History of Education

Becoming a Teacher , Parkay, Stanford, Stevens,Vaillancourt

From Hope to Harris, R.D. GidneyHistory of Education, Canadian

Encyclopedia

For the purpose of this course we are going to focus on the history of education in Canada in very broad terms.

As the original inhabitants of Canada, there was much admirable about the education provided by the First Nations for their children.

They taught their children about the unity of life, honourable conduct, family responsibilities, individual responsibility, the importance of sharing, self reliance, and survival skills.

Their history was transmitted by storytelling, myths and legends.

During the French regime in Canada, the process of learning was integrated into everyday life.

It was the family that undertook religious instruction and, in some cases, instruction in reading and writing

Children were needed at home to help support their family whether it be farming, and other trades.

The formal education that did exist was provided and based upon the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

In certain areas, parish priests established Parochial schools known as petites écoles where they taught catechism, singing, reading, writing and grammar.

The Jesuits, Récollets, Ursulines, the Congregation of Notre Dame provided and funded this instruction.

Teacher colleges known as “normal schools” started to appear; in addition more advanced instruction was provided for young men who might become priests or enter the professions (i.e., Bishop Laval created the séminaire de Quebec which later became Université de Laval).

Girls and boys attended separate schools where the education for boys was far superior.

In some cases girls’ education did not exceed religion and needlework.

The Récollets took it upon themselves to try to “francisize” the Native population. The Jésuites and the Ursulines also became involved.

During the Conquest of 1759-1760 the British Empire was concerned about the strong presence of French Canadians in the colony.

In an attempt to assimilate, the British Empire tried to “establish schools that were outside the control of religious authorities.”

Efforts were undermined and the Quebec Act which was created (1776) in response to fear that the French Canadians would abandon their country for the Americans (American War of Independence). This act guaranteed the retention of the French language, cultural and religious rights.

However the influence of the English system emerged during the period of 1760-1840.

“The English tradition reflected the values and beliefs of the upper class.”

2 characteristics: First, education was the responsibility of the church; second education was a function of class rather than merit.

Education for the lower class was provided by the Church of England.

“Charitable groups provided schooling for the poor but some children attended “dame schools” which were provided by volunteer widows and housewives in their own homes.”

“At the other end of the spectrum were the “public schools” reserved for the privileged and wealthy”.

Prior to and during War of 1812 there was a migration of American settlers who were opposed to a system administered by the Anglicans.

In 1816 the passage of the Common School Act suggested that the free schools might come into existence in communities with sufficient resources. The government would make an annual grant for the teacher’s salary.

The act was rescinded by the 1820 Common School Act which decreased the amount of the grant.

During the great Scottish migration (1760-1840) the Scottish tradition of education had its influence on the Canadian education.

In Scotland almost every child attended school. Schools were comprised of children of all ranks

different from the class based English system. Both males and females attended the same

school. Education was provided for both elementary

and secondary levels. Rather than place importance on the classics,

subjects such as science and art were taught.

By early 1840’s, progress towards centralization School Act in 1843 allows members of religious

groups to operate their own schools. Upper and Lower Canada were locked in

legislative union and had equal seats in legislation.

Both compromised and agreed to have public education for each of their minority groups.

Lower Canada, which was Roman Catholic ,agreed to fund religious schools for protestants.

Upper Canada agreed to fund Roman Catholic schools.

The British North American Act of 1867 set out the federal and provincial responsibilities.

Under article 93 of this agreement, education was to be a provincial responsibility.

It stated that any separate school rights acquired by a minority group prior to 1867 were constitutionally guaranteed by the BNA.

Most schools were characterized as the “Little Red School house”.

Curriculum concentrated on the 3 r’s. Increased demographic and changes from rural to

urban brought changes to the goals of education. Need to meet the demands of commerce and industry. By 1912 there was a move towards science and

technology in the curriculum. Demand for teachers meant an increase of women

entering the teaching field. Consolidation of small schools into bigger schools

began at this time. By World War I , all provinces had developed

centralized bureaucracies, curricular issues around preparation of students for an industrial urban life, secondary schools were more prevalent, more normal schools for preparation of teachers.

Separate school were publicly funded.

Around the first World War 1 soldiers with technical experience were becoming a necessity.

Technical Education Act (1919 )-The federal government provided funds for Technical/Vocational schools.

The period between the wars saw an increase of students attending post elementary education.

School leaving age was becoming a requirement—for instance in 1922 Ontario had a law that every child must attend school and attend until the age of 16.

Newer ideas and issues were discussed under the influence of philosophers such as John Dewey.

WWII 2/3 of people in Ontario lived in towns and

cities and worked in urban occupations. Even isolated homes had electricity. Had 4000 school boards, some for just

elementary and others for just secondary. 1948- Ontario had 6,800 elementary schools

(twice as many as today). 71% had one teacher and a single classroom. 150 schools had 20 or more classrooms. Ages 6-15 from grades 1-8 all in one

classroom.

40% lacked inside toilets. 15% lacked safe water supply. ½ of rural schools did not have hydro. Only 600 Special Education classes. Roman Catholics were disadvantaged

compared to the public schools. Franco-Ontarians studied under more

formidable conditions. A large number of First Nations children

were not served at all.

High school was not offered everywhere. Some places had continuation schools.

Although attendance is mandatory by 1950 most children enrolled in grade 1 by age 8 and most stayed until their 14th year when they could get an exemption certificate.

Fewer than 40% were in school from age 15-19 (pattern true for both boys and girls).

Catholic schools were only supported to grade 10.

Grades 11,12,13 received no funding at all, nor were they subject to Ministry authority.

These grades in the Catholic schools were supported by tuition fees and support from the parishes and other private benefactors. Fees were often “forgiven” and the parish paid for some students.

Public schools received a significant portion of their local receipts from the property taxes paid by local business and industrial corporations but…

Separate schools had no access to these funds.

Rather than raise tax dollars they opted for cheaper labour –nuns, priests and brothers.

46% of separate school teachers came from religious orders.

Boards of Education knit together into a system run by the Ontario Department of Education.

Set out what was to be taught in school. Every elementary teacher possessed a copy of

the “little grey book” (stayed around for 2-3 generations).

High school had no subject outlines. Inspectors would be sent out by the

department. Prior to 1950 there were high school entrance

exams and by 1950 there were only the grade 13 departmental exams that remained: abolished in 1967.

Significant wage gap between elementary and secondary teachers.

Only 5-6% of elementary teachers had graduated from university while most high school teachers were university graduates.

Elementary teacher training was acquired in normal school.

Secondary teacher training – Ontario College of Education which was linked to the University of Toronto.

Women were paid less and most administrative positions were held by men (i.e. Principals, school inspectors, etc.) despite experience.

Post WWI Ontario Secondary School Teachers’

Federation Ontario Public School Elementary Men

Teachers’ Federation Federation of Women Teachers’

Association of Ontario 1939- Association des enseignants et

enseignantes franco-ontariennes 1944- Ontario English Catholics

Teachers’ Association

Baby Boomers caused a huge population growth, great economic growth, increase in tax base.

More stayed in schools; parents could afford it.

More demand for white collar jobs provided incentive to stay in school.

RESULT=expansion of school programs. There was an increase in volume of

enrolment, but also an increase in those remaining in school from 15-19.

1946-1960 population increased by 50% Elementary jumped 116% and secondary

141% #of classrooms doubled but not total # of

schools: 1.small schools torn down for bigger schools with more classrooms. 2. bus transportation to bigger

schools Not enough teachers to teach baby

boomers- had to encourage teachers from other countries.

Baby boomers having a great effect on education- most are now in high school.

Realization that investment in education could create “human capital” which was argued as important to economic growth.

Recession starts –unskilled labour results in country providing subsidy for vocational training to prepare skilled workforce.

Technical and Vocational Training Assistance Act of 1960 was a federal grant to the provinces-paid 75% of the capital costs for expansion of technical and vocational education.

Ontario government persuaded Ottawa to allow money to be spent by local school boards.

Therefore school boards were allowed to create new schools with new shops and new vocational schools were created.

However ,there was no curriculum to match the creation of the technology schools or shops,

Robarts Plan 3 distinct 5 year branches: Arts and Science Business and Commerce Science, Technology and

TradesThen came the creation of the 4 year parallel

branches to prepare for the newly created 1966 college:

There were still academic courses with a more practical bias. 2 year course with a practical bias to prepare for jobs. Robarts Plan “… the purpose is to retain in school at least

until grade 12 a much higher proportion of pupils who enrol in grade 9”

1960-1971 = percent of 15-19 year olds increased from 62% to 77%

Criticized for “streaming” groups and hard to move from one to another.

Bill Davis was Ontario’s Premier 1968 – moving from boards representing

townships, villages, towns, and cities, to boards for entire counties.

Changed from 3,500 boards to 230 boards New board offices created, new hiring, pooling of

staffs “homogenized big city model to small town

communities” 1967 Grade 13 examinations were abolished 1967 last year for “normal schools” to provide

summer teacher training Early 70’s additional Faculties of Education were

created-already existed for secondary school teachers

1965 – money is put into educational research . OISE is created at U of T.

Dramatic increase on education spending:

-1945-62 million -1960- .5 billion -1970 – 1.6 billion 1970 -Province paid for 60% of costs.

Taxpayers did not want to pay 40%. 1969 -Davis announces the maximum

spending limit for local school boards.

The Hall-Dennis report was headed by two individuals: Justice E. M. Hall and Lloyd A. Dennis. The report and its findings were published in 1968 in a book named Living and Learning.

Lloyd Dennis made a career of promoting active learning through his “circus” analogy for many years after the release of the Hall-Dennis Report.

Living and Learning promoted the idea that "Education was about "self realization" and not about fitting individuals for pre-determined economic or social roles. In this respect, Hall-Dennis reflected the anti-technocratic, anti-traditionalist romantic impulses of the 1960's."(Gidney 1998:p.57).

Living and Learning (1968 ) attacked some of the teaching methods of the past. "The school's learning experiences are imposed, involuntary, and structured“; students were a "captive audience."  The pedagogy of the past was simply to stuff students with the content of arbitrarily defined subjects through methods emphasising mindless rote. The new focus of the schools was to "learn how to learn."

http://instruct.uwo.ca/edu/500-001/history/c/

“Because interest and active involvement is crucial to learning, such pedagogical techniques as projects, discovery methods, group work, individual research and joint teacher student planning were all appropriate. Meaningless exercises from textbooks, conventional drills, memory work, and other forms of rote were to be avoided." (Gidney 1998: p58.)

Living and Learning was responsible for the creation of HS1 1969-1970 which proposed two components for organizing a high school, based on the old Robarts Plan :

1. An organization of subjects which included: -Communication -Social Science -Pure and Applied Science -Arts

2. A credit system.

Students were promoted by accumulating credits by subject and not by grade.

The credit system became mandatory for high schools in this province in 1972.

Schools had to offer a wide array of courses to students.

As long as the students obtained 27 credits, they would obtain a high school diploma.

How was this new system received? Criticized for offering too much choice Too much emphasis on individualism Lack of external standards

The emphasis on individualism was also apparent in the elementary panel as well where rows of desks were abandoned for open concepts, pods and learning centres, etc.

Student centered education was the reigning philosophy ; many who taught that there should be more structure and a more stringent curriculum.

1975, the Ministry issued The Formative Years, and a support document, Education in the Primary and Junior Divisions, which gave teachers new directions for elementary education. It pointed out that:

“ The experiences of these early years mould the child's attitudes to learning and provide the basic skills and impetus for his [sic] continuing progress - It is the policy of the Government of Ontario that every child have the opportunity to develop as completely as possible in the direction of his or her talents and needs.” (Ontario Ministry of Education)

“The document outlined specific objectives in terms of providing children with "opportunities to acquire competence" in certain areas at the end of the Primary and Junior Divisions, rather than identifying outcomes or levels of competence to be achieved. In addition to objectives in language and mathematics that were listed for each division separately, it also identified objectives for areas such as music, drama, visual arts, physical education and health, science, and geography, which had been part of elementary education for some time, as well as new areas such as the individual and society, decision-making, values, perception and expression, and Canadian Studies, which clearly flowed from the recommendations of the Hall-Dennis report, Living and Learning.”

“The Formative Years and its support documents continued to set the direction for elementary education until they were replaced by The Common Curriculum in 1993.”

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/abcs/rcom/full/volume1/chapter2.htm

“A paper by several researchers, looking back at Ontario education in the mid-1970s, points out that central control [had been] reasserted. The age of expansion was over. Issues of declining enrolment, reduction in the funding available for education, and an oversupply of teachers led to a mood of pessimism.”

These comments caused Premier Betty Stephens to commission the Secondary Education Review Project (SERP).

Based on the SERP report and on reaction to a Ministry response, The Renewal of Secondary Education (ROSE), in 1982 the Ministry released Ontario Schools: Intermediate and Senior Divisions (OSIS), to be implemented in 1984.

It emphasized the need to improve the transition between elementary and secondary schools, and to encourage students to stay in school. It suggested that courses be offered at three levels of difficulty - basic, general, and advanced - and that they be designed specifically to meet the needs of students in basic and general classes, rather than offering watered-down versions of advanced-level courses.

“…concluded that the education system had become irrelevant in an economy where the emphasis was shifting from manufacturing to services; moreover, many students were uninterested in what they were being taught at school, and they lacked appropriate skills and knowledge [ for the new workplace]”----Ontario Ministry of Education

Destreaming, under which all students are taught together rather than being separated according to their abilities, was implemented in Grade 9.

The Ministry's Common Curriculum, Grades 1-9 (1993), initiated a province-wide discussion on outcomes-based education - in which the focus is on what is actually learned [as opposed to what is taught!]. The curriculum was built around four areas - language; the arts; maths, science, and technology; and self and society.

Bill 82 and Special Education “In 1980, Bill 82, which made school boards

responsible for providing programs and services for students in need of special education, had a tremendous impact on schools. Many children who had previously been cared for or educated in other institutions or who had never gone to school, entered the school system. Many teachers had to develop new skills to deal with the needs of children they had not encountered previously. And many trustees, as well as school and board administrators, had to make provisions for large numbers of students whose educational needs they had not heretofore been required to meet.”---Ontario Ministry of Education

Bill 30 and extension of funding of Roman Catholic secondary schools

“In 1984, Premier Davis announced his government's intention to publicly fund Roman Catholic separate schools beyond Grade 10 to graduation level; two years later the legislation, Bill 30, was passed in the Legislature with the support

of all three parties.”---Ontario Ministry of Education

On the issue of funding of denominational schooling.....

What are your thoughts?........ Discuss at your table

2007 Election Issue in Ontario

Classroom management issues Discipline Suspensions Bullying Drug and Alcohol Child abuse –detection and reporting Suicide Balanced day Extra duties; bus, lunch, staff meetings Calls home who, why, when, where Parent involvement Volunteers in the classroom Wearing of hats in the classroom Safety in the lab Safety in the shop Safety in the school – air quality, noise Trips out of school –procedure IEP legalities Safety of Physical Education equipment