The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Welcome to the winter 2018 edition of The Learning Team, featuring the Pledge for Public Education campaign. The Alberta Teachers’ Association advocates that the mission of public education is to help children develop their potential and thereby actively participate as citizens in our democracy.

The Alberta government reports that the population in our province is growing and, therefore, we have more children entering public schools every year. The Association believes that public education should be freely accessible to every child and delivered by highly skilled professional teachers, but a robust public education system cannot be actualized without the active support of parents, teachers and the general public.

The Pledge for Public Education provides a platform for every parent and citizen in Alberta to affirm their commitment to our public education system. The pledge rests on four pillars of improvement for our schools.

1. Small class sizes
   
   Learning is a relational endeavour, so small class sizes provide teachers with more time to work directly with students and provide individual feedback, which makes for a more productive learning experience. In an extensive review of the literature in this area, Bascia and Fredua-Kwarteng (2008) noted that implementing small class sizes over several years, (along with other strategies such as high-quality professional development for teachers), enhances student achievement.


2. Support for diverse learners
   
   Statistical data helps illustrate the complexity that exists in Alberta classrooms. For example, data from Alberta Education shows a 15 per cent increase in the number of students with exceptional needs between 2012 and 2017. The Pledge for Public Education affirms that resources and support should be available in a timely fashion to students with exceptional needs.


3. Full-day kindergarten
   
   The research comparing full-day kindergarten to part-day kindergarten affirms that children benefit both academically and socially from the increased time (Da Costa 2005). In addition, researchers note that children who have attended full-day kindergarten are better able to transition from the play-based learning environment of prekindergarten to the more academic environment of Grade 1 (Clark, Kirk and Glascott Burris 2000). Consequently, the Pledge for Public Education calls for the Alberta government to honour the recommendations of the 2003 Alberta’s Commission on Learning and fund full-day kindergarten.


4. A counsellor in every school
   
   The Canadian Mental Health Association estimates that approximately 10 to 20 per cent of youth will experience mental illness, and only one in five receives the assistance they require. It’s obvious, then, that mental health and well-being impact students in schools. Therefore, in an effort to ensure that students are well-supported in their learning and in their mental wellness, the Pledge for Public Education is advocating for at least one teacher-certificated school counsellor for every school.

We hope that you will lend your support to the Pledge for Public Education. Together, parents and teachers can make positive difference!

Lisa Everitt is an executive staff officer with the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

References

Bascia, N., and E. Fredua-Kwarteng. 2008. Class Size Reduction: What the Literature Suggests about What Works. Canadian Education Association website. https://edcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/cea-2008-class-size-literature.pdf (accessed October 22, 2018).

Clark, P., E. Kirk and K. Glascott Burriss. 2000. “All-day Kindergarten.” Childhood Education 76, no 4: 228–231.

Da Costa, J. 2005. “Full-day Kindergarten.” International Journal of Learning 12, no 6: 15–36.