How other provinces build curriculum
Although they keep an eye on how their neighbours craft programs of study, each province takes a unique approach to curriculum review and development. Here’s how some other provinces have managed curriculum renewal.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
B.C. embarked on a complete rebuild of its K-12 curriculum in 2010.
“The process has been completely flipped around. In the past, curriculum development teams would sign confidentiality agreements and the material would be confidential, hidden from others, and locked down until it was completed and released to schools. In this current curriculum redesign process, we asked team members to share widely and gather feedback in their networks,” a spokesperson for B.C.’s education ministry said in an email.
The timeline: After a few years of consultation, the K-9 curriculum was developed first, followed by the high school grades. Development of the replacement program began in 2012. All schools began teaching the new K-9 curriculum in fall 2016. Grade 10 curriculum will arrive in classrooms in fall 2018, and teachers will use the new Grade 11 and 12 outcomes starting in fall 2019. Implementation of the Grade 11 and 12 curriculum has twice been delayed a year for more review and teacher preparation. French version: The French immersion and francophone language arts curricula were written at the same times as the rest of the subjects. However, all other subjects (math, sciences, social studies, health, art) were translated into French after they were written in English. Indigenous knowledge and perspectives: They’re included in every subject at every grade level, as part of the response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.
Who writes it: More than 200 people are writing and reviewing the curriculum. They include eight education ministry staff, seconded teachers and contractors, academics and employees of Yukon’s education ministry. The names of curriculum writers are not made public.
Provincial exams: B.C. students write two provincial exams in language arts and math in Grades 4 and 7. They were redesigned to align with the new curriculum, and updated in fall 2017. The province is replacing five subject-specific final exams written throughout the high school years with two new graduation exams — one in literacy, and one in numeracy. Those graduation exams don’t tie to a course mark and are reported separately on a student transcript. Feedback: The ministry posted prototypes and drafts of the K-9 curriculum online at four different stages from 2012 to 2016. High school curriculum drafts were posted online twice. Curriculum writers were prompted to share the tentative plans widely, and the ministry hosted 275 engagement sessions with more than 11,000 teachers. There are more than 2,500 emails in the K-9 curriculum inbox, and 1,300 emails in the high school box.
Cost: The K-9 curriculum development cost $2.5 million during the last four years.
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan curriculum writers dived back into reviewing curriculum in February 2017 after that government paused renewal in most subjects in 2013. Educators had told government they felt the pace of change was too rapid to allow for adequate input.
The province takes a more compartmentalized approach to curriculum, reworking subsets of grades in different subjects at different times. Exceptions to the curriculum writing break included some high school science classes, which were revamped in 2016, high school Catholic studies, the middle years francophone and French immersion curricula, and a few other courses, which were reviewed in 2016 and 2017.
Now that the “pause” is over, revisions of high school French and French immersion language arts, high school physical education, and high school arts are underway.
Timeline: Recent revisions happened over the course of one or two years each.
Who writes it: Saskatchewan is trying a new process that involves a “reference committee” for each subject up for review. The committees include teachers, academics and other subject area experts. Separate writing teams of teachers pen the curriculum documents. The drafts are vetted by the reference committees, classroom teachers, professors, elders, First Nations education authorities and industry representatives.
About 430 people had a hand in the new high school science courses, and about 90 worked on the new francophone and French immersion curricula.
The names of people on the reference committee and the writers are published in the acknowledgments section of the final document. Names of the writers would only be released during the writing process with their permission. Provincial exams: Grade 12-level provincial exams for math, science and English language arts were rewritten at the same time the curriculum was revamped. Feedback: In the most recent round of high school curriculum development, the government consulted with “education stakeholders,” including such groups as the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. Reference committees also provided expertise, and curriculum drafts were posted for teachers to read and send feedback. Cost: The ministry said it costs about $15,000 to review each grade level of each subject, including the cost of gathering feedback.
ONTARIO
In September, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that province will also begin a “comprehensive overhaul” of its K-12 curriculum, standardized tests, and report cards.
The government appointed a steering committee and will hold public consultations, with the goal of improving math skills and “transferable life skills.”
Previously, Ontario has reviewed curriculum subject by subject on a regular cycle, which started in 2003.
Timelines: Recent curriculum revisions took several years each before teachers were required to follow the new documents. The review of the Grade 1-8 social studies curriculum took four years before it became mandatory in September 2014. Refreshed Grade 1-8 French curriculum was reviewed for five years before becoming required in fall 2014. The province’s controversial new health curriculum, which became mandatory in September 2015, took eight years to develop. The “Native languages” curriculum has been under review since 2009.
Indigenous knowledge and perspectives: The government is working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people to revise the Grade 4-6 social studies curriculum and Grade 7, 8 and 10 history curriculum to reflect the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. The government will mandate lessons on residential school history, colonialism and treaties. The revised curriculum is scheduled to be required by the 2018-19 school year.
Who writes it: More than 100 people work on each revision, from gathering public feedback to drafting the outcomes. There is a writing team made up of teachers, ministry staff who review current policies and revise and edit curriculum, representatives of school boards, universities, teacher unions and community and education groups. The names of individuals and organizations involved are not made public. Feedback: Who could see drafts and provide feedback depended on the subject under review. For health, a parent from every Ontario school along with publicly funded school boards had a chance to give feedback. For health, social studies and French curricula, academics, federations, associations and other groups were invited to give feedback, and drafts were sent to school boards in advance.
Draft curricula were not posted publicly, as they are in B.C. and Alberta.
Costs: Curriculum review is part of the government’s regular work. The cost depends on the project. For instance, Ontario has a budget of $5 million to revise the curriculum to reflect the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action, not including ministry employee salaries.