Towards Evidence-based Policy for Canadian Education

Résumé du livre

Evidence is increasingly being demanded before education policy in Canada is developed. Unfortunately, all too often education research and policy proposals come from relatively isolated perspectives. This volume arose from a project that brought together a diverse group of stakeholders as part of an ongoing effort to improve communications between relevant groups. The authors focus on aspects of evidenced-based decision-making for education in the Canadian context, providing both survey articles and commentary. Topics include new and innovative provincial initiatives such as "la carte de la défavorisation au Québec" and the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI). Major Canadian large-scale testing initiatives including the Third International Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), the national Student Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP), and provincial testing programs are discussed, and selected studies resulting from these programs are presented. Also included are overviews of currently relevant issues such as male-female differences in test scores, high school exit exams, the "causal" impact of education on social assistance use and long-term labour market outcomes, teacher evaluations at universities, and the optimal level of investment in education from an economic perspective. Contributors are from university education faculties and economics departments, provincial government ministries of education and related agencies, school boards, and other related organizations such as the Canadian Teachers' Federation, the Council of Ministers of Education, Conseil Supérieur de l'Éducation au Québec, and Statistics Canada. Reflecting Canada, portions of the book are in French and others are in English.