Douglas Coupland, a prolific author/artist/lecturer and now prognosticator, is in the forefront of the arts movement in both Canada and the US. His works, starting with his breakout novel "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture," have consistently worked as a bellwether of current perspectives and values, both noting our cultural…

The article focuses on Fraser Institute's (Vancouver, British Columbia) "Report Card on Elementary Schools in British Columbia." The rating of a school is based on reading, writing, and numeracy levels for both Grade 4 and Grade 7 students, gender differences in reading and numeracy in Grade 7, and the percentage of students not meeting…

Letters over a period of 25 years from a Canadian who came to the United States after college graduation to teach in various parts of the country, then returned to teach in Canada, reflect substantial differences between the 2 educational systems in regard to the teaching and testing of writing. (MSE)

Reviews the importance of writing instruction and of research into the composing process. Considers their place in the curricula of Canadian postsecondary schools. (RL)

Describes the Prism Awards program sponsored by The Kids Netword, designed to encourage original thought and creativity in Canadian children ages 7-14 who aspire to become professional writers. A training program that winners participate in to develop their writing talent is described, and a sidebar provides thoughts from a winner of the program.…

A professor/researcher reflects on the first decade of the 40-year history of this journal and selects one article typical of many during that decade, characterized by large sample sizes and statistical comparisons of achievement among Alberta students. The article selected examines writing achievement among approximately 2,000 rural and urban…

Suggests that writing about their lives allows Aboriginal teen women to define their strengths and explore their problems; it provides them with opportunities to explore their own attitudes to race, class, and gender issues; and it invites them to look at cultural, economic and institutional pressures on them. (RS)

Argues that writing apprehension can be dispositional, but that it can also arise in response to elements in the writing situation. Discusses the elements in timed writing competence tests that can trigger writing apprehension and hinder effective writing. (JK)

Describes efforts in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Ontario to require actual samples of student writing on English performance tests. Includes a bibliography, a holistic marking scale, and an outline of criteria typical in analytic scoring. (EL)

This article examines the appropriation of academic biliteracy by three French-speaking students at an English-medium university in the Canadian province of Quebec. Drawing on Hornberger's continua model of biliteracy, Bourdieu's critical social theory, and philosophical hermeneutics, the author conceptualizes individual biliterate development as…

Considers why the use of story in literacy education is central to critical adult literacy practice, and examines both its potential and limitations. The use of story in the form of student-written and student-produced autobiographies in general, and one student's story in particular, is explored. The value of publishing learners' stories is…

Based on an examination of the organizational features of editing during collaborative computer writing in a combined first and second grade classroom in a Catholic school during the 1985-86 school year, this paper argues that there is a fundamental difference between collaborative and solo computer writing, and that collaboration during computer…

Contrasts uses of electronic mail which are contrived by teachers versus uses that are based on real educational needs. Examples based on elementary school projects in Canada, the United States, and Australia are given; and uses in distance education, in school administration, with handicapped children, and to improve writing skills are described.…

Three articles address different uses of computers in education. British inservice training for primary school teachers using microcomputer-based adventure software is described; fundings of two Canadian projects using computer teleconferencing are reviewed; and the use of computer-assisted instruction for primary school mathematics education is…

Argues that ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) teachers can aid in the development of critical insights that encourage students in the process of improving their employment possibilities. The article maintains that, through dialog with students, teachers can focus on their own assumptions regarding immigrants' work world. (12 references)…