The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Shortage of French-language teachers the subject of new research project

Ottawa – With financial support from Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) and the University of Ottawa, in partnership with the Association canadienne de langue française (Canadian French-language association), will carry out a research project on the shortage of teachers in French-language schools in minority settings in Canada.

“The federal government funding will help us get a better grasp of the causes of the teacher shortage and make concrete recommendations with our community partners,” explained CTF president Mark Ramsankar. “The purpose of this pan-Canadian study is to determine what measures to take at different levels to alleviate, or even eliminate, the shortage.”

According to a 2017 CTF survey of French-language school boards in minority settings, the shortage of staff qualified to teach in French is all too real. The problem was highlighted at the 105th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, in June 2017.

The research project will begin in April 2018 and the conclusions will be released between March and August 2019.

The research team will be contacting the various levels
of government involved in training and retaining teachers in Canada and CTF member organizations in order to take the pulse of the various regions. ❚

CTF appoints new director of research and professional learning

Ottawa – Sherri Brown has been appointed the new director of research and professional learning of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF)

Sherri Brown Director, Research and professional learning, CTF

Brown will lead the CTF’s research and professional learning activities designed to positively influence decisions affecting the quality of publicly funded public education in Canada.

“Sherri’s experience, education and skills in strategic and policy research make her the ideal person for the position,” said CTF president Mark Ramsankar. “As a passionate advocate for public education, equity, inclusion, and supporting teacher activism and inquiry with research and evidence-based tools and resources, she will certainly advance the federation’s goals in terms of supporting a strong national teacher voice.”

Brown has more than 13 years of experience in building and supporting quality, rigorous, and nationally and internationally recognized social policy research, as well as in strategic advocacy and knowledge translation.

Before joining CTF as a researcher and policy analyst in September 2017, Brown was senior research analyst with the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation. Prior to that, she worked at Simon Fraser University as a lecturer and researcher with appointments in the departments of labour studies and political science, and teaching specializations in social policy, Canadian labour markets, and the history of disability policy and advocacy.

Brown holds a Ph.D. in political science from McMaster University, a master of arts in political science from the University of Calgary and a bachelor of arts in political science from Concordia University (Montreal). ❚