With the end of hostilities in the Pacific and Europe, a new era began to take shape in Canada as a sense of national pride swept the country. The postwar baby boom started. In 1948, Louis St Laurent succeeded Mackenzie King as prime minister.
The discovery of oil at Leduc in 1947 was a significant event in Alberta's economic history. The development of oil and gas resources and the related royalties provided the government with a greatly expanded source of revenue with which to build roads and schools.
Premier Ernest Manning (1968, 7) characterized the years immediately following World War II as a period of readjustment in which Alberta "grappled with the problems of rapidly increasing population and rising costs of goods and services."
Despite Canada's military victories, the years following World War II were uncertain for many Albertans. Some people expected a return to the stagnant economy of the Depression. At the same time, the postwar period was a time of renewed hope and optimism. Eventually, the spirit of optimism prevailed.
The newfound confidence of the era was reflected in the phenomenon of the rising birthrate, known as the baby boom. After the hard times of depression and war, people again had enough confidence to raise large families. Before long, these children would require schooling.
Alberta's highway system developed rapidly in the mid-1940s and early 1950s (Chalmers 1992). Immediately after World War II, many rural school districts centralized their operations. The introduction of school buses—the first ones were red with white lettering—altered the shape of rural education at this time (Chalmers 1992).
Larger schools with modern facilities replaced dilapidated one-room schools having few amenities, and the yellow school buses we are familiar with today began transporting students to the larger schools. The days of the one-room schoolhouse were numbered, though closing the small districts sometimes resulted in a loss of a sense of community and in longer commutes for students.
Between 1945 and 1955, many rural students made the transition to multiroom centralized schools (Chalmers 1992). Demands for better roads inevitably accompanied the increasing use of school buses. Improvements in transportation, in turn, resulted in higher rates of school attendance and even higher levels of enrolment. In general, rural elementary and high schools began to resemble urban schools during this period.
The postwar period was a time of reconstruction and for rebuilding school buildings that had fallen into disrepair. However, resources were strained. The ASTA campaigned in 1946 for larger school grants to cope with the demands of the postwar period. It argued that grants were needed to place education "on a sound basis and [to ensure that] every boy and girl in the Province is given equal opportunity to develop their talents to the fullest extent" (cited in Weidenhamer 1976, 187). Weidenhamer (1976, 224) also reports that during this period the ASTA continued to lobby for provincial grants to cover half of the operating expenses for elementary and secondary education.
In 1947, the Department of Education recognized the need for school counselling. Educators also started addressing the needs of exceptional students.
Summary
The postwar period was a period of recovery, growth and progress for public education in Alberta. There was a sense that times were improving for society and for public schooling. Large rural school divisions were gaining importance. Ungraded classrooms gave way to more modern classroom arrangements. New school facilities at centralized locations replaced isolated one-room schoolhouses in remote locations. Libraries and gymnasiums were no longer a rarity in rural school divisions. Increasingly, teachers were able to specialize at specific grade levels. With the passing of the one-room school, the role of the principal—originally the principal teacher—increasingly turned toward coordinating efforts within the larger facilities. Roads and transportation improved considerably during this period. More and more students completed high school, not only in the cities but also in rural areas.
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