Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Learning Link: March 3, 2006

CCL identifies ways to reduce dropout rates in Canada’s rural regions

In 2004/05, the rural dropout rate was almost double the urban dropout rate in Canada, and in its latest issue of Lessons in Learning, the Canadian Council on Learning looks beyond the numbers to identify how best to close Canada’s rural-urban education gap.

CCL calls for clear, measurable goals in post-secondary education

Paul Cappon
President and CEO
Canadian Council on Learning

The news that representatives from provincial and territorial governments are convening a summit to discuss how they can work together to improve Canadian post-secondary education is welcome, and long overdue.

Take the example of the European Union. In 2002, the heads of state and governments of the European Union endorsed a set of common objectives for education and training in Europe, and introduced a radical new process of co-operation among the member countries. The strategy seeks to address the demands of the knowledge economy and society, and places a great deal of emphasis on strengthening post-secondary education.

The overall objective is to make education and training systems in Europe “a world quality reference by 2010.” The strategy recognizes that education and training help to deliver what people in any country desire most—“personal fulfilment, jobs, prosperity, and greater social cohesion.”

It is time for Canada to recognize and act upon what the European Union leaders have accepted—clear, coherent and consistent goals and benchmarks, involving all partners in the system and contributing to stronger outcomes for all.

Improving such outcomes at the post-secondary level increases a country’s ability to develop the skilled human resources and innovative research it needs to succeed in today’s global, knowledge-based economy.

Canada makes a major investment in post-secondary education every year— approximately $28 billion in 2005. The effectiveness of this investment could be increased significantly if all partners in education—governments, post-secondary institutions, employers, educators and learners—could work together to develop strategic goals and priorities for higher learning and research across Canada. After all, it is not only the amount of money that counts, but how that money is spent.

On the plus side, there has been rapid growth in enrolment in post-secondary institutions, showing that more and more Canadians are recognizing the value of higher education. According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, full-time enrolment in Canadian universities grew by approximately 23% between 2001 and 2005, from approximately 650,000 to more than 800,000 students, and ongoing growth is expected. And a study conducted by the Conference Board of Canada estimates that the number of students attending Canadian community colleges will reach 531,000 by 2009.

However, this growth puts stress on the resources available. The rising number of students means increased demand for space, professors and instructors at a time when thousands of current professors are approaching retirement. If we can’t keep pace, Canadians won’t be able to fulfil their potential and Canada won’t have the talented people it needs to succeed in the knowledge-based society and economy.

The approach taken by the EU provides a platform “to discuss education and training policies at a European level, and to build a coherent policy framework without impinging on national interests.”

It is time for Canada to follow the EU lead and develop a set of objectives for the country as a whole—irrespective of jurisdiction—that will increase the quality, capacity, responsiveness and effectiveness of our post-secondary education system.

Part of this requires regular monitoring, so Canadians can assess how well our system of higher education is meeting the needs of Canadians, both in terms of economic progress and social well-being. This is where the Canadian Council on Learning can help, with our planned annual reports on post-secondary education, the first of which is due out this fall.

Students, universities, colleges, businesses, governments and the Canadian population as a whole would benefit from a pan-Canadian strategy for post-secondary education that balances the students’ need for accessible education, the need for effective teaching, the need for innovative research, and the infrastructure required to support all of these goals. Such an approach would increase our post-secondary education system’s ability to help Canadians succeed in knowledge-based society and economy.

Canada needs clear and cohesive goals for post-secondary learning, and needs to start measuring them.

Let’s hope the provincial and territorial premiers feel the same way as they sit down to discuss a Canada-wide strategy on post-secondary education later this week.

CCL helps promote kit to prepare for French schooling

The Canadian Council on Learning was pleased to support the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) in launching a new resource kit that provides support to families with young children entering French-language education.

The kit is meant to “promote a common vision of how to prepare young children for French-language schooling and to help children start school ready to achieve their full potential,” says the CTF release.

CCL is providing financial support for CTF to develop a series of workshops it will conduct nationwide to promote “the effective use of the resource kit,” said Roger Régimbal, CTF vice-president.

“Children’s capacity for learning is immense and it’s up to us to provide all children with enough to learn that they can realize their full potential,” says Marc Lachance, Associate Director, Monitoring and Reporting at the Canadian Council on Learning. “Learning in French in minority settings is a significant challenge that CTF has met by offering parents significant resources in French, to help them equip their young children with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.”

You can find the resource kit at the CTF website.

Call for adult learning projects

The Adult Learning Knowledge Centre wants to help initiate adult learning projects and is especially interested in funding small projects, in the range of $500 to $5,000.

The application deadline is March 10, 2006, with the projects to happen in late March or early April.

The projects can take place anywhere in Canada and must involve knowledge exchange or network development. They are intended to create opportunities for dialogue among researchers, community organizations and learning practitioners. Innovative projects are particularly encouraged.

For details and requirements, visit the AdLKC site.

For more information, please contact Dr. Kathleen Flanagan by e-mail, or by phone at (506) 451-6865.

Help create international measures for early childhood development

You are invited to an international conference that will explore outcomes of early childhood development, how they are reported and how that information can be used by communities and governments around the globe.

The Measuring Early Child Development conference, co-sponsored by the Canadian Council on Learning, the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institutes on Health Research (CIHR) and hosted by the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development, will take place April 26-28, 2006, in Vaudreuil, Quebec.

Leaders in early childhood evaluation, including academics and policy-makers from five continents, will meet with the goal of developing a network that will create internationally comparable reporting measures.

This conference is a perfect opportunity to share experiences and exchange the latest knowledge on the assessment of development in the early years.

The preliminary program, registration form and other information are available at the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development.

2 coordinators hired for the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre

CCL is pleased to announce the hiring of Claire Gascon Giard and Nathalie Moragues to share the challenge of coordinating the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre, each on a part-time basis.

Claire Gascon Giard brings more than 20 years of experience in early childhood development. She has a particular interest in prevention and has worked on innovative projects such as day-care screening and keeping at-risk elementary students engaged in their studies.

Throughout her career she has worked to simplify research results to make them applicable and usable for parents, stakeholders, communities and governments. She is responsible for setting up the Centre de Psycho-Éducation du Québec and has served as its executive director for the last five years. There she developed, with the help of renowned researchers, programs to promote social abilities in preschoolers.

Claire is also the general coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development, which has allowed her to link with other health and social services professionals in all kinds of settings throughout Canada.

Nathalie finished a doctorate in biological and medical sciences in 2002 at the Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, France. She has since completed post-doctoral studies at McGill University and at the Université de Montréal, one of which centred on the effect of maternal behaviour on neuronal development in young animals.

This research sparked an interest in psychosocial study, which led her to join the Université de Montréal’s research unit on children’s psychosocial maladjustment in 2005 as the scientific resources coordinator. She now shares her energy between the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre and the research unit where she still heads several projects.

3 March workshops for 21st Century Learning Initiative (Canada)

Academics, researchers, policy-makers and educators will come together this month as the 21st Century Learning Initiative (Canada) shakes off winter with three workshops that touch down across Canada in March.

The sessions will further the Initiative’s goal of facilitating the development of new approaches to learning that draw upon the most current insights into the human brain, the functioning of human societies, and learning as a community-wide activity.

The workshops start in Victoria, B.C., March 7-8, and move across the country to Fredericton, N.B., March 13-15. The last stop is Saskatoon, Sask., March 17-18.

They build on the first series of workshops that took place in fall 2005, conducted by John Abbott, President of the 21st Century Learning Initiative.

For more information about the 21st Century Learning Initiative, contact Wendy McMillan.

Top