Various word-recognition tasks were completed by 54 second-grade students from classrooms where reading instruction followed the whole-language approach or the phonics/skill-based approach. A task involving a cloze procedure favored the whole-language approach, but there were no other significant differences between groups. Contains 30 references.…

Presents highlights of a panel discussion on workplace literacy at the Literacy in the 21st Century Research Conference (Edmonton, Alberta, October 1997). Participants from business, government, and university discussed Syncrude Canada's Workplace Literacy Program, implications of the International Adult Literacy Survey for the labor market, and…

In the second phase of a longitudinal study of Internet use in Alberta schools, teachers who were experienced Internet users were partnered with graduate research assistants trained in the use of search engines and search strategies. The partnerships designed a variety of Internet-based school activities. Teachers reported on factors that assisted…

Seventy educators and community members in six northern Saskatchewan Aboriginal communities were interviewed to examine policies and practices related to Native language planning and education. The language circumstances in the six Cree, Dakota, and Dene communities are discussed in terms of Fishman's eight-stage scale of language disruption and…

An Edmonton (Alberta) adult learning center developed a participatory education program that integrated literacy development with health promotion. Low-income women learned skills and strategies to access health information and resources, as well as related literacy and language strategies, and subsequently reported improved eating and exercise…

Reexamination of national Canadian surveys and Ontario surveys, 1979-1993, revealed that confidence and satisfaction ratings for public education followed a wave-like pattern over time for both general public opinion and parental attitudes. In contrast, corporate executives showed declining confidence in schools and strongly supported…

Annual Alberta surveys of parents, high school students, and the public are part of accountability processes and provide public consultation on policy issues and reform efforts. Selected results of the 1995 and 1996 surveys are presented, related to provincial educational objectives, and compared to similar U.S. and Ontario surveys and established…

Describes a five-year project in which British Columbia secondary teachers and university educators met regularly to discuss teaching and learning. Analyzes substantive features of group deliberations, group dynamics, and participant communication. Discusses "community of inquiry" features: sharing of knowledge, support in knowledge construction,…

In an urban elementary school, teachers trained in the Comer school development approach attempted to reform school discipline practices and plan conflict resolution efforts for students. Time constraints and teachers' aversion to coping with conflicting views inhibited the open democratic discussion needed as a foundation of change and limited…

Teacher survey at 93 Saskatchewan schools involved in school improvement programs found that in the initiation phase, institutionalization of changes was associated with personal knowledge of successful innovations at other schools. The nature and quality of leadership behavior, extent of collaboration and staff involvement, and alignment with…

Describes an ongoing three-year research project comparing the purposes, antecedents, and consequences of large-scale educational reforms in Alberta, Manitoba, Minnesota, England, and New Zealand. Comparative analysis focuses on policy origins and the role of ideology in reform proposals, codification of reform into law or regulation,…

Examined the generalizability of written-response scores on the English 30 diploma examination administered to Alberta 12th-grade students. Student scores differed as a function of rater, but this variance component was small across two tasks and two administrations; score generalizability was high using a two-rater system; and scale variability…

Among 207 Australian final-year nursing students, higher academic grades in the senior year were related to student intention to understand the material or to "achieve," and to the ability to generate alternative learning strategies with changing task demands. Relationships between scores on the Study Process Questionnaire and the Strategic…

A "want ad" describing a student reading helper was read to four groups of students in grades 5-6 using "he,""she,""they," or "he or she." Using the generic "he" did not affect boys' or girls' expectations of girls' job performance. Although half the children realized that "he" could represent either gender, only two could explain the convention.…

Ounce of Prevention in Schools, an early intervention program in a Quebec elementary school, includes a family support component to increase parents' involvement and assistance with their children's school work. Interviews showed that, compared to control parents, parents in the program helped their children more with homework but had lower…