The transition from an industrial to a global knowledge-based economy has put universities in the spotlight of public policies as the new drivers of innovation and sustained economic growth. Consequently, societal expectations towards the academic community have changed and so has, under the influence of neo-liberal ideas, the public governance of higher education. This is particularly true in federalist systems, such as Germany, Australia and the European Union, where the roles of each government level in governing the higher education sector had to be renegotiated and clarified. In Canada, however, despite repeated recommendations by policymakers, scholars and international organisations, the respective responsibilities have not yet been clarified and, to date, there are still no mechanisms to coordinate the post-secondary education policies of the federal and provincial governments. This paper inquires into the reasons for this exception. In the academic literature, this has generally been explained in terms of Canada’s uniqueness with respect to its federalist system and the decentralized higher education sector. We attempt to go beyond this traditional federalism, state-centered approach, which is predominant in the Canadian higher education literature. Instead, based on interviews and official documents and inspired by the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we shall be looking at the belief systems of the major actors in the policy process and the degree of coordination among them. Our analysis comes to the conclusion that, on the one hand, proponents of a pan-Canadian approach are divided over their fundamental beliefs regarding the compatibility of inclusiveness and excellence. Some argue that the federal government must legislate common standards to ensure equal opportunities for all Canadians. Others propose a New Governance-inspired approach to create a differentiated and competitive university sector that meets the demands of the global knowledge-based economy more efficiently. On the other hand, even though the provinces differ in their beliefs regarding the equal opportunity versus economic efficiency debate, they share the same strong belief with respect to the role of the federal government. According to this view, post-secondary education is exclusively a provincial responsibility and the role of the federal government is solely to help them ‘fix the problems’. Moreover, contrary to the proponents of more intergovernmental collaboration, the provinces have successfully strengthened the coordination among themselves to block further perceived federal intrusions into provincial jurisdiction. We come to the conclusion that the absence of intergovernmental mechanisms to govern post-secondary education is a consequence of the diverging belief systems and the establishment of formal coordination structures among the provinces to block – as they perceive - further federal intrusions. Also, there is less of a sense of urgency to act compared to, say, health care. Finally, remembering the near-separation of Quebec in 1995, there is very little appetite to reopen the constitutional debates. Therefore, based on our analysis, we argue that contrary to suggestions by some higher education scholars, the establishment of intergovernmental coordinating mechanisms appears unlikely in the near future.

The current study employed a mixed methodology to investigate whether emerging adulthood differs based on vocational setting. Quantitative questionnaires were completed by 18-29 year-olds from university, vocational college/trade school, and the labour force (without post-secondary) to examine conceptions of what marks adulthood, perceptions of having reached adulthood, perceptions of having reached markers of adulthood, identity development, identification with themes of emerging adulthood, and the importance of vocational setting in shaping emerging adulthood. Qualitative interviews exploring the same areas were undertaken with a subset of participants. Results revealed few associations between vocational setting and conceptions of adulthood or perceptions of having reached adulthood, with most emerging adults feeling ambiguous about their adult status and viewing independence as the most important marker of adulthood. Those from the labour force did perceive reaching independence, role transitions, and family capacities to the greatest degree; earlier adverse circumstances seemed relevant in reaching these markers. Fewer than expected from the labour force had achieved identities, yet identity development appeared to be a gradual process for all. Participants generally identified with themes of emerging adulthood, although university students did so to a greater degree in some ways. Emerging adulthood was identified as a time of fewer possibilities and diminished agency for those from the labour force. Unique life experiences and social interactions were also deemed important factors in emerging adulthood. Together, findings largely support emerging adulthood as a valid theory of development, while also suggesting some diversity in its full expression across vocational settings.

The present study attempted to identify common and unique characteristics of faculty performance appraisal formats and procedures by analyzing characteristics of formats and procedures from the psychology departments of 28 universities, including Kentucky Council on Post-secondary Education (CPE) benchmark schools for Western Kentucky University as well as schools that have Industrial/Organizational psychology master’s degree programs. It was hypothesized that schools with Industrial/-Organizational Psychology programs would have better formats as defined by eight legal factors. However, this hypothesis was not supported. The hypothesis that graphic rating scales would be the most common method for collecting appraisal data was supported. It was determined that the performance appraisal system used at Western Kentucky University is very similar to systems used at the CPE benchmark schools that participated in this study.

The 1907 <i>University of Saskatchewan Act</i> stated that no women shall by reason of her sex be deprived of any advantage or privilege accorded to male students of the university . This study explores whether or not this piece of progressive and prescriptive legislation was adhered to by university administrators, male faculty, staff, and students. Using the ample primary source material available in the University Archives Special Collections, this thesis has examined the demographic, cultural, and lived experiences of the women at the university from 1909 to 1922 and concluded that although the administration employed many inclusive policies, the internal culture and experiences of the women who worked, learned, and lived at the university were far less egalitarian than that described in <i>University Act</i>. This study offers a new prairie perspective and as such constitutes an important addition to the discussion concerning the experience of the first generation of female university scholars in Canada.

The number of students with learning disabilities (SLD) at post-secondary institutions continues to grow. Research has found that SLD who use accommodations at their post-secondary institution are more successful in university than those who do not. Yet, research suggests that SLD do not request accommodations at expected levels. Disability self-disclosure is important to SLD because they need to self-disclose their disability to university personnel to obtain accommodations. The reasons for lower levels of self-disclosure by SLDs to university personnel remain unclear. Self-determination, attitudes towards requesting accommodations, and level of self-disclosure (i.e., psychological factors) has individually been identified as possible factors that affect disability disclosure. To date, no study has investigated the effects of these factors on SLD disability disclosure in higher education. This study’s purpose was to investigate differences in psychological factors between two SLD disclosure groups (i.e., no disclosure and university and classroom disclosure). In addition, the study examined what factors SLDs consider when deciding if they will self-disclose their disability to university personnel. To achieve these goals, 31 undergraduate students with learning disabilities completed a mixed methods study comprised of quantitative scales and a qualitative interview. The Self-Disclosure Scale, the Attitudes Towards Requesting Accommodations Scale, and the Revised Self-Disclosure Scale were utilized to measure psychological factors. A 30 minute semi-structured interview was administered to 15 participants to further explore what factors SLD take into consideration when making self-disclosure decisions. Results indicate that the total scores on the Attitude Towards Requesting Accommodations scale, Self-Determination Scale, and the Self-Disclosure Scale were significantly different between self-disclosure groups. Data from student interviews uncovered nine factors that seemed to influence SLDs’: (a) decision to disclose and (b) how deeply they disclosed. Four key qualitative findings that arose from this study were: (a) all SLD report having extensive academic difficulty; (b) students who do not disclose seem to rely solely on informal compensating mechanisms rather than formal accommodations; (c) even in favorable circumstances SLDs may not wish to disclose their disability; and (d) SLD experiences with faculty seem to influence why some students disclose more deeply while other students disclose at a surface level. / text

Nationwide reform efforts strive to improve schooling through a range of approaches including improving the quality of campus leadership, restructuring organizational design, and revamping instruction. National and state education policies reflect the reforms addressed in educational research literature and drive state, district, and campus based improvement initiatives. For example, the more recent influence of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability system has led to a significant increase in the use of data to drive instructional decision-making. Campus leadership is key to both the successful implementation of data initiatives (Wayman and Stringfield, 2006) as well as comprehensive reform efforts (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005). The literature provides a wide array of leadership theories that offer promise in understanding more effective approaches to leading school improvement efforts; however, much of this literature remains conceptual and vague (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins 2008). Data use has gained increasing attention in the literature as well, but the research lacks a strong conceptual framework for leadership. The purpose of this paper is to view data use through the lens of Leithwood’s model of Transformational Leadership in order to explore the linkages between the leadership theory and data use practices and to offer a framework that situates data use as a tool to increase all students’ academic performance and build a democratic and socially just learning organization. The linkages between Transformational Leadership and data use are presented as both bodies of literature are reviewed. The study was guided by the following questions: 1) What are the levels of Transformational Leadership Behaviors exhibited at each campus? 2) What are the data use practices being implemented on each campus? 3) What is the relationship between Transformational Leadership and data use? Two schools served as the sites for the research which drew on both quantitative and qualitative data sources to address the research questions. Results and findings show evidence of Transformational Leadership Behaviors that linked closely with the data use practices. The final discussion offers a preliminary conceptual framework delineating the intersection between the theory of Transformational Leadership and data use in schools. / text

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Despite concerted research effort over the last thirty years, social capital remains a variably, and at times, ill-defined concept. A lack of a clear causal theory has made social capital difficult to explore in an empirical setting. In addition, limited understanding of the concept’s operation has restricted its ability to provide valuable insight into policy development. The three papers that compose this thesis examine the concept, measurement, and consequences of social capital. The first provides a theoretical discussion of the conceptual origins of the term, its common criticisms, and suggests an alternative approach to its understanding. The second applies this alternative approach to an empirical model of child enrolment in post-secondary education. Finally, the third critically examines a recent federal policy research initiative related to social capital, identifying key policy development advantages to this thesis’s alternative approach. This thesis argues that antecedents to the modern social capital literature along with more recent criticisms suggest a dual approach to understanding social capital. This dual approach involves two distinct frameworks for understanding the concept – one literal and one figurative. These frameworks guide alternative approaches to empirical social capital work, demonstrated through the analysis of social capital’s impact on child post-secondary enrolment. It further identifies how the two frameworks provide more relevant information on the operation of social capital, facilitating prospective policy development. Overall, the thesis concludes that the literal and figurative approaches represent a more useful way of understanding and applying the social capital concept.

Despite concerted research effort over the last thirty years, social capital remains a variably, and at times, ill-defined concept. A lack of a clear causal theory has made social capital difficult to explore in an empirical setting. In addition, limited understanding of the concept’s operation has restricted its ability to provide valuable insight into policy development. The three papers that compose this thesis examine the concept, measurement, and consequences of social capital. The first provides a theoretical discussion of the conceptual origins of the term, its common criticisms, and suggests an alternative approach to its understanding. The second applies this alternative approach to an empirical model of child enrolment in post-secondary education. Finally, the third critically examines a recent federal policy research initiative related to social capital, identifying key policy development advantages to this thesis’s alternative approach. This thesis argues that antecedents to the modern social capital literature along with more recent criticisms suggest a dual approach to understanding social capital. This dual approach involves two distinct frameworks for understanding the concept – one literal and one figurative. These frameworks guide alternative approaches to empirical social capital work, demonstrated through the analysis of social capital’s impact on child post-secondary enrolment. It further identifies how the two frameworks provide more relevant information on the operation of social capital, facilitating prospective policy development. Overall, the thesis concludes that the literal and figurative approaches represent a more useful way of understanding and applying the social capital concept.