Past Projects
Welcome to the CIDEC research projects page. Here, we showcase a diverse and interdisciplinary range of past research initiatives conducted by CIDEC's faculty and students, reflecting our commitment to exploring critical issues in global education. Our projects have addressed key topics such as international collaboration, educational policy, global citizenship, and school improvement in the Global South and Global North. From transformative university linkages between Canada and China to examining the role of civil society in education, these studies offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing education systems worldwide. Explore this page to learn more about CIDEC’s impactful research.
Canada-China Educational Relations
Canada-China University Linkages (2012-2014)
We were stimulated by celebrations around the 40th Anniversary of Canada-China Relations in 2010 to design a project that would look specifically at large scale national level efforts at collaboration between Canadian and Chinese universities from 1983 to 2001. After the devastation of the Cultural Revolution, Canada was the only Western country that concentrated its development aid on higher education in China, and the projects it supported were quite different from those of the World Bank, which focused on infrastructural development. CIDA projects supported a large number of university linkages in the areas of education, agriculture, environment, health and management studies, with a particular emphasis on collaboration in the development of faculty and of new courses.
Our project intends to reflect on the historical contribution made by the universities and other social institutions on both sides that were involved in these linkages. What kind of long-term impact can be traced, and what lessons have been learned? How did the projects specifically address areas of knowledge that were crucial to China’s rapid transition towards the position of economic and geo-political leadership it holds today in the world community? What new synergies are now emerging between universities in the two countries that might be built upon in new forms of collaboration?
- Dr. Ruth Hayhoe, Principal Investigator (Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education)
- Dr. Julia Pan, Co-Investigator (Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education)
- Dr. Qiang Zha, Co-Investigator (York University)
- Phirom Leng, Research Team (PhD Candidate, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education)
- Qin Liu, Research Team (PhD Candidate, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education)
Project Publications
Ruth Hayhoe, Julia Pan, & Qiang Zha. (2013). Lessons from the legacy of Canada-China university linkages.
许美德（Ruth Hayhoe), 潘乃容，查强. (2012 in Chinese). 对于中加大学合作的历史性反思 (Historical reflections on Canada-China university linkages).
Phirom Leng & Julia Pan. (2013). The issue of mutuality in Canada-China educational collaboration.
Phirom Leng. (2014). University linkages and international development assistance: Lessons from Canada-China experience.
Related Literature
Huhua Cao & Vivienne Poy. (Eds.) (2011).The China challenge: Sino-Canadian relations in the 21st century
B. (Bernie) Michael Frolic. (2011). Canada-China at 40 – with a response from Ruth Hayhoe.
Edward T. Jackson (2003). How university projects produce development results.
Niels Klabunde (2009). Translating the Olympic Spirit into a Canadian-Chinese year of education and sciences.
Maire O’Brien. (2000). The implementation of CIDA’s China program: Resolving the disjuncture between structure and process (Doctoral thesis). York University.
Julia Pan. (1996). The role of Canadian universities in international development: A case study of the Canada-China university linkage program (Doctoral thesis). University of Toronto.
Pitman B. Potter & Thomas Adams. (Eds.) (2011). Issues in Canada-China relations.
Jennifer Wilson (2001). A history of CIDA’s China program.
Qiang Zha. (2011). Canadian and Chinese collaboration on education: From unilateral to bilateral exchanges.
- “Transforming Canada-China Educational Cooperation: Significant Legacies and Future Challenges”
- “Canada-China Conference in May 2014, Tsinghua University, Beijing”
- “SSHRC Sponsored Conference in Regina October 2011: Canada-China Relations: Past, Present, Future”
University of Regina, under the auspice of Social Science and Humanity Research Council of Canada, hosted a Symposium on Canada-China Relations: Past, Present and Future in October 2011. The symposium was part of celebration of the 40th anniversary of Canada-China Diplomatic Relations established in 1971.
The aim of this academic symposium was to create a conversation between established and newer scholars on various aspects of Canada-China relations, updating the developments and outcomes of the bilateral joint activities in the last two decades. The 40+ participants were mostly scholars from various Canadian universities who were involved in Canada-China joint research and exchange works, plus representatives from Canadian government departments such as DEFAIT and Library and Archives Canada.
Professor Paul Evans, the Director of the Institute for Asian Research, University of British Columbia delivered the keynote speech “Beyond Engagement: Canada and China 2020”, and another special dinner guest speaker was Mr. Norman Webster, the former Editor-in-chief and former Peking Bureau Chief, the Global and Mail, who had witnessed and recorded the Canada-China diplomatic relations in the last 40 years.
Qiang Zha and Julia Pan made a joint presentation on “Canada-China University Linkages in a New Era of Global Geo-Politics” in the opening session, and a paper entitled “A Historical Reflection on Canada-China University Linkage, co-authored by Ruth Hayhoe, Julia Pan and Qiang Zha is to be published in the symposium proceeding book in 2012. Its main points are found in a book chapter we have contributed to a new publication put out by the Chinese Ministry of Educaiton. See the second project publication above.
Research Trip to Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa in September 2012
The project team made a research trip to Quebec City, Montréal and Ottawa in late September 2012. The itinerary included visiting the Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval, the Department of Geography and the Law School of Université de Montréal, as well as the offices of CIDA and the AUCC in Ottawa. The trip concluded with an evening lecture at the National Archives in Ottawa, under the auspices of the Canada-China Friendship Society.
Seminar at the Institute of Asian Research, UBC, May 2012
“Past and Future in Canadian University Linkages with China: Best Practices and Next-Generation Challenges”
In this interview, based on a lecture at The University of British Columbia in May 2012, Dr. Hayhoe reflects on the arc of previous Canada-China education projects, Canada’s legacy, and mutual learning and lessons for each state partner.
Transforming Canada-China Educational Cooperation (2015-2016)
Significant Legacies and Future Challenges 中加教育合作的转型：
辉煌的过去和未来的挑战
This conference brought together leaders and scholars involved in cooperative linkages between Chinese and Canadian universities across the fields of agriculture, education, engineering, environment, marine sciences, medicine, management, law and minority cultures between 1982 and the early 21st century. Keynote speakers analysed the long-term contribution of these projects, which were supported by the Canadian International Development Agency and spanned a dynamic and important period in the socio-economic development of China as well as Canada. Concurrent papers illustrated ways in which the legacy of these projects are stimulating current cooperation between universities in Canada and China. was published by McGill Queens University Press in June of 2016. It contains 12 chapters developed from keynote papers, as well as an Introduction and Conclusion, while papers that did not become book chapters are available on this website. PowerPoints mounted under the names of keynote and concurrent speakers provide detailed and vivid documentation of the history of collaboration in each field. A special issue of Frontiers of Education in China containing six papers from concurrent sessions on came out in September of 2015 and a second one on came out in December of 2016.
Global Education & Citizenship
Global Citizenship Education (2004)
This resource provides teachers and other educational stakeholders with a range of ideas and practices for teaching and learning about citizenship within today’s global context. It is intended that this resource will be helpful to those who are critically considering ways in which global perspectives might be infused into our classes and school-wide programs. The ideas and practices were investigated, developed, and piloted by practicing teachers and teacher educators in school settings in the Toronto area with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency’s Global Classroom Initiative.
UNICEF Global Education Report (2007)
UNICEF asked Dr. Mundy and her team to develop a study that would provide a snapshot of how global citizenship was being taught in the Canadian classroom. The report covers all 13 provinces and territories in Canada, focusing on grades four through six. This study addresses two questions:
- What is the current state of global education inside Canadian elementary schools, and how is this being supported by schools, districts, and provincial ministries, as well as by non-governmental (NGO) partners?
- How can Canadian organizations (including UNICEF) better encourage and support global education in Canadian schools?
Educational Conversations Around the Globe (2014)
“Working With, Against And Despite Global ‘Best Practices’: Educational Conversations Around The Globe”
Edited by: Sarfaroz Niyozov, Associate Professor, CIDEC, 小黄书视频, University of Toronto andPaul Tarc, Associate Professor, RICE, University of Western, Ontario
What are global best practices? What is the character of these so-called best practices, their conceptual underpinnings and routes of assemblage? Which ‘best practices’ are travelling, how, and to which ‘local’ educational domains? How are they interpreted and engaged in local contexts and what are their effects? And ultimately, how are progressive and critically-minded educators to work with, against and despite global ‘best practices?’
To address these conditions and questions as framed above, a symposium for Ontario based comparative and international educators and researchers was convened at the Ontario Institute of Studies of Education, University of Toronto on April 25, 2014. This forum was a collaborative project between the two comparative and international education centers in Ontario: Western University’s Research in International and Contemporary Education (RICE) and 小黄书视频’s Comparative, International and Development Education Center (CIDEC). Though small in scope and modest in its format, this symposium proved to be a unique opportunity for Canadian education scholars, practitioners, and graduate students to converge and to critically and collectively engage these questions. Twelve faculty and twenty graduate students from Universities of Toronto, York, Western and Ottawa served as panelists and discussants.
Professor Gita Steiner-Khamsi, a leading scholar in the field of educational borrowing and lending, from Teachers College, Columbia University gave the keynote address. In addition 80 participants from Ontario’s education faculties, NGOs and government agencies attended this one-day intensive symposium.
The graduate student panelists were invited to submit written extensions of their presentations after the symposium to produce a report. 小黄书视频 half of the graduate student panelists contributed to the compendium. Symposium organizers Paul Tarc and Sarfaroz Niyozov wrote the introduction and keynote, Gita Steiner-Khamsi, contributed the afterword.
Educational Systems and School Improvement
School Improvement in Developing Countries (2014)
This consultancy was carried out under contract for the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) to assist the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) with consolidating thinking around school improvement in the context of the AKDN’s experience and work. This assignment involved a review and consolidation of the AKDN’s experience to date in school improvement in Africa and Asia; a summary of relevant international research on school improvement; and planning and facilitating a one-day meeting that brought together relevant AKDN staff with thought leaders in this area to share information on the state of the knowledge on school improvement and to map out potential areas for future focus and amplified impact. The invited external scholars included Andy Hargreaves (Boston College), Penny Sebring (University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research); and Luis Crouch (RTI International). A final discussion paper entitled “School Improvement in Developing Countries: A Synthesis of Experiences and Lessons Learned” by Professors Anderson and Mundy was submitted in September 2014. Professor Anderson participated in a panel discussion based on the major themes and findings of the discussion paper organized by AKFC in Ottawa (February 12, 2015) for Canadian international development agencies involved in school improvement work in developing countries.
Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa (SESEA) (2014)
Contributors: Stephen Anderson, Momina Afridi, Daniela Bramwell, Magdalena Fernandez, Karen Mundy, Emily Quinan and Robyn Read
The Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (formerly CIDA) sponsor the Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa (SESEA) project a five year primary education improvement initiative in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda). As part of this initiative the Learning and Dialogue component of the SESEA project commissioned 小黄书视频 Professors Stephen Anderson and Karen Mundy to conduct a needs assessment of current education research priorities in the region and to advise on the development of a Call for Proposals for research supported by SESEA. The research agenda setting process included the production of several rapid reviews to synthesize research-based knowledge, issues and knowledge gaps identified in the literature concerning the following thematic areas: teaching and learning, teacher development, school management and leadership, and parent and community involvement. The rapid reviews were undertaken with the support of several graduate students, including: Magdalena Fernandez, Daniela Bramwell, Emily Quinan and Momina Afridi. Robyn Read designed and coordinated the rapid review methodology.
The final documents included in this series of rapid reviews focused primarily on knowledge from extensive systematic reviews of the literature related to the sub-themes of this series, supplemented by recent empirical studies of particular relevance to East Africa and other developing country contexts. The list of key documents synthesized for this review of teaching and learning appear in the references at the end of each review.
A joint initiative between the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) and the Government of Canada, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).
Elementary School Success Study (2013)
Characteristics of Elementary Schools Achieving Consistently High or Low Percentages of Students at the Provincial Standard on EQAO Assessments (May 2013)
Authors Include: Stephen E. Anderson, Joelle Rodway-Macri, Anna Yashkina, and Daniela Bramwell.
This study was commissioned by Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office and led by Dr. Stephen Anderson. The study investigates and compares characteristics and factors associated with school effectiveness in a sample of 22 Ontario elementary schools. The schools were selected for variation in performance levels on the provincial accountability tests (high vs. low performing) and student SES characteristics (high/average SES, low SES). In each school the data included a survey administered to all K-6 teachers, individual interviews with two primary and two junior division teachers, principal interviews, and focus group interviews with 5-6 teachers, parents, and grades 5-6 students. The survey inquired about teachers’ professional practices (e.g., instructional and assessment methods, collaboration with other teachers, professional learning, data use), teacher beliefs (e.g., sense of efficacy), principal leadership, and parental involvement. The interviews asked teachers to comment on teaching practices, school goals, professional collaboration, professional development, school and community characteristics, school improvement activities, and parental involvement.
Teacher Development and Professional Learning
Issues for Teachers (2017)
The first edition of this anthology grew out of a collaborative effort among faculty in the Comparative, International, and Development Education Centre at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (小黄书视频, UT). Convinced of the value of introducing pre-service and practicing educators to comparative and international educational research linked to their professional concerns, we produced a text that offers broad exposure to international issues and explores education in diverse cultural settings.
In this second edition, we have expanded our scope, adding nine new authors, including some pre-eminent comparative education scholars from around the world. All chapters have been updated and revised. We have added two entirely new chapters: one on human rights education (Chapter Eight by Monisha Bajaj); and one examining the internationalization of schooling (Chapter Twelve by Julia Resnik). Additionally, this second edition includes a more specific definition of the field, addressed to teachers and their interests (Chapter One), more on teachers and their involvement in international education, and a stronger focus on issues of diversity and social justice education.
In this new edition, we have organized the chapters into three thematic sections, to facilitate critical comparative thinking: a) (Re)Forming schooling: philosophy, policy and school organization; b) Justice, knowledges for change, and social inclusion; c) Education in the world system: Globalization and development. Through these in-depth portrayals of educational issues, perspectives and practices in a wide range of world contexts, we hope to stimulate readers to think comparatively and critically about their own educational practices and experiences.
The book is designed as a resource for initial and continuing teacher education and graduate education. Each chapter introduces major issues within the ?eld of comparative and international education, highlighting signi?cant research contributions, educational practices, and implications for teachers within each topic. The authors draw on comparative research from the Americas, Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. We have used the Canadian context as a case study in a few chapters; however, the concepts presented are easily extended to various North American and even global contexts.
Instructors who wish to use this book as a class text may choose to follow the given order of chapters and sections, or to change the order according to their course objectives. There are cross-references throughout the text to link learning across the various chapters and to highlight common themes. At the end of each chapter, key questions for reflection and discussion, along with a list of suggested readings, are intended to stimulate discussion about the chapter contents in relation to learners’ own experience and teaching goals. Each chapter is also paired with at least one suggested audio-visual resource, carefully selected to provide students with an opportunity to “experience” education in other cultures and contexts without having to leave the classroom. You can find the complete list below with links to all resources. In our own courses using this text at 小黄书视频, UT, the ?lms provoked animated debate and discussion, offering participants a visceral feeling for the challenges and rewards of exploring educational issues through a comparative lens.
Professional Learning Networks In Action (2017)
Contributors: Dr. Stephen Anderson (小黄书视频), Dr. Mary Drinkwater (小黄书视频), Dr. Caroline Manion (小黄书视频), Wesley Galt (小黄书视频), Dr. Maina Gioko, Rose Iminza, Isaiah Njagi, Rupen Chande (Project Advisor) Aga Khan Academy (Mombasa)
The Aga Khan Foundation Canada and Global Affairs Canada supported a five-year project to strengthen teacher education and support systems to improve learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy at pre-primary and primary school levels in target areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (Strengthening Education Systems in East Africa – SESEA).
Funding for SESEA and this research was provided by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and Global Affairs Canada. The findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the authors and do not represent the official positions or policies of the funders or of the researchers’ educational institutions.
This Executive Summary reviews findings from a study of primary school teacher and head teacher professional learning networks (PLNs) in coastal Kenya. The PLNs were created by the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa Professional Development Center (PDC) to extend its outreach programs for practicing head teachers and teachers through the creation of four professional associations:
- Mombasa Educational Leaders Association (MELA), established in 2010
- Kwale Educational Leaders Group (KELG), established in 2012 in the rural county of Kwale
- English Language Teacher Association (ELTA), established in 2010 in Mombasa
- Mathematics Teacher Association (MTA), established in 2014 in Mombasa
The associations are organized in school clusters and meet monthly at the cluster and association levels as self-governing professional learning networks (PLNs). At the time of the study each PLN had about 50 active members linked to 71 primary schools (some with multiple PLN members). The PLNs and research are part of a 5 year project to strengthen teacher development and support systems in East Africa funded by Aga Khan Foundation Canada and Global Affairs Canada.
Civil Society and Educational Change
Civil Society (2005)
In the fall of 2005, CIDA funded an eight-country desk study to help inform its efforts to support civil society participation in education sector-wide programs. The study was carried out by a research team lead by Professor Karen Mundy – Director of CIDEC at 小黄书视频/UT – and supported by a smaller team under Professor Richard Maclure at the University of Ottawa. Building on this initial desk research, field-based studies were then conducted in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali and Tanzania through the funding of CIDA and the IDRC. In this study, we were interested in providing a baseline assessment of those civil society organizations (CSOs) involved in education sector processes, with a focus on better understanding the nature and extent of CSO activities and capacities in the area of education governance. Consequently, the study offers insight and information which can be usefully applied to the development of specific mechanisms to enhance the participation of CSOs in basic education within the context of the new aid architecture.
A cross-case report was produced which offers a brief overview of the research study and highlights some of the initial findings from the desk studies. The review is preliminary and descriptive, with analysis and generalizable findings being the focus of our field studies of Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali and Tanzania.
Country Studies
Field-based studies were conducted in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali and Tanzania through the funding of CIDA and the IDRC. Two master theses also came out of this study.
- To provide a baseline assessment of the current capacities of civil society organizations in case countries to engage effectively in governance of the education sector.
- To provide insight into the quality and effectiveness of civil society participation in the planning and implementation of sector-wide reform initiatives that CIDA and its development partners are currently pursuing.
- To propose specific mechanisms to enhance the participation of national civil society organizations in the development and implementation of national education sector plans.
- To investigate possibilities for a longer-term collaborative program of support for Southern civil society organizations interested in joining with Southern and Northern research and policy institutions to become more effective education policy advocates and partners.
In addition, the study aimed to produce a state-of-the-art piece of comparative research that analyzes issues of governance, educational change and the role of civil society organizations across a series of case countries. Cross-case comparison was used to better understand the sources of variation in the character, capacity, and scope for civil society participation in education sector policy and governance activities. It also helped us identify best practices and model initiatives for civil society engagement in the education sector.
Contributors
- Dr. Karen Mundy, Principal Investigator (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
- Dr. Richard Maclure, Co-investigator (University of Ottawa)
- Suzanne Cherry, MA, Research Team (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
- Megan Haggerty, MA, Research Team (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
- Caroline Manion, PhD, Research Team (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
- Colette Mvoto Meyong (PhD. Candidate, University of Ottawa)
- Natalie Poulson, MA, Research Team (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
- Malini Sivasubramaniam-Davis, PhD Candidate, Research Team (小黄书视频, University of Toronto)
Partners
The Civil Society and Education Governance project has benefited from the funding and technical assistance provided by the following partners:
- Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
- Comparative, International and Development Education Centre (CIDEC)
- The Mali case benefited from the support of Réseau Ouest Centre Africain de Recherche en Education (ROCARE)/ The Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA).
- The Burkina Faso case benefited from the support of the .
- Driving the Bus: The Journey of National Education Coalitions (PDF)
- Evolving Partnerships: The Role of NGOs in Basic Education in Africa (PDF)
- Funding Change: Sustaining Civil Society Advocacy in Education (PDF)
- National Civil Society Education Funds: A Briefing Paper (PDF)
- Local Solutions to Global Challenges: Towards Effective Partnership in Basic Education: Final Report (PDF)
- 2005 Global Mid-Term Review Report (PDF) and Appendices (PDF)
