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This study examined the role of faculty participation on strategic change within higher education. An open-ended questionnaire was completed by seven individuals from Singapore and the United States who had had experience with higher education strategic planning and change as both faculty and administrators in Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United States. It was found that all of the respondents agreed on the necessity of involving stakeholders, particularly the faculty, in strategic change. Many also pointed to the difficulty of getting quality participation from faculty, due to the fact that faculty often have a narrow perspective, that faculty participation involves a large commitment of time, and that faculty are often reluctant to address complex issues or problems. Respondents emphasized the negative impact of overly hierarchical and bureaucratic organizational structures, which were more typical in Singapore than elsewhere. The comments also emphasized the impact that organizational culture, planning processes, reward structures, and institutional mission can have on faculty participation in strategic change. Suggestions for encouraging and improving faculty participation were also offered. (Contains 32 references.) (MDM)

This study investigated Ontario school council inclusiveness pertaining to Aboriginal peoples. A case study was conducted with a cross section of Native and non-Native Canadians who were directly or indirectly involved in school council-related activities. Researchers audiotaped interviews and focus group discussions with participants and analyzed archival materials (newspaper articles, school council minutes, journal articles, books, and school council materials). Overall, school councils were an externally imposed mandated reform that was not necessarily widely supported by trustees, administrators, and teachers, all of whom appeared threatened by parent and community participation. Council members were not necessarily knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. Principals tended to dominate the school council process but lacked the skills to advocate for change, share power, provide appropriate leadership, and develop a vision of school governance. School councils were not inclusive of Native Canadians, so the education, social interests, needs, and expectations of Native parents and community members were not being considered. Results revealed the need for a school council system involving Aboriginal parental, elder, and community participation in order to improve inclusiveness and educational relevancy, excellence, and equity in public education for Aboriginal peoples. (Contains bibliographic references.) (SM)

In 1998, as part of a larger national study examining informal learning practices across the general population, Canadian elementary and secondary teachers were surveyed regarding their practices and attitudes related to their own ongoing learning. The 753 respondents described any informal learning experiences in the past year within their workplaces, homes, and communities and any formal learning activities (courses, workshops, and conferences). Over 85 percent of the teachers had engaged in formal learning during the previous year, compared to 49 percent of the entire Canadian labor force and 67 percent of university-educated labor force members. Teachers spent over 8 hours per week engaged in their own formal learning activities (course time, reading, and preparing assignments). They spent an average of 4 hours per week in job-related informal learning and an average of 10 hours per week in informal learning activities overall (related to employment, housework, community volunteer work, and other interests). There were variations among teachers and within the general labor force. For example, 89 percent of teachers, as compared to 61 percent of the overall labor force and 71 percent of employed professionals, had engaged in informal computer learning in the previous year. Appendixes include additional tables from study results and the Canadian Teachers' Learning Survey. (Contains 36 bibliographic references, 24 tables, and 14 endnotes.) (SM)

A preliminary study explored how Canadian practitioners who are engaged in community economic development (CED) that includes or is specific to women gain new information relevant to their work and how they incorporate that new learning into their daily practice. Interview questions focused on sources of information, learning opportunities and processes, relative usefulness of different kinds of knowledge, and how practitioners managed to apply new knowledge to their work. Results indicated nearly all 15 participants identified lack of an organized source of information about women's CED as a problem. Other major themes were that all respondents reported multiple work duties that required different sets of knowledge; many sources were used to obtain the diverse information practitioners required; participant ratings suggested most organizations are engaged in ongoing efforts to incorporate and improve on CED best practice; failure to implement available knowledge was usually due to a lack of resources such as time and money; practitioners frequently reported applying their knowledge concerning class, gender, and other diversity issues to educate others involved in CED; and, for many practitioners, a clash of ideas about what counted as learning and valid knowledge occurred on a variety of fronts. The strongest implication of the results was the need for more CED funding. (Appendixes include interview results.) (YLB)

Despite Ontario's profusion of training programs, diplomas, and certificates for office workers, they need coherence and transferability in training that makes it possible to keep up with changes in their current work, and they need their work experience and training to be transferable to training for other occupations. There is a growing disjuncture among the new work, training needs of office workers, and kinds of training available. Office work is becoming more complex, and its links with other occupations need to be made more specific. Training is being delivered in shorter, more fragmented pieces that particularly focus on technical training or the so-called "soft" employability skills. Entry-level training is getting shorter, while entry-level requirements for many office support jobs are becoming more complex. Cuts in public funding to college and community-based programs have resulted in fewer seats in public programs. Setting standards--sometimes seen as a panacea or, at least, the requisite starting-point for a coherent training system--would add to the confusion and opacity of training options for individual workers. It would also be an instrument to further privatize training. Making training a more "profitable" enterprise makes it less accessible to workers. Through activism, advocacy, and support of unions and organizations, a truly worker-centered and worker-driven training system could begin to eliminate the current confusion, fragmentation, inequities, and ineffectiveness of training for office workers. (Appendixes include 31 endnotes and 18 references.) (YLB)

The New Approaches to Lifelong Learning (NALL) project is a Canada-wide 5-year research initiative during which more than 70 academic and community members are working collaboratively within a framework of informal learning to address the following issues: informal computer-based learning, recognition of prior learning, informal learning in a variety of social locations, learning within marginalized or disadvantaged cultures, and learning about school-to-work transitions. The NALL project's primary objective is to identify major social barriers to integrating informal learning with formal/nonformal learning and certification and to support new program initiatives to overcome such barriers. The NALL project's focus is on the informal and nonformal learning practices of people involved with the Growing Jobs for Living Project (GJOBS) in the Quinte bioregion, located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Canada. These learning practices are related to the principles and practices of environmental adult education, feminist adult education, and transformative learning. The global and ideational contexts of some of the major socio-environmental changes and problems that have affected the Quinte bioregion and been a catalyst for GJOBS were examined. The methods used to study the informal learning practices of GJOBS participants were reviewed. The major outcomes of the study were discussed from the standpoint of their relationship to the broader field of adult education. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)

This paper presents the highlights of a national survey of governing boards and board members of Canadian universities. A total of 45 of the country's 59 provincially-supported university boards responded to the survey, which was followed up by a survey of the individual board members of the 45 responding institutions, which received 583 responses (49% response rate). The survey found that 39 of the responding institutions possessed a bicameral governance structure, with a governing board and a faculty senate. Various demographic characteristics of board members are reported. Board members reported, on average, that they worked on board matters 10.3 hours per month. Compared to governing boards at state-supported universities in the United States, the boards of provincially-supported Canadian universities included more student and faculty members and more females. While 77 percent of American boards were appointed by the state government, Canadian boards were appointed by a variety of methods, with the three most common, each accounting for about a quarter of the total, being appointment by provincial governments, by the board itself, and by constituency groups. (Contains 14 references.) (MDM)

A gender-based analysis of training that focuses on barriers to women because of changes in the availability of sponsorship leads to the conclusion that training programs for women in New Brunswick have been spotty at best. Women's training has occurred during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s under the aegis of the Canadian Manpower Training Program, National Training Act, Canadian Jobs Strategy, Labor Force Development Strategy, and more recently since the shift to devolution, through Labor Market Development Agreements between Canada and each province. The literature identifies barriers, including personal, family, societal, and bureaucratic, that prevent women from getting training they want/need. Women have never played more than a very minor role in apprenticeship, probably because most trades are nontraditional occupations. Most students who receive student loans are women. Participants in the Skills, Loans, and Grants program have been 64 percent males; the discretionary aspect of the case manager's role may play a considerable part in a lower support rate for women. Issues that emerge in examining training programs for women concern sponsorship, eligibility requirements, women-only and bridging programs, and training opportunities for social assistance recipients. Arguably, absence of sponsorship is the most significant barrier to women's training. With virtual elimination of such sponsorship in the late 1990s market-driven approach to training, a signficant decline in women's training can be expected. (Appendixes include 38 endnotes and additional tables and charts.) (YLB)

This project is building on site-specific qualitative data to develop a profile of adult learning activity now largely unrecognized by education providers. It explores the various learning strategies used by adults in these three locations: unionized factory, community-based training program, and literacy program. At a half-way point in a two-year project, results have been obtained from 13 interviews, comments from 22 profiles, and a videotaped discussion among 5 people. All participants are women. One outstanding theme is that these women love to learn. Interviewees identify four themes that help them learn: an appreciation for their independence, a supportive community, a feeling of self-confidence, and applying or practicing the newly acquired skill in a real situation. The project is supplying researchers with a systematic approach to capturing the initiatives of working people as learners the Skills and Knowledge Profile that helps learners identify and value their skills and experience. (YLB)

The questions of what and how working people learn about labor organization and activity in Canada were explored through a review of available literature and face-to-face interviews with more than 30 education officers and union leaders. Unions continue to be the principal source of labor education. Of the many courses and educational experiences that unions offer their membership, steward-training courses tend to be the best developed and documented. However, steward-training courses constitute only a small portion of the labor education that is currently being made available to trade union members and staff. Many unions are offering a sophisticated and integrated educational experience that is allowing union members to learn a variety of skills and knowledge that could be recognized by the formal education system. Special events and schools range from modest 1-day affairs to week-long functions. The measure of the various courses/programs is their success in preparing union members and activists to deal with the concrete demands they face in the workplace, their union, and their community. Some unions insist that labor education be provided primarily by rank-and-file members, others deliver courses through an educational officer, and yet others have "specialists" deliver courses. (A description of the Learning Labour project is appended.) (MN)

A study investigated effects of implementation of a new policy by the Ontario Ministry of Education that decreased grants for adults and amended the Ontario Education Act, forcing school boards to develop a parallel but "basic service" system of education for everyone over age 21. All adult students in daytime secondary school programs were asked to supply basic demographics; human rights information such as whether students had a disability or belonged to a visible minority; whether they had special education needs; and information pertaining to student knowledge of pending changes in the grant system and their possible effects. Submissions were received from 117 schools, representing 7,723 completed questionnaires. The next phase of the research examined the changes that had occurred in five Target Boards (TBs) in the year following implementation of the adult funding model. Findings indicated that TBs responded to the changes in government policy by redesigning their adult programs using a continuing education model and creating policies directing adults to the new system. This resulted in a narrowing of educational opportunities for adults. Women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and people who registered in English as second language courses were disproportionately represented among those adults who attended secondary school programs before and after the changes in government policy. (Instruments are appended.) (YLB)

This document contains four reports on technology and further education (FE) that Lynton Gray and Ann-Marie Warrender prepared for the Further Education Funding Council's Learning and Technology Committee. The first report, "Main Themes from Learning & Technology Committee Press Surveys," examines three themes that were identified during a review of British press coverage of the role of information/learning technologies in FE: technological developments, organizational changes and learning applications. "Learning and Technology in American Community Colleges," which is based on materials presented at an American Association of Community Colleges convention, discusses the following topics: technology and teaching, distance learning, technologies and the Internet, and industry and student-centered learning. "Multimedia and Education," which is based on materials presented at an Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education conference, examines the following topics: technology for teachers, breaching the technological barriers, the impact of national initiatives, publishing and multimedia, and Canada's Open Learning Agency. "Learning Technologies in Industrial Training" explains the uses of information and learning technologies by a small sample of British companies in their own training programs. The implications of the four papers for reform of FE are summarized in a final section titled "Evidence for Action." (MN)

This paper presents regulatory change proposals from the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board and Department of Advanced Education and Career Development for public discussion and comment. Section 1 outlines proposals relating to regulations: program and process details; the ratio of journeymen to apprentices; and apprentice wages. These proposals include no change to content of program requirements, including entrance requirements; removal of program and process details from regulation; retention by the provincial apprenticeship committees and the Board of the authority to set these requirements; no change to journeyman/apprentice ratios; continuation of adequate supervision as the central factor in determining those ratios; and determination of apprentice's wages by market forces. Section 2 outlines proposals about the designation of trades and occupations: continuation of three categories of designation; the Board's use of new criteria to resume its applications for redesignation of optional trades as compulsory trades; and industry's continued responsibility for training in designated occupations, but no regulation of training. Appendixes include a glossary, apprenticeship and industry training regulatory framework, Alberta-designated trades and occupations, proposals, and comments form. (YLB)

The report on areas needing further development in provision of quality literacy services for Ontario's (Canada) native populations, based on site visits to native literacy programs, identifies seven key areas for change: (1) strategic planning for program development and implementation and advocacy; (2) program growth and administration; (3) native languages; (4) teacher training; (5) curriculum development; (6) standards and accountability; and (7) partnerships in delivery of literacy services. Each of these areas is defined and described, and some options for change are outlined for further discussion. In addition, literacy funding at the Ontario Training and Adjustment Board (OTAB) and the National Literacy Secretariat is described briefly. Appended materials include a list of OTAB-supported literacy programs, and a descriptive list of aboriginal stakeholder groups. Contains 15 references. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

This paper investigates the real living standards and poverty status of U.S. children in the 1990s compared to the children in 17 other nations, including Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, and Australia. The analysis is based on the Luxembourg Income Study database. It was found that American children have lower real spendable income than do comparable children in almost every other nation studied. In contrast, high income U.S. children are far better off than their counterparts in other nations. Persistently high child poverty rates were also found in the United States when compared with other nations. Demographic factors and the effectiveness of tax and transfer policies in reducing child poverty are also explored, and the paper concludes with a discussion of results and their policy implications. An appendix presents two tables of countries studied and poverty figures. (Contains 3 text tables, 8 figures, and 28 references.) (Author/SLD)

The purpose of this discussion paper is to explore the concept of block transfer as an alternative to, or a supplement to, traditional course by course transfer in British Columbia (BC). Transfer in BC is essentially a bilateral process in which sending and receiving institutions negotiate credit for a course or program. One of the assumptions that underlies Charting a New Course, the strategic plan issued in 1996 by the BC Ministry of Education, Skills, and Training, is that every academic course a student takes at a sending institution should transfer automatically to a receiving institution because it has been ratified by the sending institution. By virtue of the institution's membership in the public system, the ratification should extend to each and all facets of that system. Although block transfer is well established in the professional areas, there are few examples of its application to academic programs. There are a number of different block transfer models: system-wide transfer; general education core curriculum; standardized pre-major program; flexible pre-major program; learning outcomes; and descriptive pathways. Any successful revision, if needed, will require the full agreement of all partners in the system. (JA)

This discussion paper explores issues facing undergraduate education in British Columbia as community colleges there achieve degree-granting status and the needs of students become increasingly diverse. The paper opens by considering the undergraduate student and examining the goals of undergraduate education. The central three chapters discuss various alternative approaches to undergraduate education. A chapter on curriculum concerns the balance between specialized and general education. A chapter on learning environment argues for the importance of creating communities of learners which foster more collaboration between faculty, between students, and between faculty and students. The chapter on faculty discusses ways in which faculty working conditions and expectations influence the learning experience for students. Chapters 5 and 6 examine choices for postsecondary education that would lead to a richer, more diverse system. The concluding chapter presents a vision of a postsecondary system characterized by diversity, consisting of a few research-oriented large universities and a network of smaller alternative degree-granting institutions offering a rich variety of programs supported in principle by public policy, and developed through the creative efforts of faculty in various institutions. A summary of the paper is included. References are included for most chapters. (JB)

The theme of this paper is how the objective of maintaining ethnocultural pluralism and diversity transforms the criteria for evaluating educational policies and reforms. The discussion is based on analysis of recent Canadian educational experience with respect to linguistic and cultural minorities. During the past 25 years, Canadian education has undergone a transformation that has caused a basic shift in thinking about evaluation related to education of linguistic and cultural minorities. The country has established a system that provides education to English and French speaking populations alike. Ethnocultural groups of immigrant descent and Native peoples have obtained greater school recognition of their languages and cultures. This paper concentrates on issues without attempting to review all that Canadian researchers and educators have said on the topic. The document presents findings of a major cross-national study; they provide a framework for discussing differences in policies for dealing with ethnocultural diversity in school populations. The main body of the paper addresses evaluation, showing how the interweaving of research results, theoretical juggling, and a bit of common sense have begun to give shape to new evaluation practices. Such issues are brought together in a section summarizing new dimensions of concern for those evaluating educational policy in a pluralistic society. (An appendix offers a text extract from "Stages of Policy Development Regarding the Education of Linguistic and Cultural Minorities in the OECD Countries" (Churchill). (Contains 17 references.) (SG)

This document considers the position, plight, and needs of recent Central American immigrants to Canada. It seeks to answer three questions: What kind of support do they need? What kind of programs can respond to their needs? How can they be helped to integrate into Canadian society? Several facts are uncovered, and conclusions are reached based on anecdotal information. Among the findings are these: Most of these immigrants come from rural areas in their own countries and have limited or no literacy in their native Spanish. They are often very unfamiliar with what basic appliances are in Canada (e.g., stoves). They encounter significant ethnic and racial-based hostility and prejudice from Canadian citizens. Many untrue and largely negative stereotypes about them are widely believed. Recommendations are made for effectively teaching these immigrants to survive and thrive in Canada. Immigrant success stories are chronicled in a number of vivid examples. It is concluded that the acquisition of literacy skills in Spanish is a necessary first step before acquiring similar literacy in English or French. Literacy is viewed as more than just reading and writing, but a necessary tool for problem solving in every-day life in a modern society. Other useful resources are provided. (KFT)

This publication contains nine articles about the process of doing research by literacy practitioners and volunteers in several areas of the Ontario (Canada) literacy field. "Implementing a Workplace Program: A Look Back" (Maria Ioannou-Makrakis) describes the process followed and the learning outcomes from planning, implementing, and developing a workplace literacy program in a rural community. "The Open Learning Network" (Frances Lever) focuses on researching and developing a cross-sectoral accreditation system with planned involvement of experts, students, providers, and information users. "Course Charting" (Deborah LeForestier) is a description of the participatory assessment process as practiced in an adult skills upgrading project. "How Are New Learners Socialized into an Existing Literacy Program?" (Michael G. Wodlinger, Regina Muetze) examines the process that would best facilitate a literacy learner's entry into a new program. "Group Process in Literacy: Program-Based Research" (Heather Lennie Segsworth) looks at the development of groups in literacy classes. "The ESL [English as a Second Language] and Literacy Bridging Project" (Judy Bernstein, Lori Rothschild) describes a curriculum development project that was allowed to evolve towards an initially undefined outcome. "Trial, Error, and Back to the Drawing Board" (Suzy Harris) tells how testing methods and instruments before starting on a full-scale evaluation saved time and made the information more interesting and useful. "Evaluation and Change in a Literacy Program" (Patrick Cummins) is a case study that explores some factors leading to evaluation use. "Dialogue: Questions of a Novice Researcher" (Suzy Harris, Michael Wodlinger) is an edited dialogue dealing with some issues around program evaluation. Also included is a review of a research report, "Literacy in South Muskoka." (YLB)

This study developed a classification scheme to critically compare performance assessment projects at higher education universities in North America and Europe. Performance indicators and assessment initiatives were compared using nine basic dimensions: (1) locus of control, (2) degree of governmental involvement, (3) focus of performance indicators, (4) sources of quality variation, (5) data selection, (6) intended audiences, (7) emphasis of use, (8) impact on student learning, and (9) relationship to institutional mission. A sample of six systems of generation performance indicators was examined using the nine criteria; the six systems are: National Education Goals (United States National System); Critical Choices (United States State System); Key Success Indices (United States Institutional System); The Committee for Vice Chancellors and Principals listing of performance indicators (British National System); Queen's University (Canadian Model); and MONEY magazine (United States Media System). Analysis found that performance indicators are mostly variations of input/output mechanistic thinking, that remarkable similarities exist between North American and European initiatives, that most models are unprepared to address conversion or process variables, that most are built on an assumption that outcomes can be attributed to something in the system or institution, and that the absence of linkages back to the learning environment leaves internal decisionmakers without information to correct causes that explain variations in quality. (Contains 92 references.) (JB)

To make the education system more open and accountable, Alberta (Canada) designated in 1994 the formation of an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) implementation team for educational accountability. The MLA team is consulting with Albertans about which results should be included in school reports, which measures should be used to report educational outcomes, and how the results should be communicated. This document is comprised of a discussion paper, which is being used by the MLA team to conduct a third, broader phase of consultation with educational stakeholders during January and February 1995. Following the introduction, section 2 summarizes themes that emerged from the MLA team's consultations, some of which include: (1) parents want more information and better access to results at all levels of reporting; (2) people feel that accountability data must be used to improve education; (3) the public wants to be involved in developing improvement plans; (4) people want to know how the budget relates to educational outcomes; (5) student results should reflect the range of academic and nonacademic achievements; and (6) measures must make sense and be closely linked to improvement goals. Section 3 contains a prototype school report and school board report. The fourth section reports what consultants said they wanted to see regarding contextual information, student results, financial information, satisfaction measures, improvement goals and action plans, communication of educational outcomes, and their suggestions for improving the prototype reports. An attached booklet contains a questionnaire for gathering feedback on the prototype reports. (LMI)

The rapid expansion of charter schools would suggest that there is evidence of their effectiveness, but this is not the case. The lack of objective evidence of their success reinforces the claim that charter school reforms are political and ideological rather than educational reforms. The arguments in favor of charter schools have exploited some myths, and these myths have swayed some people whose goals are to strengthen the quality of public education. The following myths are addressed and countered: (1) there is a crisis in public education; (2) thecharter school movement invented school choice; (3) charter schools make choice equally available to all; (4) the competition of market forces improves the quality of education; (5) charter schools improve curriculum, instruction, and student achievement; (6) charter schools promote equity; (7) results from charter schools have been favorable; (8) charter schools break the "gridlock" of bureaucracy; (9) teachers support charter schools; and (10) charter schools are an innovative educational reform. (Contains 67 references) (SLD)

The rapid expansion of charter schools would suggest that there is evidence of their effectiveness, but this is not the case. The lack of objective evidence of their success reinforces the claim that charter school reforms are political and ideological rather than educational reforms. The arguments in favor of charter schools have exploited some myths, and these myths have swayed some people whose goals are to strengthen the quality of public education. The following myths are addressed and countered: (1) there is a crisis in public education; (2) the charter school movement invented school choice; (3) charter schools make choice equally available to all; (4) the competition of market forces improves the quality of education; (5) charter schools improve curriculum, instruction, and student achievement; (6) charter schools promote equity; (7) results from charter schools have been favorable; (8) charter schools break the "gridlock" of bureaucracy; (9) teachers support charter schools; and (10) charter schools are an innovative educational reform. (Contains 67 references.) (SLD)

The Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) entry effect experiment was designed to measure the effect of the future availability of an earnings supplement on the behavior of newly enrolled income assistance (IA) recipients. It used a classical randomized design. From a sample of 3,315 single parents who recently started a new period of IA, one-half were assigned to the program group and were informed that if they remained on IA for the next 12 months they would be eligible for the SSP supplement; the other half were assigned to the control group. SSP group members were asked questions and attended focus-group interviews to verify they understood the nature of the SSP supplement offer. Results indicated between one-half and three-fourths of them had relatively precise knowledge. The primary focus of the experiment was to determine whether some individuals would prolong their stay on IA to gain SSP eligibility. Analysis of the delayed exit effect suggested it was fairly small, on the order of 3 percentage points, i.e. 3 percent of all new applicants for IA. (Appendixes include additional data tables and list of 21 references.) (YLB)

A distributed union catalog is a network of bibliographic systems that cooperate to enable their users to discover sites that hold copies of known items. Some participating systems will be traditional union catalogs, others will be single sites with comprehensive collections, and others will be local or regional resource sharing systems. A principal goal of the distributed union catalog is to allow the user to obtain a useful number of locations for an item with a minimal number of searches. Z39.50 (an information protocol standard) is a vital tool in enabling libraries and their patrons handle resource sharing in libraries and the computing environment. For Z39.50 to be used effectively for resource sharing, implementors, particularly library system vendors, must begin to support agreed-upon mechanisms transferring locations, holdings, and circulation information in a standardized way. Various approaches and issues surrounding the electronic transfer of library holdings information through union catalogs are discussed. Appendices include a definition of an OPAC record; and USMARC for "holdings" field list. (SWC)

In fall 1996, the British Columbia Ministry of Education, Skills and Training released a strategic plan calling for the development of block transfer agreements between institutions to eliminate the time-consuming process of course-by-course credit assessment. Currently, institutions conduct independent evaluations of elements of an incoming transcript and establish their own requirements and regulations. As of 1996-97, however, there were 155 block transfer agreements in the province, with the majority of these between two-year diploma programs in career areas and professional degrees. Such agreements are rare in academic programs, due in part to the well-established tradition of course-by-course arrangements, the varying number of credits with which academic students transfer, and the lack of common elements for all province degrees. The following models exist, however, for extending block transfer to academic programs, based primarily on the experiences of community colleges in the United States: (1) system-wide transfer arrangements; (2) a general education core curriculum and/or a first-year transfer program of 30 credits; (3) a standardized pre-major curriculum; (4) a flexible pre-major program to allow for innovation and diversity; (5) the learning outcomes model, in which transferability is determined by an assessment of student learning; and (6) the descriptive pathways model, in which clearly-defined grids are prepared of all recommended or acceptable courses. (BCY)

Current trends and issues in second language education are summarized to provide background data for discussion in these areas: language use patterns in Canada and in the world; language education in Canada, with a focus on Alberta's situation (federal and provincial roles in multicultural education and second language study throughout Canada, and language enrollments and program designs in Alberta); international perspectives on language education, in particular in Europe, the United States, and Australia; languages and economic development in Alberta; post-secondary level language programming and enrollment in Alberta; availability of and research on technology-assisted language learning; and research on language acquisition, particularly learning processes, subject matter instruction in a second language, age of acquisition, and time required to develop proficiency. Contains 100 references. (MSE)