Table of Contents

1. Foreward
2. Public Education in Canada
3. Public Attitudes Toward Education in Canada -- the 2007 CEA Survey
4. Reflections on the Future of Education in Canada
5. Appendix A
6. Endnotes

Downloads

• Public Education in Canada: Facts, Trends and Attitudes (PDF - 383 KB)
• Summary of Findings (PDF - 316 KB)
• Press Release (PDF)

Questions

Satisfaction/Confidence Questions

• How satisfied are you with the school system IN GENERAL? (very, somewhat, neither, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, can’t say)
• How satisfied are you with [PROVINCE] ELEMENTARY and HIGH SCHOOLS when it comes to the job teachers are doing? (very, somewhat, neither, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, can’t say)
• Over the past ten years, do you think the quality of education received by students in [PROVINCE] ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, has improved a great deal, improved a little, remained the same, worsened a little, worsened a great deal, can’t say?
• The quality of education received by students in [PROVINCE] HIGH SCHOOLS improved a great deal, improved a little, remained the same, worsened a little, worsened a great deal, can’t say?
• Students are often given the grades A, B, C, D, or Fail to indicate the quality of their work. If the public schools in your community were graded in the same way, what grade would you give them?
• What degree of change do you feel is necessary to fix problems with the educational system in your province and make it work for people? (no changes, minor changes, moderate changes, major changes, can’t say)
• How much respect and confidence do you have in the public schools in your province? (great deal, quite a lot, some, very little/ none, can’t say)
• And how much respect and confidence do you have for your provincial government when it comes to educational policy? (great deal, quite a lot, some, very little/none, can’t say)

Educational Finance Questions

• What would you like to see happen to TOTAL government spending? (increase greatly, increase somewhat, keep up with inflation, decrease somewhat, decrease greatly, can’t say)
• What about government spending for ELEMENTARY and HIGH SCHOOLS? (increase greatly, increase somewhat, keep up with inflation, decrease somewhat, decrease greatly, can’t say)
• Would you be willing to pay more taxes to support education in [PROVINCE]? (yes, no, can’t say)
• Provided the schools meet province-wide standards, what schools do you think should be given government funding? (only currently funded public, all public and private)

School Governance Questions

• Overall do you think that the Provincial government now has far too little, somewhat too little, about the right amount, somewhat too much, or far too much control over local education?
• Do you feel the public has too much say, enough say, or too little say about how schools are run?
• If asked today, would you definitely, probably, probably not or definitely not serve on a local school council?

Innovation Questions

• Over the past 10 years, would you say that there has been no real change, minor changes, moderate changes, or major changes in the way that schools in [PROVINCE] operate?
• Over the past 10 years, would you say government and school authorities have tried to make far too many, somewhat too many, about the right number, somewhat too few, or far too few changes in the province’s schools?
• On balance, would you say most of these attempts to make changes in schools have been in the definitely right direction, probably right, some right some wrong, probably wrong, or definitely wrong direction?
• Regardless of whether you think these changes were in the right or wrong direction, given their goals, would you say they were very successful, somewhat successful, some successful/some unsuccessful, somewhat unsuccessful, or very unsuccessful?
• How much need is there, if any, to find new ways of doing things when it comes to each of the following? (great deal, quite a lot, some, a little, no need, can’t say)
  Help students
  • Learn in elementary classrooms:
  • Learn in high school classes
  • Link school and outside learning
  • Decide what is important to learn
  • Handle differences in student abilities
  • Handle different outcomes for social groups
• When you read or hear new ideas about how things might be done in our schools and school system, would you say your first reaction is very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, very negative, can’t say?
• How much more likely would you be to react positively to a new idea if:
  • your provincial government favoured the idea?
  • teachers groups favoured the idea?
  • parents groups favoured the idea?
  • group you trusted favoured the idea?
  • parents you know favoured the idea?
  • the idea had been tried out successfully in an experiment?
  • the idea had been tried out successfully on a large scale?
• How important have each of the following been in shaping your views about how schools should be run?
  • Own experiences as student
  • Own experiences as parent
  • Newspapers, magazines, books
  • TV and radio
  • Talk with friends, neighbours, coworkers

Testing Questions

• Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
  • Province-wide tests should be used to assess the performance of each high school student.
  • High school students’ final grades should mainly reflect their teachers’ assessments not the results of province-wide tests.
  • Students should have to pass a provincial examination in each compulsory subject in order to graduate from high school.

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