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The Alberta government advised the Alberta Teachers’
Association late Friday afternoon, without meaningful advance notice or any consultation,
that it was cancelling the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding with the
Association which established a partnership to advance provincial curriculum
development. The decision followed on statements made by Premier Kenney the
previous day that made unfounded claims about the content of the draft grades K to 4 curriculum and about Alberta student achievement.
Alberta Teachers’ Association President Jason Schilling
received the news with disappointment and resignation.
“This partnership engaged the Alberta Teachers’ Association
in assisting government in the curriculum design process and played an
important role in mobilizing teachers’ practical expertise and support for the
redesign of Alberta’s decade’s old curriculum, a project that had languished
since Minister Hancock first launched his Inspiring Education initiative in
2009.”
The Memorandum recognized that teachers, who will ultimately deliver the curriculum, have special expertise worthy of consideration and it
ensured a high degree of engagement with teachers, through their Association,
in the curriculum renewal processes.
“Teachers live the curriculum; they know what works and what doesn’t work in today’s diverse and complex classrooms” said Schilling. “Ultimately, if a curriculum does not work for teachers and support student learning, it will fail and, for us, failure is not an option.”
Through the partnership, the Association provided advice to department
officials on all aspects of design and implementation of the new curriculum and
helped to recruit hundreds of teachers with classroom and subject area expertise
to work on drafting and validating content. As well, the Association promoted the
curriculum redesign process at its professional development events and through
its various communication channels. This cooperation is now at risk as, potentially,
is the curriculum redesign process itself.
Schilling rejected the notion that the Memorandum excluded
participation by other stakeholder groups: “The minister and department
officials can talk to whomever else they want, when they want—and they should be
seeking advice from a broad cross section of Albertans about what Alberta
students should be learning—the agreement with the Association did nothing to
prevent that.” Schilling stated bluntly “This decision and this government’s
approach seems to be motivated more by ideology than by a desire to ensure authentic
engagement to benefit students.”
As for promises that the teachers will continue to be
involved? “Given the way this decision was sprung on teachers late on a Friday
afternoon without any conversation, I am not left with a whole lot of
confidence in this Minister’s commitment to consultation on curriculum. I hope
I am mistaken and proven wrong.”
Backgrounders
What Alberta’s teachers believe about curriculum and curriculum reform
Background and timeline on the Memorandum of Understanding and curriculum
development
