Canada | Mexico | USA

Canada

Many Canadian universities are now hosting research around teaching and learning, since the interests of many Canadian scholars also lie in understanding questions of educational quality, learning processes and pedagogical practices. Since TLRP has a stronger focus on teaching and learning outcomes through personalised learning, we wish to develop a broader basis for understanding by drawing on North American scholarship. This would enhance our current research profile and thematic development on social diversity and achievements in learning. Miriam David was a Visiting Fellow in the Spring of 2007, promoting and enhancing the analyses and disseminating the TLRP findings, specifically on the theme of Social Diversity in Teaching and Learning: new understandings about closing the achievement gaps across the life course. The North American emphasis has a complementary focus on achievement gaps primarily in relation to poverty and ethnicity/race and aspects of diversity through changing demographic patterns, migration and family forms.

The biggest Canadian research institute in education is The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT) with two departments that do most of the work in this area, namely Sociology & Equity Studies and Theory and Policy Studies. Miriam visited OISE on the invitation of the Dean (Professor Jane Gaskell), to work with Professors Acker (SES) and Nina Baskia (TPS).

The Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) is one of the group of national research organizations which are exploring ways of deepening international liaison to promote educational research, TLRP is contributing to this process as part of its commitment to knowledge accumulation across the world.

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Mexico

The Consejo Mexicano de Investigacion Educativa (COMIE) is one of the groups of national research organizations which are exploring ways of deepening international liaison to promote educational research. TLRP is contributing to this process as part of its commitment to knowledge accumulation across the world.  

More on COMIE (pdf).

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USA

Many US universties are now hosting research around teaching and learning, since the interests of many American scholars also lie in understanding questions of educational quality, learning processes and pedagogical practices.

Since TLRP has a stronger focus on teaching and learning outcomes through personalised learning, we wish to develop a broader basis for understanding by drawing on North American scholarship. This would enhance our current research profile and thematic development on social diversity and achievements in learning.

Miriam David was a Visiting Fellow in the Spring of 2007 promoting and enhancing the analyses and disseminating the findings of TLRP, specifically on the theme of Social Diversity in Teaching and Learning: new understandings about closing the achievement gaps across the life course.

The North American emphasis has a complementary focus on achievement gaps primarily in relation to poverty and ethnicity/race and aspects of diversity through changing demographic patterns, migration and family forms. This is a major feature of the work of scholars at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 and the Faculty of Education University of Wisconsin-Madison.

HGSE has many scholars researching issues of social diversity in teaching and learning, but Miriam worked with particularly Professor Wendy Luttrell, Nancy Pforzheimer Aronson Associate Professor in Human Development and Education.

Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of Wisconsin-Madison addressed these issues in her Presidential address to the American Educational Research Association (AERA) meeting in spring 2006 raising the question of understanding the achievement gaps in US schools. Clearly there is much to be learned from this approach to understanding social diversity in achievement gaps in learning. Ladson-Billings is one of several scholars in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Education Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and others include Professors Michael Apple, Marianne Bloch, Michael Fultz, Michael Olneck, Tom Popkewitz and Amy Stambach.

American Educational Research Association (AERA) is one of the group of national research organizations which are exploring ways of deepening international liaison to promote educational research, TLRP is contributing to this process as part of its commitment to knowledge accumulation across the world.

Dr Richard Cox, Director of the TLRP 'Vicarious learning' project was been awarded a Visiting Fellowship in Summer 2007 under a collaborative scheme of the US Social Science Research Council and the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Full details.

Images provided by The UC Atlas of Global Inequality

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