Please contact leesa.wheelahan@utoronto.ca for a copy of any of the publications below
Teaching is a critical and extensive part of academic life, yet pedagogical training for academics is still rare (Britnell et al., 2010; Evers et al., 2009). Inadequate pedagogical education for academics has multiple negative effects: for the university, it can necessitate expensive remedial action; for individual academics, it negatively affects job satisfaction and, in rare cases, achievement of tenure; and for students, most importantly, it impedes their learning (Nyquist, Abbott, Wulff & Sprague, 1991). Nevertheless, although formal educational development programs for faculty members and graduate students have multiplied in the last 40 years across the English-speaking world, they are still not the norm in North America. When surveyed, more than half of faculty members report a desire for help with teaching and learning issues from their local teaching and learning centres
(Britnell et al., 2010; Evers et al., 2009). Well-planned, intensive, long-term education and training programs are most beneficial, though even a small amount of training can make a difference by improving student perceptions of teaching quality (Dimitrov et al., 2013; Dalgaard,1982; Bray & Howard, 1980).
The consolidation of the scientific publishing industry has been the topic of much debate
within and outside the scientific community, especially in relation to major publishers’ high
profit margins. However, the share of scientific output published in the journals of these
major publishers, as well as its evolution over time and across various disciplines, has not
yet been analyzed. This paper provides such analysis, based on 45 million documents indexed
in the Web of Science over the period 1973-2013. It shows that in both natural and
medical sciences (NMS) and social sciences and humanities (SSH), Reed-Elsevier, Wiley-
Blackwell, Springer, and Taylor & Francis increased their share of the published output, especially
since the advent of the digital era (mid-1990s). Combined, the top five most prolific publishers account for more than 50% of all papers published in 2013. Disciplines of the social sciences have the highest level of concentration (70% of papers from the top five publishers),while the humanities have remained relatively independent (20% from top five publishers). NMS disciplines are in between, mainly because of the strength of their scientific societies, such as the ACS in chemistry or APS in physics. The paper also examines the migration of journals between small and big publishing houses and explores the effect of publisher change on citation impact. It concludes with a discussion on the economics of
scholarly publishing.
Many people question the need for special scholarships and bursaries specifically targeted at certain demographic roups, but the need for these scholarships goes beyond levelling the playing field for all students. The costs of iscrimination are not just shouldered by those on the receiving end; discrimination imposes costs to us all when it prevents some of our most productive members from playing an active role in society.
This fall, Canada’s universities welcomed the Class of 2017. The skills, knowledge and experiences these students acquire will contribute directly to Canada’s economic growth for decades to come. Universities are at the heart of discovery and innovation in Canada, working in partnership to build a better Canada. They help drive prosperity and strengthen communities. Universities help
Canadians achieve their aspirations for the future.
Problem: you are a highly trained, skilled professional, but the academic job market is less than rosy.
Solution: the market for online, nonacademic courses is large and growing. For “academic entrepreneurs” willing to
retool their courses, this market represents an opportunity to build an independent business or supplement income
from teaching.
According to some estimates, by 2020 the worldwide market for self-paced online learning will be between $27.1 billion and $47.9 billion. The trends driving this growth in the United States involve shifts in the ways that companies hire and train employees, as well as changing expectations about the role of educational institutions.
Abstract
The emergence of service-learning pedagogies in Canada has received a varietyof critical responses. Some regard service-learning as a public relations effort of universities and colleges; others see it as a countermovement to academic
corporatization; still others consider it part of a wider cultural project to produce self-responsible and socially responsible, enterprising citizens. In this article, we argue that each type of response rests on a different critique of the neo-liberal context of post-secondary education; these critiques, in turn, stem from different conceptions of neo-liberalism: as policy, ideology, or governance (Larner, 2000). Rather than attempt to resolve contradictions among these conceptualizations, we address them as a framework for understanding divergent responses to service-learning. We illustrate the framework with the example of a high-enrolment undergraduate course, and we call for future research and educative engagement with the politics of post-secondary servicelearning that is informed by a multi-faceted analysis of neo-liberalism.
Résumé
L’émergence au Canada de la pédagogie d’apprentissage par le service communautaire a suscité une grande variété de réactions. Certains y voient une opération de relations publiques de la part des universités et des collèges, d’autres un mouvement à l’encontre du corporatisme académique, d’autres encore un volet d’un vaste projet culturel ayant pour but de former des citoyens entreprenants, et responsables envers eux-mêmes et la société. Dans cet article, nous avançons que chacune de ces réactions repose sur une critique particulière du contexte néolibéral de la formation postsecondaire,
découlant elle-même de conceptions diverses du néolibéralisme : comme politique, comme idéologie ou comme gouvernance (Larner, 2000). Plutôt que de tenter de résoudre les contradictions qui opposent ces concepts, nous en faisons le cadre qui permet de mieux comprendre les réactions divergentes face à l’apprentissage par le service communautaire. Nous illustrons ce
cadre en donnant l’exemple d’un cours populaire du premier cycle, puis soulignons le besoin d’entreprendre des recherches et d’étayer, par une analyse du néolibéralisme à multiples facettes, la politique de l’apprentissage postsecondaire par le service communautaire.
Abstract
In 2001–2002, the authors of this article interviewed 31 ethno-culturally diverse doctoral students about their experiences in a sociology of education program at a Canadian university. Approximately 10 years later, in a second
qualitative study, we had the chance to conduct semi-structured interviews with 13 of the former students to find out what had happened to them in the intervening years. Two of the 13 had become tenured academics, three were
on the tenure track after years in temporary positions, and most of the others worked in the contingent sector of the academic labour market. Bourdieu’s concepts of “habitus” and “field” are particularly useful for our analysis, and
we explore the tensions between these concepts for our participants.
Résumé
En 2001–2002, les auteurs de cet article ont interviewé 31 doctorants d’origines et de cultures diverses au sujet de leurs expériences d’études en sociologie de l’éducation dans une université canadienne. Environ 10 ans plus tard, dans une deuxième étude qualitative, ces mêmes auteurs ont eu la possibilité de diriger des entrevues semi-structurées avec 13 des étudiants de la première cohorte d’entrevues (aujourd’hui diplômés) afin de découvrir ce qui s’était passé sur le plan professionnel entre les deux entrevues. Deux d’entre eux étaient devenus des titulaires universitaires permanents, trois autres étaient en voie d’obtenir une permanence après des années dans des postes temporaires, tandis que la plupart des autres travaillaient dans le secteur indéterminé du marché du travail universitaire. Les concepts de Bourdieu ont été particulièrement utiles pour la présente analyse. En effet, pour les participants de l’étude, les auteurs explorent les tensions entre « habitus » et « champ ».
It will not come as a surprise to most readers of this document that students are asking for a shift in Ontario’s tuition policy. Students’ concerns with tuition are so omnipresent in public debate that they have almost become synonymous with the
very notion of a student movement. This harmful perception can make it seem like the student position on tuition is simple and has not evolved over time. In turn, the student movement is sometimes viewed as overly idealistic and opposed in principle to any student-borne costs.
Many countries strive to make postsecondary education maximally accessible to their citizens under the assumption that educated citizens boost innovation and leadership, resulting in social and economic benefits. However, attempts to increase access, especially in contexts of stagnant or diminishing financial support, can result in ever-increasing class sizes. Two aspects of large classes are extremely worrisome. First, economic and logistical constraints have led many such classes to devolve into settings characterized by lectures, readings and multiple-choice tests, thereby denying students experience and exercise with important transferable skills (e.g., critical thought, creative thought, self-reflective thought, expressive and receptive communication). Second, such classes are depicted as cold and impersonal, with little sense of community among students.
There’s a widely circulated YouTube video you may have seen called “A Conference Call in Real Life.” To spoof the strange, stilted dynamics of conference calls, it replicates them in a face-to-face setting. Participants stiffly announce their names at the door of a meeting room, are suddenly interrupted by bizarre background noises, and find themselves inexplicably locked out of a room they were just in.
If you haven’t watched it, do. You’ll recognize the familiar awkwardness of virtual meetings, where the rhythm of conversational interaction is thrown wildly askew by technological hiccups and the absence of visual cues.
This commentari is contextualized in America's gilded age of corporate education caharacterized by millionaire CEO university presidents and a growing chasm of wealth inequality in our educational system. America's deepening educational stratification mirrors and magnifies wider social, economic, racial, and political inequality and injustice.
Yes, cellphones and laptops do affect students' grades, and no, students can't multitask as well as they say they can.
Arnold Glass, a psychology professor at Rutgers University at New Brunswick, and Mengxue Kang, a graduate student, recently published a study in Educational Psychology that they say reveals a causal link between cellphone and laptop use during class and poorer exam scores.
Transforming higher education processes starts with laying the right foundation for your organization’s workflow. Many higher education institutions have embarked on education transformation initiatives; however, there is still room for improvement to build a more stable transformation foundation.
According to a recent Center for Digital Education (CDE) survey, the top higher education workflow-related challenges include the need for more training and professional development, workflow solutions, better access to information and documentation,
and increased automation.
Academe’s Me Too movement has thus far focused on professors harassing students, or senior professors harassing junior professors. And that makes sense, given the obvious power differential between those groups: in many cases, students depend on faculty members for not only grades but mentorship, recommendations and professional opportunities. Much the same can be said for the dynamic between junior and senior faculty members. Yet a recent case
highlights the fact that professors, too, may be vulnerable to abuse by students.
Post secondary education continues to face major challenges in Ontario. Despite an injection of much needed funding in 2005, Ontario universities remain chronically under funded. Inadequate support threatens the global competitiveness of Ontario
universities and the provincial economy.
Essential ingredients to gaining buy-in. The obstacles? Where does accountability for student retention rest?
Wilkins presents interesting concepts in Education in the Balance: Mapping the Global Dynamics of School
Leadership regarding principles of school leadership. Wilkins notes that innovation and greater ownership are needed in leadership. In the introduction, he identifies that Education in the Balance connects several
related but different fieldseducational policy, globalization, philosophy, the future purpose of schooling,
leadership publications, school effectiveness, comparative education, and academic disciplinary writing
centered around educational geography.
The purpose of the lecture was to pose the question whether education is possible today. The author begins by contrasting two prevalent responses to the question: (1) that it is obviously possible since we can see all around us teachers and students working in classrooms, and (2) that it is obviously not possible because the educational system has been subverted to serve the ends of a global economic order. The author argues that while there is evidence to support both responses, they dismiss, in effect, the question of education’s possibility and thus undermine its authentic enactment. The article describes an approach to keeping the question open and in public view.
Paid Parental Leave LESSONS FROM OECD COUNTRIES AND SELECTED U.S. STATES
The United States is at a crossroads in its policies towards the family and gender equality. Currently America provides basic support for children, fathers, and mothers in the form of unpaid parental leave, child-related tax breaks, and limited public childcare. Alternatively, the United States’ OECD peers empower families through paid parental leave and comprehensive investments in infants and children.