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This paper analyzes the current proposals by the government of Alberta, Canada, to implement an accountability framework for the province's postsecondary institutions using performance indicators. The paper develops a conceptual framework for performance indicators based on a discrepancy model of evaluation using three metaphors: mechanical, medical, and economic. This is followed by a critical examination of performance indicators with delineation of potential weaknesses and strengths as well as recommendations for practice. Finally, the Alberta plan is used as a case study to illustrate the concepts developed in the paper. The Alberta plan for performance indicators in the public postsecondary sector is seen as reflecting an economic metaphor of performance indicators which will result in measuring fiscal effectiveness as opposed to educational effectiveness. Further, while the Alberta government has indicated that the performance indicators will allow for inter- and intra-sectoral variations, no allowances seem to have been made for a value-added assessment of student outcomes, which is at the heart of the purpose for postsecondary educational institutions. (Contains 19 references.) (Author)

Papers from the 1978 conference of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia are presented. A large part of the conference was devoted to a general symposium on accountability in higher education, while other topics were organization and administration of higher education, curriculum development and evaluation, staff development, and student characteristics and performance. Papers and authors are as follows: Opening Address: "Accountability in Higher Education" (E.H. Medlin); "The Costs and Benefits of Post-Secondary Education Enquiries" (N. A. Nilsson and P. F. Sheldrake); "In Need of Further Research on the Production and Productivity of Tertiary Education in Australia" (William Georgiou); "A Practical Model for Accountability in Higher Education--the DDIAE Experience" (L. J. Barker and L. J. McNulty); "Educational Brokering: A New Concept in the Business of Education" (I. McD. Mitchell); "To Maximize the Viability of an Enterprise: A Relevant Purpose for Administration" (Thomas M. Heffernan); "Course Development Assumptions and Strategies" (Rod Wellard); "Cooperative Course Design: A Case Study in Post Experience Education" (Dave Boud); "Student Reactions to PSI, Lecture and Laboratory Teaching" (R. J. Stening and K. R. Vost); "Tertiary Science Instructional Materials: A Cognitive Analysis" (M. T. Prosser); "Planning the Evaluation of a Major University Course" (I. H. Barham); "Staff Development: New Viewpoints and New Directions" (Norman C. Dennis); "The Enchantment of Lecturer Self-Confidence" (H. E. Stanton); and "The Needs and Problems of Part-Time Students and the Accountability of Administrative and Academic Staff" (Jason L. Brown). (SW)

Twenty-five papers presented at the conference include papers on the role of the site coordinator in a distributed education network in Ontario; student support systems in the Open University of Israel; the dilemmas of designing a computer mediated communication support system; interactive libraries; tutoring in technical science in the Open University of the Netherlands; research supervision at a distance; the role of tutoring and group support in distance education; the relationship between interaction and independence; distance education in India; applications of telecommunications for interactive tutoring; and cost effectiveness analysis of projects that increase student interaction in distance education. Most of the papers include references. The individual papers are briefly reviewed in the introduction, and continuity from papers presented at two earlier conferences is discussed. (GL)

North Americans' fear and preoccupation with safety and security as a result of the September 11 attacks is similar to that felt by gays and lesbians in daily life. Queer persons are not part of the Christian family, according to Jerry Falwell and other rightist Christian fundamentalists, including those involved in transformative ministry and reparative therapy. Transformational ministry is aimed at elimination of same-sex desire and intimacy and conversion to a heterosexual lifestyle. Reparative therapy is orthodox psychotherapy which, unlike current American Psychiatric Association practices, classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder. A politics of conversion, characterized by self-worth and concern for others, would argue against such exclusionary practices. Cornell West locates heterosexism in power intersections with white supremacy and patriarchy. His vision of a popular struggle for liberation incorporates queer people into a vision for cultural democracy. Democratic transformative learning is the responsibility of educators in order to eliminate not only homophobia but also racism and patriarchy from both curricula and campus activities. Exemplars of this goal include The Diversity Conferences of Alberta Society (DCAS), which worked to build understanding and create social justice while providing space and a place for gay and lesbian students and adults to deliberate issues of sexuality and spirituality; and Agape, which investigated sex-and-gender differences in education. (12 references) (AJ)

In the past decade, significant advances in information technologies in the Euro-American world have fostered the creation of information monopolies. The prices imposed by the monopolies, whose products are largely in the English language, have caused academic libraries to focus almost exclusively on international scientific and cultural materials demanded by their researchers. This has resulted in an insidious and progressive marginalization of regional cultures. After careful consideration of this issue, the University of Calgary's 1998 Library of the Future Task Force recommended that the University of Calgary adopt an integrated approach to information that incorporates both production and consumption activities. The university would move to a "just for you" library and provide information through contracted electronic access whenever possible. To ensure that it becomes a net contributor to preservation and dissemination of knowledge rather than just a consumer of products of the information monopolies, the library will work to preserve primary materials by creating a digital archive of materials about and produced by Western Canada's Aboriginal communities, thus taking national and regional community needs into account. Whether the proposed policy change will succeed in reducing the marginalization of regional culture remains to be seen. (Contains 14 references.) (MN)

Online teaching technologies still have three main disadvantages: cost, complexity, and negative impacts on productivity. In many areas of Canada, cost is still a major factor affecting ownership and use of computers and other new technologies. Until online teaching technologies become as simple to use as telephones and new cars, they will continue to fail to produce productivity increases. The Internet illustrates how online teaching technologies have been a mixed blessing. The Internet's potential advantages as a teaching tool stem from the fact that it is engrossing and inherently interesting, incorporates multi-sensory uses of media, provides enormous numbers of connections to other sources of information and interaction, allows everyone an individualized experience, and can both reflect and be a creation of teachers and learners. However, these same characteristics also account for some of the Internet's major weaknesses as a teaching tool. Any plan to use the Internet and other new technologies as teaching tools must begin with a quality-oriented assessment of the given technology's fitness for use as a teaching tool. Factors to consider include whether the technology is directly related to the learning outcomes of specific audiences of learners, affordable, readily accessible to local users, and durable and long-lasting. (MN)

The COVID-19 crisis challenged us to learn, teach, and work in ways we never had before. As we move further into 2021 more educational institutions are thinking about how online teaching and learning can become a permanent way of offering programs. However, there are still ethical considerations that merit deeper consideration. Before the pandemic, there was 20 years of research from various countries to show there was less misconduct in online courses than in face-to-face courses, yet during COVID-19 academic and research misconduct increased dramatically around the world. So, what happened? And how do we move forward from here? Join us for an evidence-informed keynote about how to support ethical teaching, learning, and researching in online and blended contexts in 2021 and beyond.

Minutes from the 1985 Membership Meeting of the Association of REsearch Libraries (ARL) include the full text of three presented papers: "Changing Information Policies and Research Libraries" (John Shattuck); "Management of Government Information" (Timothy Sprehe); and "Access to Information in Canada" (Bruce Mann). The views of journalists and academic researchers are expressed by two users of government information: Scott Armstrong of the Washington Post and Anna Nelson of George Washington University. Discussion and comments follow the papers. Two speakers then discuss the role of the ARL on Capitol Hill: "Effective Communication with Legislators" (Lisa Phillips) and "Legislative Issues Update" (Shirley Echelman). Business meeting coverage includes reports from: (1) the Office of Management Studies; (2) the ARL Executive Director; and (3) the ARL President. An announcement by the Vice President/President-Elect, election of new board members, a dues increase, revisions of ARL Bylaws, consideration of new members, the change of officers, and other business are also reported. Supporting information is appended, including: ARL Activities and Status Report; a statement from the ARL on Access to Information; the report of the Bibliographic Services Development Program (BSDP); lists of attendance from member institutions, members, and guests and staff; and a list of officers, the board, and committees of ARL. (THC)

This beginning paper attempts to explicate the myth of autonomy and individuality and the impact of this myth upon people in Western society. Focusing upon the work of the Dutch philosopher Gerrit Manenschijn, the authors briefly explore: (1) the history of autonomy as a myth as well as (2) how the West's monomythical culture shapes human thinking. In part two of the paper, the authors set out two examples to suggest how this myth works within education: (1) assessment at the K-12 level and (2) life as it is currently "competed" within higher education. The authors suggest how current educational practices might be complicit in the extension and support of autonomy and individuality as a moral compass that pushes those in the West towards materialism and extends current economic and market-driven curriculum. (Contains 6 footnotes.)

The purpose of this paper was to discuss education and accreditation issues with respect to diversity in sexual orientation. The different levels of analyses are approached from the more general to the more specific, ending with a discussion of accreditation issues in psychology. Information pertains to the United States, and includes some information on Canada as well. Topics discussed include legislation and public policy, experiences in university communities, and accreditation and graduate education issues. The paper concludes with author comments concerning the American and Canadian Psychological Associations' position statements on sexual orientation. (ADT)

Based on the author's presentation at the International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science, this paper discuses some high profile areas of interest and concern in the educational use of information and communication technology (ICT). The paper is influenced partly by a series of nine government funded "Best Practices" projects in the use of ICT and partly by experience. In particular, the paper addresses four major areas: (1) establishing an electronic identity, including alternative delivery/online learning issues (e.g., curricula, quality of learning, staffing, administration, equality, and cost) and World Wide Web site development; (2) technological literacy of students, including the Information and Communication Technology Program Studies initiative by the Province of Alberta (Canada); (3) support for the use of ICT with an emphasis on security in a distributed network environment (e.g., physical security, viruses, and network access); and (4) access to information and protection of privacy. (Author/MES)

This paper explores some of the implications on teacher education of the increased use of ICT (Information Communication Technology) in the delivery of curricula. The paper argues that, if ICT is going to become an integral part of instruction in elementary and secondary schools, changes need to be made in preservice and inservice programs for education students and practicing teachers. The initial section describes the assumptions used to limit the scope of the paper. The next section presents a discussion of potential uses of ICT and some concerns/myths about the use of ICT in education. The third section is a discussion of teacher education and professional development for practicing teachers, including some ideas about distance education. The final section is a proposal for a research facility (an instructional sending studio and receiving classroom) at the University of Regina (Canada) to further the study of ICT in teaching and learning in elementary and secondary classrooms. (MES)

This paper discusses the increasingly corporatist mentality within higher education, focusing on the role of the government within Canada, and elsewhere, to reshape higher education into narrow occupational training. It notes that while governments in Canada and the United States have reduced public funding for higher education, they have pursued agendas of increasing accountability through quantifiable outcomes and the forced narrowing of education to production of the workforce. The paper cites numerous critics of the corporatist-conservative agenda who discuss the growing role of government and business in shaping and spreading this agenda. It examines recent efforts by local and provincial governments in Canada to reshape higher education ministries to focus on worker training, to the neglect or outright abandonment of the humanist emphasis of higher education. The paper concludes that the potentials of these trends and corporatist controls include the loss, for future generations, of the critical sensibilities necessary to evaluate and reorder the state/corporate agenda. (Contains 19 references.) (MDM)

This paper discusses the style of leadership required in an evaluation process as well as the conditions under which the participation of various groups of evaluation users may be ensured, using examples from higher education in Quebec (Canada). It reviews the organization and evaluation of higher education institutions in the province, providing specific information on program evaluation at Laval University. The paper then reviews conditions favoring evaluation success, including institutional commitment, clear definitions of roles and responsibilities, clarification of what is at stake in regard to the evaluation process, the cooperation of those involved in the evaluation, promptness in the completion of the evaluation, and the importance of professional help and support services. It is concluded that if participation in the evaluation process is to be effective, shared leadership must be carried out during all stages of the evaluation process. It is argued that this type of leadership emerges in response to the dictates of the situation, to the competencies required and to the roles played. (MDM)

This paper discusses how preservice teacher education programs can be improved to better service teacher candidates. This paper examines a study of teachers from nine Ontario secondary schools regarding the impact of change on their work lives. The study involved 130 survey questionnaires and 45 structured interviews. This paper focuses on information from teachers with at least 10 years of experience (36 questionnaires and 12 interviews) to determine indications of particular success or failure in dealing with change that might be traced to their initial preservice education programs. More than three out of five teachers did not have pleasant experiences with change in their profession. Just over 51 percent agreed that teachers were unprepared for change, and about 75 percent believed that teachers were not in control of change. Just over 52 percent believed that change made teaching less satisfying. Almost 62 percent agreed that change had a negative impact on time allocation and use. About 84 percent agreed that change in the years ahead will transform the work lives of teachers. Despite largely negative personal encounters with change to their professional lives, these teachers fully realized that major innovations and alterations were coming. Comparison of teachers with less than 10 years and more than 10 years of experience showed a few variations, though in most categories the responses were similar. Fewer of the newer teachers felt unprepared for change or that change made teaching less satisfying. (Contains 5 tables of questionnaire response percentages and 12 references.) (SM)

An educator who teaches physics to grade 12 students and a physics curriculum and methods course to preservice teachers analyzes the impact of context on teaching practice. A paper by A. Richert titled "Voice and Power in Teaching and Learning To Teach" is used as the foundation for interpreting the author's experience of teaching physics in grade 12 at the same time he was teaching others to teach physics. The paper outlines some personal values, contrasts the contexts of school and university, compares the second year of experience to the first, bridges the worlds of theory and practice, notes the importance of teacher research, and examines differences between transmission teachers and interpretation teachers. The paper concludes that learning how to connect the two parallel tracks of experiences and thinking about "teaching and learning" is central to personal development as a teacher but is ignored by both schools and universities. The paper also concludes that, as university-based researchers in education have worked to study teaching from the "outside-in" perspective, they seem to have overlooked the golden opportunity to do research on their own teaching within teacher education programs. (Contains 14 references.) (JDD)

This paper reviews the development of interest in teaching Portuguese to immigrant students, an interest rooted in an individual's ethnicity and cultural past. The story of a Portuguese couple who immigrated to Sweden with their young son is recited, emphasizing the child's struggle with his lack of identity with either Portuguese or Swedish culture. The heritage language programs in Ontario, Canada, are then described as programs that allow for schooling in the student's first language to enhance students' cultural identity and self-esteem. The historical development of the language programs is reviewed, and their goals are listed. Institutionalized discrimination towards such multicultural federal educational policies are noted. Qualifications of heritage language teachers are discussed, and it is explained that instructors need not have an Ontario teacher's certification, can be paid at a lower rate than regular classroom teachers, and occupy a lower status than regular classroom teachers. Heritage language teachers' difficulties in integrating themselves into the schools in which they teach are examined. The paper concludes that the way schools treat the heritage language of their students mirrors their manner towards race, culture, and identity, and that major changes in the program are needed. (Contains 22 references.) (JDD)

This paper contains the text of a talk on how the business community should cooperate with higher education in Canada through their mutual association, the Corporate-Higher Education Forum. The paper briefly considers the differential impact of size of university in building cooperation with the business community and argues that size has only a secondary impact on capacity to cooperate in educational research. The paper goes on to look at the Forum including a review of recent activities of the Forum and the suggestion that other associations and bodies in Canada may be capturing the educational research field and addressing the issues that concern the nation while the Forum appears not to be addressing these issues. A review of the Forum's journal for the past 3 years found that of over 100 articles, not a single one was related to the research on kindergarten through 12th grade education or the preparation of professionals for schools. The paper argues that due to the lack of input from educational researchers, professionals dealing with the education crisis do so in a reflexive, strident, and defensive manner at significant cost to the nation. (JB)