An overview of Canadian education is provided in this book. Chapter 1 presents basic facts and figures on the educational system's general structure and diversity and the role of the federal government. The second chapter describes provincial/territorial structure, specifically: the role of the departments of education and school board, financing,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which principals, teachers, parents, and students report that the recommendations of the 1981 Middle School Report were being implemented in each of the five middle schools in the North York (Ontario) school system. The 13 recommendations addressed such issues as the philosophy of the middle…

This is a collection of articles about student attitudes toward schools. Articles include: (1) a foreward by Philip W. Jackson; (2) "Patterns of Classroom Participation, Student Attitudes, and Achievements," and "Developing a Research Agenda on the Quality of School Life(QSL)," by Joyce L. Epstein; (3) "QSL School Problem…

With Circular H.S.1 1972/73, the Ministry of Education directed Ontario's secondary schools to provide an increased range of course offerings and to allow students as much freedom as possible to choose their own courses. To identify the effects of the individualized "credit system" established by this controversial circular, a number of…

Summarizes a three-year Consortium for Policy Research in Education project to identify conditions in U.S., Canadian, and Australian schools that promote high performance through school-based management. Findings showed that SBM requires redesign of the whole school organization. Success depended on how schools decentralized four key resources:…

At the heart of the controversy over public education in a democratic system is the tension between majority rules and minority rights, and public and individual interests. This contextual framework sets the stage for the emergence of charter schools in Alberta, Canada. This paper describes the establishment and characteristics of the first…

A participant-observer case study of a school controversy, written by the superintendent involved, describes the shifting of students among several elementary schools in St. Boniface School Division, a French- and English-speaking district in Manitoba (Canada). The story begins with the closing of two schools in 1974 because of declining…

In 1964 the Saskatchewan Department of Education embarked upon a provincial reorganization for the elementary schools based on the theory of continuous pupil progress. The grade system for the first 6 years of school was to be replaced by two broad divisions: Division I to encompass the work in Grades 1, 2, and 3; and Division II to replace Grades…

This study examines the organizational structures of schools and school systems using six complementary but distinct perspectives--societal, intentional, structural, analytical, portrait, and narrative--in order to ascertain the appropriateness of structural revision in relation to changes in Canadian society. Following an examination of the…

The personal characteristics of teachers and the situational characteristics of work settings were identified and studied in relation to adoption and implementation of innovations among teachers. One hundred teachers were administered a questionnaire to identify teacher and situational characteristics. A subsequent interview determined the…

Studies on the identification of power bases within five Canadian universities were designed to develop a utility function for each sub-unit that will generate a series of power rankings. The unit of study is the faculty, and the tool is designed to identify the relative power of separate faculties and various combinations of faculties. Two power…

Responses to a series of five group interviews and questionnaire surveys provide the basis for this study of the effects of declining enrollment on Ontario's curriculum. The supervisory personnel in the sample identified six factors in curriculum planning that would be influenced by declining enrollment: teachers, line administrators, curriculum…

The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent inequalities in educational opportunity exist in Manitoba, Canada and, should extensive inequalities exist, to propose ameliorative policies to provincial policy-makers. Equality of educational opportunity is considered to exist when educational resources and services are provided in such a…

The current condition of educational finance in Ontario and the factors influencing efforts at finance reform are examined in this report. Five key issues confronting school finance in Ontario are reviewed first: inequities caused by variations in district wealth; the failure of provincial support to keep pace with expenditures; the loss of…

Patterns of organization for summer schools were examined for 55 American and seven Canadian public four-year colleges and universities, including research universities, doctorate-granting universities, and comprehensive universities and colleges. Relationships between organizational structure and the following factors were assessed: institutional…