Archive for the ‘Education Debates’ Category
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Reclaiming the civic university
Universities are thought of more and more as institutions of the economy. They are expanding, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, to meet the needs of a new knowledge-based economy confronting intense global competition… A civic university educates students for citizenship in a democracy… civic engagement… [but in] the development of Ontario universities… the influence is superficial… The task is to build the civic university.
Tags: economy, ideology, multiculturalism, participation, standard of living
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A principled Ontario premier would end funding for Catholic schools
Many Canadian politicians have become accustomed to letting courts take the lead on social change. But the discrimination from publicly funding Ontario’s Catholic schools will persist until an Ontario leader has the courage to adopt the only principled solution. The time has come to eliminate public funding for Ontario’s Catholic schools.
Tags: budget, ideology, rights, standard of living, tax
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There’s nothing ‘conservative’ about overstuffed classrooms
… when you have a child with “special” needs, you enter another universe. It’s not just about your child, but the kids you meet who have even greater challenges, and in many cases, whose parents cannot afford help. If those children had a fractured leg, they’d get treatment. A fractured mind, not so much… I still believe in personal responsibility. And that includes fiscal responsibility. But I don’t believe in governments making wrong-headed choices that cost more money in the long run. And that includes increasing class size in public schools.
Tags: budget, child care, disabilities, featured, ideology, mental Health, participation, standard of living, tax, youth
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Tim Hudak’s education plan threatens Ontario’s economic future
By ignoring the importance of these programs and the children who will never catch up without them, Hudak’s approach would take a jackhammer to the foundation of the human capital supply chain required for an “all hands on deck” economy… essential to creating jobs… is a coherent and integrated approach to education that begins with early childhood programs… These reduce vulnerabilities in children, preparing them for success
Tags: budget, child care, economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, tax
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Universities are confusing accountability with accountancy
Why has the publish-or-perish culture become so alarmingly demanding that it consumes most of a scholar’s time and output and drives some even to fall prey to predatory publishing schemes? The answer, it seems, lies in how peer-review practices, once meant to ensure quality and rigour, have been completely subverted by the “audit culture” so pervasive at institutions of higher learning the globe over.
Tags: ideology, standard of living
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Ontario’s Catholic schools are more contradictory than ever
… what is the point of maintaining separate public and Catholic school systems if an increasing proportion of Catholic school students opt out of the religion part? It seems like a costly indulgence for a province staring at a $12.5-billion deficit and almost $300-billion in debt… Politicians will cite the Constitution as an excuse, although other provinces have cleared that hurdle and there is no constitutional obligation to fund Catholic high schools. What they’re really afraid of are the militant Catholic trustees and parents who could vote them out of office.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, rights
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The myth of crushing student debt
Most students do not go to school for free. And some students don’t get enough help. But stories about sky-high tuition… leave out one essential fact. When it comes to tuition… “nobody pays the sticker price.” That’s mainly because of tax credits, which return $2.5-billion a year to students and their parents. Scholarship money has greatly increased, too… Nearly half of all Canadians under 18 now have RESPs in their name, and Canadian families have socked away an astonishing $40-billion in postsecondary savings plans.
Tags: participation, standard of living, youth
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Here’s proof graduates aren’t an underemployed ‘lost generation’
As for the “skills mismatch” narrative which suggests that we’re putting too many people in university and not enough in college, there’s not a shred of evidence. The trends in the data – both the positive and not-so-positive – are exactly the same in both colleges and universities, which suggests a rough balance between the two where labour-market outcomes are concerned.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
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Full-day kindergarten offers little academic advantage, study
Full-day kindergartners did fare significantly better in their vocabulary and their ability to control their behaviour and engage in play-based tasks, important elements when it comes to child development, the study showed… the challenge is to improve play-based programs that contribute to lasting change in things like writing and number knowledge
Tags: child care, ideology, multiculturalism, poverty, standard of living, women
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OCUFA criticizes new paper on “faculty productivity”
Ontario’s universities have the lowest level of per-student funding in Canada… our institutions must constantly do more with less. Since the year 2000, the number of students at Ontario universities has increased by over 64 per cent. Over the same period of time, the number of full-time professors has only increased by 30 per cent… Ontario’s student-to-faculty ratio is the worst in Canada at 28:1. In 2000, this ratio was only 22:1.
Tags: budget, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
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