BCTF Information Services—Research & Reports

Bullying in Canada: How Intimidation Affects Learning
Lessons in Learning, March 20, 2008
Canadian Council on Learning

Bullying in schools is a prominent issue that is receiving widespread media attention across Canada.  This article examines some of the deleterious effects that bullying has on schools as safe learning environments.

Miron, Gary and others (editors)
School Choice: Evidence and Recommendations - press release
Arizona State University, Education Policy Research Unit (EPRU) and the Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC)
March 20, 2008, 10 separate PDF files

This is a collection of 10 policy briefs on specific topics under the umbrella of school choice,  presenting a comprehensive overview of the best current knowledge of these important policies.  The series examines choice in its various forms: charter schools, home schooling, virtual schools, voucher plans, tuition tax credit plans, magnet schools, etc.

Roseth, Cary J., David W. Johnson, and Roger T. Johnson (University of Minnesota)
Promoting Early Adolescents’ Achievement and Peer Relationships: The Effects of Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Goal Structures
Psychological Bulletin 134:2 (2008), pp. 223–246

Competitive environments can disrupt children's ability to form social relationships, which in turn may hurt their academic potential, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  Students competing for resources in the classroom while discounting each others' success are less likely to earn top grades than students who work together toward goals and share their success, according to an analysis of 80 years of research.

Konstantopoulos, Spyros
Do Small Classes Reduce the Achievement Gap between Low and High Achievers? Evidence from Project STAR
Elementary School Journal 108:4, March 2008, pp.275-291

Using data from Tennessee's four-year class size reduction study (Project STAR), author Spyros Konstantopoulos argues that though all students benefited from being in smaller classes, reduced class size did not reduce the achievement gap between higher- and lower-achieving students. Moreover, analysis of the START data indicates that higher-achieving students benefited more from the initiative than did lower-achieving students.

Allegretto, Allison and others
The Teaching Penalty: Teacher Pay Losing Ground
Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, 2008; 82 pages

A new report provides a detailed analysis of trends in teacher pay in the U.S.  The latest data shows the pay gap widening between public school teachers & other professionals that require similar education and skills.

Adamowycz, Rosalyn
Reforming Education: Is Inclusion in Standardization Possible?
Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Issue #68, Jan 26, 2008

This article examines the implementation of two key North American education reform movements of the recent years: inclusion, and large-scale assessment. The author analyzes how the large-scale assessment movement has incorporated inclusive practices, and presents existing examples that attempt to facilitate inclusive processes in large-scale assessment practices.

Study reports on number of hours spent online or watching TV (news article)
Globe and Mail, March 13, 2008

A study by epidemiologist Tracie Barnett found that one-third of Canadian teens spend the equivalent of a full-time job, about 40 hours a week, in front of a television or computer.  Most health experts agree that 2 hours of screen time a day (or 14 hours a week) is a good maximum benchmark.  Viewing more has been associated with an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese.  

These results were presented at a recent meeting of the American Heart Association. 

Gazzaniga, Michael
Learning, Arts, and the Brain: The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition
Washington, DC: The Dana Foundation, March 2008; 146 pages

A research study by cognitive neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States. Proceeding on findings that people with arts training often do better in school, the researchers were attempting to uncover whether "smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter". 

The report focuses on the effects of music, dance, and drama education on other types of learning.  Among the core findings was that children motivated in the arts develop attention skills and strategies for memory retrieval that also apply to other subject areas.

Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census
Statistics Canada, 2008; 35 pages

This report provides information on the education profile of the Canadian population. Results from the 2006 Census show that young Canadians, especially, are better educated than older generations, but that fewer young Canadians are obtaining trades certificates. The report also includes an analysis of subject areas that were studied for the population with trades school, college, or university credentials. For the first time, the census also provides information on where (in which province or country) Canadians attained their highest level of educational attainment.

Global Employment Trends for Women
Geneva: International Labour Office, March 2008; 36 pages

More women are working than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work according to a new report by the ILO issued for International Women’s Day.

Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada's Future
Horizons (Policy Research Initiative) 10:1, March 2008

This special issue of Horizons was a joint collaboration between the Government of Canada's Policy Research Initiative and Analysis Directorate at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.  It focuses on the latest research and and analysis to highlight emerging trends, challenges and opportunities related to the rapidly growing population of aboriginal youth within an aging and changing Canada.

UNdata: A World of Information
United Nations

The DESA Statistics Division of the United Nations has just launched a new internet-based data service for the global user community, bringing sixty years of UN statistical databases within easy reach of users through a single entry point.  Coverage includes education, population, and employment figures amongst many other key data indicators.