This study employed a qualitative content analysis of provincial policy documents, following deductive methods, to examine academic resilience and education policy developments across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the study explicates the nature and scope of provincial policy responses to the global pandemic that address…

Research has consistently demonstrated that self-regulation is essential for the development and preservation of health and well-being in the early years and across the lifespan. Based on the emerging literature on the important role of self-regulation in promoting healthy child development, policymakers have made efforts to include…

Drawing from principles of ethical research derived from our review of national and international policy documents, in this paper we reflect on our research experiences working in partnership with Indigenous educators in a project to support young Indigenous children's oral and written language development through collaborative action research.…

Policy makers around the world increasingly mandate play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms, a pedagogical approach backed by research espousing not only the developmental appropriateness of play-based learning for this age group but also the benefits to students' academic achievement. Despite these mandates, researchers continue to see a…

In the larger context of migration, the education and integration of immigrant children within Canadian school systems has become a pressing concern for education policy makers. Through a systematic content analysis, this study developed a Multidimensional Support Model to examine education policies and support measures that have been articulated…

In this paper we conduct a deductive analysis, using Sutton-Smith's "rhetorics of play," of the published kindergarten programs that have guided Ontario kindergarten teaching since 1944. Our analysis is used to gain an understanding of how we in Ontario have arrived at a point where play-based learning has been taken up by developers of…

"Starting Strong" (2001) and "Starting Strong II" (2006), the OECD Reports on early childhood education services in 20 countries, emphasized the need for governments to take steps to integrate early childhood education and care services: child care and kindergarten in particular. Integration has become a policy agenda that…

Reading is typically considered a survival skill in our technology- and literacy-bound culture. Individuals who struggle with learning to read are at significantly elevated risk for a number of negative outcomes, including school failure, under- and unemployment, and special education placement. Thus, those who do not learn to read fluently will…

Using Beck, McKeown and Kucan's (2002) three-tiered model as a general framework for vocabulary, this article sheds light on the construct of academic vocabulary and how it might be measured. Using illustrative writing samples of student work of different genres and drawing on corpus based studies, I highlight the distinction between general, high…

This exploratory netnographic study describes how a sample of Ontario kindergarten teachers perceive the new Ontario Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) curriculum. Discussions from teacher message boards, the comment sections of online news articles, and interviews with kindergarten teachers were analyzed and coded using a qualitative approach. Analysis…

This is a critical policy study of language planning and policy in Quebec regarding the new policy direction requiring the compulsory teaching of English at the early primary level (grades 1-2, Cycle 1) in francophone public schools. Based on the analysis of policy documents, archives, and narratives from interviews, the goal of this policy study…

This report provides an overview of findings from the research on primary class size reduction as a strategy to improve student learning. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive and balanced picture of a very popular educational reform strategy that has often been seen as a "quick fix" for improving students' opportunities to learn in…

This annual report explores the state of international education in Canada, taking an in-depth look at international students, study abroad by Canadian students, Canadian education overseas, as well as the overall internationalization agenda in Canada. The report features results of an international student survey and case studies from member…

Alberta parents enjoy a range of choices for their children's education, including the option of home education. Alberta's "School Act" and its funding guidelines for education recognize the central role of parents in the education of their children. No matter what your decision about educational programming, your ongoing involvement…

Reduction in the size of classes from Kindergarten to Grade 3 was a major Liberal Party campaign promise in Ontario's 2003 provincial election. It was intended to demonstrate a new government's commitment to improving public education. By the 2008-09 school year, the provincial government's goals had been achieved: over 90% of all primary classes…