Education in Canada

Education in Canada
Educational oversight
Provincial & Territorial
Ministers of Education:


National education budget (2011)
Budget 5.4% of GDP‡[12]
General details
Primary languages English, French
System type Provincially Controlled
Literacy
Male 99%[13]
Female 99%[13]
Attainment
Secondary diploma 80.5%[14]
Post-secondary diploma 53%[15]
‡ Includes Elementary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education.

Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly, funded and overseen by federal, provincial, and local governments.[16] Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province.[17] Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education, followed by secondary education and post-secondary. Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programs.[18] Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18, or as soon as a high school diploma has been achieved. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14. Canada generally has 190 (180 in Quebec) school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, except in Quebec when it is just before June 24 – the provincial holiday).

Canada-wide

Elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education in Canada is a provincial responsibility and there are many variations between the provinces. Some educational fields are supported at various levels by federal departments. For example, the Department of National Defence includes the Royal Military College of Canada, while the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is responsible for the education of First Nations.[19][20] Vocational training can be subsidized by the Learning branch of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (a federal department).[21][22][23]

1950 Canadian School Train. Pupils attend classes at Nemegos near Chapleau, Ontario.

About one out of ten Canadians does not have a high school diploma – one in seven has a university degree – the adult population that is without a high school diploma is a combination of both immigrant and Canadian-born. In many places, publicly funded high school courses are offered to the adult population. The ratio of high school graduates versus non diploma-holders is changing rapidly, partly due to changes in the labour market that require people to have a high school diploma and, in many cases, a university degree. Majority of schools, at 67%, are co-educational.

Canada spends about 5.4% of its GDP on education.[12] The country invests heavily in tertiary education (more than 20 000 USD per student).[24] Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is available to anglophone students across Canada.

According to an announcement of Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Canada is introducing a new, fast-track system to let foreign students and graduates with Canadian work experience become permanent eligible residents in Canada.[25]

Most schools have introduced one or more initiatives such as programs in Native studies, antiracism, Aboriginal cultures and crafts; visits by elders and other community members; and content in areas like indigenous languages, Aboriginal spirituality, indigenous knowledge of nature, and tours to indigenous heritage sites.[26] Although these classes are offered, most appear to be limited by the area or region in which students reside. "The curriculum is designed to elicit development and quality of people's cognition through the guiding of accommodations of individuals to their natural environment and their changing social order"[27] Finally, "some scholars view academics as a form of "soft power" helping to educate and to create positive attitudes.",[28] although there is criticism that educators are merely telling students what to think, instead of how to think for themselves.[29][30][31] Furthermore, "subjects that typically get assessed (i.e., language arts, mathematics, and science) assume greater importance than non-assessed subjects (i.e., music, visual arts, and physical education) or facets of the curriculum (i.e., reading and writing versus speaking and listening)."[32] The students in the Canadian school system receive a variety of classes that are offered to them. The system is set up to meet the diverse needs of the individual student.

Divisions by religion and language

The Constitution of Canada provides constitutional protections for some types of publicly funded religious-based and language-based school systems.

The Constitution Act, 1867 contains a guarantee for publicly funded religious-based separate schools, provided the separate schools were established by law prior to the province joining Confederation. Court cases have established that this provision did not apply to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island, since those provinces did not provide a legal guarantee for separate schools prior to Confederation. The provision did originally apply to Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador, since these provinces did have pre-existing separate schools. This constitutional provision was repealed in Quebec by a constitutional amendment in 1997, and for Newfoundland and Labrador in 1998. The constitutional provision continues to apply to Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. There is a similar federal statutory provision which applies to the Northwest Territories.

Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of citizens who were educated in the minority language in a particular province to have their children educated in the minority language in publicly funded schools. In practice, this guarantee means that there are publicly funded English schools in Quebec, and publicly funded French schools in the other provinces and the territories.

Quebec students must attend a French school up until the end of high school unless one of their parents qualifies as a rights-holder under s. 23 of the Charter. In Ontario, French language schools automatically admit students recognized under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and may admit non-francophone students through the board's admissions committee consisting of the school principal, a school superintendent and a teacher.

Length of study

Most education programs in Canada begin in kindergarten (age five) or grade one (age six) and go to grade twelve (age 17 or 18), except in Quebec, where students finish a year earlier. After completion of a secondary school diploma, students may go on to post-secondary studies.

Authorities

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). For each district, board members (trustees) are elected only by its supporters within the district (voters receive a ballot for just one of the boards in their area). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board. Instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Pre-university

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). Secondary schooling, known as high school, 'collegiate institute, "école secondaire" or secondary school, consists of different grades depending on the province in which one resides. Furthermore, grade structure may vary within a province or even within a school division and may or may not include middle school or junior high school.

Kindergarten (or its equivalent) is available for children in all provinces in the year they turn five (except Ontario and Quebec, where it begins a year earlier), but the names of these programs, provincial funding, and the number of hours provided varies widely. For example, the Department of Education in Nova Scotia refers to Kindergarten as Grade Primary.[33]

Ontario offers two years of optional kindergarten (junior kindergarten for four-year-olds and senior kindergarten for five-year-olds). At French schools in Ontario, these programs are called Maternelle and CPE Centre de la Petite Enfance.[34] In 2010, Ontario increased both years to full-day programs, while BC's single year of kindergarten became full-day in 2012. Quebec offers heavily subsidized preschool programs and introduced an early kindergarten program for children from low-income families in 2013. Students in the Prairie provinces are not required by statute to attend kindergarten. As a result, kindergarten often is not available in smaller towns.

Dependent on the province the age of mandatory entry to the education system is at 4–7 years. Starting at grade one, at age six or seven, there is universal publicly funded access up to grade twelve (age seventeen to eighteen), except in Quebec, where secondary school ends one year earlier. Children are required to attend school until the age of sixteen (eighteen in Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V/Grade eleven (age sixteen to seventeen); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend college (see Education in Quebec). Quebec is currently the only province where Grade 12 is part of postsecondary, though Grade 11 was also the end of secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador prior to the introduction of grade 12 in 1983.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished in 2003 by the provincial government to cut costs. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years.

Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between provinces). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Students of high school age who have received long-term suspensions or have been expelled, or are otherwise unable or unwilling to attend conventional schools may be offered alternative learning options to complete their secondary education, such as drop-in programs, night school, or distance/online classes.

In British Columbia secondary schools, there are 172 school days during a school year. (2013-2014).[35]

An increasing number of international students are attending pre-university courses at Canadian high schools.

Post-secondary education

Canadian university enrollment in various subjects - 2005/2006 [36]

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.[37]

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally oriented programs, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university. Private career colleges are overseen by legislative acts for each province. For example, in British Columbia training providers will be registered and accredited with the (PCTIA) Private Career Training Institutions Agency regulated under the Private Career Training Institutions Act (SBC 2003) [38] Each province with their own correlating agency. Unlike the United States, there is no "accreditation body" that oversees the universities in Canada. Universities in Canada have degree-granting authority via an Act or Ministerial Consent from the Ministry of Education of the particular province.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with college following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programs in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from college must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to the universities, is the amount of funding they receive and the amount of tuition and other fees they charge.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree-granting powers.

Private schools

About 5.6% of students are in private schools.[39] A minority of these are elite private schools, which are attended by only a small fraction of students, but do have a great deal of prestige and prominence. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example, Canadian College Italy has an Ontario curriculum, but the school is located in Italy.

Private schools have historically been less common on the Canadian Prairies and were often forbidden under municipal and provincial statutes enacted to provide equality of education to students regardless of family income. This is especially true in Alberta, where successive Social Credit (or populist conservative) governments denounced the concept of private education as the main cause of denial of opportunity to the children of the working poor.

Private universities

In the past, private universities in Canada maintained a religious history or foundation. However, since 1999, the Province of New Brunswick passed the Degree Granting Act[40] allowing private universities to operate in the Province.[41][42] The University of Fredericton is the newest university to receive designation in New Brunswick.

Trinity Western University, in Langley British Columbia, was founded in 1962 as a junior college and received full accreditation in 1985. In 2002, British Columbia's Quest University became the first privately funded liberal arts university without a denominational affiliation (although it is not the first private liberal arts university). Many provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have passed legislation allowing private degree-granting institutions (not necessarily universities) to operate there.

Many Canadians remain polarized on the issue of permitting private universities into the Canadian market. On the one hand, Canada's top universities find it difficult to compete with the private American powerhouses because of funding, but on the other hand, the fact that the price of private universities tends to exclude those who cannot pay that much for their education could prevent a significant portion of Canada's population from being able to attend these schools.

In addition to the issue of access, some Canadians find issue with protections instituted within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 and consistent with federal and provincial law that (private) faith-based universities in Canada based on the long established principles of freedom of conscience and religion can exempt itself from more recent human rights legislation when they insist in their “community covenant” code signed by staff, faculty and students that they act in accordance with the faith of the school. The covenant may require restraint from those acts considered in contradiction with the tenets of their faith such as homosexual relationships, sex outside marriage or more broadly abstain from consuming alcohol on campus or viewing pornography.[43] However, private-Christian based schools do not preclude homosexual or lesbian students from attending.[44] Some faith-based universities have been known to fire staff and faculty which refused to adhere or whose actions were in opposition with the tenets of the faith, although in some provinces, their dismissals have been successfully challenged in court based on the circumstances.[45]

Religious schools

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded while other faiths are not. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools all funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is constitutional. However, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled that Ontario's system is discriminatory, suggesting that Ontario either fund no faith-based schools, or all of them.[46] In 2002 the government of Mike Harris introduced a controversial program to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the program was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays independent schools that meet rigorous provincial standards up to 50% of the per-student operating cost of public schools. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system. Alberta charter schools are not private and the province does not grant charters to religious schools. These schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

An example of how schools can be divided by religion, Toronto has two English boards; Toronto Catholic District School Board and Toronto District School Board, and two French boards; Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud and Conseil scolaire Viamonde.

Levels in education

Canada outside Quebec

As the education system in Canada is managed by the varying provincial governments in Canada, the way the educational stages are grouped and named may differ from each region, or even between districts and individual schools. The ages are the age of the students when they end the school year in June.

Quebec

English schools in Quebec have the same grade system as French schools, but with English names. For example, "elementary school" is not called "école primaire" in an English school, but has the same grading system.

Grade structure by province

The following table shows how grades are organized in various provinces. Often, there will be exceptions within each province, both with terminology for groups, and which grades apply to each group.

Alberta
(source)		   Elementary Junior High Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
British Columbia
(source)		   Primary Middle Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Manitoba[48]   Early Years Middle Years Senior Years  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
New Brunswick
(source)		   Elementary Middle School High School  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Newfoundland and Labrador
(source)		   Primary Elementary Junior High Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Level I Level II Level III  
Northwest Territories
(source)		   Primary Intermediate Junior Secondary Senior Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Nova Scotia
(source)		   Elementary Junior High Senior High  
  Primary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Ontario[49] Elementary Secondary  
Junior Kindergarten Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
PEI
(source)		   Elementary Intermediate School Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Quebec   Primary School Secondary School College
Garderie Maternelle 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sec I Sec II Sec III Sec IV Sec V first second third
Saskatchewan
(source)		   Elementary Level Middle Level Secondary Level  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
Yukon
(source)		   Elementary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  

Notes:

Provincial and Territorial Departments and Ministries

Provincial and Territorial Departments and Ministries
Provincial Education(Wikipedia) Provincial Department Or Ministry(External Link)
Education in Alberta Alberta Education
Education in British Columbia Ministry of Education
Education in Manitoba Ministry of Education
Education in New Brunswick Ministry of Education, Ministère de l'Éducation
Education in Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Education
Education in Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment
Education in Nova Scotia Department of Education
Education in Nunavut Department of Education
Education in Ontario Ministry of Education
Education in Prince Edward Island Department of Education
Education in Quebec Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
Education in Saskatchewan Ministry of Education
Education in Yukon Department of Education, Culture and Employment

[50][51]

See also

Footnotes

References

  1. ↑ "Minister of Education — Province of British Columbia". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 2014-09-30.
  2. ↑ "Minister's Welcome — Manitoba Education". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Roland Haché bio". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  4. ↑ "Minister — Education". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Biography of Hon. Marilyn More, Minister, NS Department Education". Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  6. ↑ "ECE Home Page". Government of Northwest Territories. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  7. ↑ "Welcome". Government of Nunavut. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  8. ↑ "Hon. Laurel Broten, Minister of Education". Government of Ontario. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
  9. ↑ "Education and Early Childhood Development: Introducing the Minister". Government of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  10. ↑ "Alberta Education — Ministry Overview — Education". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  11. ↑ "Minister of Education, Hon. Patrick Rouble — Education- Government of Yukon". Government of Yukon. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  12. 1 2 "Public spending on Education". The world Bank. 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  13. 1 2 "CIA World Factbook — Canada". US Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  14. ↑ "The percentage of persons 15 years of age and over without high school diplomas decreased from 37.8% in 1990 to 19.5% in 2011.". Statistics Canada. 2011.
  15. ↑ "In 2011, about 53% of Canadians aged 15 and over had trade certificates, college diplomas and university degrees. This was an increase of 20 percentage points since 1990.". Statistics Canada. 2011.
  16. ↑ Lucy Scholey. "2015 federal budget ‘disappointing’ for post-secondary students: CFS". Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  17. ↑ "Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress". Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. 1959.
  18. ↑ Minister of Trade and Commerce, The Right Honourable C. D. Howe (1956). "Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress". Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  19. ↑ INAC Canada website. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  20. ↑ INAC Press release on education. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  21. ↑ Minister of Trade and Commerce, The Right Honourable C. D. Howe (1956). "Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progres". Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  22. ↑ Minister of Trade and Commerce, the Right Honourable C. D. Howe; Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Department of Trade and Commerce, Canada (1951). "The Canada Year Book 1951". The Official Statistical annual of the resources, history, institutions and social and economic conditions of Canada. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  23. ↑ http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/corporate/about_us/hrsdc_branches.shtml#learning
  24. ↑ "Financial and human resources invested in Education" (PDF). OECD. 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  25. ↑ Canada Is Opening Doors To Students
  26. ↑ Wotherspoon, R. (2006). "Teachers' work in Canadian aboriginal communities". Comparative Education Review 50 (4): 672–694. doi:10.1086/507060.
  27. ↑ Shaker, P (2009). "Preserving Canadian exceptionalism". Education Canada 49 (1): 28–32.
  28. ↑ Nelles, W. (2008)
  29. ↑ Zwaagstra, Michael; Clifton, Rodney; Long, John (2010). What's Wrong with Our Schools: and How We Can Fix Them. Toronto: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 190. ISBN 1607091577
  30. ↑ Reynolds, Cynthia (October 31, 2012). "Why are schools brainwashing our children?". Maclean's (Rogers). Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  31. ↑ "Towards a critical pedagogy of comparative public diplomacy: Pseudo-education, fear-mongering and insecurities in Canadian-American foreign policy". Comparative Education 44 (3): 333–344. doi:10.1080/03050060802264876.
  32. ↑ Volante, L (2007). "Educational quality and accountability in Ontario: Past, present, future". Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 58: 2–21.
  33. ↑ "Learning Outcomes by GRADE". Learning Outcomes Framework documents. Province of Nova Scotia. 2008.
  34. ↑ Education Facts. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  35. ↑ "How many school days the students have in a BC high school?". www.rolia.net. 2014.
  36. ↑ Statistics Canada education data
  37. ↑ Glen A. Jones, ed., Higher education in Canada: Different systems, different perspectives. (Routledge, 2012).
  38. ↑ http://pctia.bc.ca/contact.htm
  39. ↑ "Trends in the use of private education". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  40. ↑ "Degree Granting Act". New Brunswick Department of Justice. Archived from the original on April 2, 2003.
  41. ↑ "The Degree Granting Act establishes a framework for evaluating the quality of programs leading to a degree offered by all public and private institutions, except those created by an Act of the New Brunswick Legislature prior to the Act coming in force, that is before March 1, 2001."
  42. ↑ "Degree Granting Act". New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007.
  43. ↑ Todd, Douglas (January 16, 2013). "Proposed Christian law school at Trinity Western under fire because of university’s anti-gay rules". Vancouver Sun.
  44. ↑ Tamminga, Monique (March 27, 2013). "Trinity Western University law school proponents fire back at critics". Langley Times.
  45. ↑ "Timeline - Same Sex Rights in Canada (See 1991)". CBC. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  46. ↑ ["UN says funding of Catholic schools discriminatory". CBC.ca. 1999-11-09. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  47. ↑ "Education Facts". Ontario's Education System. Queen's Printer, Ontario. 2009-09-08.
  48. ↑ "Schools in Manitoba". Manitoba Education. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  49. ↑ "Education Facts: Schools and School Boards". Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  50. ↑ [Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (2003-08-18). "CMEC Provincial and Territorial Departments of Education in Canada" ( – Scholar search). Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  51. ↑ ["About Canada — Society — Learning Resources — Provincial-Territorial Ministries" ( – Scholar search). Government of Canada. 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  52. ↑ Quick Facts – Ontario Schools, 2005-06. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  53. ↑ 'Victory lap' year carries no stigma. Retrieved 2009-11-01.

Further reading

Historiography

External links

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