Purpose: In the wake of interlocking pandemics, educational systems are resetting in important ways, pursuing aims that are not exclusively instructional (e.g., social justice, well-being). As systems (re)build, they may vary in how they manage their institutional and policy environments, which may or may not be reorienting toward these same…

In a study of Ontario, Canada's province-wide Primary Class Size Reduction (PCS) Initiative, school districts' ability to direct and support schools was related to their experience with planning and monitoring, interest in innovation, and its human and fiscal resource base. Districts with greater "resource capacity" were able to…

This article reviews the literature base on class size reduction and proposes a new analytic framework that we believe provides practically useful explanations of how primary class size reduction works. It presents descriptions of classroom practice and grounded explanations for how class size reduction affects educational core activities by…

This article presents the findings of a study on the use of an electronic portfolio (EP) in 16 elementary classrooms across Canada. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected to understand how teachers used EPs in their classrooms, to what extent they integrated the EP into their practice, and the factors influencing their use. Using…

Recounts a principal's experiences at a British Columbia elementary school with control over its own budget. Decentralized administration did not prevent mistakes. At first, administrators and teachers made more errors in judgment than an experienced school business officer would have made. This district's success may be attributed to the…

This report contains a summary of ideas presented at a series of meetings in 1990 on children's literacy sponsored by the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Education as well as a listing of specific proposal for future action. Named "Partnerships for Children's Literacy," the project focused on community partnerships that currently exist, or…

This study was undertaken by the Ontario (Canada) Public School Men Teachers' Federation to: (1) describe current practices and problems in curriculum implementation in Ontario public elementary schools; (2) provide information about the attitudes of federation members toward practices; and (3) identify barriers that block educators from…

Ontario has provided special education legislation through the Education Amendment Act, 1980. Issues related to teacher preparation for special education and program planning and implementation are reviewed. (DF)

Reports results of a survey of the use of computers in Canadian elementary school classrooms. Questionnaires and interviews were used to determine the availability of hardware and software, teachers' backgrounds, student access to computers, and teachers' perceptions on the role of computer-assisted learning. (LRW)

Examined the reported nature and consequences of teachers' joint work on the implementation of school priorities, educational innovation, and curriculum policy in three exemplary Canadian elementary schools. Found that instrumental use of knowledge and support for teacher decision making tended to be limited to information exchange, joint…

This report provides background information about latchkey children. In addition, the report provides general information concerning school-age programs and some of the more readily available resources in North America. Among the issues considered are those which seem to be generating the most concern. These include staffing, qualifications,…

Education North project, begun in 1978, is a strategy designed to change the nature of school-community relationships in selected northern Alberta communities by improving the quality of school experience of children and young people. The implementation of the project is described. (ERB)

Describes a science program that encourages elementary students and their families to participate in hands-on science activities at home. The program was designed to strengthen links between home and school and to foster communication between parents and children. Currently 15 schools in Nova Scotia involving 30 classrooms participate in the…

Year one of a three-year curriculum implementation effort focused on facilitating curriculum implementation through diagnostic-prescriptive staff development guided by the concepts and tenets of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model. This curriculum implementation effort involved 12 kindergarten through sixth grade generalist teachers in an isolated…

A guide for Franco-Ontarian educators concerned with the provision of French-language programs for English-dominant students discusses issues in program planning and development. An introductory section outlines the theoretic bases and background for the discussion. Subsequent sections focus on defining the program needs and issues (questions to…