In this episode, we will look at the educational changes in British Columbia, which launched a new curriculum in September 2016. We will look at what changed, the rationales for such changes, criticisms, and how politics can affect education.
Sources:
“A Framework for Classroom Assessment.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/assessment/a-framework-for-classroom-assessment.pdf.
“All about the Foundation Skills Assessment.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Online brochure. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/assessment/fsa/en-foundation-skills-assessment-for-parents-and-caregivers.pdf.
“B.C. First Peoples 12.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/12/bc-first-peoples
“BC’s Redesigned Curriculum: An Orientation Guide.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Online brochure. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/supports/curriculum_brochure.pdf.
“Core Competencies.” Government of British Columbia. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies.
“First Peoples Principles of Learning. First Nations Education Steering Committee. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PUB-LFP-POSTER-Principles-of-Learning-First-Peoples-poster-11x17.pdf.
“Foundation Skills Assessment.” BC Teachers’ Federation. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://www.bctf.ca/topics/services-information/research-and-education-issues/fsa.
“Indigenous Languages of British Columbia.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/resources-for-teachers/curriculum/indigenous-languages.
“Introduction to Social Studies.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies/introduction.
“Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).” National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/.
“Request that your child be excused from the FSA.” BC Teachers’ Federation. Printable form. Revised August 2023. https://www.bctf.ca/docs/default-source/advocacy-and-issues/withdraw-your-child-from-the-fsa.pdf.
“Social Studies.” British Columbia Ministry of Education. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/social-studies.
Fu, Hong, Tim Hopper, and Kathy Sanford. “New BC Curriculum and Communicating Student Learning in an Age of Assessment for Learning.” Alberta Journal of Educational Research 64-3, (Fall 2018): 264-86. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/article/view/56425/pdf.
Kachur, Jerrold L. and Trevor W. Harrison. “Introduction: Public Education, Globalization, and Democracy: Whither Alberta?” In Contested Classrooms: Education, Globalization, and Democracy in Alberta. Edited by Trevor W. Harrison and Jerrold L. Kachur, xiii-xxxv. Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press, 1999.
MacPherson, Paige and Joel Emes. “Worrying Trends in BC’s Testing of Grade 10 Students.” Fraser Institute (January 2022). https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/worrying-trends-in-bcs-testing-of-grade-10-students.pdf.
Peterson, Amelia. “Education Transformation in British Columbia.” Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution (February 2023). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED626332.pdf.
Pocklington, Tom. “The Marketing of the University.” In Contested Classrooms: Education, Globalization, and Democracy in Alberta. Edited by Trevor W. Harrison and Jerrold L. Kachur, 45-55. Edmonton: The University of Alberta Press, 1999.
Zwaagstra, Michael. “The Decline of Standardized Testing in Canada.” Fraser Institute. March 29, 2022. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/decline-of-standardized-testing-in-canada.