Five Strategic Research Networks in Education and Training

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Five Strategic Research Networks in Education and
Training
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Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada and public, nonprofit,
and private partner organizations
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Le Réseau de recherche en éducation, formation et
emplois (Education, Training and Employment
ResearchNetwork)

• Network Director
• Professor Marcelle Hardy
  
  Université du Québec à Montréal

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The Network for the Evaluation of Education
andTraining Technologies (EVNET)
Network Director Professor Carl Cuneo

McMaster University
http//socserv2.mcmaster.ca/srnet/evnet.htm
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EvNet Bare Bones

• 33 academic researchers
• 35 practitioners

• 4.3 million in-kind and cash commitments
• 1996-2001

• 14 universities
• 5 colleges
• 3 K-13 schools

• 21 private corporations
• 5 government agencies
• 10 non-profit organizations

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EvNet Goal and Gaps

• Goal Evaluate education and training
  technologies, and apply and disseminate best
  practices

• Gaps
• No agreed upon standards
• Imbalance between technology and outcomes
  criteria
• Cart before Horse setting standards before doing
  research

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I. Administrative Practices Theme (1)

• 1. Higher Education Information Technology
  Administrative Policies and Practices
• rising demand for IT
• declining budgets
• which groupware?
• MS Office
• Corel Suite
• Smartsuite

American Colleges Universities in 1996 with
NO Information Technology Strategic Plans 71
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I. Administrative Practices Theme (1)

• 1. Higher Education Information Technology
  Administrative Policies and Practices
• rising demand for IT
• declining budgets
• which groupware?
• MS Office
• Corel Suite
• Smartsuite

Richard SmithFramework for Policy and
Socio-economic Studies of Telelearning
Technologies
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II. Design Roles Theme (3)

• Factors affecting support and resistance among
  instructors to educational technologies
• subject areas
• professional associations
• comfort with technology
• training
• incentives

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III. Delivery Results Theme (7)

• Educational effectiveness of design and delivery
  of learnware
• modularization of courseware (Industry Canada)
• can problem-based learning (PBL) be conducted
  electronically across computer networks?
• inequality of access (HRDC)
• psychological attitudes of learners to computer
  skills
• learning styles

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IV. Collaborative Learning Theme (4)

• Can collaborative learning be effectively
  conducted on computer networks?
• Informal learning and subculture in electronic
  communications (NALL)
• workplace collaboration (TL-NCE)
• collaboration among trade unionists (SoliNet
  NALL)
• collaboration involving students with
  disabilities (W3)

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New EvNet Project Requiring Partners
Campus Computing- Canada
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No Annual Canadian Database of Information,
Communication, Instructional Technologies among
Colleges and Universities
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Why Important?

• Administrators decide in vacuum
• Instructors dont know which technologies to
  adopt
• Students dont know which institutions to attend
• Companies dont know the education marketplace

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Replication and Modification of Casey Greens
Surveys in the USA, 1990 to 1997

• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Western Europe

• 60 questions
• 50 common international
• 50 unique Canada

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Issues IT Budgets

• Institutional Budgets for technology, products
  and services

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Issues Purchasing

• Institutional purchasing and leasing plans
• Resale policies and programs
• Factors affecting purchasing decisions

• Annual Cost of Networked PC 13,000
• Hardware and Software 21
• Technical Support 27
• Administration 9
• Futzing 43

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Issues Instructional Technologies

• Instructional software utilization and
  development
• Site licensing arrangements
• Multimedia, Internet and WWW use in instruction
  and outreach intiatives

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Issues Instructional Computing
Policies/Procedures

• Plan computers -gt instruction
• Licenses for on-campus duplication of software
  products
• Library of academic courseware
• Support/reward development of courseware

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Issues Vendor Assessment

• Has appropriate products
• Understands campus computing
• Will play a role in computing plans for next 2-3
  years

• Corel
• Netscape
• Telecos versus Cable

• IBM
• Microsoft
• Macromedia

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Partner/Sponsor Benefits

• Review development of survey instruments
• Early Access to Summary Data and Reports
• Access to Supplementary Reports
• Opportunities to Order Proprietary Analyses
• Phone/follow-up support
• Special On-site Presentations

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Sponsorship Level
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The Research Network for New Approaches to
Lifelong Learning (NALL)

• Network Director
• Professor David Livingstone
• Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  (OISE/University of Toronto)

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NALL New Approaches to Lifelong Learning

• Centre for the Study of Education and Work
• Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in
  Education
• Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
  (OISE/UT)

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NALL OBJECTIVES

• Document relations between informal,
  formal and non-formal education

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NALL OBJECTIVES

• Identify major social barriers to integrating
  informal learning with formal and nonformal
  programs and certificates

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NALL OBJECTIVES

• Support new program initiatives that promise
  to overcome social barriers

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NALL GOALS

• Document and demonstrate relevant informal
  learning practices

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NALL GOALS

• Demonstrate the practical value of taking
  this knowledge into account

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NALL GOALS

• Specific, innovative programs

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 1 first national survey of informal
  learning practices

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 2 Best practices of Prior Learning
  Assessment and Recognition

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 3 Informal learning cultures of
  major disadvantaged groups

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 4 Multiple transitions between
  learning and work

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 5 Comparisons of informal learning in
  different types of work

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NALL Six Groups

• Group 6 Workers computer-based informal
  learning

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Table 1 Work-Related Learning by Occupational
Class, Ontario Labour Force, 1994-6
(Livingsstone, Hart Davie, 1995, 1997)
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Training Matters The Labour Training Research
Network

• Network Director
• Professor Carla Lipsig-Mummé
• York University
• Network Coordinator
• Saida Belas
• Centre for Research on Work and Society
• York University

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GOALS (1-2)

• 1. Analyse, critique and propose modifications to
  the political economy of the institutions,
  demographics and regulatory systems of the
  Canadian training system
• 2. Innovate in integrating academic researchers,
  community practitioners and training
  organisations in research, best practice
  replication and policy implementation

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GOALS (3-5)

• 3. Create a privileged space for real national
  exchange of knowledge and best practice in the
  provision of training
• 4. Contribute to public education on the training
  dilemma
• 5. Contribute to enhancing the ability of the
  labour movement and other community organisations
  to intervene in the training debate.

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STRATEGIES 1. BUILD ON THE COLLABORATIVE
RESEARCH METHOD LINKING ACADEMICS AND THE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPED BY CRWS
a. Joint academic-community defined research
projects b. 12 month turnaround on projects c.
publication from every project d. public and
popular dissemination of every project.
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STRATEGIES 2. CREATE UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
EXCHANGE OF BEST PRACTICES
a. Bring together researchers from provinces and
regions of Canada, who rarely share their work
(annual national conference 4 regional groups 7
national thematic working groups) b.
Quebec-English Canada joint research projects,
inter-provincial comparisons, evaluations (
carried out and published in both languages)
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STRATEGIES 2. CREATE UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
EXCHANGE OF BEST PRACTICES
c. bring selected international research and
researchers from Germany, Belgium, France,
Australia the U.S. to the attention of the
Canadian training community (through translation
and dissemination of selected international
papers through the Speakers Series through
integration in Training Matters research
projects). d. publication of selected Network
research by each of our international
collaborators.
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STRATEGIES 3. POPULARISE THE RESEARCH ISSUES
IMPLICATIONS SURROUNDING THE TRAINING INDUSTRY
AND ITS PRESENT STRUCTURE OF TRAINING
PROVISION THROUGH
a. truly accessible, popular research
summaries b. public and popular fora c.
electronic communication d. international
publications of our projects.
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TRAINING MATTERS RESEARCH THEMES
I. The political economy of the Canadian
training industry Policy in historical and
comparative context II. The Training industry
at the crossroads devolution, privatisation and
fragmentation III. Training for what and for
whom? Evaluating the effectiveness of Canadian
training provision IV. Training matters
Best practices, training systems and alternative
policies.
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PROJECTS Mega-theme I Political Economy of
the Canadian Training Industry Policy in
Historical Comparative Context
1. Le marché de la formation professionnelle au
Québec un état des lieux 2. Training
Industry Whose Good? Australian Perspectives
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PROJECTS Mega-theme I Political Economy of
the Canadian Training Industry Policy in
Historical Comparative Context
3. Ideological Strategies and the Sources of
Worker Discontent in New Brunswicks Training
Initiatives 4. Exporting Canadian Training
Labour Perspectives on the Human Resources
Development Working Group in APEC 5. A Labour
Agenda on Training Funding
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PROJECTS Mega-theme II The Training Industry
at the Crossroads Devolution, Privatisation
Fragmentation
1. The Division of Training Delivery between
Unions and Public Institutions 2. Removing
Barriers to Transferable Training for Clerical
Information Workers
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PROJECTS Mega-theme II The Training Industry
at the Crossroads Devolution, Privatisation
Fragmentation
3. What Works? The Provision of Training to
Laid-Off Workers and Survivors 4. New
Brunswick Training Inventory 5. Organisation
de la formation professionnelle dans les
organismes intermédiaires les syndicats et les
ordres professionnels
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PROJECTS Mega-theme III Training for What
for Whom? Effectiveness of Canadian Training
Provision
1. The Social Determinants of Education
On-the-job Training among Members of the Class of
73" 2. The B.C., Island Highway Project A
Model for Access and Retention of Equity Groups
in Skilled and Semi-Skilled Blue Collar Jobs
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PROJECTS Mega-theme III Training for What
for Whom? Effectiveness of Canadian Training
Provision
3. Vocational Training in Ontario Secondary
School Systems Policies, Programmes, Attitudes,
Results and Prospects 4. Toward Practitioner
Mastery of Effectiveness Assessment
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PROJECTS Mega-theme IV Training Matters
Best Practices, Training Systems Alternative
Policies
1. The Provision of Training to Laid-Off Workers
and Survivors (this project overlaps on
Mega-theme II as well) 2. Training at the
Hibernia Project An Investigation of Labour,
Management and Government Roles 3. Training
for Union Full-Time Officials
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STRUCTURES 1. Membership
a. Academics from 14 universities, 5 community
colleges b. 11 community training organisations
c. 12 trade unions across Canada (including
the CEQ QFL in Québec)
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STRUCTURES 2. Geographic Distribution
a. 8 regions Québec, B.C. , Ontario,
Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick Yukon b. 4 regional groups
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STRUCTURES 3. Languages
a. Network researches, publishes and
communicates in French and English b. Certain
Network projects will be translated into German,
published and distributed in Germany and Austria

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PRODUCTS A. Tangible
a. 2-3 books b. 30 working papers c. 4
conferences (one per year) d. a large
number of popular, short summaries of research
projects e. a Training Bulletin (to be
published twice a year, jointly with NALL at
OISE/UT)
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PRODUCTS B. Less Tangible
a. The development of a research culture which
makes the university permeable b. Upskilling the
labour and community sectors c. Changing the
portrait of critique and analysis of the Canadian
training situation, by integrating the work of
groups that rarely work together on training
research
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Western Research Network on Education and Training

• Network Director
• Professor Jane Gaskell
• University of British Columbia
• http//www.educ.ubc.ca/wrnet

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Outcomes

• the research will explore
• what outcomes matter to whom,
• how these outcomes can best be measured
• what social processes account for the outcomes
  that are observed in different contexts.
• provision..processes..outcomes

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Policy

• Kjell Rubenson, UBC
• with OECD and
• BC Government

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Projects

• OECD Initiatives
• BC Government skills initiatives

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Economics

• Alice Nakamura U of Alberta
• Craig Riddell UBC, with
• Statistics Canada,
• HRDC

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Projects

• Returns to Education Universities vs Colleges in
  BC
• Social Security Initiatives
• Reanalysis of Canadian labour market data
• Measuring skills

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Case studies of educational practice (Manitoba)

• Ben Levin, U of Manitoba, with
• Seven Oaks School Division
• Manulife/Richardson-Greenshields
• Womens Enterprise Centre

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Projects

• Displaced workers
• Aboriginal access to post-secondary education
• High school transition to work
• Womens Entrepreneurship Training

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Case studies of educational practice (B.C.)

• Jane Gaskell, UBC, with
• BC Ministry of Education and four school
  districts
• Alcan, Eurocan and Methanex,
• Centre for Applied Academics
• Women's Employment and Education Coalition
• Body piercing parlours

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Projects

• Applied Academics math and science
• Life Skills for women
• On job learning of science and technology

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1. What outcomes matter to whom?

• Educational indicators
• Indicators of institutional support
• Economic indicators

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2. How can they best be measured?

• Qualitative and quantitative research
• Informing institutional data collection

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3. What social processes account for the outcomes
that are observed?

• Individual and Social factors
• Disaggregation of data across individuals and
  contexts
• Networks, communities of practice and
  institutional linkages

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Outcomes of the network

• 1. Useful findings and knowledge
• 2. Policy lessons
• 3. Theoretical and conceptual clarity
• 4. Contacts and networking that are ongoing.