The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Learning and giving

International work is a growing focus of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, which has a proud history of providing assistance to developing countries. Indeed, this issue of the ATA Magazine includes substantial information about those efforts. Next year will mark a half century of Alberta teacher involvement in international volunteer work, and the work we do is more important than many of our members know.

The Association and other teachers’ organizations in Canada have supported teachers and their organizations across the developing world. Alberta teachers have travelled the globe to help our colleagues in the developing world and the organizations that represent them. Often, the organizations are basic in nature, local governments can provide little assistance and international involvement makes a huge difference. While our members talk (quite legitimately) about problems with classroom crowding in Alberta, the concerns for some developing-world teachers are much more basic: electricity, pencils and paper.

The Millennium Development Goals, established through the United Nations in 2000, included a goal to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Significant progress has been made toward realizing this goal—the number of primary-age children not in school has fallen from 102 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2011. But 57 million is still a high number, and furthermore, children in many countries are likely to leave before completing primary school, meaning that the goal of universal primary education is unlikely to be met by 2015. In addition, 123 million youth (aged 15–24) lack basic reading and writing skills—61 per cent of this age group are female. Obviously, we need to make greater progress in this area. Probably the most significant reason that children leave school is poverty. Rural children are more likely to be out of school than urban children, and girls are more likely to be out of school than boys (Millennium Development Goals Report 2013, United Nations, pages 14–17).

I was struck by the visit last year of His Excellency Membathisi Mdladlana, the South African High Commissioner to Canada, who attended a meeting of the board of directors of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation. The High Commissioner, a teacher and former chair of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, thanked the teachers of Canada for supporting individual South African teachers and his teachers’ organization. The involvement of our members has improved the teaching practice of South African teachers and has contributed to the ability of the teachers’ organization to advance the interests of the profession.

The Association is also involved with international work in the developed world. Our partnership with Finland is based on a straightforward idea: we should learn more from the very best jurisdictions. Since 2010, Alberta and Finland, both recognized as two of the top performing K–12 education jurisdictions in the world, have engaged in conversations focused on learning from one another. Finland has much to offer Alberta, especially in curriculum development, vocational education and assistance for teachers. Finland has been especially interested in a number of Alberta practices, including why it is that Alberta students enjoy going to school. The project has allowed teachers in Finland and Alberta to learn from one another—some of the best professional development available.

Alberta is also a destination for elected officials and practitioners who come to learn more about our successes. In my time as executive secretary, the Association has hosted meetings with U.S. state governors, various politicians, government officials, academic researchers and teacher organization representatives. These people have come to learn about how we tick and to find alternatives to structures in their jurisdictions that might not be working so well. We’ve been asked not only about how education is delivered in Alberta, but about our organization, practices, policies and beliefs. Most recently, we hosted representatives from Norway, Singapore and the United States. Learning from others is an important focus of our international work.

I’m proud of our commitment, which extends beyond our national borders. Not only do we make vital contributions to the developing world, we are learning a great deal from education officials in other countries. As our international education activities show, we have much to learn and much to share.