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This study investigated the academic adaptation of five Mainland Chinese doctoral students in the Faculty of Education at McGill University, Quebec, Canada. Using individual interviewing as the primary research method, the study revealed 12 major challenge areas, i.e., English as a second language, financial difficulties, outsider feelings, worries about career paths, course work, research network, TA/RA experiences, differences between doctoral and master's studies, isolation, pace of the PhD, motherhood and doctoral study, and adjusting research directions. Through comparing the findings with the literature and the data from secondary sources, this study concluded that the academic adaptation of Mainland Chinese doctoral students in Canada is a process in which cross-cultural adaptation intertwines with disciplinary socialization. The study contributes to literature by (1) documenting an under-researched group---PhD students in education from Mainland China in Canada; and (2) looking at academic adaptation through two lenses: cross-cultural adaptation and disciplinary socialization.

CEGEPs (Colleges d'enseignement general et professionnel) were designed with the aim of developing intellectual abilities in young adults. The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive and affective abilities of CEGEP students at the beginning and end of CEGEP and to measure the change in these abilities. Comparing student cognitive and affective abilities at the beginning of, during and at the end of CEGEP, according to known measures of student development, would establish what changes occur during the college years, and would thereby promote a more thorough understanding of the students which CEGEPs serve. The cognitive development of CEGEP students was assessed by examining the three broad areas of development most focused on at the college level: reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Affective development was studied by examining the moral reasoning and ego development of CEGEP students and students' attitudes toward knowledge and learning. / The research design for the study was an interrupted time series on male and female students in three college programs: Science, Social Science, and Commerce. The experimental sample consisted of 334 students who entered CEGEP in 1985 in these programs. The students were selected at random and administered a series of cognitive and affective measures upon entry to college as part of the college's assessment procedure. The students were retested at the end of the first year of CEGEP and at the end of the second year of CEGEP. Samples were also selected in May 1986 and May 1987 to control for history, selection, maturation, and testing effects. / The findings suggest that students' cognitive and affective abilities increase while attending CEGEP, but that most students do not begin college with the complex intellectual abilities required for academic success. Students in all programs made significant gains in vocabulary, comprehension, writing, critical thinking, moral reasoning, and ego development. Changes also occurred in certain attitudes toward knowledge and learning. Male and female students differed in critical thinking and ego development, but did not differ in vocabulary, comprehension, writing, or moral reasoning. Differences among programs were found in vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and moral reasoning, but were not found in writing or ego development.

This study investigates the patterns of language use among a selected group of Chinese students in a Chinese Heritage Language school in urban Montreal, Quebec. Observation and interview are used as tools for the inquiry. Language socialization and social identity theories provide a framework for the data interpretation. Classroom interactions are examined in terms of the patterns of language use between teachers and students, students to teachers, and students to students. The emergent findings in the study suggest that teachers use mainly Chinese when addressing students and students use mainly Chinese when addressing their teachers. However, the patterns change when students are addressing each other. French and English are preferred in their peer to peer social interactions. As 'Chinese language' is a broad term, covering several different regionalects and dialects, it is taken into consideration that the students' home language may be very different from the standard language, Mandarin, which is taught at the school. In addition, the age of arrival to Canada, the desire for peer recognition and identification with the mainstream culture, and the forces of socialization as factors which affect the children's language use and their maintenance of their mother tongue are examined. Finally, the concept of speech community, a sociolinguistic concept, is applied to the discussion of how the patterns of those Chinese children's language use are shaped and may be interpreted.

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This study examined motivation for return to school, subsequent satisfaction, and the relationship between motivating factors and satisfaction among students enrolled in five small schools in the Montreal area dedicated to the education of adolescents who wish to return. / Statistical analysis of questionnaire data revealed that major motivating factors for return to school were related to a desire for academic success rather than social or personal reasons. Younger returned dropouts were more likely to be motivated by the desire to obtain job skills than their older counterparts. / Age and sex did not account for significant differences in motivation or subsequent satisfaction with school. Returned dropouts were generally well-satisfied with their current school experience. Major components of satisfaction were academic success and a variety of items related to teacher empathy, and competence. / While there were no signficiant differences in satisfaction among participating schools, satisfaction scores were higher for those mid-way through alternative schools than for those students just beginning or nearing graduation.

This thesis explores some of the issues of adjustment of Israeli immigrant high school students in Montreal, including sociocultural, linguistic, and educational issues. It deals with the term adjustment from the theoretical and historical point and with the relationship between adjustment and immigration. It reviews existing research on the adjustment experience of immigrant students, and provides a background about the education of Jewish immigrants in Montreal. / The thesis is a qualitative study based on individual and group interviews involving 10 high school students.

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