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Linda Matsumoto
When I began teaching elementary school in 1968, I was oblivious to the political issues and reforms to education that were having an influence on every educator.
These reforms have been occurring over many decades and are not unique to Alberta or Canada, but are global in scope. The results of the actions and reactions show that schools are institutes that reflect the broader issues of society and, as such, they are held responsible for a tremendous array of social reforms.
In Class Warfare, The Assault on Canada's Schools (1994), Maude Barlow and Heather-jane Robertson comment, "As schools have become anti-chaos rather than pro-social in their orientation, they are expected to devise ways to counteract social change, even as they are being blamed for society's rising contempt for the values schools have attempted to foster. Are youth racist? Blame the schools. Are playgrounds violent? Do children kill other children? Do disengaged and bitter youth drop out? It is the fault of schools. In a collective attack of anxiety, we have demonized schools for creating social problems and mandated them alone to find the solutions. Our schools' inability to stem the tide of social upheaval single-handedly has been taken as evidence of their failure."
The political maneuvering in our province, country and around the world, the election of political leaders and the publication of various reports and texts since the beginning of the 20th century provide a framework and context for the reforms to our education system.
Time line of changes affecting education
1800s
A major vision of the creators of "common schools" is to serve the economic and workplace needs of industrialists—20 percent of the student population are needed to be leaders and professionals to run institutions, 30 percent are needed for middle management and white collar workers, 30 percent for factory workers and 20 percent aren't needed at all. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
Late 1870s
School grading is introduced in Alberta.
1910
The abolition of illiteracy and the creation of a system of universal education are central to Mexico's 1910 revolution. The Mexican government claims that it has increased school attendance from 22 to 98 percent. (This tremendous gain will be lost by 1990 as a consequence of World Bank reforms, which require massive cuts to social programs as a prerequisite for the Mexican government to acquire debt restructuring.) (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
1910–1914
Alberta adopts Egerton Ryerson of Ontario's model of education. (In the late 1990s, Ontario Premier Mike Harris will repay the compliment and model his education reforms on those of Alberta.)
1921
United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) are elected in Alberta. Herbert Greenfield serves as premier. The progressive education movement holds sway briefly as a result of a push by the women of UFA who attempt to advance education in rural areas. (Taylor, 2001)
1935
The UFA, led by John Brownlee, loses the provincial election to the Social Credit party under William Aberhart. Europe is in the throes of huge political upheaval and the rise of fascism. U.S. President Roosevelt reshapes the United States with his New Deal, and Saskatchewan elects the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In Alberta, Hubert Newland adopts the progressive education model from American John Dewey.
Post Second World War reforms are preoccupied with administrative efficiencies (school and district consolidation and the extension of services to isolated and rural communities). (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1935–1940
Under Newland, the following educational reforms occur in Alberta: large administrative units are created, powers of local boards are redefined, a new Teaching Profession Act defines the nature of the profession with mandatory membership leading to the formation of the Alberta Teachers' Association, curricular revision and mandated cooperative learning are undertaken, new teaching objectives are introduced, the restructuring of school levels is enforced and evaluation criteria and procedures for students and teachers are redefined. The ultimate objective of these reformed schools is "social reconstruction." The experiment with progressive education lasts until the 1950s.
1943
Ernest Manning begins his 25-year reign as premier of Alberta.
1947
The discovery of oil at Leduc ends Alberta's lot as a poor province.
1953
Hilda Neatby publishes So Little for the Mind, in which she argues that progressive education has abandoned all standards of rigour, has debased the most worthwhile subjects and has contributed to the decline of the best social, ethical and political values—the cure is "back to the basics." (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1959
The Cameron Report, a Royal Commission on Education, enshrines core subjects, highly specialized curriculum, standardized testing, direct teaching methods, work ethics and citizenship training.
According to Alison Taylor, the Cameron Report provided a plan described as the antithesis of the education policies and practices of progressive education. The commission concluded that the day of the unskilled and uneducated worker was gone. (Taylor, 2001)
1960s–early 1970s
This was an era of social innovation and experimentation.
Changes in education result in returning to progressive practices (non-graded classrooms, individualized programs and integrated programs of study). (Taylor, 2001)
The spectre of increased debt motivates the provincial government to alter its fiscal policies in light of the province's declining prosperity. (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
Human capital theory is widely accepted in the 1960s. The generally held view is that a society with formally educated workers will be more productive. There is an assumed relationship between more education and increased earnings. In 1963, John Cheal notes a growing interest in human capital ideas and their connection to the adequacy of educational systems in meeting the day's space-age challenge. (The Russians beat the Americans into space when Sputnik was launched in 1957.) Concerns are raised about school drop out rates and the waste of human potential. Greater investments in education are recommended. In 1999, this theory will be retooled when people are called upon to invest in themselves, or for governments to share the costs of education and training with private sector partners. (Taylor, 2001)
In the late 1960s, England releases the Plowden Report and Ontario publishes the Hall-Dennis Report. These two educational documents embrace "child-centred education as the only correct future for public schools." (Nikiforuk, 1993)
1962–1970
Federal tax structure changes see a shift in the share of taxes paid by corporations drop by 38 percent and the share paid by individuals increase by 23 percent. Taylor (2001) found that from 1951 to 1988 there was a similar drop for corporations.
1966
The U.S. Office of Education releases the Coleman Report, Equality of Educational Opportunity. The report causes a reverberation in industrialized nations with the disclosure that, despite the commonly held belief that more funding and resources will improve learning outcomes, "schools make no difference; families make the difference." (Hodgson, 1973) "There was almost no relationship between measures of school quality and student achievement." (Hurn, 1973)
1969
Teaching as a Subversive Activity by Neil Postman and Charles Weingardner is published. Harry Strom has served as Alberta's premier for a year. He will remain in office until the Social Credit era ends in 1971.
1960s–1970s
Britain experiences a return to basic education as progressive ideas and methods are linked to problems with student achievement and discipline. (Taylor, 2001)
1970
In 1970, the median age for teachers is 30. Alberta still enjoys relative prosperity, schools observe increased student enrolment and an aura of optimism pervades education. The culture of risk-taking begins to permeate the schools. The goal to educate the world's people persists through the 1950s to the early 1970s. Education is the priority of publicly financed social programs in eight of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and second in another seven countries. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
By the mid-1970s, the Alberta government provides massive subsidies to the private sector. The world capitalist economy enters a crisis stage because of the stagnation in industrial production, high unemployment and inflation. Resulting pressures lead to a widespread view among neo-liberal and neo-conservative critics that social welfare policies are an unaffordable luxury. (Taylor, 2001)
Decisions in Alberta are not free from outside influences. In Britain, during the 1960s to 1970s, declining faith in existing social-democratic policies permits the New Right to propose an alternative vision of social reality. By questioning previous educational reforms, the New Right's vision appeals to concerned parents who are alarmed about their children's futures as well as progressive methods of teaching. The economic crisis in Britain, academic reports, New Right propagandists and media-bashing of teachers results in public panic about the country's schools. (Taylor, 2001)
Education is beset by criticism on all fronts. Neo-liberal critics merge with conservative concerns that demand more parental choice, reduced influence of teachers' unions, improved global competitiveness, stronger links between school and work, increased fiscal austerity and greater use of performance measures to assess school quality. (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1971
The Progressive Conservatives, under the leadership of Peter Lougheed, are swept into power, taking 49 of the 75 seats in the provincial legislature. Lou Hyndman is appointed minister of education.
1972
The Worth Report is released. The study documents a total about-face in education in the 13 years following the release of the Cameron Report. Education now reflects the "do your own thing" generation. Schools are student-centered and feature team teaching, cooperative learning and open-area classrooms. The abandonment of standardized assessment is encouraged. (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1975
Julian Koziak is appointed minister of education.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries show a steady decline in growth of public education. Canada's spending falls from 24.4 percent in 1970 to 17.7 percent in 1980. As a percentage of GNP, education spending falls from 10.2 percent in 1970 to 6.7 percent in 1991.
Late 1970s
As the welfare state compromise (economical and socio-political) established after the Second World War unravels, alliances are created to facilitate business (North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI). The alliances begin "placing the brakes on welfare state programs and expenditures. Legislative power shifted to the executive, while executive power shifted to the departments of finance, trade and industry. In place of the crumbling economic and political underpinnings of the welfare state compromise, a new development model was implemented throughout many Western countries based on structural adjustment policies recommended by the World Bank, IMF and the OECD." (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1977
Alberta Education releases the Harder Report. (The report becomes the blueprint for changes to education that we are experiencing today.) Despite unsubstantiated evidence, the study reports on the "general dissatisfaction of the public with what they feel are shortfalls in the education system and the high cost of what they term mediocrity." (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
1979
David King is appointed Alberta's minister of education.
Margaret Thatcher's win in Britain is recognized as the first political victory of the New Right.
1980
Ronald Reagan, a New Right leader, is elected president in the United States. (George Bush, Dan Quayle, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush continue in Reagan's footsteps and encourage free market ideas for the social and economic lives of Americans.)
During this decade, the "socio-political environment changed, the welfare state faced considerable resentment from increasingly conservative middle-class and private sector workers. Their traditional advantages seemed to be eroded by special interests. Other conservatives, such as religious fundamentalists, disliked the increasing secularism, pluralism and moral relativism encouraged by the modernity, of which the welfare state and the education system were a part.
"These economic, political, and cultural critiques provided the popular bases for a political coalition known as the New Right; a marriage of Neo-liberalism (economic liberalism) to residual forms of political and social conservatism." (Harrison and Kachur, 1999)
During this decade, the connection between schools and societal values is more evident—environmentalism, desegregation of people with disabilities, bilingualism, women in the workforce, single-parent families, social-policy-through-the-classroom objectives and the Young Offenders Act. Schools try to have programs to cover all these areas. Teacher associations become visible advocates of "progressive" social policy.
England undergoes an education reform movement between 1980 and 1993. There is devolution of local bodies along with increased state control. Additional changes include public funding for low income children to attend private school, governing bodies of schools increase the representation of parents and business people, colleges are run by business sponsors and the curriculum emphasizes science and technology. Open enrolments help create quasi-markets for schools. By 1988, the education ministry establishes a specified program of studies and testing materials to ensure greater state control over outcomes. By 1992, private inspection teams are evaluating schools and providing increased public accountability. (Taylor, 2001)
1981
Alberta designs standardized tests for English, math, science and social studies in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12. The exams are administered on a rotating basis.
1982
Jim Keegstra, a high school history teacher in Eckville, Alberta, is fired, charged and convicted under Canada's hate crimes law for promoting hatred against Jews.
Grade 12 students in Alberta have the option of writing leaving exams in all the core subjects.
1983
Grade 12 exams become compulsory and count as 50 percent of a student's final grade.
1984
The New Right in New Zealand enjoys political victories. Canada's federal Progressive Conservative party wins the federal election.
1984–1985
Alberta Education conducts reviews of almost every aspect of education, including administration and delivery. It is during this part of the decade that schools' purpose changed from "promoting pro-social values to preventing social collapse. The distance between what schools had been told to accomplish and the trend lines of the rest of society came into clear focus with respect to the problems of violence. The week that high-profile conferences and media specials on school violence were taking place and schools were being exhorted to >zero tolerance' policies, Statistics Canada released its findings on the ubiquity of violence against women, the public clamoured for banned details of the Homolka case, and Mortal Kombat was the top game rental at video stores." (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
1985
Don Getty becomes premier of Alberta and remains at the post until 1992.
Curriculum changes result in increased time allotments to core subjects and the elimination of many options. Compulsory courses in careers, personal finance and life management skills are established.
1986
Nancy Betkowski is appointed Alberta's minister of education.
Alberta Education reports that 13,000 students are enrolled in private schools supported by some public funding. This enrollment figure jumps to 20,000 by 1996.
1987
Canada West Foundation, a conservative think-tank formed in 1971, produces four task force reports articulating positions of industry associations and management spokespersons in Canada. The group has considerable influence over Alberta Education reforms. (Taylor, 2001)
1988
Jim Dinning is appointed minister of education.
The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed.
Developing countries had been spending more than seven times the amount on education as developed nations. However, this decade sees a 25 percent decline. Unable to meet their debt payments to agencies like the World Bank, Third World nations undergo economic transformations on a free-market model to obtain debt relief. "Essentially, countries are forced to export their way out of debt, even if it means less food and poorer opportunities for their citizens." (Barlow and Robertson, 1984)
Margaret Thatcher's Education Reform Act authorizes charter schools, a national curriculum, national testing, open attendance areas and school-based management. All these reforms appear in Alberta Education's Business Plan.
1989
The House of Commons adopts an all-party resolution to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. (By 1991, 250,000 more children worldwide are living in poverty than in 1989.) (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
In New Zealand, basically every school becomes a charter school.
1990s
This decade ushers in the "Common Sense Revolution." In 1991, the Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR) and the Conference Board of Canada produce a joint study called "International Comparisons in Education," comparing Alberta schools to those in Japan, Germany and Hungary. Financial support comes from ACR and Alberta Education.
Andrew Nikiforuk, a Calgary-based former educator columnist for the Globe and Mail, Dr. Joe Freedman, a Red Deer radiologist, and the group Albertans for Quality Education claim to represent parents who are unhappy with the state of education in the province. The group raises awareness of international test score comparisons and calls for breaking the monopoly of public schools on education. The group supports a market model and increased private delivery of education, along with the restoration of production values. (Taylor, 2001)
Canadian West Foundation President David Elton is a prominent contributor to the Alberta government's visioning consultation.
Pepsi signs agreements with the Toronto school board for exclusive control over all soft drink and juice-vending machines in Toronto schools.
In New Zealand, a voucher-based system for students of low income is created, and an outcomes-based approach to national assessment is developed.
1991
Minnesota pioneers the first charter schools.
A content analysis of the Globe and Mail stories of 1991 finds that people least likely to be quoted about education are teachers, and if interviewed, their opinion informs only two percent of the articles. (Barlow and Robertson, 1984)
1992
Ralph Klein is elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Alberta. Halvar Jonson becomes minister of education.
The Economic Council publishes A Lot to Learn, Osbourne and Gaebler publish Reinventing Government, How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector and Neil Postman publishes Technopoly. Postman sees "schools as one of our primary means of socializing the young into technology, a culture that subjugates people to the interests of technology, and elevates the pursuit of quality of information over meaning, and divorces the population from the belief systems, as information management has no moral core." (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
Youth News Network offers $50,000 worth of free equipment to ministries of education and school boards for 12 minutes per day of required television news. Two and a half of those minutes are commercials that participating schools must ensure that students watch. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
By this year, no Canadian educational jurisdiction has been reformed as much as Alberta Education. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
The ATA publishes Trying to Teach, an account of the frustrations of over-reformed classroom teachers.
A White Paper by British Prime Minister John Major states "our reforms rest on common sense principles—more parental choice, rigorous testing and external inspection of standards in schools, transfer of responsibility to individual schools and their governors . . . and a common grounding in key subjects." (Taylor, 2001)
1993
Alberta Education publishes Tough Choices, which forms the framework for the workbooks for the 1993 roundtables on education. Two-hundred and forty stakeholders from Calgary and Edmonton attend the first roundtable discussion. Their goal is to cut 20 percent from the education budget.
The ATA and the Alberta Home and School Councils (AHSC) organize consultations for 1,500 people in reaction to the government's roundtables. The ATA and AHSC are told by the government to expect 20 percent cuts. Provincial Treasurer Jim Dinning suggests that it is unlikely that cuts will be that high. The same day, 3,000 students from across Calgary rally in front of MacDougall Centre to protest potential cuts.
Andrew Nikiforuk publishes School's Out: The Catastrophe in Public Education and What We Can Do About It. He describes the book as "a populist manifesto" representing people interested in clarity, relevance and common sense. He also raises awareness of parents' concern about corporate promotion of consumer values through schools. (Taylor, 2001)
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives produces Bleeding the Patient. The report suggests that the actual causes of the rising federal debt are "inflated interest rates maintained by the Bank of Canada, the failure to make wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share of taxes, and the drain government revenues caused by inexcusably high unemployment." (Taylor, 2001)
During the provincial election campaign, the Liberal opposition focuses on problems of debt and deficit and the fiscal management of the Getty Conservatives.
In their pre-election report, Seizing Opportunity, the Progressive Conservatives promise a balanced budget within four years and a more competitive tax environment.
The Canada West Foundation releases The Red Ink: Alberta's Deficit Debt and Economic Future. The report suggests that weak economic growth after 1975 caused deficit stimulation as the ever-expanding expectations of certain groups in society outstripped income, especially after the drop in energy prices in 1986. The Foundation suggests borrowing solutions from Americans Osborne and Gaebler: contracting out services, encouraging privatization of public sectors, shifting delivery of services to local community groups and existing institutions, financing services through user fees, selling assets and establishing greater interprovincial cooperation.
A Gallup Poll finds that 59 percent of Canadian CEOs believe that the private sector should be actively involved in forming education policy and shaping curriculum and standards. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
Alberta Education publishes Meeting the Challenge, which reports on the government's roundtable results. The ATA and AHSCA, which sponsored the alternative roundtables, publishes a workbook called Challenging the View, which focuses on education as an investment, not an expense.
During Klein's first four months of office, he eliminates 1,800 full-time government jobs, reduces the cabinet to 17 from 20, and produces a budget calling for a decrease of 21.7 percent in program expenditure over four years. This translates into a decrease in real per capita program spending of 27 percent. (Taylor, 2001)
1994
The ATA launches a half-million dollar public awareness program against cuts to education and attempts by the Tory caucus to erode the teacher's union's control.
In a televised address, Premier Klein outlines budget-balancing plans. Changes to education include a 12.4 percent cut. The province becomes fully responsible for educational funding and reduces the number of school boards from 140 to 60. Superintendents are appointed at the ministry level. Kindergarten funding is cut in half and transportation money is removed altogether. Charter school legislation is activated.
Within a week, 4,000 people attend a meeting organized by Calgary Catholic trustees to protest the government administration of all education funding. Catholic boards are allowed to opt out of the centralized provincial education fund without financial loss. This action results in a court challenge to Bill 19.
Alberta cuts social spending by 21 percent.
The premier announces the reduction of provincial grants to school boards by 5.6 percent and outlines his expectation that teachers will take a five percent wage roll back.
The government releases its first Three-Year Business Plan detailing the restructuring plans for education. It also establishes five MLA teams to assist in local implementation of different parts of the plan.
An Angus Reid Poll of 800 Albertans on proposed changes to education finds that 68 percent are aware of the changes, 67 percent feel that these changes will have "somewhat" or "very negative" effects, 55 percent feel there is too much change, 63 percent feel that the changes are too fast and 68 percent feel that they have not had enough input into the changes. (Taylor, 2001)
By September, the number of school boards is reduced to 71, resulting in a reduction of the number of trustees from 1,000 to 435.
Dr. Joe Freedman, charter school proponent, proposes using public schools for a three-year research experiment featuring teacher-directed instruction in an environment free from control by the local school board and the ATA.
Maude Barlow and Heather-jane Robertson publish Class Warfare. Their book emphasizes the politics of curriculum and asks, "Whose interests are being served and at what price?"
Daycare subsidies are cut by 20 percent. The government offers welfare recipients one-way tickets out of Alberta. Department of education staff is reduced by 170, thus returning it to its 1970 size. (Barlow and Robertson, 1994)
Premier Klein is awarded the Fraser Institute's prize for Best Fiscal Performance of Any North American Government.
The reforms introduced by the Alberta government shift the role of government away from ensuring equitable delivery of education towards the role of standard-setter and provider of information to parent "clients."
ACR spearheads an initiative called Careers: The Next Generation, which is aimed at increasing the number of youth in skilled trades in Alberta through cooperative education and apprenticeships. The move is supported by Alberta Education. (Taylor)
ATA President Bauni MacKay offers to agree to teachers taking a five percent wage roll back in exchange for guarantees of class size and a 300-day delay on legislation in order to allow for public discussion of education reforms. She also asks for a commitment to maintain publicly funded schools that are open to all children and to ensure that all teachers in publicly funded schools will be certificated. Premier Klein refuses MacKay's requests.
The median age for teachers is 42. Teachers accept a five percent wage roll back to save jobs.
1995
Mike Harris wins the election in Ontario. His government centralizes education funding.
The cumulative decline in monetary support to provinces and territories from the federal government through Established Programs Financing and the Canada Assistance Plan exceeds $35 billion.
Mark Lisac publishes The Klein Revolution, Gordon Laxer and Trevor Harrison publish The Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada and G. Teeple releases Globalization and the Decline of Social Reform.
A decision on the PSBAA case states that Bill 19 violates the guarantee of treating public and Catholic school boards in the same way, therefore public boards must be allowed to opt out.
Five charter schools open.
The federal government takes a neo-liberal turn and begins downloading power to the provinces in all areas, including education. (Harrison and Kachur, 1998)
In August, 1,000 adults are surveyed by Archer and Gibbins, who report the following findings: 80 percent support the government goal of eliminating the deficit, 54.3 percent feel that the pace is too fast and 56.6 percent feel that cuts to primary and secondary education are too big. About 60 percent of those polled say that teachers and students are the big losers in the move to eliminate the budget by cutting funding.
In September, another Angus Reid poll finds that 67 percent feel that the impact of changes on the quality of education is negative, while 26 percent feel that the impact is positive. As well, 41 percent feel that the quality of education in city classrooms is worse than in the previous year, 36 percent feel it is the same and 7 percent feel it is better: 16 percent do not know. (Taylor, 2001)
The government's themes of accountability, standards, devolution of power and choice mirror the reforms of Britain, New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
1996
Gary Mar is appointed minister of education. The results of a three-year study on charter schools is published.
1997
Ontario passes Bill 160, which affects the work of secondary school teachers and cuts millions of dollars from the education budget.
With the financial assistance of corporate sponsors, Dr. Freedman distributes the video Failing Grades across Canada.
Alberta holds a Growth Summit, which recommends increased spending in social infrastructure, particularly education.
Klein's Conservatives win the election in Alberta.
Provincial treasurer Stockwell Day ignores the Growth Summit findings and announces that the entire budget surplus will go to pay down the province's net debt. This step is followed within a month by Klein's announcement that the government plans to tackle the province's gross debt, therefore social expenditures will remain squeezed.
Kevin Taft publishes Shredding the Public Interest.
The February 1998 budget includes tax cuts, token reinvestments in education and the removal of the machinery and equipment tax (worth $98 million a year) a year ahead of schedule.
1998
The Careers: The Next Generation (CNG) foundation is established by business, education and government partners.
Like Canada, Australia's states and territories are responsible for education. By 1998, virtually all schools in the state of Victoria have almost full control over budget and personnel. Because of funding cuts, schools face cuts and contracting out of services, school closures and increased workload for staff.
The U.S. pushes the changes even further by allowing for-profit companies, such as Edison Schools Inc., to run publicly funded schools. (By 2000, Edison is running 79 schools in 16 different states. Clinton's Goals 2000 Bill continues to push for national standards and methods of assessment. The primary purpose of education appears to be to prepare students for the job market.) (Taylor, 2001)
1999
Lyle Oberg is appointed minister of education. Alberta Education is renamed Alberta Learning.
2000
The Fraser Institute sponsors a conference on school choice, entitled "Dispelling the Myths and Examining the Evidence."
2001
The provincial budget gives teachers two and four percent salary increases over two years. Teachers are outraged.
2002
In February, teachers across Alberta go on a legal strike to back demands that education funding be increased and that issues of class size and classroom conditions be addressed. The government legislates teachers back to work and introduces Bill 12, Educational Services Settlement Act. ATA President Larry Booi announces that teachers will withdraw voluntary services in protest of Bill 12. Discussions between the government and ATA result in a fairer arbitration process for teachers and a commitment from the government to pay the teachers' pension's unfunded liability for one year. An arbitration tribunal examines teachers' contracts across the province. Over the summer, the ATA holds hearings on conditions in classrooms, and the government appoints members to a Commission on Learning.
References
Barlow, Maude and Heather-jane Robertson. Class Warfare, The Assault on Canada's Schools. Toronto, Ont.: Key Porter, 1994.
Harrison, Trevor and Jerrold Kachur. Contested Classrooms: Education, Globalization, and Democracy in Alberta. Edmonton, Alta.: University of Alberta Press, Alberta, 1999.
Hepburn, Claudio et al. Can the Market Save Our Schools? Vancouver, B.C.: Fraser Institute, 2001.
Hodgson, Godfrey. "Do Schools Make a Difference?" The Atlantic, March 1973. Boston, Mass.: Atlantic Monthly Company, 1973
Hurn, Christopher. Limits and Possibilities of Schooling. Boston, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon, 1993.
Neatby, Hilda. So Little for the Mind. Toronto, Ont.: Clarke, Irwin, 1953.
Nikiforuk, Andrew. School's Out: The Catastrophe in Public Education and What We Can Do About It. Toronto, Ont.: McFarlane Walter & Ross, 1993.
Taylor, Alison. The Politics of Educational Reform in Alberta. Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, Ontario, 2001.
Linda Matsumoto was raised and educated in Medicine Hat. She is currently enrolled in the masters of education program at the University of Lethbridge.
