The need for effective leadership rotation/succession strategies in Canada has become more apparent in recent years. Using data from a 3-year, Pan-Canadian study, one of the first to explore succession from a decisionmaker’s perspective, the authors explore trends related to cultural contexts in k-12, college and university settings. The central question is: why have increases in the participation rates of women and people of ‘different’ cultural backgrounds been so slow to change? The authors found recurring themes about gender, as well as cultural backgrounds and concluded that specific ‘rules of control’ were being used by decision makers. The study participants repeatedly claimed that while equity may have been an issue in the past, it is not a factor now in the selection of leaders. Despite such claims, the data clarify just how inequities are perpetuated today.

Our study investigated patterns of female participation as secondary principals that have varied across contexts and changed slowly. Researchers interviewed decision makers from a purposive sample of 10 urban and rural school districts in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, gathering data from structured telephone interviews, policy documents, and statistical information. The needs of a system took precedence over those of individuals. Many participants denied that gender influenced their rotation/succession practices; however, they identified differences by gender in leadership style and aspirations. Complex rules of control affected the participation of women as secondary principals. Gender clearly affects the participation of women as secondary school principals. Key words: gender, leadership, schools Les auteurs analysent les modes de participation de directrices d’école secondaire, lesquels varient d’un contexte à l’autre et changent lentement. Ils ont interviewé des décideuses provenant d’un échantillon choisi à dessein de dix arrondissements scolaires urbains et ruraux en Ontario, en Nouvelle‐Écosse, en Saskatchewan et en Colombie‐Britannique. Les données furent colligées au moyen d’entrevues téléphoniques structurées, le tout complété par l’analyse de documents de politiques et de renseignements statistiques. Leurs conclusions semblent indiquer que les besoins du système l’emportent sur les besoins de la personne. Un grand nombre des répondantes contestaient l’idée que le fait d’être un homme ou une femme exerce une influence sur les méthodes de rotation/succession ; elles notaient par contre des différences selon les sexes pour ce qui est du style de leadership, des orientations et des aspirations. Des règles complexes de contrôle affectent la participation des femmes à titre de directrices d’école secondaire. Le sexe affecte clairement la participation des femmes en tant que directrices d’école secondaire. Mots clés : genre, leadership, écoles

Spire Corporation is addressing the Photovoltaic Manufacturing R&D project goals of improving photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing processes and products while reducing costs and providing a technology foundation that supports significant manufacturing scale-up. To accomplish this, we are focusing our efforts on the design of a large-area utility-scale module and the development of the necessary manufacturing techniques and equipment to manufacture such a module in a high-volume production environment. A three-phase program is under way for developing and demonstrating new automated systems for fabricating very large PV modules ideal for use in multi-megawatt grid-connected applications. We designed a large-area (1.57 m x 3.68 m) 800-W module, and we are developing associated module production equipment that will minimize the total installed system cost for utility-scale PV arrays. Activities in Phase 2 focused on the development of automation for module materials lay-up, cell string busing, and module lamination; enhancements to the cell stringing and lamination processes; and performance testing of large-area modules.

Purpose: This article focuses on the sustainability of reform through the lens of teachers' nostalgia-the major form of memory among a demographically dominant cohort of experienced older teachers. Unwanted change evokes senses of nostalgia for these lost missions that take two forms: social and political. As teachers age, their responses to change are influenced not only by processes of degeneration (loss of commitment, energy, enthusiasm, etc.) but also by the agendas of the generation-historically situated missions formed decades ago that teachers have carried with them throughout their careers.Findings: Findings indicate that the effects of cumulative demographic and educational change and the resulting nostalgias have left teachers feeling resistant to mandated reform, insecure about their own professional capacity, disenchanted with their students, and pessimistic about their schools' future. The results of this research have practical implications for policy makers, administrators, and classroom teachers.

In this paper, we explore the conceptual, empirical and strategic literature related to parent involvement in educatio n. Parent involvement in schooling has traditionally taken many forms including parents helping their children with homework, parent-teacher interviews, parent nights, special consultation on student problems, parent councils, and parent volunteer help in the school and the classroom. Some evidence suggests that activities of this nature can have beneficial effects on student learning. From a socio-cultural perspective, however, we will review other evidence indicating that traditional relationships between teachers and parents can also perpetuate a power imbalance in favour of teachers. In recent years, teachers' relationships with parents have become more uncertain and contentious. Parents are becom ing more questioning and critical about issues of curriculum, the quality of instruction and practices used to assess and evalu ate their children. Home-school relationships are changing for a multitude of reasons including greater diversity of the parent population , changes in family structures, increasing school ch oice, more parental involvement in the governance of schools, new methods of assessment and reporting, and special education legislation. These developments have implications for parent involvement and stud ent achievement. Formulating new strategies for inv olving parents in their children's learning is particularly important during this time of profound social change and educational reform in Ontario, nationally and internationally. Since parents are not a homogeneous group, conflicts concerning expectations between parents and teachers, culture between home and school, and institutional barriers are bound to arise. Involving parents as partners requires an understanding of parents' perceptions of schoo ling, their aspirations for their children, their approach to parenting, their expectations of teachers, an d their concept of their role and respons ibilities. We first examine child-parent interactions both inside and outside the home through the theoretical lens of stages in a child's cognitive, emotional and social development, explore the barriers that divide teachers and parents, paren ts and schools, and parents and their children, identify the socio-cultural factors that influence school-parent understanding, and propose strategic approaches that can enhance communication, community and partnerships between parents, teachers and schools. In our consideration of the empirical literature, we paid special attention to exemplary stud ies and models which have received auth oritative recognition in the field and cutting edge research that provides new insights into parent-teacher interaction. We argue that the structures of schooling must sh ift from closed and protectionist to …

New automated processes and equipment are being developed at Spire Corporation for photovoltaic module, production, under the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) project. These processes apply to both crystalline and thin film modules, and address the assembly and testing steps after solar cell lamination. Currently, most module manufacturers use little or no automation for these tasks. The implementation of automated systems is expected to result in labor cost savings, improved product quality, and increased throughput. A reduction in repetitive stress injuries may also be achieved by eliminating product lifting and manual edge trimming tasks. The system designs and automated processes developed in this program are presented.

This report describes the automated systems developed for PV module assembly and testing processes after lamination. These processes are applicable to a broad range of module types, including those made with wafer-based and thin-film solar cells. Survey data and input from module manufacturers gathered during site visits were used to define system capabilities and process specifications. Spire completed mechanical, electrical, and software engineering for four automation systems: a module edge trimming system, the SPI-TRIM 350; an edge sealing and framing system, the SPI-FRAMER 350; an integrated module testing system, the SPI-MODULE QA 350; and a module buffer storage system, the SPI-BUFFER 350. A fifth system for junction-box installation, the SPI-BOXER 350, was nearly completed during the program. A new-size solar simulator, the SPI-SUN SIMULATOR 350i, was designed as part of the SPI-MODULE QA 350. This simulator occupies minimal production floor space, and its test area is large enough to handle most production modules. The automated systems developed in this program are designed for integration to create automated production lines.

Drawing on research in Canada as well as studies in Australia and elsewhere, this paper challenges the arguments of Smyth and Dow (British Journal of Sociology in Education, 19(3), pp. 291-303) that outcomes-based education necessarily embodies a form of technical rationality which routinizes, proletarianizes and deskills teachers and their work. This paper criticizes Smyth and Dow for applying a universalistic and monolithic labour process theory to outcomes issues, for paying little or no attention to published evidence and argument on outcomes, and for being insensitive to the variable geometries of the outcomes phenomenon across different contexts. This paper, by contrast, identifies how investigating outcomes in a context of socialist policy-making, where equity goals are explicit and high discretion is granted to teachers, can contribute to clearer understanding of the variable postmodern geometries and educational possibilities of outcomes technology. These possibilities include fostering stronger collegiality among teachers, and democratic inclusion of pupils and parents in the teaching and learning process.

This paper explores the ways in which the culture and organization of teaching influences the experiences and emotions secondary teachers report in their interactions with parents. Hargreaves' (1998) framework, based on the emotional politics of teaching, is modified and applied to the analysis of 68 secondary teacher interview responses from 2. studies that took place in 1997 and 1999 in Ontario, Canada. Four themes that emerged in-the data were-examined:_ (11 the prevalence-of interaction rather than relationship between secondary teachers and parents; (2) teachers' sense of moral purpose and notions of caring that influence how they interact with parents and interpret these interactions; (3) mutual surveillance between parents and teachers; and (4) notions of teacher professionalism as they :shape teacher-parent interactions. Findings indicate that parent-teacher contracts are typically episodic, school-based, and rule-bound. The paper closes with questions and suggestions for further research. (Contains 94 references.) (Author/SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. SCOPE OF INTEREST NOTICE The ERIC Facility has essigne this document for processing to: In Our judgment, this document is also of interest to the Clearinghouses noted to the right. Indexing should reflect their special points of view. Closing emotional distance: An analysis of parent-teacher interactions in secondary schools Sue Lasky and Shawn Moore The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 10TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE ON SCHOOL, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 24, 2000 New Orleans BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY S Laskr TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy.

Summary Although today's welfare assistants undertake a variety of duties, many of which are of an ‘educational’ nature, their training opportunities remain limited. This paper describes the induction courses available in Wiltshire to newly‐qualified and inexperienced assistants appointed to work with children with special educational needs in ordinary, mainly primary, schools. The aims, general arrangements, content and evaluation of these courses are considered as well as possible developments for the future. Also described are the recently published training materials (SAINTS) which were developed during these courses.