Congress 2021 blog edition
The Canadian Society for the Study of Education’s Foundations of Higher Education webcast at Congress 2021 was an open event featuring presentations by Sarah Elaine Eaton from the University of Calgary, James Czank from Lakehead University, Linda Wheeldon from Acadia University, Sandra Bruneau and Michelle Forrest.
Canadian higher education
Canadian higher education institutions were developed under the models of Britain and France.
“In some important respects, Canada's higher education is the story of a network of institutions that break all the rules in terms of accepted norms of organizational theory and system design”- Glen Jones.
Drawing on this quote, Eaton discussed Canada’s lack of a national system, National Ministry of Higher Education, National Education, Higher Education policy and National Quality Assessment accreditation mechanisms for higher education institutions.
Honour Codes, Student Conduct and academic integrity
Honour Codes date back to about 1736 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Eaton acknowledged that these codes were developed as a means to ensure honesty and honourable behaviour among the student population. She discussed the Honour Code rituals and ceremonies such as signing-in ceremonies, integrity pep rallies, student pledges and honesty exams.
In the past, students were expected not only to uphold academic integrity themselves but also to report any of their peers they suspect are engaging in academic misconduct.
In the early 1990s there was an emergence of a modified Honour Code, which still maintained the same rituals and ceremonies, but only encouraged, rather than mandated, students to report academic misconduct. Breaches of conduct were handled by the administration set up by students.
Years later, Greenberg’s research proposed a critique of the Honour Codes that pointed out that they are focused on rural compliance and behaviour control, and that there is an assumption of generalized ability across disciplines, with no regard for disciplinary differences and the application of ethical conduct. Greenberg’s research also notes that Honour Codes discourage collaborative learning as they promote individualistic approaches and knowledge claims.
According to Eaton, Honour Codes discourage collaborative learning as they promote individualistic approaches and knowledge claims. She argued that in general, Canadian institutions foster a culture of integrity in ways that are dramatically different from the American Honour Code system.
Radical humanities programs
Next to present his research was James Czank. Czank argued that within the Canadian radical humanities programs, there is little proof that pedagogy is treated as anything but status quo. He concluded his presentation with his research findings, which identified Canadian Radical Humanities Programs as fields that perpetuate the entrenched habits of objectification and asymmetrical power relations that plague traditional and formal approaches to education.
Special thanks to the Canadian Society for the Study of Education for hosting this Foundations of Higher Education open event Webcast at Congress 2021.