The purpose of this essay is to outline what the writer would regard as desirable attributes of postsecondary education in Canada ten years from now. In thinking about the future of post-secondary education, three important elements are: (i) an appreciation of the present state of post-secondary education; (ii) a consideration of significant trends in or affecting post-secondary education; and (iii) an indication of the particular aspects of post-secondary education that are the principal focus of the examination. The essay begins with a few comments on the third of these elements, because that defines
the parameters of the inquiry. The second section summarizes relevant features of the present state of post-secondary education in Canada. This is followed by a description of important trends in and affecting post-secondary education. The final section describes some desirable attributes of postsecondary education to aim for and suggests what the role of governments might be in the process.
Education has lost its soul. The idealism of the 70s was crushed upon the rocks of the back-to-the-basics movement of the 80s. In today’s hyper-testing environment, there is little room for real learning, creativity, innovation, passion, and curiosity. Today, education today is more about what we do to students than what students do. Adopting a humanistic approach to education is one way to find our way back.
Public colleges are the only academic institutions in Canada that deliver a robust range of career-focused programs and training to all segments of the population.
The colleges’ labour-market programs, such as Second Career, employment counselling, academic upgrading and apprenticeship training serve more than 160,000 students each year.
Ontario’s public college programs are affordable and reach students in all socioeconomic groups – from people who need upgrading in order to qualify for full-time college programs, to university graduates seeking marketable skills.
Graduates of Ontario’s 24 public colleges earn credentials that have met the province’s rigorous standards for post-secondary education and are valued by employers.
College graduates continue to be in high demand.
Between June 2013 and June 2014, 11 graduates from the School of Education at Laurentian
University,most teaching in smaller communities scattered across northern Ontario, were interviewed about their recent experiences. The purpose of these interviews was to determine how well the concurrent education program had prepared these graduates for the realities of teaching in First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) remote and rural communities in the province. Five of the graduates’ administrators or school principals were also interviewed to determine how thoroughly teacher
training had prepared the graduates to work in the north and how the program could be improved.
Similar to the baby boom generation, members of generations X & Y have financial priorities that include home ownership, funding post-secondary education and saving and investing for retirement. Achieving these goals requires a different approach to developing and implementing a financial plan that resonates with generations X & Y.
The development of outcomes-based educational (OBE) practices represents one important way in which
a learning outcomes approach to teaching and learning can be applied in the postsecondary sector. This study adopts a multiple case study design and profiles seven OBE initiatives being implemented in Ontario’s colleges and universities to better understand the scope of outcomes-based educational practices in the province’s postsecondary sector. ‘OBE initiatives’ are defined as purposeful actions undertaken by postsecondary providers directed at defining, teaching toward and assessing learning outcomes in their educational practice (modified from Jones, Voorhees & Paulson, 2002).
For the last 16 years, I have struggled with depression. That means I have had 16 years of highs and lows. Sixteen
years of ups and of downs. And 16 years of therapy — for 16 years I have been chasing a cure. It also means I have had 16 years to “hear things,” i.e. to be the recipient of well-meaning, but misinformed, comments. To hear good- intentioned, but unsolicited, advice. To receive encouraging yet completely misguided remarks. Remarks about my “problem.” Remarks about the state, and
severity, of my illness. Remarks about why I cannot have depression, because I do not look depressed. Because I have too much to be thankful for. Because I am too strong.
When the Royal Bank of Canada was recently caught up in a maelstrom of bad publicity over its use of temporary foreign workers, it led politicians and pundits to scrutinize and question the growing use by Canadian firms of imported, short-term labour. The Royal Bank was accused of misusing a system designed to help employers who could not find Canadian
workers by using it, instead, to find cheaper foreign labourers to replace higher-cost Canadians. But the incident raises a bigger question than simply how one bank makes use of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP): Whether the program is, in fact, interfering with the natural supply and demand responses of the labour market. And if we want
to make better use of available Canadian labour, the time has come for the federal government to start cutting back on the use of TFWP.
The number of admissions under the TFWP has nearly tripled in 25 years, from 65,000 to 182,000 in 2010. The primary justification for the expansion of the program has been the widespread assumption that Canada is suffering from a growing shortage of labour. Yet, it is hard to find any evidence to support this belief.
Abstract
The enduring impact of colonization and loss of culture are identified as critical health issues for Aboriginal populations. The authors discuss the concepts of historical and intergenerational trauma identifying steps to address the past as Aboriginal Peoples move forward to a healthy future. The authors analyze the enduring and unacceptable health inequalities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada. This paper emphasizes the importance of addressing the substantial historical reasons for this inequality. The authors suggest that current popular explanations for such gross differences in health are limited and lack substantive historical perspective. Post-traumatic stress disorder is discussed critically as an important concept for understanding Aboriginal health inequalities. Post-traumatic stress response, versus disorder, is presented as a less stigmatizing and potentially culturally-appropriate framework to view the inequalities in a historical and political light. A historically and politically-based stress response is proposed as a framework for understanding the health inequities between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people to advance healing for indigenous people worldwide.
Key Words
Aboriginal, post-traumatic stress disorder/response, culture, residential schools, health, colonialism, historical trauma, intergenerational impact
The purpose of this study was to identify how entrepreneurship education is delivered in Ontario colleges and universities. In Ontario, as in the rest of Canada, the increase in the number of entrepreneurship courses at universities and colleges, and the concurrent popularization and maturation of entrepreneurship programming, contribute to fostering entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, and the creation of businesses. The overall aim of this report is to inform debate and decision-making on entrepreneurship education through a mapping and assessment of existing programs in the province.
It has been well documented that community college presidents are getting older and a large percentage of them will be retiring over the next few years. Further, much of the community college administration and faculty are also nearing retirement. It seems like good people are getting harder to find. Where will replacements be found and who needs to find them?
As community college presidents plan their next career challenge as Wal-Mart greeters, they need to consider succession planning throughout their institutions. In this context, succession planning refers to the personal involvement of the college president in the creation, encouragement, and support for employees to seek positions of increased responsibility.
The Ontario government has indicated its intention to negotiate individual mandate statements with each of Ontario’s public postsecondary institutions and to amend funding formulas to focus resources on what each institution does best. These actions signal the government’s desire to pursue a policy of greater institutional differentiation within the Ontario public postsecondary system. The purpose of this paper is to inform and assist the development of a differentiation framework for the university sector by describing the diversity of Ontario universities on variables that other jurisdictions have used to differentiate their university systems. These variables are important to consider first because they are globally accepted, and therefore influence the way the rest of the world will judge the Ontario system and its quality.
It's pretty incredible how often you hear managers complaining about their best employees leaving, and they really
do have something to complain about--few things are as costly and disruptive as good people walking out the door.
Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don't leave jobs; they leave managers.
The sad thing is that this can easily be avoided. All that's required is a new perspective and some extra effort on the
manager's part.
This paper presents the findings from a research study on the implementation of an alternative evaluation strategy into a third-year class, which changed the learning environment by allowing students to choose how they would be evaluated. The specific objective of the study was to determine if the implementation of this evaluation strategy would improve student engagement, the quality of the learning experience and address challenges associated with increased diversity in student capabilities.
During the Winter 2012 and Winter 2013 semesters, PSY3523: Psychologie de la famille (Psychology of the Family) was taught at the University of Ottawa as a course offered to a maximum of 100 students per semester. The course incorporates various teaching methods, including traditional lectures, the use of documentaries and group discussions, as well as student-led mini-classes. The course implemented an evaluation strategy that combined traditional examinations (midterm and final exams) with the option of completing a term project. If students elected to complete a term project, they could choose from two different options (i.e., to prepare a mini-class or to participate in the Community Service Learning program at the University of Ottawa). Additionally, teaching assistant (TA)-led tutorials were scheduled throughout the semester to help students succeed in both the traditional examinations and the term project. Finally, material presented in the tutorials, as well as weekly quizzes, were made available online for students to consult as needed throughout the semester to support their engagement and success in the course.
Vision
Students succeeding through personalized learning. Innovation and achievement powered by people.
Mission
Fleming champions personal and career success through applied learning. We contribute to community
success and sustainability through programs, services, and applied research.
Self-care -- maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle through individually determined activities -- has been found
to improve productivity and a sense of well-being as well as physical and emotional health in a variety of work
settings. Although it is still considered a somewhat controversial concept, many colleges and universities are now
regarding self-care as essential for the optimal well-being of everyone in their community: faculty, staff,
administrators, students, support personnel and others. The benefits of promoting self-care in the workplace are
well documented.
Vision
Durham College is the premier postsecondary destination for students who succeed in a dynamic and supportive learning environment. Our graduates develop the professional and personal skills required to realize meaningful careers and make a difference in the world.
Mission
The student experience comes first at Durham College.
This qualitative research study investigates a model of delivering assistive technology training to adult students with a variety of disabilities who are enrolled in academic upgrading classes at a Canadian college. The purpose was to examine whether an academic subject context for assistive technology training delivered by Academic Strategists impacted students’ engagement in
classes, independence, completion of learning outcomes, and adoption of assistive technology. The model of assistive technology training used in this study utilized subject area Academic Strategists to deliver assistive technology training in the context of their regularly scheduled academic strategies sessions.
In 2012 HEFCE published a review of philanthropy in UK higher education that showed what tremendous success there has been in growing philanthropic support to universities in the last 10 years. The report concluded that if the current rate of acceleration in philanthropic income continues, UK universities will attract gifts worth £2 billion a year from some 640,000 donors by 2022.
The report showed that investment in fundraising brings results whatever the size or type of university. If this success is to continue we must have a strong and growing group of educational fundraisers who are skilled in leading development teams and working with academics and institutional leaders.
Educators and policymakers have set a goal that all students graduate from high school ready for college and careers. As a nation, however, we are falling short of achieving this goal, particularly for students from at-risk groups. In 2013, in states with the highest percentages of students taking the ACT® college readiness assessment, 41% of students from the two lowest family income categories met ACT College Readiness Benchmarks1 in English, 19% in mathematics, 23% in reading,
and 17% in science.