This article is an overview of how Flin Flon School Division in Flin Flon, Manitoba, used money received through grant funding to revamp its math programming in order to meet the needs of the students within the division. A combination of standardized test scores and individual teacher assessments revealed where student mathematical understanding…

This report illustrates how four high-performing systems--British Columbia (Canada), Hong Kong, Shanghai (China) and Singapore--developed their teacher professional learning. The report and accompanying materials are designed as a resource for teachers, school leaders and policymakers wanting to improve teacher professional learning in their…

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that influence the functioning of a school working as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and to analyze the links between these factors and the school's progression. This research was developed within the context of an interpretative research paradigm. The primary data collection tool…

This article provides an overview of the integrative process of initiating an action research project on literacy for students "at risk" in a Canadian urban elementary school. As the article demonstrates, this requires development of a school-wide framework, which informs the action research project and desired outcomes, and a shared…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a bold approach to improving student learning by encouraging teachers, parents, and the community to work collaboratively to introduce innovative projects that address local needs. Initiated in 1999 by the Alberta Government and its partners, AISI provides targeted funding to school…

The Improving the Quality for All project in England and the Manitoba School Improvement Program in Canada have demonstrated considerable success in working with schools. This article traces both programs' development, analyzes their different approaches, and reveals commonalities. Both programs encourage teacher collaboration and foster…

Directed to Canadian directors of centers for adult education, this document describes what constitutes quality in a center for adult education and tells how to develop a high quality center. The document consists of three chapters and two appendices. Chapter 1 explains the five dimensions that determine the quality of a center and the 5 factors…

Outcomes of the District Wide School Improvement Program (DWIP), a plan to improve Native education in Saskatchewan, are described in this paper. Initiated by the Prince Albert Tribal Council (PATC) and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), the school improvement model is a community-based developmental model designed to sensitize schools to their…

A study examined the extent to which broad indicators of performance could be used for university program improvement. A survey of 356 graduates of a Canadian research university found perceived teaching quality contributed significantly to ratings of overall academic program quality. The most frequently mentioned meaningful feature was…

This report describes the procedures of a systemwide testing program established by the Ottawa, Ontario, education board to evaluate high school student performance in selected courses. The project was initiated in response to a directive from trustees, who were concerned about variation of academic standards among students in relation to…

This paper examines the evolution over three decades of the educational development (ED) movement in Canada. An informal history of ED was constructed, using published documents about ED and personal interviews with 8 educational developers who played key roles in programs and ED centers; e-mail responses were received from ten other developers.…

The problem of adult illiteracy in Canada is now accepted as socially significant, whether defined in terms of numbers, impact on the economy, or implications for the future. A reasonable estimate would be that one in five Canadian adults has a severe enough problem with reading, writing, or arithmetic that his or her functioning in society is to…

"The Student Evaluation Standards" were born from the frustrations and concerns of many people who want the evaluations to better serve student learning. This paper describes those standards and how they serve student learning. The first part of this paper lays groundwork--context--by providing strong evidence that, at least in the…

This document reports on a study designed (1) to develop a plan for school improvement using information obtained from an attitude survey, (2) to examine the implementation of the plan, and (3) to evaluate the results to determine if improvements had occurred. Attitude surveys were conducted of students, parents, supporters, and staff in the…

This book is concerned with educational change affecting elementary and secondary schools in the United States and Canada. A wide range of innovative programs are discussed as examples of the practical meaning of change, including projects involving various curriculum areas, microcomputers, career education, open-concept schools, desegregation,…