Education in Canada- contemporary snapshot Provincially mandated

Teacher training Budget allocation Curricula Extra-curricular initiatives

Locally administered School boards Individual classrooms

19th Century – “Century of schooling” In early 19th C.

Schooling less important than household livelihood;

Few formal schools outside major towns “Classes or masses” debates

1871 – attendance compulsory for ages 7-13

1844-1876 Egerton Ryerson and major school reforms; centralized provincial administration

Increasing urbanization and more diverse employment

Education as moral and democratic progress Education in 19th C considered necessary for a

rebellious society in need of stability and progress: “economic progress required civil order, and schools had a role to play in ensuring political stability in a period of profound social change” (Axelrod, 1997: 25)

"The great task of the school, then, was not only to direct intellectual behaviour, but also moral and social behaviour. The safety of the state depended on the 'safe' citizen. The ideal state was one in which there was order, stability, and loyalty" (McDonald, 1978: 98

20th Century – Professionalization, Urbanization Increasing professionalization and

centralization of education in Ontario Broadening curriculum, increase in

mandatory age limit, concern with drop-out rates

Increasing attention to white-collar work, urban growth, national economic growth, financial stability baby-boom

Late 20th Century

1970s – Strong influence of local voluntary associations of parents and community members; Overall public involvement in school policy/curric/etc

"access to schools…should be the right of every citizen, and therefore after-hours control of facilities should be transferred to local community action councils" (1971 Provincial committee – in Stamp, 1982: 232).

Heightened concerns for public accountability, and tensions between the local and provincial scales

Continuing pressure on teachers and the school to solve social problems

Current Canadian Trends

The decline of the school a site of social cohesion

“In recent years…there has been far less confidence or interest in the ability of education to perform the development functions of social solidarity, democratic citizenship, and national identity” (Mitchell, 2003)

Increasing standardization and accountability “Policies driving the agenda of education

reform illustrate many features of neoliberal discourse such as…privatization, marketisation and performativity in the school system” (Basu, 2004)

Current Trends - Resurgence in ‘Character Education’ “Character education involves the preparation

of learners to be responsible, caring and contributing citizens…the development of safe, supportive schools, develops the emotional and social learning and enhances academic achievement.” (York Region DSB, 2003)

“It is a whole school effort to create a community that promotes the highest standards of student discipline and citizenship.” (Simcoe County DSB, 2003, 2)

“Citizenship confers upon individuals certain rights and privileges and, more importantly, responsibilities and obligations…we are expected to contribute to community and to nation building.” (KPR DSB, 2003; 3)

Current Trends - Schools and the ‘Right to Safety’? Safety initiatives justified as a “prerequisite to

student achievement” (Ministry of Education - Sept 21/2005)

“Every student has the right to feel safe and be safe in school and on school grounds”

“Initiatives to make our schools safer are part of our comprehensive Excellence for All strategy to improve education in Ontario...so that they can become the best contributing citizens they can be.”

“Every student should know how to think for him- or herself, appreciate the rights and obligations of good citizenship and learn about character values.”

Since the Safe Schools Act “To ensure that all members of the school

community, especially people in positions of authority, are treated with respect and dignity.

“To promote responsible citizenship by encouraging appropriate participation in the civic life of the school community.” (from the Ontario Safe Schools Act, 2000)

Local schools and principals maintain ability to levy additional regulations and administer disciplinary measures

Significant increase in suspensions and expulsions; particularly male students, visible minorities, or disabled

Review of Safe Schools Act, June 2006; recommending limits on nature of expulsions, allowing students to learn from mistakes

Current Trends - Sites of Learning: School vs. Home? “Parents and guardians are the primary

educators of their children” (Ontario Curriculum, Healthy Living)

“The well-being of children is a shared responsibility in Canadian society.”

“While a child’s first educator is the family…education and learning take place in other environments, including at school, in the community, and among peers.”(“A Canada Fit for Children”, 2004)

From Teachers in the Field - School and Home “Like, why is it that we have to implement 20 more

extra minutes of gym period, into our hectic schedule, why do we have to teach them about eating properly, and getting enough sleep, and…all these things that the parents should be doing?”… “I think it’s a great thing that we’re educating them. But where are the parents here? Shouldn’t the parents be, sort of…monitoring all this kind of thing, and teaching? Like, enough is enough, why is it always on our shoulders to do everything? And even things like teaching manners. And just basic stuff, that parents should be doing. Why is it that we have to do that, more and more and more?...I’m just finding that, it’s just becoming overwhelming.”(Grade 5 teacher, TD4-02)

School and Home

“For some students, their home life and their school life might be quite similar? In just the fact that, there’s expectations at home, and there’s expectations at school…Ahm, having said that, some students come from backgrounds where…they have more…flexibility in their choices…And so, when they come to school, some of them may find that having to follow guidelines is a little more difficult.”(Grade 6/7 teacher, TL1-04)

From Teachers in the Field – Citizenship and the Curriculum “I would say that the Ontario curriculum ah, is

very similar to kind of a homogeneous approach…You know, leading up to the standardization of tests, standardized reading assessments, standardized math scores, where, although they recognize that everyone has a right to an education, it starts to become a very finite sort of education. And a very homogenized education where, it’s up to the educator, to pretty much fill the heads of the students much like an empty vessel, with facts, with knowledge, with criteria…with experience, that the students may not have, which may be very different from either the way that they can internalize it, or express it themselves…”(Grade 5 Teacher, TD3-01)

Citizenship and Curriculum

“Within the curriculum as a whole it's talked about, in the whole…reason for the Ontario curriculum, is to teach children how to be…good citizens….I don't like that sense of, how to have a competitive…place in the world”…“We talked about the rights and responsibilities, but next year I was thinking I might do the…like start making the government stuff sort of the minor thing, and make the citizenship a bit stronger.”…“ because they can talk about it from personal experience. And they can relate it to themselves, and their home, and their family, and even their…you can bring it down to their level, they can relate it to their own little worlds, to their community, their home community…”(Grade 5 Teacher, TD2-01)