Canadian Class

Canada has one of the better performing education systems in the world based on international data and assessments, with relatively small inequities. When these good results in the first round of PISA were released in 2001, Canadians were as surprised as anyone. This book analyzes the reasons for the relative success of public education in Canada. Canada does not have many of the features typically ascribed to high performing systems. It has no national education minister, ministry or policy and no master plan for education. Its school systems, operated by 10 provinces and 3 territories, are rather traditional in most respects and fairly slow to change. It has not embraced most of the current education trends, such as stiff accountability, more choice, or more decentralization - although it does have elements of these in place. The book puts forward the view that Canadian education success is primarily based on three factors: strong public support for education, reasonably good supporting conditions in the larger society, and an education system that has largely focused on the right things.