Paul W Bennett | Saint Mary's University (Canada) (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul W Bennett
Macdonald-Laurier Institure , 2024
A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12... more A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12 schools. Can historical thinking flourish with the subject disappearing in schools? The paper examines and critically evaluates recent initiatives focusing on teaching historical skills while student enrolments in history courses shrink and lose ground in the overall curriculum.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute , 2024
A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and po... more A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and policy responses in Canadam the United States and around the world. Researched and written for the MLI in response to Jonatyhan Haidt's the Anxious Generation (2024). It offers comprehensive analysis, proposes and cross-sector strategy, complete with policy recommendations.
Cardus Research Report , 2023
A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 di... more A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 disruption and school shutdowns on students, teachers, families and schools. It assesses learning loss, psych-social impacts, and the effectiveness of post-pandemic recovery initiatives. It demonstrates that "Long COVID" has had lingering effects on the pandemic generation.
Education & Law, 2023
A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory refor... more A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory reform initiatives, and a range of policy options for affirming professional standards, monitoring teacher conduct and 'weeding out' the small but everpresent proportion of teachers found to be a risk to students.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023
A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University ... more A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University mathematics education professor Jo Boaler, and its implications for mathematics teachinng and learning in Canadian k-12 education. It makes the case that Boaler’s work is at odds with evidence-based research in the science of learning and may be potentially damaging to a whole generation of elementary school-aged children.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023
Three years after the onset of the pandemic, the MLI Commentary, based upon a presentation to LCE... more Three years after the onset of the pandemic, the MLI Commentary, based upon a presentation to LCEEQ 2023, assess the educational impact and focuses on what matters in rebuilding Canadian K-12 education. Drawing upon the lessons of theprotracted COVID-19 disruption, a number of priorities come to the fore. It proposes a post-pandemic policy priority list and a recommended strategy for post-pandemic recovery.
MLI/ Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2022
An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent... more An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent revolt aimed at challenging centralized, top-down education management. Parent voice campaigns in about a dozen scattered school boards generated fears of a "Culture War,' but the movement fizzled out in the October 2022 round of elections.
AIMS, 2019
An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studi... more An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies that examines the high incidence of school day cancellations in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes and its impact upon student learning, student absenteeism, and disruptions in the workplace, It concludes with a series of specific policy reform recommendations.
Atlantic Institute for Market Sudies
Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their educ... more Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their education. School district policies from 2009 to 2018, such as “Good Schools to Great Schools” and the “Priority Schools” initiative, attempted to address the educational inequities, but little changed in the trajectory of student achievement.
Based upon a comparative analysis of reported test results in 119 Primary to Grade 9 schools, the study not only identifies the top performing schools, struggling schools, and most improved schools, but proposes more effective ways of raising student standards and closing the gap affecting students in disadvantaged school communities.
Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatine... more Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatineau, QC: Canadian Museum of History and University of Ottawa Press, 2018), pp. 45-60.
One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once... more One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once dominated the rural and small-town landscape of Maritime Canada. From the 1920s to the 1960s, one-room schoolhouses were gradually supplanted due to school consolidation, which was most actively promoted by influential American educational administrator Edgar Morphet (1895─1990) and a new breed of twentieth-century educational planners. Driven by a relentless "bigger is better" philosophy, Morphet and his Canadian disciples came to dominate school planning, design, and organization in the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) despite regular and ongoing resistance from rural communities. Clear signs of that resistance still survive today in family discussions around the kitchen table.
Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in mos... more Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in most of the nation's ten provinces and three territories. Without a national education department, the promotion of 21 st century skills, technology and learning falls to provincial and territorial education authorities with varying degrees of commitment to K-12 technology education reform and classroom integration. National advocacy groups such as 21C Canada do hold sway over provincial ministers of education, but, so far, the implementation of 21 st century learning and the explicit teaching of 'digital literacies' is very uneven, particularly outside of the recognized eLearning leaders among the provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In spite of the tremendous potential for expansion of online learning and virtual schooling, the free market remains regulated and private providers are largely absent. Provincial or school district authorities promote a 'growth-management' strategy where online and blended learning are considered the next evolution of effective technology integration.
The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. Histo... more The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. History as an academic subject, once king of the social sciences, came, over the period 1960 to 2010, to occupy a smaller and smaller patch of the secondary school curriculum. Building upon insights gleaned from Bob Davis' 1995 book Whatever Happened to High School History?, veteran teacher, textbook writer and education professor Paul W. Bennett analyzes the impact of rise of the " new social studies " in the 1970s, the spread of the so-called " skills mania " of the 1980s, and the demise of the prevailing national narrative on the teaching of the subject. Summoning up lessons learned in the Ontario history classroom, he demonstrates how the fragmentation of the history-centred social studies curriculum contributed to the so-called " Canadian History Crisis " of the 1990s. In the wake of the 1995 Quebec Referendum, the teaching of Canadian history resurfaced as a major public policy issue. The recent advent of the " Historical Thinking " movement, sparked by UBC education professor Peter Seixas, signalled the beginning of a more recent revival and Trent University historian Christopher Dummitt's 2009 call in Contesting Clio's Craft to " move beyond inclusion " has begun to close the gap in the teaching of history between the university and high school levels.
Macdonald-Laurier Institure , 2024
A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12... more A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12 schools. Can historical thinking flourish with the subject disappearing in schools? The paper examines and critically evaluates recent initiatives focusing on teaching historical skills while student enrolments in history courses shrink and lose ground in the overall curriculum.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute , 2024
A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and po... more A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and policy responses in Canadam the United States and around the world. Researched and written for the MLI in response to Jonatyhan Haidt's the Anxious Generation (2024). It offers comprehensive analysis, proposes and cross-sector strategy, complete with policy recommendations.
Cardus Research Report , 2023
A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 di... more A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 disruption and school shutdowns on students, teachers, families and schools. It assesses learning loss, psych-social impacts, and the effectiveness of post-pandemic recovery initiatives. It demonstrates that "Long COVID" has had lingering effects on the pandemic generation.
Education & Law, 2023
A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory refor... more A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory reform initiatives, and a range of policy options for affirming professional standards, monitoring teacher conduct and 'weeding out' the small but everpresent proportion of teachers found to be a risk to students.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023
A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University ... more A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University mathematics education professor Jo Boaler, and its implications for mathematics teachinng and learning in Canadian k-12 education. It makes the case that Boaler’s work is at odds with evidence-based research in the science of learning and may be potentially damaging to a whole generation of elementary school-aged children.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023
Three years after the onset of the pandemic, the MLI Commentary, based upon a presentation to LCE... more Three years after the onset of the pandemic, the MLI Commentary, based upon a presentation to LCEEQ 2023, assess the educational impact and focuses on what matters in rebuilding Canadian K-12 education. Drawing upon the lessons of theprotracted COVID-19 disruption, a number of priorities come to the fore. It proposes a post-pandemic policy priority list and a recommended strategy for post-pandemic recovery.
MLI/ Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2022
An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent... more An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent revolt aimed at challenging centralized, top-down education management. Parent voice campaigns in about a dozen scattered school boards generated fears of a "Culture War,' but the movement fizzled out in the October 2022 round of elections.
AIMS, 2019
An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studi... more An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies that examines the high incidence of school day cancellations in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes and its impact upon student learning, student absenteeism, and disruptions in the workplace, It concludes with a series of specific policy reform recommendations.
Atlantic Institute for Market Sudies
Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their educ... more Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their education. School district policies from 2009 to 2018, such as “Good Schools to Great Schools” and the “Priority Schools” initiative, attempted to address the educational inequities, but little changed in the trajectory of student achievement.
Based upon a comparative analysis of reported test results in 119 Primary to Grade 9 schools, the study not only identifies the top performing schools, struggling schools, and most improved schools, but proposes more effective ways of raising student standards and closing the gap affecting students in disadvantaged school communities.
Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatine... more Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatineau, QC: Canadian Museum of History and University of Ottawa Press, 2018), pp. 45-60.
One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once... more One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once dominated the rural and small-town landscape of Maritime Canada. From the 1920s to the 1960s, one-room schoolhouses were gradually supplanted due to school consolidation, which was most actively promoted by influential American educational administrator Edgar Morphet (1895─1990) and a new breed of twentieth-century educational planners. Driven by a relentless "bigger is better" philosophy, Morphet and his Canadian disciples came to dominate school planning, design, and organization in the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) despite regular and ongoing resistance from rural communities. Clear signs of that resistance still survive today in family discussions around the kitchen table.
Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in mos... more Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in most of the nation's ten provinces and three territories. Without a national education department, the promotion of 21 st century skills, technology and learning falls to provincial and territorial education authorities with varying degrees of commitment to K-12 technology education reform and classroom integration. National advocacy groups such as 21C Canada do hold sway over provincial ministers of education, but, so far, the implementation of 21 st century learning and the explicit teaching of 'digital literacies' is very uneven, particularly outside of the recognized eLearning leaders among the provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In spite of the tremendous potential for expansion of online learning and virtual schooling, the free market remains regulated and private providers are largely absent. Provincial or school district authorities promote a 'growth-management' strategy where online and blended learning are considered the next evolution of effective technology integration.
The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. Histo... more The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. History as an academic subject, once king of the social sciences, came, over the period 1960 to 2010, to occupy a smaller and smaller patch of the secondary school curriculum. Building upon insights gleaned from Bob Davis' 1995 book Whatever Happened to High School History?, veteran teacher, textbook writer and education professor Paul W. Bennett analyzes the impact of rise of the " new social studies " in the 1970s, the spread of the so-called " skills mania " of the 1980s, and the demise of the prevailing national narrative on the teaching of the subject. Summoning up lessons learned in the Ontario history classroom, he demonstrates how the fragmentation of the history-centred social studies curriculum contributed to the so-called " Canadian History Crisis " of the 1990s. In the wake of the 1995 Quebec Referendum, the teaching of Canadian history resurfaced as a major public policy issue. The recent advent of the " Historical Thinking " movement, sparked by UBC education professor Peter Seixas, signalled the beginning of a more recent revival and Trent University historian Christopher Dummitt's 2009 call in Contesting Clio's Craft to " move beyond inclusion " has begun to close the gap in the teaching of history between the university and high school levels.
McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020
A provocative and revealing analysis of Canadian K-12 public education that will serve as catalys... more A provocative and revealing analysis of Canadian K-12 public education that will serve as catalyst for public policy debate and discussion.
Turning Points in Nova Scotia's History , 2019
T he hour is late and the clock is ticking for rural and small town communities in Nova Scotia. S... more T he hour is late and the clock is ticking for rural and small town communities in Nova Scotia. School closures capture the news headlines, but they signal a more profound development: the gradual, yet relentless, decline in rural populations and a demographic shift that threatens to extinguish what remains of rural communities in Nova Scotia. In The Last Stand, Paul W. Bennett responds to the looming crisis with a new, more accountable, efficient and sustainable model of public schooling.
