Education in Alberta
Encyclopedia
As with any Canadian province
, the Alberta Legislature
has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education. Since 1905 the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905, as well as to create and/or regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, home schooling).
The first "free" school (which would now be called a public school) in what is now Alberta, was established in the hamlet of Edmonton, in the Northwest Territories
, in early 1881. The school was established before the Northwest Territories had a Territorial Assembly, and before there was any law for the Territory respecting schools, or local government
, or local taxation. The people of the hamlet of Edmonton elected trustees to govern the establishment and operation of the school, and submitted to an informal local taxation entirely on the basis of local solidarity.
Between 1883 and 1905 a system of education developed in Alberta by which public education
was available in every community once the local population initiated its introduction; and separate school education
could be provided subsequently, provided certain conditions were met. This system, by which public education was to be universally available and separate school education available under certain conditions, was the system which the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
enshrined in the constitution of Alberta (the Alberta Act
) in 1905.
There are forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta, and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions. Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Roman Catholic electorate, and one (City of St. Albert) has a Protestant electorate. In addition, one Protestant separate school district, Glen Avon, survives as a ward of the St. Paul Education Region. The City of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan
border, and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers: both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law.
The most recent significant development in the governance of education in Alberta has been the emergence of Francophone education authorities in response to the adoption of the Canadian Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
and Freedoms (1982). There are five Francophone authorities in Alberta. In the south a public Francophone authority and a separate Francophone authority share coterminous boundaries. In the north there are three authorities which provide both public and separate school education. The Francophone authorities, together, cover the province, but they are not required to provide Francophone education from place to place, except where numbers warrant, and it is the responsibility of the board of the authority to decide whether numbers warrant.
For many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K - 12 education. Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property, as supplementary support for local education. In 1994 the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards, but not for separate school boards. Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K - 12 education; the difference is that the mill rate is now set by the provincial government, the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government. The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax
must go to the support of K - 12 education provided by school boards
. The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.
In addition to the property tax collected, the provincial government allocates money, each year, from the General Revenue Fund, for the support of K - 12 public and separate school education. In the case of the money drawn from the General Revenue Fund, it is also used to provide full financial support for charter schools
, a type of public school that does not charge tuition (and receives the same funding per student that a public district school would receive). Private school
s and homeschooling
receive some funding, but parents will pay a substantial portion of the cost.
Public and separate school boards, charter schools, private schools, and home schoolers all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education (Alberta Education). Public and separate schools, charter schools, and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education, they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education, and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Albera Education.
Since 1994 all boards with a civil electorate (public, separate, Francophone) are funded almost entirely by the provincial government. School boards may, and many do, allow the school administration to levy fees for books and special materials, special programs or services, etc. Such fees range from $20.00/student/year (more or less) to $750.00/student/year.
Current issues for K - 12 (civil electorate) education in Alberta include, but are not limited to:
Charter schools, private schools, and home schooling each have their own issues.
Approximately 600,283 students are educated in Alberta.
Education in Alberta is considered to be one of the best education systems in the world with the top PISA test results in Canada and second in the world in Science and Reading.
in Edmonton. The University of Calgary
, once affiliated with the University of Alberta, gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second largest university in Alberta. The University of Lethbridge
has campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary, and Edmonton. Athabasca University
focuses on distance learning
. In September 2009, the Government of Alberta designated two colleges as universities, creating Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton and Mount Royal University in Calgary.
There are 13 colleges that receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, NAIT
and SAIT
. There is also a large and active private sector of post-secondary
institutions, including DeVry University
.
Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions. There has been some controversy in recent years over the rising cost of post-secondary education for students (as opposed to taxpayers). In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs. So far, no plan has been released by the Alberta government
.
, Canada
, governing public education in Alberta at the primary and secondary levels. The Act authorizes the creation of and regulates public, separate, and Francophone
school districts.
government initiative which seeks to "improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority."
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
, the Alberta Legislature
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
has (almost) exclusive authority to make laws respecting education. Since 1905 the Legislature has used this capacity to continue the model of locally elected public and separate school boards which originated prior to 1905, as well as to create and/or regulate universities, colleges, technical institutions and other educational forms and institutions (public charter schools, private schools, home schooling).
K-12
The first schools in what is now Alberta were parochia l, that is, they were organized, owned and operated by Church clergy, missionaries, or authorities, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. A nominal fee was often charged for the attendance of students at these schools, and the fee was more often waived, as an act of charity or as an act of proselytizing, or as an act of local solidarity.The first "free" school (which would now be called a public school) in what is now Alberta, was established in the hamlet of Edmonton, in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, in early 1881. The school was established before the Northwest Territories had a Territorial Assembly, and before there was any law for the Territory respecting schools, or local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
, or local taxation. The people of the hamlet of Edmonton elected trustees to govern the establishment and operation of the school, and submitted to an informal local taxation entirely on the basis of local solidarity.
Between 1883 and 1905 a system of education developed in Alberta by which public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
was available in every community once the local population initiated its introduction; and separate school education
Separate school
In Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...
could be provided subsequently, provided certain conditions were met. This system, by which public education was to be universally available and separate school education available under certain conditions, was the system which the federal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
enshrined in the constitution of Alberta (the Alberta Act
Alberta Act
The Alberta Act, effective September 1, 1905, was the act of the Parliament of Canada that created the province of Alberta. The act is similar in nature to The Saskatchewan Act, which established the province of Saskatchewan at the same time...
) in 1905.
There are forty-two public school jurisdictions in Alberta, and seventeen operating separate school jurisdictions. Sixteen of the operating separate school jurisdictions have a Roman Catholic electorate, and one (City of St. Albert) has a Protestant electorate. In addition, one Protestant separate school district, Glen Avon, survives as a ward of the St. Paul Education Region. The City of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta/Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
border, and both the public and separate school systems in that city are counted in the above numbers: both of them operate according to Saskatchewan law.
The most recent significant development in the governance of education in Alberta has been the emergence of Francophone education authorities in response to the adoption of the Canadian Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
and Freedoms (1982). There are five Francophone authorities in Alberta. In the south a public Francophone authority and a separate Francophone authority share coterminous boundaries. In the north there are three authorities which provide both public and separate school education. The Francophone authorities, together, cover the province, but they are not required to provide Francophone education from place to place, except where numbers warrant, and it is the responsibility of the board of the authority to decide whether numbers warrant.
For many years the provincial government has funded the greater part of the cost of providing K - 12 education. Prior to 1994 public and separate school boards in Alberta had the legislative authority to levy a local tax on property, as supplementary support for local education. In 1994 the government of the province eliminated this right for public school boards, but not for separate school boards. Since 1994 there has continued to be a tax on property in support of K - 12 education; the difference is that the mill rate is now set by the provincial government, the money is collected by the local municipal authority and remitted to the provincial government. The relevant legislation requires that all the money raised by this property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
must go to the support of K - 12 education provided by school boards
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
. The provincial government pools the property tax funds from across the province and distributes them, according to a formula, to public and separate school jurisdictions and Francophone authorities.
In addition to the property tax collected, the provincial government allocates money, each year, from the General Revenue Fund, for the support of K - 12 public and separate school education. In the case of the money drawn from the General Revenue Fund, it is also used to provide full financial support for charter schools
Alberta charter schools
Alberta charter schools are a special type of public schools which have a greater degree of autonomy than a normal public school, to allow them to offer programs that are significantly different from regular public schools operated by district school boards. Charter schools report directly to the...
, a type of public school that does not charge tuition (and receives the same funding per student that a public district school would receive). Private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s and homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
receive some funding, but parents will pay a substantial portion of the cost.
Public and separate school boards, charter schools, private schools, and home schoolers all follow the Program of Studies and the curriculum approved by the provincial department of education (Alberta Education). Public and separate schools, charter schools, and approved private schools all employ teachers who are certificated by Alberta Education, they administer Provincial Achievement Tests and Diploma Examinations set by Alberta Education, and they may grant high school graduation certificates endorsed by Albera Education.
Since 1994 all boards with a civil electorate (public, separate, Francophone) are funded almost entirely by the provincial government. School boards may, and many do, allow the school administration to levy fees for books and special materials, special programs or services, etc. Such fees range from $20.00/student/year (more or less) to $750.00/student/year.
Current issues for K - 12 (civil electorate) education in Alberta include, but are not limited to:
- the balance of power between school board trustees and the province
- the level of funding, which school boards tend to feel is inadequate
- disputes between the school boards and the province, over ownership and control of schools and local facilities;
- issues over who locally elected school boards, and their employees, are accountable to
Charter schools, private schools, and home schooling each have their own issues.
Approximately 600,283 students are educated in Alberta.
Education in Alberta is considered to be one of the best education systems in the world with the top PISA test results in Canada and second in the world in Science and Reading.
Post-secondary
Alberta's oldest and most prestigious university is University of AlbertaUniversity of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in Edmonton. The University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
, once affiliated with the University of Alberta, gained its autonomy in 1966 and is now the second largest university in Alberta. The University of Lethbridge
University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
has campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary, and Edmonton. Athabasca University
Athabasca University
Athabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...
focuses on distance learning
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
. In September 2009, the Government of Alberta designated two colleges as universities, creating Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton and Mount Royal University in Calgary.
There are 13 colleges that receive direct public funding, along with two technical institutes, NAIT
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and provides technical training and applied education designed to meet the demands of Alberta's industries...
and SAIT
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
-Academics:SAIT Polytechnic offers two full baccalaureate degrees , four applied degrees, 66 diploma and certificate programs, 32 apprenticeship trades and 1,600 continuing education and corporate training courses....
. There is also a large and active private sector of post-secondary
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutions, including DeVry University
DeVry University
DeVry University and DeVry Institute of Technology are divisions of DeVry Inc , a proprietary, for-profit higher education organization that is also the parent organization for Keller Graduate School of Management, Ross University, American University of the Caribbean, Apollo College, Western...
.
Students may also receive government loans and grants while attending selected private institutions. There has been some controversy in recent years over the rising cost of post-secondary education for students (as opposed to taxpayers). In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein made a promise that he would freeze tuition and look into ways of reducing schooling costs. So far, no plan has been released by the Alberta government
Politics of Alberta
The politics of Alberta are centred on a provincial government resembling that of the other Canadian provinces, namely a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The capital of the province is Edmonton, where the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, the legislature, and cabinet reside.The...
.
Alberta School Act
The School Act is the provincial law of AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, governing public education in Alberta at the primary and secondary levels. The Act authorizes the creation of and regulates public, separate, and Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
school districts.
Alberta Initiative for School Improvement
The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is an AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
government initiative which seeks to "improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority."
See also
- Alberta charter schoolsAlberta charter schoolsAlberta charter schools are a special type of public schools which have a greater degree of autonomy than a normal public school, to allow them to offer programs that are significantly different from regular public schools operated by district school boards. Charter schools report directly to the...
- Higher education in AlbertaHigher education in AlbertaHigher education in Alberta refers to the post secondary education system for the province of Alberta. The Ministry of Advanced Education & Technology in Alberta oversees educational delivery through universities, publicly funded colleges, technical institutions, and private colleges. These...
- List of Alberta school boards
- List of universities and colleges in Alberta
- Public School Boards' Association of AlbertaPublic School Boards' Association of AlbertaThe Public School Boards' Association of Alberta is a not-for-profit society, the members of which are school jurisdictions in Alberta, Canada...
- List of Canada-accredited schools abroad