(ಠ_ಠ)РаОÑÉ
2014-09-07 00:53:14 UTC
The Globe and Mail - Friday, Sep. 05 2014
How B.C.’s teachers measure up against others in Canada
Nearly half a million B.C. public school students missed their first week of
classes due to the labour dispute between teachers and the provincial government.
Since job action escalated in the spring, both the B.C. Teachers’ Federation
(BCTF) and the government have argued by tossing numbers into the public debate
while providing little context.
While provinces keep their numbers differently, making comparisons difficult, a
look at Alberta and Ontario – provinces that also have dicey relationships with
their educators – sheds some light on teachers’ compensation and working
conditions elsewhere in Canada.
For example: While new teachers in B.C. make salaries that are comparable to
their counterparts in other provinces, those with more experience or expertise
lag behind. In Alberta and Ontario, top-ranked teachers can earn up to $20,000
more a year.
And while the BCTF and government argue about appropriate class sizes, Alberta
favours loose provincial guidelines over legislated caps, resulting in class
sizes ranging from a handful to nearly 50 students.
Nina Bascia, an associate chair at the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education, believes the real issue behind the B.C. conflict is less about the
numbers and more about the initial move by the B.C. Liberals to strip the
teachers of certain collective bargaining rights in 2002 without consultation.
“The position that the BCTF wants to go back to early-2000s isn’t about the
numbers,” Ms. Bascia said. “It is about the principle.”
Size
The ability to bargain class size and class composition is at the heart of the
current B.C. teachers’ strike. When the province’s ruling Liberals stripped the
B.C. Teachers’ Federation of its ability to negotiate those conditions in 2002,
class-size limits were introduced through provincial law.
British Columbia’s neighbour has gone a different route. Rather than legislate
caps on class sizes, Alberta has suggested provincial guidelines, which are
often missed. While the province has a low average class size in high school,
that average masks a large gap between the largest and smallest classes. In the
Calgary Board of Education, the largest high school class reported in early
2014 was 44 students; the smallest was five.
Provinces across the country have differing approaches. Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Prince Edward Island have no caps at all, while Quebec, B.C. and New
Brunswick have class limits throughout the public system. Ontario, Nova Scotia,
Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador use caps in the earlier years of
elementary. Research shows that smaller classes are most beneficial in the
early years of education.
While negotiating for a new fund and interim measure, the BCTF has indicated a
preference for pre-2002 language
Kindergarten: Cap of 20 students
Grades 1 to 3: 22 students
Grades 4 to 7: 28 students
Grades 8 to 12: 28 students
B.C. 2013-2014 class-size averages
Kindergarten: 19.3 students
(Current government cap of 22 students)
Grades 1 to 3: 21.5 students (Cap of 24 students)
Grades 4 to 7: 25.7 students (Cap of 30 students)*
Grades 8 to 12: 23.0 students (Cap of 30 students)*
*Can be exceeded in cases where large classes are beneficial, including band,
drama and physical education.
Alberta 2013-2014 class-size averages
Kindergarten to Grade 3: 19.9 students (Provincial guideline of 17 students)
Grade 4 to 6: 22.4 students (Guideline of 23 students)
Grades 7 to 9: 23.2 students (Guideline of 25 students)
Grades 10 to 12: 23.2 students (Guideline of 27 students)
Ontario class sizes
Kindergarten to Grade 3: 20 students cap (Does not apply to full-day kindergarten)
Grade 4 to 7:
School-board-wide average of 25 students
Grade 8 to 12:
School-board-wide average of 22 students
Composition
In B.C.’s debate on staffing levels, class composition is taken to mean the
number of special needs students in each class, as well as the number of
counsellors, teaching assistants and librarians in schools. Prior to 2002, the
number of specialists in schools was dictated by a formula requiring a set
number of educators for every 100 students. Those ratios were stripped from
collective agreements in 2002.
The province’s current proposal to deal with class composition is the creation
of a $75-million annual fund that would be spent by local school boards
according to their own needs. The BCTF is asking for a $225-million annual fund
to hire more teachers as an interim measure until a court decides on the
restoration of the pre-2002 language.
The BCTF has indicated a preference for the pre-2002 language, which provided
for ratios:
Teacher librarians 1:702 students
Counsellors 1:693 students
Learning assistance teachers 1:504 students
Special education teachers 1:342 students
ESL teachers 1:74 identified students
The government has said it could cost upwards of $1-billion to restore the 2002
language, a figure the union disputes. The B.C. government could not provide
The Globe with the current number of specialists employed in the province’s
public school system or the current ratio of specialists to student.
Despite a decrease in the overall number of special-needs students, some
subsets have expanded significantly in public schools over the past decade. The
government has asked the BCTF to re-examine what constitutes a special need.
The government says the number of cases of autism in the system has increased
to 6,750 in 2014 from 1,312 in 2001. Before the strike, there were 558,985
students in B.C.’s public system; just over 10 per cent were listed as special
needs.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Provincial law stipulates no class should have more than three special-needs
students. More than a quarter of the system is above that benchmark. In 2013,
15,937 classrooms in the province had four or more students with a special need
– an increase of 54 per cent since 2007.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
With 625,000 students in 2014, 10 per cent of Alberta’s education system is
also made up of special-needs students. The province has no regulations at the
provincial level over special-needs students, leaving those decisions to
individual school boards. Alberta Education does recommend that class size be
kept smaller when a number of special-needs students are present.
More than 16 per cent of Ontario’s two million students received
special-education services in 2013, a figure that has increased by 23 per cent
since 2003. The province leaves decisions on special-needs students to local
school boards.
How B.C.’s teachers measure up against others in Canada
Nearly half a million B.C. public school students missed their first week of
classes due to the labour dispute between teachers and the provincial government.
Since job action escalated in the spring, both the B.C. Teachers’ Federation
(BCTF) and the government have argued by tossing numbers into the public debate
while providing little context.
While provinces keep their numbers differently, making comparisons difficult, a
look at Alberta and Ontario – provinces that also have dicey relationships with
their educators – sheds some light on teachers’ compensation and working
conditions elsewhere in Canada.
For example: While new teachers in B.C. make salaries that are comparable to
their counterparts in other provinces, those with more experience or expertise
lag behind. In Alberta and Ontario, top-ranked teachers can earn up to $20,000
more a year.
And while the BCTF and government argue about appropriate class sizes, Alberta
favours loose provincial guidelines over legislated caps, resulting in class
sizes ranging from a handful to nearly 50 students.
Nina Bascia, an associate chair at the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education, believes the real issue behind the B.C. conflict is less about the
numbers and more about the initial move by the B.C. Liberals to strip the
teachers of certain collective bargaining rights in 2002 without consultation.
“The position that the BCTF wants to go back to early-2000s isn’t about the
numbers,” Ms. Bascia said. “It is about the principle.”
Size
The ability to bargain class size and class composition is at the heart of the
current B.C. teachers’ strike. When the province’s ruling Liberals stripped the
B.C. Teachers’ Federation of its ability to negotiate those conditions in 2002,
class-size limits were introduced through provincial law.
British Columbia’s neighbour has gone a different route. Rather than legislate
caps on class sizes, Alberta has suggested provincial guidelines, which are
often missed. While the province has a low average class size in high school,
that average masks a large gap between the largest and smallest classes. In the
Calgary Board of Education, the largest high school class reported in early
2014 was 44 students; the smallest was five.
Provinces across the country have differing approaches. Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Prince Edward Island have no caps at all, while Quebec, B.C. and New
Brunswick have class limits throughout the public system. Ontario, Nova Scotia,
Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador use caps in the earlier years of
elementary. Research shows that smaller classes are most beneficial in the
early years of education.
While negotiating for a new fund and interim measure, the BCTF has indicated a
preference for pre-2002 language
Kindergarten: Cap of 20 students
Grades 1 to 3: 22 students
Grades 4 to 7: 28 students
Grades 8 to 12: 28 students
B.C. 2013-2014 class-size averages
Kindergarten: 19.3 students
(Current government cap of 22 students)
Grades 1 to 3: 21.5 students (Cap of 24 students)
Grades 4 to 7: 25.7 students (Cap of 30 students)*
Grades 8 to 12: 23.0 students (Cap of 30 students)*
*Can be exceeded in cases where large classes are beneficial, including band,
drama and physical education.
Alberta 2013-2014 class-size averages
Kindergarten to Grade 3: 19.9 students (Provincial guideline of 17 students)
Grade 4 to 6: 22.4 students (Guideline of 23 students)
Grades 7 to 9: 23.2 students (Guideline of 25 students)
Grades 10 to 12: 23.2 students (Guideline of 27 students)
Ontario class sizes
Kindergarten to Grade 3: 20 students cap (Does not apply to full-day kindergarten)
Grade 4 to 7:
School-board-wide average of 25 students
Grade 8 to 12:
School-board-wide average of 22 students
Composition
In B.C.’s debate on staffing levels, class composition is taken to mean the
number of special needs students in each class, as well as the number of
counsellors, teaching assistants and librarians in schools. Prior to 2002, the
number of specialists in schools was dictated by a formula requiring a set
number of educators for every 100 students. Those ratios were stripped from
collective agreements in 2002.
The province’s current proposal to deal with class composition is the creation
of a $75-million annual fund that would be spent by local school boards
according to their own needs. The BCTF is asking for a $225-million annual fund
to hire more teachers as an interim measure until a court decides on the
restoration of the pre-2002 language.
The BCTF has indicated a preference for the pre-2002 language, which provided
for ratios:
Teacher librarians 1:702 students
Counsellors 1:693 students
Learning assistance teachers 1:504 students
Special education teachers 1:342 students
ESL teachers 1:74 identified students
The government has said it could cost upwards of $1-billion to restore the 2002
language, a figure the union disputes. The B.C. government could not provide
The Globe with the current number of specialists employed in the province’s
public school system or the current ratio of specialists to student.
Despite a decrease in the overall number of special-needs students, some
subsets have expanded significantly in public schools over the past decade. The
government has asked the BCTF to re-examine what constitutes a special need.
The government says the number of cases of autism in the system has increased
to 6,750 in 2014 from 1,312 in 2001. Before the strike, there were 558,985
students in B.C.’s public system; just over 10 per cent were listed as special
needs.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Provincial law stipulates no class should have more than three special-needs
students. More than a quarter of the system is above that benchmark. In 2013,
15,937 classrooms in the province had four or more students with a special need
– an increase of 54 per cent since 2007.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
With 625,000 students in 2014, 10 per cent of Alberta’s education system is
also made up of special-needs students. The province has no regulations at the
provincial level over special-needs students, leaving those decisions to
individual school boards. Alberta Education does recommend that class size be
kept smaller when a number of special-needs students are present.
More than 16 per cent of Ontario’s two million students received
special-education services in 2013, a figure that has increased by 23 per cent
since 2003. The province leaves decisions on special-needs students to local
school boards.