Students in two Canadian sixth grade classes (n=104) were assigned to four groups: persuasion instruction with writing practice; persuasion instruction with reading practice; practice in reading; and group discussions (controls). The performance of those given instruction in persuasive writing with reading or writing practice improved…

Using linear discriminant analysis, two samples of Canadian high school students (n=929 and n=968) were tested using measures of self-concept, academic self-concept, and academic achievement. Academic self-concept was more effective than was academic achievement in differentiating between low-track and high-track students. (SLD)

The experience of British Columbia in deprivatizing private schools by requiring their registration and providing financial support is reviewed. It is argued that family choice and state control have grown dialectically. Government funding has created higher enrollments and new schools, but resultant public oversight ultimately constrains choice.…

It is argued that educational finance reform proposals have emphasized the elements of a desirable financial system too greatly, while downplaying the constraints facing educational change. These constraints are illustrated in the case study of educational reform in Manitoba, which has about 60 school divisions and districts. (SLD)

Transcripts of the spontaneous remarks of adult visitors to a fine arts museum were analyzed according to four models of aesthetic experience. An expanded alternative model is proposed that incorporates some features from each model to better describe how visitors respond to the aesthetic experience. (SLD)

Didactic space for education within art museums is explored, and the development of four such areas in the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) is traced. Evaluation of the resulting Theme Rooms through observations of and interviews with 112 patrons will increase their appeal and potential for education. (SLD)

Measures of learning appropriate to museums are explored, including the following: (1) time on task; (2) knowledge gain; (3) thinking and problem solving; (4) motivation; and (5) creativity or intellectual provocation. Museums promote different kinds of learning, but all are interested in knowledge gain and thinking. (SLD)

The history of vocational education in Canada is traced, examining prejudices against it and constitutional issues that have inhibited its development. To solve its labor problems, Canada requires a national system of vocational education that ensures that young people see it as challenging and worthwhile. (SLD)

Interviews with 128 administrators in 2 high-performing and 2 low-performing school districts in British Columbia (Canada) indicate a variety of collegial activities among principals and a productive ethos in high-performing districts that are lacking in low-performing districts. These create a climate for instructional improvement. (SLD)

Student responses to Canadian realistic fiction for young adults were examined for four seventh grade girls and three seventh grade boys. Interview findings support the view that students should have a role in selecting what they read, should talk about reading informally, and should construct representations less influenced by teacher responses.…

Essential qualities of expert teachers are explored, examining the practices of three historical teaching masters: Zeno of Elea, Lao Tzu of Ch'U, and Jesus of Nazareth. The three qualities identified are profound moral and cultural worth; engagement of the imagination; and the story as the primary form of pedagogy. (SLD)

Although about 60 percent of Canadian teachers are women, only about 16 percent of principals are female. School system data indicate that many more women are obtaining the necessary qualifications and that between one-third and one-half now are eligible for principalship. Implications of social change for women's participation are discussed. (SLD)

A proposed research project is described in which two university-based researchers and four elementary school teachers will investigate problematic features of "whole language instruction" in monthly reflexive conversations. One hypothesis is that problems with whole language practice are indicative of a more broadly based cultural malaise. (SLD)

Seventeen Canadian teachers and administrators were interviewed to determine their perspectives on reading education. Forty-two interviews were transcribed and evaluated. Preliminary analysis reveals that assessment as a social-psychological phenomenon is filled with tensions, contradictions, and dilemmas that cannot be solved simply through…

Five articles in this special issue present the approaches to accountability found in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland, provinces that represent 85% of all Canadian elementary and secondary school students. The articles are then discussed by representatives of four national Canadian educational associations. (SLD)