Why is education a provincial responsibility

Assessor Assessor portal. Assess an academic credential. Access assessment resources. Use the tools. Develop your skills. Education Education portal. Education in Canada. Provinces and Territories of Canada. An overview of education in Canada.

Mobility Mobility portal. They provide an important link between local communities and the school board, bringing the issues and concerns of their constituents to board discussions and decision making. Trustees are elected every four years during municipal elections. Under the law, only the elected board has the power to make decisions.

Trustees do not have individual authority, but do have an important role to play as members of the board, including:. Principals are responsible for the organization and management of individual schools, including any budget assigned to the school by the school board.

They are also responsible for the quality of instruction at their school and for student discipline. One or more Vice Principals may also be assigned to the school to help the principal with his or her work.

School Councils advise principals and, where appropriate, school boards on issues affecting the education programs and the operation of individual schools. Navigate the policy network to explore the world of education or use the search box to go directly to a thematic page of your choice. Use the filtering box to display only thematic pages and related content for the level of education that you are interested in. All thematic pages give you a quick overview of the OECD's research and analysis.

For more details, just click on individual key insights and policy options that you find interesting to get the bigger picture. Print the thematic pages that you are interested in through the print function of your browser.

The development of education policies always needs to take into account country-specific traditions and features of respective education systems. Not all policy options are equally relevant for different countries, different contexts give rise to different priorities. In some countries, policy suggestions may already be in place; in others, they may have less relevance owing to specific social, economic and educational structures and traditions.

Kindergarten in Canada is considered part of the formal education system and has a dedicated curriculum in all 13 provinces and territories. While these programs are only compulsory in a few provinces, 97 per cent of children who are of eligible age attend Kindergarten in Canada. Elementary Education The ages for compulsory schooling vary among provinces and territories, but most require attendance in school from age 6 to age In some cases, compulsory schooling starts at 5, and in others it extends to age 18 or graduation from secondary school.

In most provinces and territories, elementary schools cover six to eight years of schooling. Almost 98 per cent of elementary students go on to the secondary level. Curriculum in Elementary Education The elementary school curriculum emphasizes the basic subjects of language, mathematics, social studies, science, health and physical education, and introductory arts; some provinces and territories include second-language learning.

In many provinces and territories, increased attention is being paid to literacy, especially in the case of boys, as test results have shown that their performance is falling behind that of girls in language. Secondary Education Secondary school covers the final four to six years of compulsory education. The secondary school graduation rate in —18 was 81 per cent, with 84 per cent of females and 77 per cent of males graduating.

The overall graduation rate has been steadily increasing while the longer-term dropout rate has declined as older students complete their secondary education. In —18, the dropout rate defined as to year-olds without an upper-secondary education had fallen to 8 per cent. Curriculum in Secondary Education In the first years, students take mostly compulsory courses, with some options.

The proportion of options increases in the later years so that students may take specialized courses to prepare for the job market or to meet the differing entrance requirements of postsecondary institutions.

Secondary school diplomas are awarded to students who complete the requisite number of compulsory and optional courses. In most cases, vocational and academic programs are offered within the same secondary schools; in others, technical and vocational programs are offered in separate, dedicated vocational training centres. For students with an interest in a specific trade, programs varying in length from less than one year to three years are offered, many of them leading to diplomas and certificates.

Separate and Private Schools The legislation and practices concerning the establishment of separate educational systems and private educational institutions vary among provinces and territories. Some provinces provide for tax-supported separate school systems that include both elementary and secondary education. These separate school systems reflect the constitutionally protected right to religious education for Roman Catholics or Protestants, when either group is the religious minority in a community.

Public and separate school systems that are publicly funded serve about 93 per cent of all students in Canada. Range of Institutions Postsecondary education is available in both government-supported and private institutions, which offer degrees, diplomas, certificates, and attestations depending on the nature of the institution and the length of the program.

The postsecondary environment has evolved during the past few years, as universities are no longer the only degree-granting institutions in some provinces.

A recognized postsecondary institution is a private or public institution that has been given full authority to grant degrees, diplomas, and other credentials by a public or private act of the provincial or territorial legislature or through a government-mandated quality assurance mechanism. Number of Institutions Canada has public and private universities, and public colleges and institutes.

Consult the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada for a complete list of institutions. Education is also funded through the money that governments transfer to individual students through loans, grants, and education tax credits.

Attendance and Graduation Trends Participation in postsecondary education has grown significantly in the past few years, whether measured by numbers of enrolments or by the proportion of the population in any given age group who are attending college or university. While women continue to make up the majority of students on both university and college campuses, they are still in the minority in the skilled trades.

University Attendance and Graduation. According to Universities Canada, in , there were 1,, full-time university students, as well as , part-time students.

In , Canadian universities awarded an estimated , bachelor's degrees, 65, master's degrees, and 7, doctoral degrees. University Governance Publicly funded universities are largely autonomous; they set their own admissions standards and degree requirements and have considerable flexibility in the management of their financial affairs and program offerings.

Government intervention is generally limited to funding, fee structures, and the introduction of new programs. Most Canadian universities have a two-tiered system of governance that includes a board of governors and a senate. Boards are generally charged with overall financial and policy concerns.

Academic senates are responsible for programs, courses, admission requirements, qualifications for degrees, and academic planning. Their decisions are subject to board approval. Students are often represented on both bodies, as are alumni and representatives from the community at large.

University Activities The majority of degree-granting institutions in Canada focus on teaching and research. Teaching is the other key function, whether at the small liberal arts universities that grant only undergraduate degrees or at the large, comprehensive institutions.

Registration varies from about 2, students at some institutions to a full-time enrolment of over 62, at the University of Toronto, Canada's largest English-language university.

University Programs There are more than 10, undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered in Canadian universities, as well as professional degree programs and certificates.