Education report vague, say trustees

A long-awaited education report raises more questions than it answers, say local school trustees.

Education Minister Dave Hancock released his Inspiring Education report this week but local trustees are more interested in the new legislation that's expected to follow in the fall.

Hancock embarked on a quest to revamp the education system 18 months ago, spending nearly $3 million while consulting more than 4,000 people. The resulting report, which seeks to draw a picture of the education system in 20 years, is 56 pages of vague guidelines and principles.

St. Albert Protestant school board chair Morag Pansegrau struggled to discuss the report because it's so vague.

"What he's done is raise a lot of questions in people's minds … without actually coming forward with anything that is concrete," she said. "To me the key issue is going to be the new school act."

She did extract from the report that the province is looking for technology to play an increasing role in education, something the district is already pursuing, she said.

Catholic board chair Dave Caron also noted the slant toward the increased use of technology, a path his division is already travelling.

"The question is, are they going to step up with the appropriate funding?" he said.

Hancock said the province's education system is based on an outdated industrial model.

The report states the education system of the future needs to be less focused on schools, systems and content and direct more energy toward learning, students and building competency. It should also provide more experiential learning and more access to experts, the report says.

Rather than a complete overhaul, the system requires an "informed transformation" to meet the future needs of children and society, Hancock said.

"The plain fact is that we have inherited an education system that was designed for a different time," he said.

He said he's hoping to see a system evolve that provides learning at any place at any time, based on student needs, one that allows more student input into learning. In 20 years, learning may not be structured by age and grade, he said.

The report states governance should move from a rules-based approach to a principle-based system. It also states a desire for more of a team approach.

"In the future, members of the governance team could be elected, appointed or recruited from the community," the report says.

Local autonomy

Opposition parties seized on this wording as a sign that locally elected school boards are on the way out. Hancock stressed that they are safe from his axe.

"This is not about eliminating the boards. I don't foresee us getting rid of the boards at any time in the future," he said.

Premier Ed Stelmach had the same message.

"We will have elected boards in Alberta but the community governance model will help to determine how those boards interact with the other players," he told the CBC.

Caron took Hancock and Stelmach at their word.

"We're certainly glad that the minister and the premier immediately came out and clarified," Caron said.

Hancock's next step is to release an education discussion paper on June 15 that will be based on the report released this week.

The paper will lay the groundwork for further changes in the education system, including new education legislation that's expected in the fall.