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Background
Parents are increasingly concerned about the role education will play in securing the future they want for their children. Many now expect the education system to offer students an ever-growing selection of publicly funded schools, programs and options. With taxpayer dollars following the student, in some communities the exercise of choice is beginning to create a competitive market for education services, with all the advantages and dangers that this entails.
In Alberta in the late 1970s, some school jurisdictions adopted open boundaries. In the late '80s, the provincial government amended the School Act to allow school boards to establish alternative education programs specializing in language, culture, religion, subject or teaching philosophy. In the 1996/97 school year, the Alberta government removed attendance boundaries in all school jurisdictions.
Beliefs
Supporters of expanding school choice believe that
- parents and students have the legitimate right to choose their children's schools;
- parents should be able to select for their children educational options in curriculum, instruction and philosophical contexts;
- educational choice is best promoted by having schools compete to attract students; and
- market forces will "discipline" schools and encourage excellence.
Considerations
Those who are concerned about expanding school choice believe that
- increasing educational choice leads to increased segregation of students by race, social class and cultural background;
- there is no evidence that competitive environments improve learning or lead to innovation and diversity in school programming;
- school choice tends to favour the most wealthy and advantaged people in our society and fragments public education by creating have and have-not schools and programs; and
- a broad range of choice already exists within the public education system, both within jurisdictions and within schools.
A Closer Look
Some people regard education as a market commodity and students and their parents as consumers of that commodity. However, not all consumers are equal: some have more social and economic resources and hence will have greater influence over which programs will be made available. Our public education system has an important role to play in bringing together children from a wide variety of backgrounds to share a common learning experience. Taken to extremes, educational choice fragments public education and, over the long run, could undermine the unity and cohesion of our community.
Public education has responded effectively to the emerging needs of students and society. Since the mid 1990s there has been a rapid increase in the number of publicly funded educational choices in Alberta. Students may attend schools offering "Copernican timetables," four-day school weeks, year-round schooling, as well as enhanced programs in science, math, sports, fine arts, languages and a wide variety of religions. Access to charter, online, storefront and outreach schools adds to the range of available choices. In its public and separate schools, Alberta's public education system already offers a wide variety of educational choices. Instead of seeking to further expand the range of education choice, Alberta should concentrate on its core responsibility-building an equitable system of public education for all children.
Further Reading
Robertson, H.-j. No More Teachers, No More Books: The Commercialization of Canada's Schools. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1998.
Froese-Germain, B. "What We Know About School Choice." Education Canada 38, no. 3 (Fall 1998): 22-25.
British Columbia Teachers' Federation. "Issues in School Choice." August 7, 2001. click here
For more information call the Alberta Teachers' Association at (780) 447-9400 in Edmonton, 1-800-232-7208 elsewhere in Alberta.
In Alberta public education refers to both public and separate schools.
