries, there seems to be a strong and consistent association between general literacy proficiency and self-rated poor health, independent of prior socio-economic status and income. General literacy proficiency also appears to be a mediator of the association between self-education and self-rated poor health. While the literacy-health association is robust over time, it varies in magnitude across countries. It is strongest for those with a tertiary or higher degree and does not appear to exist among young adults (ages 25 to 34 years). Future studies are required to understand the contextual factors that modify the general literacy proficiency-health association.

This paper explores links between teachers' learning, the politics and practices of education reform, and teacher identity, examining how teachers learn to negotiate the spaces between promises of improvement, effectiveness, and accountability made in heterogeneous discourses of education reform and their experiences with deteriorating material conditions and social relations of schooling. The paper asserts that learning how to work with or against education reform is a complex process of identity making for teachers, where they encounter and utilize contradictory ideas about good teachers and teaching as well as about children, curriculum, pedagogy, and learning. Researchers designed a small study to examine how Ontario teachers were being positioned and how they understood themselves within the milieu of reform. Twelve teachers completed interviews, commenting on contemporary school reform, particularly issues of curriculum, assessment, and reporting (as well as several other topics). In different ways, all respondents expressed strong disagreement with the provincial government and distrust of their initiatives. However, their teaching and assessment methods showed that they could not avoid reform altogether, and reform shaped their work and identities, even when they strongly disagreed with its goals and methods. Several teachers suggested that democratic and open discussion in their schools was very rare. (Contains 88 references.) (SM)

This paper describes a study that examined the demand for tutoring within a context of heightened credential competition and a growing private-education sector consisting of private schools, charter schools, homeschoolers, and a burgeoning entrepreneurial education industry. The number of private-tutoring businesses is rapidly growing in Canada, even though the Canadian educational system lacks the characteristics that normally fuel the demand for such businesses. Which kinds of parents hire and desire private tutors, and how is the demand linked to other educational preferences? Using data from a national survey, the study found that parents who desire affordable tutoring do not differ greatly from other parents in their demographic or political ideology. However, tutoring parents are less satisfied with public education, are more involved in their children's schools, and are greatly more desiring of private schooling and other educational alternatives. The paper concludes that for many parents, private tutoring represents a school choice by default, and is an affordable educational option in lieu of the ability to pay for private schools. (Contains 16 references.) (Author)

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)

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 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)

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)

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)