Residents of Eastern Ontario are most likely to identify "balancing the budget" as the most important issue currently facing the Ontario government.
In Canada and elsewhere, a great deal of research has described patterns of youth unemployment and difficulties in youth school to work transitions. A significant proportion of this has focused on the types of barriers facing particular groups of youths who, in turn, become marginalized in relation to labour markets access, career development and society. The Following the Success (FTS) project builds on this research and explores additional issues that are less well represented in the literature. These issues spring from three general gaps. First, despite a solid understanding of the effects of marginalization on youth labour market outcomes, the perspectives of both youth and employers on forms of marginalization are less well understood. Second, the bulk of existing research essentially tracks failed labour market transitions. This is important. However, equally valuable is research devoted to understanding instances of ‘success’ during which youth obtain stable and potentially career-establishing positions in the labour market. And third, the bulk of research in this area frames marginalization as a relatively static process. What is needed is a dynamic perspective that takes into account how both youth and employers learn to overcome these
marginalizing factors to varying degrees within youth employment. The FTS project was designed to respond to these three main gaps in the research literature in order to further supplement knowledge of the relationship between workplace learning practices, employment and marginalized youth success.
The number of students interested in studying abroad is at a record high, with more than 4.5 million students being globally mobile in 20141 and many more looking to follow in their footsteps. For these students, making an informed choice regarding what and where they would like to study is a complex, lengthy process, and inconsistencies and differences in how universities choose to communicate information about their programs is a significant barrier.
An important goal of Ontario’s postsecondary education system is to provide the appropriate level of educational attainment to meet the current and future human capital needs of the province (HEQCO, 2009: 19). This purpose reflects the recognition that education and training contribute to the human capital of individuals and make them more productive workers and better informed citizens. Attainment of further education not only provides for individual returns such as higher earnings and lower levels of unemployment , improved health and longevity, and greater satisfaction with life, but it is also strongly linked to social returns such as safer communities, healthy citizens, greater civic participation, stronger social cohesion and improved equity and social justice (Riddell, 2006). In order for the province to maintain and enhance its economic standing in the changing global economy, and to provide its citizens with the social benefits that higher education affords, it must ensure that the human capital needs of its society are met.
Abstract: The unprecedented transformations which took place in the last few decades in contemporary society impose a permanent revision of the training methods of the future teachers. On the European and international level, we notice a change in the perception of the teaching profession. There is a more acute problem of focusing on the qualification at standards of higher quality in their preparation through the assimilation of key skills. From this point of view, the institutions of higher learning have great responsibility in the training of professionals in the didactic field, so that they can accumulate the skills which are sufficient and necessary to continuous training, according to the principle of lifelong learning. The orientations towards the professionalization of the teaching profession impose a training level of the learners which can adapt to social changes, and to the transformations at the level of the profession through permanent accumulation in lifelong learning.
Key words: education, competences, teaching, critical thinking, reforming.
The Supreme Court of Canada has revolutionized the jurisprudence of aborig-inal rights and title. Various decisions have overturned the doctrine of adverse occupancy, which at one time had been thought to have extinguished aborig-inal title in British Columbia (Delgamukkw); created a governmental duty to consult First Nations regarding use of land to which they have a claim of aboriginal rights or title (Haida Nation); approved a specific claim to aborig-inal title (Tsilhqot’in); and extended the duty of consultation to First Nations whose aboriginal title was previously thought to have been extinguished by treaty (Mikisew). These decisions have created a new range of property rights for First Nations, which they should be able to use to advance their prosper-ity. However, the new jurisprudence has also set up many barriers to volun-tary market transactions by multiplying the number of owners and claimants, and laying down opaque und unpredictable rules for making decisions about lands that are subject to claims of aboriginal title or to treaty rights such as hunting and fishing.
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.
One of the many lessons learned from the early years of distance education is the fact that you cannot simply pluck an instructor out of the classroom, plug him into an online course, and expect him to be effective in this new and challenging medium. Some learned this lesson the hard way, while others took a proactive approach to faculty training. All of us continue to refine our approach and discover our own best practices.
KSU redefined the MOOC value proposition through collaboration of university leadership and faculty. The new proposition shifts measures of success beyond just course completion to include measures that benefit students, faculty, and the institution. Students benefitted through access to open educational resources, the acquisition of professional learning units at no cost, and the potential of college credit at a greatly reduced cost. Academic units benefited through a mechanism to attract students and future revenue while the university benefited through digital impressions, branding, institutionally leveraged scalable learning environments, streamlined credit evaluation processes and expanded digital education.
The leadership of Higher Education institutions has been placed under increasing scrutiny since the 1980s with the expansion of student numbers, changes in funding for student places, increased marketization and student choice, and continuing globalisation of the sector. In this climate of change Higher Education institutions have been required to consider how to develop their leaders and what might be appropriate leadership behaviour to enable adaptation to these new circumstances. When the various paradigms of leadership encountered in the Higher Education sector are compared with established leadership theory and practice it is possible to identify further intricacies in the development of Higher Education leaders. Further consideration of practicalities within Higher Education identifies whether competence frameworks might assist in leadership development. An examination of a recently-developed comprehensive framework of leadership capabilities applied in an alternative sector leads to an evaluation as to whether the same constructs apply to the demands placed upon leaders in Higher Education. Analysis demonstrates that, with minor changes in terminology, the constructs remain appropriate and valid. The definitions Higher Education leaders could be developed and therefore form a potential framework of leadership capabilities for Higher Education.
This chapter examines how the three most common types of engagement found among adolescents attending high-performing high schools relate to indicators of mental and physical health.
I’d like to introduce you to Jennifer. Jennifer is 25 years old and is looking for a better job. She graduated from university in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, spent a year overseas teaching English, and has been working at a coffee shop ever since.
Jennifer expected that the critical thinking skills she acquired in university, along with her work experience abroad, would help her land a ‘real job’, but so far, no luck.
Jennifer is not alone. According to Statistics Canada, the number of recent university graduates who are ‘underemployed’ is growing rapidly.
In 2011, 40% of women and 27% of men in the workforce, aged 25 to 34, had university degrees. This is up from 19% and 17% respectively ten years earlier. But, almost one fifth of these recent university graduates were overqualified for their jobs, and for Humanities Majors like Jennifer, the proportion goes up to about one third.
"Alternative facts" have gotten quite a bad rap lately, which — while understandable — is a shame. Because virtually any argument worthy of the name involves competing sets of facts. That's why it's an argument, not a hug-fest. And to pretend otherwise is actually counterproductive, especially if we want our students to be able to engage in constructive arguments.
Take trial lawyers, for example. To exonerate their clients, defense attorneys often present alternative theories, based on alternative facts, most of which are actually facts. Perhaps the accused can prove he was never at the crime scene, even though his blood was found on the victim. In its deliberations, the jury must weigh these seemingly disparate facts — although what they may really be judging is which lawyer made the better argument. Much the same is true of political debates.
Operating at the interface between ideas and action, graduate education in geography and planning has a responsibility to provide students with theoretical and practical training. This paper describes service-learning as a form of engaged pedagogy, exploring its ability to interrogate notions related to the “professional turn” and its contributions to transformative learning. Using a case study of a graduate-level service-learning course at the University of Toronto, we address the challenges associated with service-learning and high- light opportunities for students, faculty, universities, and community organizations. Our case study is based on assessment and analysis of the course and contributions to student learning, professional development, and community engagement. We contend that, at the graduate level, service-learning is an underutilized
pedagogical tool. Service-learning can impart high-demand skills to graduate students by transforming how students learn and move from knowledge into ideas and ultimately action, and by offering opportunities for developing higher-order reasoning and critical thinking.
This study examined the assessment literacy of primary/junior teacher candidates in all four years of their concurrent program. Candidates from each year of the program completed a survey pertaining to self‐described level of assessment literacy, main
purposes of assessment, utilization of different assessment methods, need for further training, and suggested methods for promoting assessment literacy in university and practice teaching settings. Levels of self‐efficacy remained relatively low for teacher candidates across each of the four years of this program. Most candidates suggested summative purposes for assessment and only a minority expressed formative purposes. They favoured observational techniques and personal communication.
Key words: classroom assessment; preservice education
Cette étude porte sur la capacité d’évaluation chez les étudiants en pédagogie durant les quatre années de leur programme de formation à l’enseignement au primaire et au premier cycle du secondaire. Des étudiants de chaque année du programme ont
rempli un questionnaire portant sur les sujets suivants : auto‐estimation de leur aptitude à l’évaluation, buts principaux des évaluations, utilisation de diverses méthodes d’évaluation, besoin d’une formation plus poussée et suggestion de
méthodes pouvant aider à perfectionner l’aptitude à l’évaluation à l’université et lors de stages pédagogiques. Les répondants dans chacune des années du programme estimaient que leur capacité d’évaluation était relativement faible. La plupart ont
parlé d’évaluations sommatives et seulement une minorité, d’évaluations formatives. Les répondants favorisaient les techniques d’observation et les communications personnelles.
Mots clés : évaluation des élèves, formation à l’enseignement
If a student wants to earn an A in a class, the best way to do that might not involve concentrating on the grade at all.
Instead, students should set their goals on the shorter-term, more tangible parts of a class -- committing to doing homework, showing up to a certain number of classes or dedicating a set time for exam preparation -- according to a working paper (abstract available here) from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Objective: Responsible media reporting of youth suicide may reduce the risk of contagion and
increase help-seeking behaviour. Accordingly, we conducted a content analysis of Canadian youth suicide newspaper
articles to assess quality and summarize content (themes, age groups, populations and use of scientific evidence). Method: The Canadian Periodical Index Quarterly (CPI.Q) was searched (2008-2012) for full-text Canadian newspaper articles using the keywords “youth” and “suicide.” The top five most relevant articles as judged by CPI.Q were selected sequentially for each year (n=25). Quality was assessed using World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for responsible media reporting. Content analysis was completed in duplicate by two reviewers. Results: All articles addressed youth suicide generally rather than reporting exclusively on a specific death by suicide. Alignment of articles with individual WHO guideline items ranged from 16 to 60%. The most common content theme was prevention (80%). No article was judged to glamorize suicide. Help seeking was
addressed in 52% of articles, but only 20% provided information on where to obtain help. Statistics were referenced more frequently than scientific research (76% vs. 28%). Conclusions: Our review suggests that Canadian media presents youth suicide as an issue for which hope and help exist. While the majority of reports aim to educate the public about suicide, increased use of scientific evidence about risk factors and prevention is recommended to facilitate the translation of rigorous scientific knowledge into improved mental health and reduced suicide risk among Canadian youth.
Key Words: suicide, youth, responsible media reporting, Canada
Objectif: Les médias responsables qui rendent compte du suicide chez les adolescents peuvent réduire le risque de
contagion et favoriser le comportement de recherche d’aide. Conformément, nous avons mené une analyse de contenu des articles de journaux canadiens sur le suicide d’adolescents pour en évaluer la qualité et résumer le contenu (thèmes, groupes d’âge, populations et utilisation de données probantes scientifiques). Méthode: Nous avons recherché (2008- 2012) dans l’Index de périodiques canadiens trimestriel (IPC.T) le texte intégral des articles de journaux canadiens à l’aide des mots « adolescent » et « suicide ». Les cinq principaux articles les plus pertinents, selon l’IPC.T, ont été choisis séquentiellement pour chaque année (n=25). La qualité a été évaluée à l’aide des directives de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) pour une couverture responsable des médias. L’analyse de contenu a été effectuée en double par deux réviseurs. Résultats: Tous les articles abordaient le suicide chez les adolescents généralement plutôt que decouvrir exclusivement un décès spécifique par suicide. L’alignement des articles contenant des éléments individuels des directives de l’OMS allait de 16 à 60%. Le thème le plus commun était la prévention (80%). Aucun article n’a été jugé sensationnaliser le suicide. La recherche d’aide a été mentionnée
dans 52% des articles, mais seulement 20% donnaient de l’information sur l’endroit où obtenir de l’aide. Les références étaient plus fréquemment de l’ordre des statistiques que de la recherche scientifique (76% c. 28%). Conclusions: Notre revue suggère que les médias canadiens présentent le suicide chez les adolescents comme un enjeu pour lequel il existe de l’espoir et de l’aide. Bien que la majorité des articles visent à éduquer le public sur le suicide, le recours accru à des données probantes scientifiques sur les facteurs de risque et la prévention est recommandé pour faciliter la traduction de connaissances scientifiques rigoureuses en une meilleure santé mentale, et des risques de suicide réduits chez les adolescents canadiens.
Mots clés: suicide, adolescent, couverture responsable des médias, Canada
The instructional leadership role of the school principalship has become all the rage. The main stumbling block for most principals is that they don’t know what it means and/or how to do it. This article names three successively rigorous criteria that the new leadership development will have to meet if the new role is to be realized. A minority of programs meet the first criterion hardly anyone meets the other two.
The three successively difficult characteristics of that future programs must meet are job embedded learning, organizationally embedded leadership, and system embedded leadership and learning.
During this latest recession the enormous losses being incurred by university endowment funds received extensive media attention. Ontario university administrators were sounding the alarm, warning that their institutions would have to cut expenses and take a hard line at thebargaining table as a result of endowment fund losses.
Being admitted to graduate school can feel like a prize — until you actually get there and have to do the work. I’m a full professor now, yet I still vividly recall those daunting first months. And I’m reminded of them each academic year, as I watch so many excellent students make the same missteps.
That got me thinking about how graduate students can better set themselves up for success.
The result is this list of 10 tips.