Canadian Education Statistics Council CESC

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Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC)

• Policy-relevant Research
• and Education Indicators

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What is CESC?

• Partnership between the Council of Ministers of
  Education, Canada (CMEC) and Statistics Canada
• Two major programs
• Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda (PCERA)
• Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP)

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Research - PCERA

• Aim is to fund policy-relevant research and
  knowledge mobilisation activities
• Agenda established through consultations with
  provinces and territories
• Vehicle for improving communications between
  researchers and research users

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PCERA research themes

• Aboriginal education
• Access to postsecondary education
• Citizenship and social cohesion
• Healthy schools
• Learning outcomes
• Literacy
• Special education / Students with diverse needs
• Teacher education / Educator training
• Technology and on-line learning
• Transitions

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Challenges

• Identifying key policy-relevant research
  questions
• Getting research to policy makers in useful
  formats (knowledge mobilisation)
• Bridging the differences between policy world and
  academia

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PCERA Activities

• Funding research
• Synthesis reviews
• Research symposia
• Joint research initiatives
• CESC-SSHRC Education Research Initiative
• Government Education Research Initiative (GERN)

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CESC-SSHRC Initiative

• Four-year initiative
• Funded 19 research projects
• Topics
• Learning Outcomes
• Transitions

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CESC-SSHRC Initiative Learning Outcomes

• Regional, provincial, and linguistic differences
  in academic achievement
• Influence of literacy
• Role of ICT use
• Influence of school choice
• Impact of school resources and classroom
  practices
• Role of teaching and assessment practices
• Stability and change in at-risk behaviour of
  pre-adolescents

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CESC-SSHRC Initiative Transitions

• Labour market outcomes of college graduates
• Role of co-op in transition from high school to
  postsecondary
• Influence of low SES backgrounds
• Impact of merit-based scholarships
• Transition to Grade one
• Transition from elementary to junior high
• Achievement and access to higher education among
  recent immigrant and refugee youth

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Future plans for research

• Significant commitment by CMEC and Statistics
  Canada
• Focus on CMEC priority areas
• Combination of quantitative research and
  synthesis
• Knowledge mobilisation

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Indicators - PCEIP

• Biennial publication schedule
• Electronic updates of key tables every 6 months
• Next update June 2006
• Indicator development
• Continuing review of existing indicators
• Development of new indicators

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Challenges

• Keeping indicators relevant and comparable
• Developing new indicators
• Lack of data
• Knowledge mobilisation

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PCEIP 2005

• Education Indicators in Canada PCEIP 2005
• Demographics
• Finance
• Teachers / educators
• Enrolment and graduation
• Student achievement
• ICT use
• Labour market outcomes
• Adult education

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Future Plans for PCEIP

• Electronic updates
• June 2006
• December 2006
• Next publication
• December 2007
• Indicator development
• Focus on Aboriginal indicators

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For more information

• http//www.cmec.ca/stats/indexe.stm
• http//www.statcan.ca
• PCEIP 2005
• http//www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno81
  -582-XCHROPG1