At the head of the class: Learning from education research in an information age.

This thesis examines ongoing debates around educational technology within Canadian schools, and advances methodological recommendations for additional education research in the social sciences. By focusing on teachers, students, and Canadian society at large, education researchers can question ideologies of the Information Age and help develop curricula that are both democratic and sustainable. The relationship between education and the economic sector must be investigated and critiqued; deterministic ideologies, be they technological or economic, threaten the sustainability of public education in Canada. Education research investigating educational techn ologies should also consider cultural discourses surrounding computer technologies, particularly those associated with youth culture. Finally, this thesis proposes various methodological frameworks for future research. The social sciences must play the pivotal role in strengthening public education, and the field of Communication is ideally positioned to explore the impacts of the Information Age on Canadian schools.