Reforms in K-12 science education are global. New national science curricula were introduced in the United States (NRC, 1996), in Canada (CEMC, 1997), and in Europe (European Commission 2007). In this article, the impact of these reforms on college students in Quebec is studied. Articulation between high school and college sectors is viewed…

This paper considers the adoption of general science courses in two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Quebec, during the 1930s. In Ontario, a few science teachers had followed the early general science movements in the United States and Britain with interest. During the 1930s, several developments made the cross-disciplinary, applied thrust of…

Students in 4 Canadian high school physics classes completed instructional sequences in two key physics topics related to motion--Straight Line Motion and Newton's First Law. Different sequences of laboratory investigation, teacher explanation (lecture) and the use of computer-based scientific visualizations (animations and simulations) were…

This study replicates part of a 1964 study designed to examine variations in the attainment of cognitive objectives in high school chemistry. In 1964 a traditional curriculum was used, but by 1972 when the data for this study were collected, a modern course based on CHEM study was being used. Scores on a 60-item end-of-course test given to…

Student responses to the Learning Environment Inventory were obtained from six physics classes, ten chemistry classes and ten biology classes in eight English-speaking schools in the Montreal Metropolitan area. A three-level, one-way multivariate analysis of covariance with the 15 Learning Environment Inventory Scales as dependent variables and…

This study provides information about the biology and life science classroom teaching environments in Southern Alberta. Responses (N=53) to questionnaires sent to junior and senior high school teachers in rural and urban settings revealed information regarding school facilities, texts and reference materials, field trips, outdoor education…

Two student populations of 13-year-olds in Ontario (Canada) were assessed as part of the 1988 International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP): French- and English-language students. Results confirm findings of differences in mathematics achievement seen earlier in the Second International Mathematics Study. Ontario French-language students…