State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency,” Report on Learning in Canada 2007 (Ottawa: 2007)
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2007 REPORT on learningin Canada 07 STATE OF LEARNING IN CANADA No Time for Complacency S T A TE No Time for Complacency O F L E A R NING IN CANADA www.ccl-cca.ca Ottawa Office Vancouver Office 215–50 O’Connor Street 1805–701 West Georgia Street Ottawa ON Canada P.O. Box 10132 K1P 6L2 Vancouver BC Canada V7Y 1C6 Tel.: 613.782.2959 Tel.: 604.662.3101 Fax: 613.782.2956 Fax: 604.662.3168 This publication is also available electronically on the Canadian Council on Learning’s website at www.ccl-cca.ca. For additional copies of this publication, please contact: Communications Canadian Council on Learning 215–50 O’Connor Street, Ottawa ON K1P 6L2 Tel.: 613.782.2959 Fax: 613.782.2956 E-mail: [email protected] © 2007 Canadian Council on Learning All rights reserved. This publication can be reproduced in whole or in part with the written permission of the Canadian Council on Learning. To gain this permission, please contact: [email protected]. These materials are to be used solely for non-commercial purposes. Cite this publication in the following format: Canadian Council on Learning. “State of Learning in Canada: No Time for Complacency,” Report on Learning in Canada 2007 (Ottawa: 2007). page(s). Published in January 2007. Ottawa, Ontario ISBN 978-0-9782220-2-4 Aussi disponible en français sous le titre Rapport sur l’enseignement au Canada 2007, État de l’apprentissage au Canada : Pas le temps de s’illusionner. The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Its mandate is to promote and support evidence-based decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years. CHAPTER 01 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR In ths era of knowledge, success s not solely a measure of what we have learned n the past, but also of our capacty to acqure and apply new sklls and knowledge throughout our lves. But how do we defne success? Successful learnng s often measured n economc terms, because schoolng, qualfcatons and credentals typcally translate nto better jobs and greater opportunty. But there s more to success n today’s complex world: t s also about our capacty to grow and floursh, to acheve our Robert Giroux personal potental—at home, at work, or n our communtes. Char of the Board And that s why the Canadan Councl on Learnng s devoted to dentfyng successful approaches to learnng for all Canadans, at every age and stage of lfe. One way we fulfl our mandate s to explore the state of learnng n Canada today, and to consder how t can be mproved. For example, we recently publshed the frst natonal revew of Canada’s performance n post- secondary educaton, whch noted eght prortes for acton to ensure that Canada’s populaton has the sklls and knowledge requred to succeed. We are equally proud of our Composte Learnng Index, the world’s frst tool to measure a country’s performance across the full spectrum of learnng—n school, n the home, the workplace and the communty. Wth an nnovatve scorng system mapped communty by communty, the CLI wll be updated every year to montor Canadans’ progress n learnng. And now, we are releasng State of Learning in Canada, a comprehensve study of lfelong learnng n Canada. The report covers the full spectrum of learnng, from early chldhood and the formal school years, to workplace and communty-based learnng. Wth annual updates and a specal focus each year, CCL wll also dentfy emergng patterns and trends n learnng across the country. The data and analyses we brng to you n the followng pages tell a compellng story: a story about challenge and opportunty, aspraton and success. A story that deserves to be told, because t s about Canada’s future. Char of the Board INTRODUCTION MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO State of Learning in Canada, the Canadan Councl on Learnng’s overvew of the country’s learnng landscape, weaves a story at once optmstc and alarmng. The followng pages llustrate that whle Canadans have made strdes toward a culture of lfelong learnng, there s no room for complacency. Prepared by CCL n collaboraton wth ts fve knowledge centres, ths report provdes an unprecedented mage of the current state of learning in Canada from early childhood through to the senior years. It reveals where our strengths and weaknesses le, and where more nformaton s needed. Dr. Paul Cappon State of Learning in Canada wll be updated every year to reflect new data Presdent and CEO and knowledge. But even from ths ntal snapshot, mportant nsghts have been brought nto focus. For example, we can confrm that our youngest ctzens are generally healthy and well adjusted, ready and eager to enter Grade 1. In school, nternatonal testng shows that our students rank among the world’s best n basc subjects. Our workforce has more unversty and college graduates than most other ndustralzed countres. And, well nto ther senor years, numerous Canadans contnue to expand ther personal horzons as actve and engaged members of socety. On the other hand, the basc lteracy sklls of four n 10 adults n Canada are so low as to lmt ther economc prospects. Half cannot competently handle numbers and more than half cannot capably deal wth nformaton vtal to ther health and safety. The statstcs are even more troublng for certan groups wthn the populaton, ncludng senors, mmgrants and Aborgnal people. A specal feature on the state of lteracy n Canada explores these fndngs n detal. In fact, the role lteracy plays n the well-beng of ndvdual Canadans, the health of our economy and of our democratc socety s hghlghted throughout the document. The landscape panted by the State of Learning in Canada s nether all green pastures nor barren wasteland. The report offers a clear-eyed portrat of where we stand today, the challenges we face and the opportuntes we must make for ourselves n the future. The Canadan Councl on Learnng’s vson s to be a catalyst for lfelong learnng across the country. I beleve ths report represents a call to acton to strengthen learnng throughout Canada. Presdent and CEO ii CHAPTER 01 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAIR’S MESSAGE ....................................................................... CHAPTER 5 Aboriginal learning ..........................................65 5.1 Introducton .............................................................. 65 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ........................................................... 5.2 Indcators of Aborgnal Learnng ............................. 68 Aborgnal languages and cultures .............................68 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................. 1 Early development and learnng .................................72 SYNTHESIS: WHAT THIS REPORT TELLS US ............................ 2 School-based learnng .................................................74 Post-secondary educaton and sklls tranng ..............75 CHAPTER 1 Introduction ...................................................... 5 Communty-based educaton ......................................78 5.3 The Road Ahead ....................................................... 80 CHAPTER 2 Early childhood learning .................................. 9 2.1 Introducton ................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 6 Learning and literacy: Canada’s challenges . 83 2.2 Indcators of Early Chldhood Development ............ 10 6.1 Introducng ............................................................... 83 Brth weght .................................................................10 6.2 The meanng of lteracy n Canada ........................... 85 Physcal development and movement ........................11 6.3 The lteracy facts of lfe ............................................ 88 Cogntve development...............................................12 6.4 The scope of Canada’s lteracy challenges .............. 99 Language and communcaton sklls development ....13 6.5 The mportance of Literacy for life ......................... 105 Emotonal and socal development ............................16 6.6 The lteracy mperatve ........................................... 109 Early chldhood educaton and care ...........................17 6.7 Concluson: No tme for complacency .....................115 2.3 The Road Ahead ....................................................... 20 CHAPTER 7 Summary and Future Directions ................117 CHAPTER 3 Learning in school ......................................... 23 7.1 Chapter summares ................................................ 117 3.1 Introducton .............................................................. 23 Early chldhood learnng ......................................... 117 3.2 Indcators of Learnng n School .............................. 24 Learnng n school .................................................. 118 Student sklls ................................................................24 Ctzenshp educaton ..................................................29 Adult learnng ......................................................... 119 Healthy schools ............................................................32 Aborgnal learnng ................................................. 120 Hgh-school dropouts ..................................................37 Lteracy and learnng: Canada’s challenges ........... 121 Post-secondary educaton ...........................................38 7.2 Future Drectons .................................................... 122 3.3 The Road Ahead ....................................................... 42