Abstract:
This dissertation explores Canada‟s national large-scale testing program, the
School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP) and its successor, the Pan-Canadian
Assessment Program (PCAP) using a methodology built on Foucault‟s theoretical
concepts. The product of the research is a critical and effective history of the production
of SAIP/PCAP within the Canadian social, political, and economic context. The study
considers the work of Canadian scholars and commentators working in the field of largescale
testing and the work of those working in aspects of education that are proximal to
the field of interest. The research recognizes the key role of the investigator, the critical
importance of investigator‟s proximity to the field, her struggles within the field; and it
also recognizes the need of the investigator to step away from the obligation to argue a
particular perspective. The study also explores standardized testing regimes operating in
England and the United States as well as international testing programs to gather the
effects of these correlative spaces on the Canadian experience. The outcomes of the
research include the production of an understanding of how large-scale standardized
testing was produced in Canada, its resultant effects of harmonization on curriculum, and
the identification of possible research sites for further inquiry.
Description:
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education, University of Regina. ix, 477 l.