Canada's Exemplary Schools Project, a study of 21 secondary schools nationwide, involved continual tension between the need for a coherent and shared national research approach and the need to allow local variation and initiative. A member of the national coordinating committee explores how this tension affected research design and the writing of…

This article is the first of a four part series of a study of Canadian high-school graduates' views on science-technology-society (STS) topics. It describes the research scope and methodology and discusses research issues associated with use of the specially constructed survey instrument, Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS). (ML)

These 15 papers originate from a conference that brought together researchers and trade unionists from a number of countries to examine the potential for a more democratic, active, and participative form of collaboration or "research as engagement." The first half contains chapters that explore, theoretically, the nature of research…

Teachers engaged in action research are involved in a process that focuses on how they and their students construct and reconstruct learning experiences, thereby extending professionalism and creating additional learning opportunities for students. This paper describes the evolution of an action research project involving an elementary school…

The proposed research design, to be actualized beginning in 1969, was evolved to determine the nature and prevalence of mental retardation in Canada and to relate them to other variables. Issues raised concerning both nature and prevalence were reviewed as were surveys in seven different geographic areas. A pilot study conducted in two small…

Utilizing a computerized model, this paper presents a five-year financial plan for the board of education in North York (Ontario). The model assumes that the present organizational structure and policies of the board will continue and that a zero inflation rate will prevail for the next five years. It assesses financial implications for the future…

Various approaches to introductory courses in social work research in Canada are described. Objectives of the report are to promote informational exchange among instructors in schools of social work, to provide data on common practices employed in the instruction of introductory research, to encourage innovation and experimentation, and to aid in…

This evaluation study of the Educational Opportunities Fund (E.O.F.) was designed to answer eight general questions: (1) to what extent the E.O.F. program has achieved its intended objectives; (2) what byproducts in terms of educational programs, innovations, and so forth the program has produced? (3) how well have the individual E.O.F. projects…

Research studies that have focused on the educational effectiveness of "Sesame Street" are reviewed, and a summary and synthesis of research results are presented. Educational effectiveness is defined as effectiveness in areas related to beginning schooling and the early years of the child's formal education. From the more than 100…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

The design and evaluation of a rating scale for program evaluation in problem-based medical curricula are described. The design process was guided by a theory of how students learn in problem-based learning as modeled by W. H. Gijselaers and H. G. Schmidt (1988). The rating scale was used in an evaluation of a new problem-based, community-oriented…

This volume contains the proceedings of an international colloquium on higher education in federal countries with complex divisions of responsibility for the many facets of higher education. The volume is organized in four parts. Part I contains one paper, "The Federal Context for Higher Education" by Ronald L. Watts and a description of…

Student participation during and subsequent to an ethnographic study of peer collaboration in a primary classroom is explored through a long-term investigation. The original study was designed to study patterns of collaboration using a variety of techniques including interviews with the children, first seen in a split grade one and grade two…

Describes a study using self-report measures of students' responses to auditory and visual stimuli to measure distractibility in task performance among 224 Canadian undergraduates. Findings show the absence of any link between self-reported distractibility and actual performance. Study shows correlations between personality type and…

Design-based research is proposed as a strategy to address the need for innovation in educational contexts. The article argues the case for increased and more effective research and development in education, and then presents a discussion of design-based research as a methodological set of tools to address this need. The four phases of…