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In my years at the University of Lethbridge, I have had the very great privilege to teach and supervise preservice teachers. I love my job. I will admit, however, that my favourite day of our students’ journey is their very first day—orientation day. Students are so excited, albeit with a fair dose of naiveté and apprehension, as they start their B.Ed. program.
My second favourite day is the convocation ceremony. Watching students proudly march across the stage to the cheers and applause of their family and friends warms my heart. Our graduates are full-fledged teachers by this point, and have earned the right to join one of the most important professions in our society. Still, their confidence and eagerness are mixed with a healthy sense of trepidation and anxiety about what the future holds.
I must admit that I am also somewhat apprehensive as our new graduates join a profession that is both incredibly important, but also very demanding and complex. While I have great confidence that preservice teachers are mastering the skills and knowledge necessary to start their careers, those teachers who are currently in the field tell us about the daunting (or impossible) demands that are placed on them that make teaching increasingly difficult.
Teachers strive to the point of exhaustion to best address the needs of their students, regardless of what those needs may be. A typical classroom today will have a wide scope of students with cognitive delays, learning disabilities, ADHD and behavioural challenges, as well as those who find themselves on the autism spectrum, or perhaps even those who are gifted and talented.
In addition, we also see students who have survived traumatizing escapes from war zones, speak neither French nor English, have mental health difficulties and so many other mediating influences. And simultaneously, teachers also confront unpredictable policies and initiatives (Inspiring Education, curriculum redesign, high school flexibility, new teaching quality standards, student learner assessments), lack of appropriate funding and lack of access to necessary specialists.
Almost a decade ago, Alberta Education moved away from special education to an inclusive model. There was great optimism for this new view of education, as reflected in the Setting the Direction Framework, when the government approved the principles underlying the inclusive mode. More importantly, the government pledged to “develop detailed implementation and transition plans for the short, medium and longer term . . . in the context of available resources and in consultation with partners and stakeholders” (Alberta Education 2010a, p. 2).
And then there was silence.
A myriad of concerns arose across the province, which prompted the Alberta Teachers’ Association to strike the Blue Ribbon Panel on Inclusive Education in Alberta Schools. The resulting report was delivered in 2014, and in the intervening years, some important recommendations have been implemented. But there is much work to be done. In fact, despite ever-increasing needs, teachers and school districts have not seen more resources materialize in schools, but have instead seen a reduction in those supports.
Comments gathered by the Blue Ribbon Panel’s survey revealed how much teachers wanted to be heard: “Thank you for doing this survey. This is a critical issue that is impacting education and is being ignored or dealt with in a very superficial way. The questions you asked will hopefully put teacher voices into the discussions/decisions being made in this area.” and “I hope the information makes it to the people who could do something to make change happen.” They also wanted to communicate that the inclusive model was struggling: only 14 per cent of respondents indicated that inclusion had a positive effect on teaching and learning in their classrooms, compared with 61 per cent in 2007.
And sadly, it is estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of new teachers in Alberta leave the profession within five years. (Shulyakovskaya 2018).
Welcome Change
One welcome change, which can be seen in the newly developed Teaching Quality Standard, includes a standard focus on inclusive education:
Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments. A teacher establishes, promotes and sustains inclusive learning environments where diversity is embraced and every student is welcomed, cared for, respected and safe.
Beginning in September 2019, all new teachers must meet the revised standard in order to obtain certification in Alberta (note that teachers who already possess an Alberta teaching certificate will not need to recertify when the revised standards are introduced). And, it should be noted, the standards are not just for teachers. For the first time, Alberta Education has also described competencies for the Leadership Quality Standard for school and jurisdiction leaders as well as the Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard. The ATA has praised the development of the three standards, as it underlines the skills and knowledge that teachers and leaders will need to build a truly inclusive system.
The Teaching Quality Standard will provide a framework for the preparation and professional growth of all teachers. In order to ensure that new teachers are able to achieve this standard, Alberta post-secondary institutions have a two-year period to implement appropriate courses and curriculum that will prepare students for inclusive environments. In addition to what preservice teachers are offered, I believe that certificated teachers currently working in Alberta should be able to access professional development that will facilitate the development of inclusive learning environments.
Inspiring Education (Alberta Education 2010b, p. 21) envisioned a future where “learners’ differing needs, cultures and abilities are respected and valued within inclusive learning environments.” To date, there is little evidence that this envisioned future has been implemented successfully. My hope is that the new Teaching Quality Standard will do more than simply breathe new life into the rhetoric of an inclusive school model, but with it will come the resources and professional development needed to make this model a daily reality in schools.
References
Alberta Education. 2010a. Setting the Direction Framework: Government of Alberta Response. Edmonton, Alta: Alberta Education. Also available at https://archive.org/details/settingdirection00albe_5/page/n7 (accessed October 17, 2018).
Alberta Education. 2010b. Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans. Edmonton, Alta: Alberta Education. Also available at https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/45370ce9-3a90-4ff2-8735-cdb760c720f0/resource/2ee2452c-81d3-414f-892f-060caf40e78e/download/4492270-2010-inspiring-education-dialogue-albertans-2010-04.pdf (accessed October 17, 2018).
Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA). 2014. Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Inclusive Education in Alberta Schools. Edmonton, Alta: ATA. Also available at https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/News-Room/2014/PD-170-1%20PD%20Blue%20Ribbon%20Panel%20Report%202014-web.pdf (accessed October 17, 2018).
Shulyakovskaya, L. 2018. Why Are Millennial Teachers Leaving? Werklund School of Education website. https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/wse-research/home/research-werklund/why-are-millennial-teachers-leaving (accessed October 17, 2018).
Dr. Nancy Grigg is the associate dean of undergraduate programs within the faculty of education at the University of Lethbridge.
