Teacher-student relationships (TSR) have long been demonstrated to have significant impact on student outcomes. There has been far less research, however, focused on identifying the specific mindsets that educators' hold which influence their actions toward students. As relationships are situated and contextual and qualitative in nature, this case…

Back in the early 1990s, three Manitoba School districts launched the "Lost Prizes" project to reclaim talented, at-risk high-school dropouts. Despite their unique gifts, these relationship-resistant youth were disenchanted, disillusioned, and disconnected. Many had major substance abuse problems and were engaged in serious criminal…

Education plays a key role in young people's healthy development. Research conducted by the McCreary Centre Society (a British Columbia non-profit organization concerned with youth health) has shown that even the most vulnerable youth who feel connected to school are more likely to report better health and above average marks, and to engage in…

Drawing upon the concept of "thirdspace" (Soja 1996), this article extends sociocultural theorizations of space in relation to alternative educational programs: programs designed to re-engage youth who have been pushed out of mainstream schools. Snapshots of educational programs, provided by ethnographic research gathered in the United…

The Adventure Based Learning Experience (ABLE) program is designed for students who require a non-traditional approach to learning with varied program delivery options or need a flexible learning landscape. This unique experiential learning program provides students from Mississauga and Brampton the opportunity to "learn from doing" in…

This directory describes 53 innovative and alternative school programs throughout Canada. Each school or program is examined separately in a one- or two-page entry, which briefly discusses the objectives and focus of the program and lists one or more persons who can be contacted for additional information. Schools are grouped by province and are…

The Leaving School Early (LSE) Program, established in 1975, is designed for 14- and 15-year-olds who find none of the public school programs suitable. Applicants are assessed by a social worker and an individualized work or education contract written. LSE participants are monitored by teacher advisors. (SJL)

This booklet is aimed primarily at parents of Grade 8 students in the province of Ontario and is intended to help parents plan their child's secondary education. In particular, the booklet attempts to clearly describe the choices open to students as they move from Grade 8 to secondary school and to relate, in a general way, secondary school…

Offers insights into early development and descriptions of evolving programs and practices of five Canadian Indian survival schools: Wandering Spirit (Toronto), Kahnawake (near Montreal), Plains Indian Cultural (Calgary), Saskatoon Native (Saskatoon), and Spirit Rising (Vancouver). Demonstrates how Indian cultures can recreate themselves in the…

The second of two studies on non-traditional approaches to official language training for adult immigrants to Canada focuses on programs that deviate in some way from a proposed traditional model of language training (involving a paid, trained teacher in an educational institution teaching to a class of 25 students full-time in the day or…

Aspects of the development of the Open Learning Institute, a British Columbia program to accommodate the learning needs of adult and minority students, are described. Included are its early history and evaluation of its success according to four criteria: access, relevancy to needs and expectations, quality of program offerings, and learner…

This paper describes Contact North/Contact Nord, a pilot project that attempts to improve strategies for distance education in Northern Ontario, Canada. The goals of the program include meeting ongoing and future educational needs of rural Canadians by improving the design and operation of technologically enhanced distance education programs. The…

This paper describes a competency-based program to train local adults as school counselors in the remote areas of Manitoba (Canada). In 1983, the program selected 6 men and 12 women from 15 communities for training; candidates were 23 to 48 years old, with educations ranging from grade 5 to first year university, were well respected in their…

Contact North/Contact Nord (CN) was designed to enhance distance education opportunities at the secondary and postsecondary levels in Northern Ontario through the use of new information and communication technologies. The central thesis of CN is that access to education at all levels could be improved through a combined effort by community…

This book is a collection of selected writings and speeches which document the developments in the Canadian adult education movement during the 1960's. The writings and speeches are presented in six sections as follow: (1) Introduction, (2) The Setting, (3) Organizing for Work, (4) Programs and Experiences, (5) The Learner, and (6) Coming of Age.…