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Alberta Schools - Principles for 21st Century Education
Success for all is a corner stone of our shared commitment to provide good schools for all students.
Ability comes in many forms and learners need to be supported to enjoy success no matter where their talents lie – education is not just for and about “academics” – we need to be a Province rich in all the talents.
The educational success of learners should not depend on the background or social status or economic characteristics of learners and their families. Schools, communities and families must work together to close gaps in attainment and give each learner the opportunity to find their talent, nurture that talent and be excellent. Success for all requires a significant investment in early childhood learning - without this, learners and the community spend their resources “catching up” rather than developing the talents of their learners.
Education should engage the learner with exciting, relevant content and opportunities for learning through experience and doing. The curriculum should balance abstract and practical knowledge so that every learner can access high quality knowledge and skills as well as vocational opportunities. Teachers should be able to add adapt and develop curriculum – it should not be “over-prescribed” by the Province.
Education should help learners to understand how to be healthy and happy and support them in their efforts to develop and maintain their emotional, physical and mental well-being. Schools should recognize that learning takes place both in and outside of schools – we need to facilitate, enable and recognize learning from a variety of different settings.
Education must be a partnership.
The education of Albertans should be a partnership of schools, parents and the wider community in a local area. Learners have a valuable role to play in contributing to the design of their own learning, and in shaping the way their learning environment operates.
Every place of learning should be different and innovative and we must find meaningful, yet effective, ways of holding schools to account for their performance that reward rather than stifle innovation and creativity.
Trust in our schools and education professionals must be fostered.
Every teacher should be a creative professional involved in the design of curricula and learning environments, and should be supported and supported in their acquisition of appropriate skills to fulfill that role.
Decisions in education should respect the rights of learners as citizens.
Decisions about and in schools should be driven by evidence and research. Alberta needs to be world-class in educational research if its schools are to the lead the world in performance and success.
Decisions about schools need to be based on the outcomes of participatory democracy – communities should be engaged in the work of their schools.
Making Learning Accessible
Schools need a curriculum that is accessible, authentic and valued by learners. An academic curriculum is valuable to many, but so too is apprenticeship, the creative arts, sports and many other “routes” for the talents of our learners. Learners need choices and resources should be linked to the choices learners make.
Schools, colleges and universities should be accessible, affordable and effective. Making access and affordability for our post-secondary system is a pre-requisite for building Alberta’s competitive advantage and is essential if the links between schools and Alberta’s post-secondary system are to be meaningful.
OUR SCHOOLS HAVE MANY CHALLENGES
We know that our schools, teachers and the students within them face challenges – lack of resources, uneven access to broadband and technology, testing and its impacts on real learning – the list can go on. What we need to do is to go back to first principles, secure agreement that these principles should be driving our thinking about our schools and then use these principles to drive decisions. We can’t deal with all issues in a single document. What we can do is establish the basis for future decisions.
Ability comes in many forms and learners need to be supported to enjoy success no matter where their talents lie – education is not just for and about “academics” – we need to be a Province rich in all the talents.
The educational success of learners should not depend on the background or social status or economic characteristics of learners and their families. Schools, communities and families must work together to close gaps in attainment and give each learner the opportunity to find their talent, nurture that talent and be excellent. Success for all requires a significant investment in early childhood learning - without this, learners and the community spend their resources “catching up” rather than developing the talents of their learners.
Education should engage the learner with exciting, relevant content and opportunities for learning through experience and doing. The curriculum should balance abstract and practical knowledge so that every learner can access high quality knowledge and skills as well as vocational opportunities. Teachers should be able to add adapt and develop curriculum – it should not be “over-prescribed” by the Province.
Education should help learners to understand how to be healthy and happy and support them in their efforts to develop and maintain their emotional, physical and mental well-being. Schools should recognize that learning takes place both in and outside of schools – we need to facilitate, enable and recognize learning from a variety of different settings.
Education must be a partnership.
The education of Albertans should be a partnership of schools, parents and the wider community in a local area. Learners have a valuable role to play in contributing to the design of their own learning, and in shaping the way their learning environment operates.
Every place of learning should be different and innovative and we must find meaningful, yet effective, ways of holding schools to account for their performance that reward rather than stifle innovation and creativity.
Trust in our schools and education professionals must be fostered.
Every teacher should be a creative professional involved in the design of curricula and learning environments, and should be supported and supported in their acquisition of appropriate skills to fulfill that role.
Decisions in education should respect the rights of learners as citizens.
Decisions about and in schools should be driven by evidence and research. Alberta needs to be world-class in educational research if its schools are to the lead the world in performance and success.
Decisions about schools need to be based on the outcomes of participatory democracy – communities should be engaged in the work of their schools.
Making Learning Accessible
Schools need a curriculum that is accessible, authentic and valued by learners. An academic curriculum is valuable to many, but so too is apprenticeship, the creative arts, sports and many other “routes” for the talents of our learners. Learners need choices and resources should be linked to the choices learners make.
Schools, colleges and universities should be accessible, affordable and effective. Making access and affordability for our post-secondary system is a pre-requisite for building Alberta’s competitive advantage and is essential if the links between schools and Alberta’s post-secondary system are to be meaningful.
OUR SCHOOLS HAVE MANY CHALLENGES
We know that our schools, teachers and the students within them face challenges – lack of resources, uneven access to broadband and technology, testing and its impacts on real learning – the list can go on. What we need to do is to go back to first principles, secure agreement that these principles should be driving our thinking about our schools and then use these principles to drive decisions. We can’t deal with all issues in a single document. What we can do is establish the basis for future decisions.
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