In this episode, we will look at the educational changes in British Columbia, which launched a new curriculum in September 2016.  We will look at what changed, the rationales for such changes, criticisms, and how politics can affect education.

Sources:

“A Framework for Classroom Assessment.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/assessment/a-framework-for-classroom-assessment.pdf.

“All about the Foundation Skills Assessment.” British Columbia Ministry of Education.  Online brochure.  Accessed November 21, 2023.  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/assessment/fsa/en-foundation-skills-assessment-for-parents-and-caregivers.pdf.

“B.C. First Peoples 12.” British Columbia Ministry of Education.  Accessed November 21, 2023.  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/12/bc-first-peoples

“BC’s Redesigned Curriculum: An Orientation Guide.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Online brochure. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/supports/curriculum_brochure.pdf.

“Core Competencies.” Government of British Columbia.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies.

“First Peoples Principles of Learning. First Nations Education Steering Committee.  Accessed November 21, 2023.  https://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PUB-LFP-POSTER-Principles-of-Learning-First-Peoples-poster-11x17.pdf.

“Foundation Skills Assessment.” BC Teachers’ Federation.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://www.bctf.ca/topics/services-information/research-and-education-issues/fsa.

“Indigenous Languages of British Columbia.” British Columbia Ministry of Education.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/resources-for-teachers/curriculum/indigenous-languages.

“Introduction to Social Studies.” British Columbia Ministry of Education.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/introduction.

“Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).” National Center for Education Statistics.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/.

“Request that your child be excused from the FSA.” BC Teachers’ Federation.  Printable form. Revised August 2023. https://www.bctf.ca/docs/default-source/advocacy-and-issues/withdraw-your-child-from-the-fsa.pdf.

“Social Studies.” British Columbia Ministry of Education.  Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies.

Fu, Hong, Tim Hopper, and Kathy Sanford. “New BC Curriculum and Communicating Student Learning in an Age of Assessment for Learning.” Alberta Journal of Educational Research 64-3, (Fall 2018): 264-86.  https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/article/view/56425/pdf. 

Kachur, Jerrold L. and Trevor W. Harrison. “Introduction: Public Education, Globalization, and Democracy: Whither Alberta?” In Contested Classrooms: Education, Globalization, and Democracy in Alberta.  Edited by Trevor W. Harrison and Jerrold L. Kachur, xiii-xxxv.  Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press, 1999.

MacPherson, Paige and Joel Emes.  “Worrying Trends in BC’s Testing of Grade 10 Students.” Fraser Institute (January 2022).  https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/worrying-trends-in-bcs-testing-of-grade-10-students.pdf.

Peterson, Amelia. “Education Transformation in British Columbia.” Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (February 2023). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED626332.pdf.

Pocklington, Tom.  “The Marketing of the University.” In Contested Classrooms: Education, Globalization, and Democracy in Alberta.  Edited by Trevor W. Harrison and Jerrold L. Kachur, 45-55.  Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press, 1999.

Zwaagstra, Michael. “The Decline of Standardized Testing in Canada.” Fraser Institute.  March 29, 2022. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/decline-of-standardized-testing-in-canada.