A study of eight Canadian student services handbooks : the research and development of a student services
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Date
2000
Authors
Christensen, Wanda
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2000
Abstract
As Director of Student Services within the WolfCreek School Division No. 72, it came to
my attention that this department of educational services did not have a handbook or
manual that outlined various areas of service, procedures, policies, and information
necessary for central office personnel, school staffs, and parents/guardians to utilize when
implementing specialized programs for students. Questions around these issues prompted
me to research the work other school divisions and provinces had done in this area of
professional services. From this research, I designed, developed and wrote a resource
specifically for WolfCreek School Division No. 72.
The research and development of this Student Services Handbook revolved around this
question of study. "What have other school divisions in Canada written in this area of
educational resources and what should the Student Services Handbook developed for Wolf
Creek School Division No. 72 consist of?"
The pursuit of answering this question involved several methods. For the purpose of
studying the work other professional organizations had done in this area the search for
handbooks or other parallel resource materials was accomplished by selected school
divisions generously sharing their written work, thorough research on the Internet and
focused communication with fellow colleagues or other professional associations.
Investigating the necessary components for the handbook involved gathering parallel work
previously written in other school divisions and provinces as well as checking with fellow colleagues about relevant, recent materials and documentation. The nature of this study, if
it was to be brought together conclusively into one type, would be described best as
comparative.
Two general conclusions were reached after the data was analyzed and interpreted. First,
similar written work had been completed by other school divisions and provinces in this
area of educational services. Secondly, these parallel resources along with input from
school staffs and central office personnel assisted greatly in the unique design, structure,
and development of the handbook created for the WolfCreek School Division No. 72.
This comparative research revealed in other school divisions and provinces across Canada
indicated some similarities and differences. With each of these resources, there was a
consistent theme of service delivery, policies / procedures, student referral, and
assessment. These themes were integrated in the development of the Student Services
Handbook for WolfCreek School Division No. 72. It was also apparent that each school
division and province had different methods of implementing student programs which
enhanced the study and confirmed the need for a specific resource that would meet the
unique needs of each school division and province across Canada. This project describes that process and contains the resulting document I produced from
my graduate research, which contributes to meeting WolfCreek School Division No. 72
student's needs by all members of the educational team.
Description
1 vol. (various pagings) ; 29 cm. --
Keywords
Special education -- Alberta -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. , Education -- Alberta -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. , Education -- Alberta -- Aims and objectives