Picking up on the report on post-secondary education released earlier this month by TD Economics, the editorial in today's Globe and Mail argues that "the road to a higher standard of living leads through [Canada's] post-secondary schools".
Monday, 31 May, 2010
Friday, 28 May, 2010
Where the guys are: Males in higher education
There's a excellent read in the May/June 2010 issue of Change Magazine on the subject of differing male and female enrollments in higher education. The author, Marcus B. Weaver-Hightower, introduces the substance of his article as follows:
In this article, I want to go beyond just enrollment numbers to examine key indicators about male experience in college. As I will show, the story about men in higher education doesn't boil down to either “men are in trouble” or “men are fine,” as popular debates might suggest. Instead, both assertions have some truth. Higher education professionals must think broadly and, even more importantly, context-specifically about college men. Doing otherwise—ignoring the nuances of men's and women's educational lives—might actually exacerbate social inequalities while still not solving any of the problems faced by men and the institutions that serve them.
Thursday, 27 May, 2010
Congress eve at ConcordiaU
The annual Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences gets underway tomorrow at Concordia University in Montreal. The Congress runs until June 4 and brings together academics from over 70 scholarly associations. I gave three presentations at last year's Congress, but won't be participating in this year's events because of other pressing commitments. However, today and tomorrow I am visiting Concordia in order to participate in the Department of Political Science's 2010 Workshop Series on Social Research and to brush up on my Structural Equation Modeling skills.
Tuesday, 25 May, 2010
Elite British universities call for fees increase
From University World News:
Student fees will have to rise if Britain is to keep its world-class reputation in higher education, the Russell Group of 20 elite universities has warned.
In its submission to Lord Browne's review of higher education funding, the group predicts its members could be faced with an overall deficit of more than £1.1bllion (US$1.6 billion) by 2012-13. But it does not recommend a big increase in overseas student fees.
. . .
Members of the group, which includes Oxbridge, London, Leeds, Sheffield and Warwick universities, say the current funding system does not allow research-intensive universities access to sufficient resources to remain internationally competitive.
Monday, 24 May, 2010
Canadian faculty compensation in context
Earlier in the month, Statistics Canada released a breakdown of salaries of full-time teaching staff at Canadian universities. Writing for EPI's Education this Week, Ken Snowdon puts these salary figures in context:
[I]t is important to recognize that a major impetus for increased faculty compensation was directly related to ‘market factors’ – basic supply and demand. The downturn in PSE spending that characterized the mid-1990s resulted in a reduction in PhD degree production in the latter part of the 1990s just as demand was picking up for new faculty appointments. Fuelled by the competition for new research funding, the impending double cohort (in Ontario), increasing demand for graduate studies, and continued increases in participation rates, universities scrambled to recruit faculty - effectively ‘bidding up’ the price for new appointees. At the same time the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program introduced the prospect of 2000 more faculty appointments with relatively high compensation provisions – thus adding more demand into the equation and effectively ‘bidding up’ the price for all faculty right across the country.
Friday, 21 May, 2010
Canada's score on annual learning index stalls
From the Canadian Council on Learning:
Canada’s progress on the Composite Learning Index (CLI) is at a stand still in 2010, and there has only been marginal progress over the past five years, according to the latest results from the Canadian Council on Learning’s annual measure of lifelong learning.
The national CLI average for 2010 is 75; the same as it was in 2009.
In addition, Canada’s progress during the five years of the CLI has been modest: from a benchmark score of 73 in 2006 to 75 in 2010—an average increase of only 0.3 points per year.
The only tool of its kind in the world, the CLI measures learning conditions in more than 4,500 cities, towns and rural communities across Canada and is based on statistical indicators that reflect the many ways Canadians learn, whether in school, in the home, at work or within the community.
Thursday, 20 May, 2010
16th Canadian Skills Competition
The 16th Canadian Skills Competition begins today in Waterloo, Ontario. From today until Saturday, over 550 post-secondary and apprenticeship students from all 13 provinces and territories will compete for medals in individual competitions within specialized skilled trade and technology areas.
This annual competition is hosted by Skills/Compétences Canada, the national non-for-profit organization that promotes skilled trades and technology careers among Canadian youth.
On a related note, an article in today's Globe and Mail reports that a recent global survey found that "31 per cent of employers worldwide and 21 per cent of employers in Canada are experiencing problems filling key skilled positions." The most difficult jobs to fill are skilled trades positions.
Wednesday, 19 May, 2010
England's universities failing to widen access
From the BBC News:
Young people from poorer backgrounds are still struggling to get into top universities, says the agency in charge of widening access to higher education.
The wealthiest 20% of youngsters are seven times more likely than the most disadvantaged 40% to get places at England's most selective universities.
Monday, 17 May, 2010
TD report calls for greater investment in PSE
From The Montreal Gazette:
Post-secondary institutions need more money and better planning to meet the many pressures upon them, which include producing a more skilled workforce to keep Canada competitive in the global economy, according to a report from TD Economics.
The wide-ranging report, released Monday, discusses the challenges that lay ahead for post-secondary schools, and the barriers, financial and otherwise, for students to access them.
Friday, 14 May, 2010
High school to apprenticeship transition programs
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) has released a new report based on feedback provided by apprenticeship stakeholder's who attended CAF's forum on High School to Apprenticeship Transition in Canada earlier this year.
The report, High School to Apprenticeship Transition: Identifying and Sharing Best Practices, suggests that successful high school to apprenticeship transition programs:
- Communicate program benefits to youth and their parents;
- Recognize the achievements of learners through initiatives such as awarding certificates, counting hours worked toward apprenticeships, waiving fees, or providing grants/bursaries/scholarships;
- Provide for flexibility and adaptability in areas such as delivery methods, instruction, and student accommodations; and
- Nurture the commitment and support of school administrators, employers, teachers, guidance counsellors, youth, and parents.
Thursday, 13 May, 2010
Do too many students go to university?
The notion that a four-year degree is essential for real success is being challenged by a growing number of economists, policy analysts and academics. They say more Americans should consider other options such as technical training or two-year schools, which have been embraced in Europe for decades.Read on here at Huffington Post.
As evidence, experts cite rising student debt, stagnant graduation rates and a struggling job market flooded with overqualified degree-holders. They pose a fundamental question: Do too many students go to college?
Wednesday, 12 May, 2010
Solidarity for their own good
I've recently reviewed an extensive paper on the machinations of the Canadian student movement in recent years titled Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students.
The paper, by post-secondary student advocate Titus Gregory, is highly critical of aspects of the operations of the Canadian Federation of Students and no doubt inspired by Gregory's various dust-ups with the CFS. It is also well-written, informative, entertaining, and riddled with legal disclaimers. It is an absolute must read for former Canadian student activists with a hankering for nostalgia.
I was particularly amused by this "going through my Monkees phase" photo of long-time CFS staff director Phil Link (whose decades-long student union travails are traced in an appendix to the paper).
The full text of Gregory's paper can be downloaded here in .pdf format.
Monday, 10 May, 2010
Internet use and post-secondary attainment
A new report from Statistics Canada indicates that 80% of Canadians aged 16 and older used the Internet for personal reasons in 2009. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest increases in Internet users (+15% each over 2007). The report also notes that "89% of individuals with at least some post-secondary education used the Internet in 2009, compared with 66% among those with no post-secondary education. This divide narrowed from 84% and 58% in 2007 respectively".
Saturday, 8 May, 2010
Double-double for MemorialU poli-sci
Two faculty members with Memorial University of Newfoundland's Department of Political Science, Dr. Kelly Blidook and Dr. Matthew Kerby, have been shortlisted for the for the John McMenemy Prize for the best article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science in 2009. It is also notable that this is Dr. Blidook's second nomination for the McMenemy Prize in recent years. More here from the Memorial University Gazette.
Friday, 7 May, 2010
College, Inc.
Earlier this week, the PBS program Frontline aired an hour-long look at for-profit post-secondary education in the U.S. The trailer for the documentary is below. It can be viewed in its entirety on-line here.
Thursday, 6 May, 2010
Biggest challenge for apprentices: Finding employers
From CanWest News:
It's the perennial complaint of anyone entering the workforce: you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job.
That's also the situation for apprentices, who need to find employee- sponsors to train them so that they can become licensed in their trade.
A study by the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum found that the learning-on-the- job system isn't working as smoothly as it should, with 17 per cent of would-be apprentices reporting difficulty in finding an employer.
Wednesday, 5 May, 2010
Abstracted: Student perspectives on their 4th year in senior high
An article I prepared with my colleague Dr. Morgan Gardner, titled The Schooling They Need: Voicing Student Perspectives on Their Fourth Year in Senior High School, appears in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Education. The abstract:
This study used qualitative research methods to investigate the experiences of students who returned to senior high school for a fourth year in order to graduate. By drawing on student voices, this collaborative research partnership with students revealed that a fourth year of high school led to stigmatization and alienation of students and often did not address students’ personal situations, their learning needs, or their need to graduate. Students identified desired changes in three areas: (a) school scheduling, flexibility, and graduation; (b) issues of teaching, learning, and curriculum; and (c) student desires for respect, belonging, and partnership. Implications of these findings for learners and educators are discussedThe full article can be accessed here in .pdf format.
Tuesday, 4 May, 2010
Private career colleges and student debt
Students at private colleges are twice as likely to miss student-loan payments as their counterparts at public colleges and universities, costing taxpayers more than $227-million in a recent three-year period, according to a Globe and Mail investigation.Read the rest of this Globe and Mail story here.
Career colleges, which account for the majority of private postsecondary institutions in Canada, are a booming business. They are fuelled by the promise of quick training and boast ads that all but guarantee a job on graduation. But a disproportionate number of students are leaving these schools with crushing debt, saddling taxpayers with the cost and calling into question the value of that education.
Sunday, 2 May, 2010
Visits to Bogazici and Istanbul Universities
I took these first two photos during the International Educational Technology Conference at Bogazici University in Istanbul last week.
Bogazici, which consistently ranks among the top 5 Turkish universities, was founded by an American philanthropist in 1863. The buildings in the first photo below, (left to right) the former Washburn Hall, Hamlin Hall, and Albert Long Hall, were all constructed the latter part of the 19th century.
Interestingly, the South Campus appears to be home to a large, well-fed feral cat colony (two of them in the second photo) and a number of similarly ownerless dogs.
Following the conference, I was fortunate to stay in Istanbul for a few additional days. In the first photo below I'm standing in front of the rather grand entrance to Istanbul University, which dates back to the mid-15th century.
I snapped the final photo as I was exploring the Istanbul University campus. Clearly, the student left is alive and well here.
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