Research on Teaching in Canada: Some Projects and Prospects

P.J. Hammel is a professor of Education at the University of
Saskatchewan.

To the casual observer it would seem apparent that the general public, especially the parent with children in school, is more concerned with and pays more attention to the nature and quality of teaching in Canadian schools than any other element of the educational system. It is ironic, therefore, to note that this work suggests that, to date, the teaching act has actually received less attention from educational researchers in Canada than other elements of the educational process. The intent of this work is to remedy the situation somewhat. It is the result of a conference about research on teaching held in December 1982 at the University of British Columbia; researchers came together to share information and to look at future needs and directions for research on teaching. Presented in two parts, it provides, first, major papers describing five recent research projects which “portray much of what Canadian research on teaching is currently addressing and how researchers are going about their investigations.” The second part focuses on participants’ reactions to both the present situation and future potential; generally, they reflect an optimism that researchers will eventually “describe, understand, and improve teaching by continuing to research questions about it” and by continuing to communicate their findings.

Because this work attempts only to provide information about the current state of Canadian research on teaching for those who are actively engaged in such research but did not attend the conference, it will appeal only to that type of reader. It will not interest the reader who is not well versed in the methodologies and terminologies of educational research.