Education

L'éducation

Updated December 4, 2011
Page révisée le 4 décembre 2011

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

[ NOTE : For links to resources focusing specifically
on post-secondary studies and institutions, see the Canadian Universities and Colleges page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/univbkmrk.htm ]

NOTE: this page is arranged in reverse chronological order, for the most part...

Taylor Mali: What teachers make (video, duration 3:02)
Ever heard the phrase "Those who can't do, teach"? At the Bowery Poetry Club, slam poet Taylor Mali begs to differ, and delivers a powerful, three-minute response on behalf of educators everywhere.
Source:
TED - Ideas worth spreading [Technology, Entertainment, Design]

What's new from
The Daily
[Statistics Canada]:

November 30, 2011
Elementary and secondary public school indicators, 2009/2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/111130/dq111130e-eng.htm
Just under 5.1 million students were enrolled in publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in Canada during the academic year 2009/2010, down 0.2% from the previous academic year. This was the lowest level since 1997/1998, when data for the Elementary–Secondary Education Survey were first collected. Enrolment peaked at nearly 5.4 million students in 1999/2000.

Summary Public School Indicators for Canada, the Provinces and Territories, 2005/2006 to 2009/2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2011095-eng.htm
PDF version (423K, 58 pages):
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-595-m/81-595-m2011095-eng.pdf
This report provides elementary and secondary school public data at the provincial, territorial and Canada-wide levels for key education statistics, such as enrolment, graduates, finance, and educator.

Related subjects:

* Education, training and learning
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/theme-theme.action?pid=1821&lang=eng&more=0
* Education finance
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/subtheme-soustheme.action?pid=1821&id=1828&lang=eng&more=0
* Students
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/subtheme-soustheme.action?pid=1821&id=1756&lang=eng&more=0
* Teachers and educators
http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/subtheme-soustheme.action?pid=1821&id=1831&lang=eng&more=0

June 27, 2011
Study: Life-path outcomes associated with reading ability, 2010

Related products:

Canadian Education Association (CEA)
The Canadian Education Association (CEA) is a cross-Canada network with a strong membership base of leaders in the education, research and policy, not for profit and business sectors. We are committed to education that leads to greater student engagement; teaching that inspires students and teachers and that causes all students to learn; and schools that ensure both equity and excellence in pursuit of the optimal development of all students.
- incl. links to : * About Us * Video * Blog * Bulletin * Awards * Events * Education Canada * Transforming Education * Programs & Initiatives * Research & Publications * Get Involved

United States:

From the
Economic Policy Institute:

Education is not the cure for
high unemployment or for income inequality (PDF - 287K, 26 pages)
EPI Briefing Paper #286
By Lawrence Mishel
January 12, 2011
With signs pointing to persistent high unemployment and a recovery even weaker than those of the early 1990s and 2000s, it is becoming common to hear in the media and among some policy makers the claim that lingering unemployment is not cyclical but “structural.” In this story, the jobs problem is not a lack of demand for workers but rather a mismatch between workers’ skills and employers’ needs. Another version of the skills mismatch is also being told about the future: we face an impending skills shortage, particularly a shortfall of college graduates, after the economy returns to full employment.
Source:
Economic Policy Institute

Related link:

Degrees and Dollars
By Paul Krugman
March 6, 2011
It is a truth universally acknowledged that education is the key to economic success. Everyone knows that the jobs of the future will require ever higher levels of skill. That’s why, in an appearance Friday with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Obama declared that “If we want more good news on the jobs front then we’ve got to make more investments in education.” But what everyone knows is wrong. (...) The fact is that since 1990 or so the U.S. job market has been characterized not by a general rise in the demand for skill, but by “hollowing out”: both high-wage and low-wage employment have grown rapidly, but medium-wage jobs — the kinds of jobs we count on to support a strong middle class — have lagged behind. And the hole in the middle has been getting wider.
(...)
So if we want a society of broadly shared prosperity, education isn’t the answer — we’ll have to go about building that society directly. We need to restore the bargaining power that labor has lost over the last 30 years, so that ordinary workers as well as superstars have the power to bargain for good wages. We need to guarantee the essentials, above all health care, to every citizen. What we can’t do is get where we need to go just by giving workers college degrees, which may be no more than tickets to jobs that don’t exist or don’t pay middle-class wages.
Source:
New York Times

From Statistics Canada:

December 20, 2010
Public school indicators for Canada, the provinces and territories, 2008-2009
Just under 5.1 million students were enrolled in publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in Canada during the academic year 2008/2009, down 0.5% from the previous year. This was the lowest level since 1998/1999 when data for the Elementary-Secondary Education Survey were first collected. Enrolment peaked at nearly 5.4 million students in 2001/2002.
- includes one table:
* Enrolment (headcount)

Related subjects:

* Education, training and learning

From the
Canadian Index of Wellbeing:

Canadians are More Educated But Warning Signs Appear
October 26, 2010
Canadians are more educated than ever before, but there are warning signs that performance is declining according to the new CIW Education Report. The report finds that the percentage of spaces for early childcare has increased, as have high school completion rates and university participation and completion rates. There is also good news as the student-educator ratio in public school has been improving – except in British Columbia. But developmental health in kindergarten has plateaued after a period of steady growth, social and emotional competencies in pupils age 12-13 are declining, and while Canadian basic education scores in Grades 8 and 9 are still above the international average, the margin is dropping.

Complete report:

Education : A Report of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (PDF - 939K, 84 pages)
October 2010

Report Highlights (PDF - 357K, 11 pages)
In a nutshell:
* Childcare Spaces are Up (although there was considerable variation among provinces.)
* Developmental Health in Kindergarten has Levelled off
* Student-Educator Ratio is Improving – Except in British Columbia
* Social and Emotional Competencies are Declining in Middle Childhood
* Canadian Basic Education Scores are Above the International Average – But the Margin is Dropping
* Parental Socio-economic Status is Becoming Less Important to Student Performance
* High School Completion Rates are Up
* University Participation and Completion Rates are Up

Source:
Canadian Index of Wellbeing
The Institute is independent, non-partisan, with a newly forming affiliation with the University of Waterloo, and operates under the leadership of an advisory board of accomplished Canadians and international experts. Its mission is to report on the quality of life of Canadians, and promote a dialogue on how to improve it through evidence-based policies that are responsive to the needs and values of Canadians.

For more CIW site content, see:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty.htm#wellbeing

From Statistics Canada:

September 7, 2010
Education indicators in Canada: An international perspective
In 2008, 20% of Canadian teenagers aged 15 to 19 were no longer pursuing a formal education. This was higher than the average of 15% across the 31 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). While this OECD proportion was down from 20% in 1998, in Canada, it remained stable at 20%.

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September 7, 2010
Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2010
This report, the second in an annual series, places certain aspects of the educational systems of Canada’s provinces and territories into an international context. Ten international indicators are presented in this edition, capturing information on educational attainment and graduation, labour market outcomes by educational attainment, spending on education, international students, and participation in adult learning.
[ Highlights ]
Source:
Education Matters: Insights on Education,
Learning and Training in Canada- September 2010 issue
Teachers and students of primary and secondary level can access free learning resources through Statistics Canada’s Education Outreach Program. Its goal is to ensure timely information for learning whether for history, geography, mathematics, family studies or other subjects. From grades 4 to 12, Census at school gives students hands-on experience with surveys and data analysis. The E-STAT database allows educational users to choose, graph, map and download a wealth of data.

Education Matters - main product page*
This free online periodical provides summary information on issues and gives access to education indicators and Canadian education analysis. It presents information, statistics and analysis in a non-technical, highly readable format for teachers, students, parents, education associations, researchers and policy makers [ This free online periodical provides summary information on issues and gives access to education indicators and Canadian education analysis. It presents information, statistics and analysis in a non-technical, highly readable format for teachers, students, parents, education associations, researchers and policy makers
[ * On the product main page,click "View" to see the latest issue of this report online; click "Chronological index" for earlier issues. ]

Related products:

* Learning Resources at Statistics Canada - For Teachers - For Students - For Kids - Postsecondary
* Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program
* Education Indicators in Canada: Fact Sheets
* Statistics by Subject : Education, Training and Learning
* Education finance
Source:
Statistics Canada

Related international link:

Education at a glance 2010: OECD indicators
9 September 2010
Main page - includes links to news releases, the complete report, dozens of Excel tables on various indicators and other related material

Complete report (PDF - 4.5MB, 472 pages)
- includes Canada

Report highlights

Source:
OECD Directorate for Education
[ Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) ]

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June 15, 2010
Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada, June 2010
The June 2010 issue of Statistics Canada's free online publication Education Matters: Insights on Education, Learning and Training in Canada contains one article: Completion and Discontinuation Rates of Registered Apprentices: Does Program Duration Matter?
Click the above link to access this article.

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June 15, 2010
Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program
The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes. PCEIP products include tables and charts, fact sheets, reports and a methodological handbook. They present indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time.
[Click View to read the latest edition of this report; click Chronological index for earlier editions]

New from
The Laidlaw Foundation:

Benefits for Children in Ontario Incomplete and Unfair
News Release
May 17, 2010
A new report says children not living with their parents are denied financial benefits that other children get. Not so Easy to Navigate, a report written by social policy experts John Stapleton and Anne Tweddle for the Laidlaw Foundation, reveals that the most vulnerable children in Ontario - those living in state care - don’t benefit from federal programs like the Canada Learning Bond and Canada Education Savings Grant the same way that children living with their families do.

Complete report:

‘Not so Easy to Navigate’:
A Report on the Complex Array of Income
Security Programs and Educational Planning for
Children in Care in Ontario (PDF - 511K, 40 pages)
By John Stapleton & Anne Tweddle
Toronto
May 2010
Young people who have been taken into state care report that the most difficult issue they faced when leaving care was the lack of emotional, financial, and educational support. This paper describes the major financial supports currently available in Ontario and proposes ways to improve the financial and educational well-being of youth once they leave care.

Two pamphlets by the same authors
released with the above report:

* 7 Things you Should Know (PDF - 291K, 14 pages)
May 2010
Do you know a child who is in the care of a Children’s Aid Society?
Are you concerned about their financial and educational future?
This fact sheet tells you about financial benefits from the government for children in Ontario, with special emphasis on programs that build savings for a child in care. It also explains some of the changes that happen to benefits when a child goes into care.

* A message to all mothers in Ontario:
March 2010
Collect child benefits of up to $8,400 and more every year!

There are four things you should do when you give birth
in order to obtain the benefits that you are entitled to:

1. Go to Service Ontario to get a birth certificate and a Social Insurance Number for your child.
2. Apply for Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB).
3. Fill out a tax return and send it in.
4. Go to any bank and setup a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
- includes links to online resources

Source:
The Laidlaw Foundation
The Laidlaw Foundation promotes positive youth development through inclusive youth engagement in the arts, environment and in community.

Related earlier report
from The Laidlaw Foundation:

Youth Leaving Care – How Do They Fare?
Briefing Paper (PDF file - 242K, 31 pages)
September 2005
By Anne Tweddle

[ More reports from The Laidlaw Foundation - click "Resources" in the left margin for links to all Laidlaw Foundation reports by theme.]

Related links from
Human Resources and Social Development Canada:

* Canada Learning Bond
The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is a grant offered by the Government of Canada to help parents, friends, and family members save early for the post-secondary education of children in modest-income families. (...) The Government of Canada will make a one-time payment of $500 into the RESP of children who qualify for the Canada Learning Bond and a $100 deposit each subsequent year the child’s primary caregiver receives the National Child Benefit Supplement, to a maximum of $2,000.
Source:
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Canlearn.ca offers more detailed information regarding the CLB.

* Canada Education Savings Grant
When you, as a parent, friend or family member, open a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) on behalf of a child and apply for the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG), the Government of Canada will deposit a percentage of your own contribution directly into the RESP. To date, more than three million children have benefited from the Canada Education Savings Grant.