A historical analysis of the discourse of the purpose of higher education provides a typology of four distinct discourses which reflect the social, political, and economic context within which the changing rationale for funding universities has been defined. By analyzing where a technology-driven, international university could be located in the interstices of these competing discourses, the typology can assist educational leaders, administrators, and policymakers to more readily identify key obstacles to be overcome, opportunities that could be developed, and the latent dysfunctions that need to be anticipated to avoid both collateral damage and the resulting determined pushback. Forewarned is forearmed, and understanding which aspects of which discourses lend support or undermine such a project could greatly assist proponents in seeking support and avoiding missteps.

Mary and Robert Runté's chapter illustrates how teaching excellence is both historically and culturally situated. Through an examination of four discourses on the purpose of higher education: enlightenment, human capital, manpower, and consumerism, they identify the shifts in purpose of higher education according to the re-alignment of vested interests between the student and the state over time. From a playground for the privileged to explore according to whim, to satisfying the need for competent graduates ready to enter professional careers, these shifts have significant impact on how excellent teaching is defined and determined. Importantly, the authors contend that measures of teaching excellence need to align sector, institutional, staff and student expectations if they are to successfully drive up excellence.

A brief historical overview of the evolution of the public discourse of the purpose of higher education is undertaken to provide context for current debates over investment in, and reform of, post-secondary education. Four separate discourses are identified: higher education for enlightenment, to develop human capital, as manpower management, and as consumerism. The dominant discourse of the purpose of higher education is shown to have changed from learning for its own sake to an emphasis on manpower planning and consumerism. The separate assumptions and implications of these distinct discourses are often confabulated with little apparent awareness of the contradictory nature of rhetoric drawn from more than one discourse at a time. The authors provide a simple analytical framework to cut through the confusion.

This report on the Alberta Student Assessment Study describes the context, methodology, and emergent themes. It outlines the purposes and uses of assessment according to the various stakeholder groups. Using both qualitative and quantitative data from students and parents, as well as educators at all levels, there were six areas or themes that emerged for further exploration: politics of assessment, decision making, teacher learning, communication and relationships, instructional leadership, and fairness and equity.

Company support for employee volunteerism (CSEV) is one mechanism whereby businesses meet the escalating expectation for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Institutional theory is applied to examine patterns of convergence and divergence in CSR programs cross culturally, with a particular focus on intra-country cultural differences. Using a national (Canada) survey of businesses, we examine cross-cultural differences regarding CSEV in two regions of Canada-French Canada (Quebec) and English Canada. Our results suggest that cultural differences, rooted in historical conditions, may shape CSEV program implementation in Canada. Quebec companies are less likely to engage in CSEV. If they do encourage employee volunteerism, they may exclude certain cause types from support and appear to focus more on the external benefits of CSEV, such as community perception, than do firms in English Canada. Recognizing that no nation is culturally homogenous, our study illustrates that CSR and CSEV may vary significantly whenever or wherever cultural differences occur. Businesses and nonprofit organizations need to consider culture as an important variable when implementing corporate volunteer programs.

The proliferation of centralized examinations erodes teacher autonomy by decreasing teachers' responsibility for evaluation, enforcing centralized curriculum, reducing teachers' control over the outcome of their labour, and introducing new and inappropriate measures of teacher productivity. A case study of provincial testing in Alberta, however, reveals that teachers have retained their assessment skills and their responsibility for evaluation technique, and so cannot be said to have undergone deskilling. Instead, Alberta's teachers appear to have undergone ideological proletarianization, an alternative form of control in which workers are delegated considerable technical discretion but only in the implementation of externally set goals. La proliferation des examens du ministere implique l'erosion de l'autonomie des enseignants par la diminution de leur responsabilite en matiere d'evaluation, par la mise en place de programmes centralises, par la r6duction du controle qu'exercent les enseignants sur les resultats de leur labeur et par l'introduction d'outils qui mesurent de fagon inad6quate la productivite des enseignants. Une 6tude de cas portant sur les examens provinciaux en Alberta revele toutefois que les enseignants conservent leurs aptitudes a 6valuer et leur responsabilit6 en matiere de techniques d'evaluation; on ne saurait donc parler de d6qualification. En fait, les enseignants albertains semblent avoir subi une prol6tarianisation id6ologique, soit une autre forme de controle dans laquelle les travailleurs se voient confier d'enormes pouvoirs techniques, mais seulement pour la mise en ceuvre de buts 6tablis de l'exterieur.