The Alberta Teachers’ Association

The current discussions on achieving a framework agreement among Alberta’s education partners will be a watershed process for education in Alberta, concludes Courage to Choose—Emerging Trends and Strategic Possibilities for Informed Transformation in Alberta Schools 2010–2011, a research initiative of the ATA.

Commenting on Courage to Choose, ATA President Carol Henderson observed that “more bureaucratic tinkering across a number of policy fronts will simply not do—given the growing complexity of classrooms, substantial changes are needed to support teachers’ work in enhancing learning for all students. Building a better version of yesterday is not an option.”

This past summer, the ATA’s research unit brought together international educational researchers and policy analysts to develop a roadmap for the next three years. The panel created a document entitled A Framework for Informed Transformation, which acts as a departure point for education partners to consider the complex policy decisions that lie ahead. The document details options for game-changing structural and policy reform. These reforms involve reconsidering curriculum design, including assessment and reporting practices; redesigning the school day to enhance professional learning; developing comprehensive cross-sector collaboration to support inclusion; reconsidering traditional assumptions about instructional time; and collaborating with international partners on research into school development.

For a review of teaching and learning conditions in Alberta schools over the past five years and the Framework for Informed Transformation, see The Courage to Choose—Emerging Trends and Strategic Possibilities for Informed Transformation in Alberta Schools 2010–2011, available on the ­Alberta Teachers’ Association website (www.ata.ab.ca).