About SAEE

The Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education (SAEE) was founded in 1996 as a non-partisan education research agency to encourage higher performance in public education in Canada. Its purposes as a registered charity were the commissioning and dissemination of new Canadian research in the field.

Through environmental scanning of the research, SAEE, for over twelve years, stayed in front of emerging needs and issues in school improvement and student achievement, accumulating a valuable knowledge base linking policy and effective practice. From this, the Society was able to develop a visionary research agenda, providing independent analysis of government initiatives and promising local innovations across Canada. Each SAEE study offered thoughtful analysis of the implications for policy and practice along with the findings of the research.

The most important work of SAEE was field research in Canada’s public schools. With generous support from Canadian foundations, SAEE commissioned a range of studies to expand the knowledge base about school change and effectiveness. SAEE studies were rigorously designed and reviewed, conducted independently, and their findings shared widely across Canada.

In the past two years, SAEE has scaled back its operations, with a view to completing current research and closing its doors. Now, with generous assistance from the Max Bell Foundation, and for the purposes of preserving its research and continuing to make it available to the public, the Society is pleased to offer electronic access to its research archive, as listed below.

The Society and its Board of Directors wish to extend their sincerest thanks to the many funders, researchers, supporters, staff and volunteers who, through their generosity and commitment, made it possible for the Society to pursue its vision and mission for nearly fifteen years. We are confident that SAEE has left a lasting contribution to the continuing success of Canadian schools, a legacy for others in the field to emulate and improve upon.