Lessons to be learned from Canada’s successful schools
What can Wales learn from Canada, home to one of the world’s leading education systems? Gareth Evans, executive director of education policy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, joined a group of headteachers across the Atlantic to find out
THE growth of international league tables and ease of travel has opened our eyes to a wealth of knowledge and understanding. While their benefits and pitfalls can be debated, benchmarking tools such as Pisa have helped education systems across the globe compare their practice with that of others.
It was with that in mind that Yr Athrofa, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Institute of Education led a study visit to Canada to see what Wales could learn from one of the world’s leading school systems.
A delegation of nine, including five headteachers and senior Welsh Government officials, met representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Ontario College of Teachers and test agents at the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
Delegates also visited elementary, middle and high schools, where they spoke to principals, teachers and pupils.
In the most recent Pisa tranche, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in December 2016, Canada scored 528 points in science, 527 in reading and 516 in maths.
By comparison, Welsh pupils scored 485 in science, 477 in reading and 478 points in maths.
The difference is stark but Canada is a relative newcomer to Pisa’s top table and as recently as 20 years ago its teachers were in dispute with government and trust in the profession was at an all-time low.
Canada’s educational revival is proof a system can be turned around if conditions are conducive to positive change.
So what does Canada do differently to Wales – and what can we consider emulating as we embark on our own reform journey?
The first thing that strikes you when visiting Ontario, which accounts for approximately 40% of the nation’s five million students, is the high level of public confidence in both its education system and province. There is a noticeable culture of togetherness and pride in Canada’s history and heritage – Canadian flags are commonplace.
Ontario’s education system is characterised by high expectations and success for all. The province is proud of its achievements and international reputation, but there is both a political and public will to be even better.
It is therefore no surprise that teachers, as the agents of change, are extremely well supported.
The notion of professional learning is well embedded and there is a wide range of options available to practitioners to enhance their qualifications throughout their careers.
The Ontario College of Teachers, equivalent to Wales’ Education Workforce Council (EWC), is highly respected and gives teachers control over and responsibility for the profession.
It is a requirement for practising teachers to join the college and members pay $150 a year to renew their teaching licence - considerably more than the going rate in Wales.
Teaching is a sought-after profession in Canada, with good conditions and starting salaries of between $41,000 and $61,000, depending on the province.
Similar to the Welsh Government, Ontario’s Ministry of Education puts a strong emphasis on equity of outcomes and access – one of four core priorities.
Significant progress has been made in negating the impact of socio-economic factors – but it was surprising to learn that Ontario streams its children in early high school.
Students in Grade eight (aged 13-14) must choose between academic and applied courses that largely determine their educational pathways. It appears somewhat contradictory that a system so dedicated to equity in education operates a form of selection based on two levels of learning.
Another significant difference is accountability. There is no education inspectorate in Ontario and schools are judged largely on their student achievement data. A tiered accountability system, involving government, school boards and superintendents, takes a more holistic view of student success, drawing upon a range of data to quantify levels of learning.
There is no one indicator of performance and intervention at school level is deliberately non-punitive.
Ontario’s national testing regime – which measures capability in reading, writing and maths at three key stages – appears far more sophisticated than that currently operated in Wales and provides schools with detailed reports about their students’ achievement.
Ontario’s pupils are happy and engaged, its teachers energised and inspirational; and its leadership across all levels, steadfast and stimulating.
There is an underlying commitment from all within and outside Ontario’s school system to better the life chances of children and young people and the passion for learning is palpable.
It is clear that Wales’ education system has much to learn from Ontario. But so too was our visit helpful in reaffirming that which we in Wales do well – and the things Ontario can learn from us.
Officials showed considerable interest in our ‘pioneer’ approach to curriculum reform, while Wales’ Foundation Phase and school-toschool collaboration is seemingly ahead of the curve.
Striking was the unwavering honesty and propensity to engage in free and frank discussion; the Ontarian education system has matured to a level that allows it to critically analyse, in public fora, its weaknesses as well as its strengths.
Despite having some of the very best in educational provision, Ontarians are keen to test what they are doing with others to validate progress and ascertain improvement.
That is unless you are from the United States.
One educationalist told me that “there is nothing we can learn from them” and, rather like our longestablished rivalry with England, there is certainly no love lost between Canadians and their nearest neighbours.
I like to think we are a bit more responsive to what colleagues across the border have to offer and there are surely some lessons they can take from individual states.
One of the schools we visited had created an ‘urban farm’, in which students grew everything from Swiss chard to strawberries. Students applied for grants to fund the farm and now sell their produce to local restaurants.
All this said, what I have seen here on our own doorstep would rival much of what they had to offer in terms of teaching and learning.
Wales has lots to be proud of and, as a nation, we must be better at celebrating the good practice that takes place on a daily basis in our schools.
There is certainly some truth in the OECD’s assertion that Wales is not a strong enough cheerleader for what it does well.
It may be that the outlook for Wales’ education system is not quite as bleak as Pisa and other comparators would have us believe.
But countries like Canada, that have been there and done it in international rankings, are not to be ignored.
Yr Athrofa’s full report comparing education in Wales and Canada will be published on the institute’s website www.athrofa.cymru later this summer. areas for