Final Draft
Public Perspectives on Schooling: An Overview and Analysis of Public Opinion Polling on Education
By Reuben N. Roth
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto Ontario M5S 1V6
Prepared for the Atkinson Foundation Project AThe Schools We Need@ -1-
ACreating a useful crisis is part of what this will be about. So the first bunch of communications that the public might hear might be more negative than I would be inclined to talk about [otherwise].@ C Former Ontario Education Minister John Snobelen speaking to senior provincial bureaucrats, July 6, 1995.
AWhen written in Chinese the word >crisis= is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.@ C John F. Kennedy.
ATDSB=s (Toronto District School Board) current financial crisis should have been easy to predict two or more years ago. ... The Trustees, as a group, have demonstrated a clear reluctance to accept necessary structural changes, such as necessary school closures.@ C Provincially-appointed Financial Auditor Lawrence Rosen in an investigation report to the Ontario Minister of Education, August 19, 2002.
Introduction: Public Schooling and Great Expectations
Today, seven years after Ontario=s proclaimed schooling crisis, the Ontario provincial education
system and its students, teachers and parents, are once again facing a critical juncture; however the
present crisis is far less contrived than it was in 1995. The current situation can be encapsulated by
the struggle between the Ontario Ministry of Education and trustees at three rebel school boards
which refused to make the large-scale cuts necessary to balance their budgets, as prescribed by
provincial legislation.1 After a hasty investigation of the Toronto District School Board=s (TDSB) finances in August 2002, provincially-appointed auditor Al Rosen reported that
1 The >Battle of the Board Budgets= which took place [and is ongoing as this report is being written] during the Spring and Summer of 2002, involves the struggle between three >renegade= school boards (Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto) whose trustees passed deficit budgets and the Ontario Minister of Education, Elizabeth Witmer. The provincial Education Act mandates that Ontario school boards produce non-deficit budgets or risk falling into ministry-mandated trusteeship. -2-
A large number of the trustees= concerns have little or no relationship to how the provincial government has defined AEducation@ at the elementary and secondary school level. To some trustees, virtually every societal issue is thought to have education roots [my emphasis] (Toronto Star, 2002: A17).
The question of defining the goals of education within the public=s imagination is very much at the
heart of this dilemma. Moreover, if their position is being characterized correctly, TDSB trustees
may have it right after all. The belief that pedagogy and citizenship are inexorably intertwined
closely parallels the collective views of the public-at-large, with respect to the fundamental role and
importance of education in a democratic society. Schooling has been portrayed as the cornerstone
of full citizenship, encompassing goals like literacy skills, economic self-sufficiency, occupational
and financial mobility, employability (Compas, 2001),2 and the ability of individuals to engage fully
in a democratic community (see Merz and Furman, 1997 or Dewey, 1966 [1916]), to name only a
few of the many >burdens= imposed on education. Thus Mr. Rosen may have inadvertently hit the nail on the head: it is indeed a largely-held belief among Canadians that virtually every societal issue in some way embodies education at its core. The Saskatchewan Department of Education described its social studies curriculum in the following way:
2 There has been a clear lack of polling data which suggests what the goals of education are, in the public=s view. This gap leaves policymakers and educators without any popular criteria from which to judge their success. Compas (August 26, 2001: 21) reported that Atraining youth for the work world is the most important or valuable purpose of education in the eyes of Canadians as a whole@ (32 percent), followed by Acreating good citizens@ (23 percent), and Acreating inquiring minds@ (17 percent). Remaining responses to this closed-ended query fell below 10 percent. -3-
Social studies education encompasses the development of desirable personal, social and civic behaviour... It should help students to think, to develop problem solving, creative and decision-making skills, and to formulate attitudes and values for social and democratic living. In addition, it should better prepare students to deal with their problems, to accept and endeavour to improve their world and to acquire social learning which should enable them to function as responsible and effective citizens of a democratic society (in Osborne, 1991).
The Canadian Teachers= Federation=s >teacher belief statement= maintains that Aschools develop citizens@ and that Canadian teachers believe Athat a strong, publicly funded education system is essential to the preservation and promotion of democracy@ (2000: 5). Ken Osborne, in a historical survey of citizenship education in Canadian schools, may have stated society=s expectations of schools most succinctly when he wrote that A[e]ducation is the best national insurance@ (Osborne,
1991).@ Moreover, this image extends well beyond Canada=s borders. For example, a 1996
Netherlands conference organized by the National Institute for Curriculum Development report began with the statement: AEveryone, everywhere, expects schools to teach god [sic] citizenship as well as everything else and that is far from easy@ (Wall, et al., 2000). It comes as no surprise then, that Ontario=s >renegade= trustees accept this view unquestioningly, as do many citizens of democratic regimes. Ironically, it seems that cash-strapped provincial education ministries may be the last refuge of narrowly-focused definitions of >education=. The policy implications are especially grave, as education officials and policymakers debate over where to draw the line around what is included, as well as what is eliminated, within the realm of public education.
But the Ontario Ministry=s attack on the Toronto Board=s recalcitrance is merely the latest in a long string of similar events. The taxpayer-funded education system has endured well over two decades of unyielding criticism and relentless demands for >quality education= from many quarters, including -4-
parents, taxpayers, and the corporate business sector.3 In short, the mass media=s version of Canadian public opinion on education is fairly dour. As our modern folklore tells it, Canadian students graduate en mass without literacy skills, businesses cannot find technologically skilled workers, government spending has run amuck, schools are mismanaged, students are incapable of competing internationally, and teachers are increasingly feeling overwhelmed.4 Meaghan and Casas make the
observation that
[t]he public has been inundated with reports purporting to show that schools are failing our youth and are responsible for the poor health of our economy because in the contemporary highly competitive and integrated world economy, prosperity can be attained only with a highly skilled and trained labour force (1995: 37).
We live in an increasingly meritocractic society, and Canadians apparently consider educational
attainment as an obstacle that separates them C and their children C from obtaining well-paying,
stable, and meaningful employment (Coulter and Goodson, 1993: 1). As a report on the Quality of
Life in Canada released by the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) in September 2002,
puts it:
Canadians consider education to be a key determinant of their quality of life. The measures
identified by citizens demonstrate the importance of maintaining and improving the quality
of a universally-accessible system@ (CPRN, 2002: 6).
3 Some claim these calls mask an underlying desire to see schools transformed into venues which produce a more passive workforce (Meaghan and Casas, 1995: 37-38). This theme is echoed in, for example, Barlow and Robertson, who write that ANorth America=s corporations have three fundamental goals for their preoccupation with and investment in North America=s schools. ... The third is to transform schools into training centres producing a workforce suited to the needs of transnational corporations@ (Barlow and Robinson, 1994: 61).
4 See for example Hargreaves and Fullan, 1998: 2-3; ASelfish teachers lack public support,@ Hamilton Spectator, September 23, 1998; or AAre schools letting businesses down?@ in Financial Post, June 11/13, 1994. -5-
Furthermore our weak economy5 has become an even greater mobilizer as the nation=s employment
levels have waned over the past year. As Livingstone has pointed out, many politicians continue to
campaign for intensified retraining as the dominant policy response to rising or persistent
unemployment, all the while ignoring the fact that most Canadians are already immersed in a
>learning culture= (Livingstone, 1999a). Accordingly, the chronic shortage of sufficient paid work cannot be addressed by increased training alone. Nevertheless, the public demand for more responsive links between our schools and the economy continues.
Public opinion pollsters tell us that from the standpoint of the average Canadian, education and healthcare are the two leading areas of concern, even beyond their immediate relationship to government expenditure and taxation.6 As Ipsos-Reid=s John Wright put it:
From 1996 onward the education >issue= has dueled with healthcare as the Amost important issue@ that our provincial leaders should be addressing. As concern about jobs and the economy ebbed, these two issues rose on the radar screen to dominate the current issue landscape (Angus-Reid, May 29, 2000).
Bricker and Greenspon (2001) recount that in 1988 Decima Research reported that A60 percent of
respondents described the education received by young people in their area as either excellent or
good (2001: 156).@ But by mid-1999 the tide had turned drastically, and a surprising 82 percent of parents were now worried about their children=s quality of education. With the onset of a weakened
economy, and perhaps in reaction to persistent calls from business lobbies, parents had now imposed
a new set of demands from the education system. Bricker and Greenspon stress that the Areal public
5 AOttawa=s Surplus Vanishes.@ The Globe and Mail. August 8, 2002, P.A1.
6 See for example the Toronto Star story by Joel Ruimy, AMost voters= finances unaltered by tax cuts: Poll Majority also say election winner must make health, education top jobs.@ May 22, 1999. A8. -6-
opinion story in education is more about changed expectations than decay in the system (2001: 156).@
Canada=s achievement in international testing should provide the proof, as the CPRN reports
... more than half the Canadian population aged 25-65 scored A3" or higher on a five-point
scale measuring prose literacy ... the four Western provinces had the highest proportion
achieving A3" or higher (CPRN, 2002: 7).
Moreover, with high school completion rates currently at an all-time high, full-time university enrollments for Canadians aged 18-24 higher in every province than they were ten years earlier, and more than one-quarter of Canadians participating in adult education programs, Canadians have voted with their feet: education is the ticket to a better job, a measure of economic mobility and the front door to an improved quality of life.
The methodologies of measuring satisfaction
A total of twenty-four national, provincial and regional surveys dating from 1996 to 2002 were reviewed for this study (see Appendix >A=). The majority of these were generated by mass media outlets, with the OISE/UT series and the Proulx study among the few academic surveys.7
Accordingly the reader should note that survey design and methodologies varied considerably, as did
sample sizes. No single survey was as comprehensive as the series of thirteen OISE/UT surveys,
initiated in 19788 (see for example Livingstone, Hart and Davie, 2001). The findings of OISE/UT=s
series entitled Public Attitudes towards Education in Ontario (1978-2000) have historically tended to reflect public opinion for all regions across Canada, although no survey results should ever be
7 The OISE/UT series were particularly germane in generating a longitudinal chart (beginning in 1979) of public satisfaction in Ontario education.
8 The complete title for the OISE (until 1994), and later the OISE/UT survey, is Public Attitudes Towards Education in Ontario. For brevity=s sake these will be referred to collectively as the >OISE/UT surveys=. -7-
generalized to specific geographic locales beyond their original boundaries. Moreover, the OISE/UT
survey is the longest-running publicly-accessible survey on education in the nation. No other survey comprises as long a trend-line as the OISE/UT surveys, which facilitates the task of tracking any significant historical changes in public opinion, although it should be noted once again that these surveys only sample Ontario respondents. Lastly it is worth noting that no mass-media surveys are analyzed as thoroughly as is the OISE/UT survey in relation to background demographic variables such as sex, age, geographic region, parent status, religion, mother tongue, race or ethnicity, income, education, social and occupational class. Thus within the current study there are many references to this pivotal corpus of over 20 years of public opinion related to education.
Based on an examination of the twenty-two surveys reviewed here, the following eleven measures stand out as candidates for potential indicators of the public=s satisfaction with schooling and the public education system:
1. Public satisfaction with schools (i.e. straightforward expressions of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with schools, schooling and the quality of education); 2. Satisfaction with value for tax dollars spent, or support for the maintenance of current funding levels or increased funding levels (via taxes) for schooling9; 3. Survey responses which identify priorities in government spending; 4. Public and/or employer views of preparedness of high school students for university, the world of work, or both; 5. >Confidence in institutions= polling data which compares public confidence in schools to that in other institutions, such as the Supreme Court, the military, Parliament, corporations, or the Church. Alternatives are >trust by occupational category= or >confidence in professions= polls. 6. Satisfaction with the quality of teachers= work; 7. Satisfaction with schools= ability to prepare youth for the world of work; 8. Comparisons between school performance as experienced by the respondent versus today=s
9 It might reasonably be argued that perhaps nothing exclaims support for schools more than the public=s willingness to be taxed in order to support or maintain the quality of education. -8-
student experiences; 9. Public calls for deeper participation in schools and school boards (e.g. via parent councils, etc.), higher curricular standards and accountability (Hart, 2001: 32-35). Related to this is an increase (or decrease) in private school enrollments; 10. Public opinion on the management of the education system; 11. Public opinion on government regulatory, or school/board policies and policy implications in a wide variety of areas, for example teacher testing, teacher development, school violence, school uniforms, sex-ed, the role of parents (parent councils, curriculum, homework assistance, etc.). Often these were suggested by news media=s coverage of individuals or current events.10
All of these measures have some potential value as a litmus test of public sympathies in relation to schooling. Moreover, several measures may be used concurrently, thereby providing a means of
>triangulating= public opinion C thus possibly generating a more comprehensive measure of the public=s views of public education. Guppy and Davies (1999) cite Easton who argues Aat least
>diffuse support= must be forthcoming for institutions to fulfil their mandates@ (1999: 265-80).
10 A final suggestion posits that surveys which gauge electoral support for a political party deeply committed to radical education reform be included in this list. -9-
Longitudinal Tracking of Public Opinion in Canada
Overall, there have been few attempts to conduct or summarize longitudinal tracking of English
Canadians= confidence in educational institutions.11 During the course of commenting on the
dichotomized nature of education criticism into the camps of >crisis advocates= and >defenders of the
status quo=, Guppy and Davies (1999) make such a call:
Strangely, neither side has taken advantage of the decades of poll data on public confidence in and satisfaction with education. Literally dozens of national surveys about attitudes to education, dating from the 1940s, offer a basis on which to judge whether public confidence in Canadian education has remained strong or has fallen. Some of this polling data has been summarized by Livingstone and Hart [1995] (1999: 265-280).
According to Hart, widespread public satisfaction with public education can be visualized as a series of hills and valleys, with an upturn of satisfaction in schools between the late 1970s and early 1980s, a steady descent from the early 1980s until 1988, and another rise to 2000, almost returning to the support levels seen at the conclusion of the 1970s (Hart, 1998).
As outlined below, an overview of the data12 which describes the general public=s levels of
satisfaction with regard to education and schooling reveals little sense of a crisis in education among
Canadians.13
11 J.P. Proulx=s study of Quebec public education satisfaction surveys (2000) remains the sole longitudinal Canadian study.
12 An extensive review of all major publicly-available Canadian polls from 1995-2002 was conducted for this study.
13 Two persistent exceptions to those satisfied with the public education system are corporate executives (OISE/UT, 2001: 52) and senior citizens, with both showing lower levels of support for taxpayer-supported public education. This is further confirmed by Leger Marketing=s recent survey, which shows that of the 21 percent of Canadians who were against seeing an increase in Federal transfers go specifically to improving public education, 35 percent were over 65 and 29 percent were retirees. -10-
General Findings: Pan-Canadian Levels of Satisfaction with Education
Canadian satisfaction with public schools is not uniform across the country (see Figure 1).
According to a 1999 Angus-Reid poll the highest satisfaction in Canada can be found in the West,
with Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan registering 62 percent of survey respondents as either
>somewhat= or >very= satisfied (Angus-Reid, 1999). This was followed by the Atlantic provinces (59 percent >somewhat= or >very= satisfied), B.C. (57 percent), and Quebec (56 percent). Ontario respondents registered the lowest satisfaction level by a comparatively wide margin (48 percent).
FIGURE ONE ABOUT HERE (use >Chart 2=)
In general, Canadians uniformly lend higher levels of support to local schools than they do provincially or nationally. For example, a 1998 Vector Research poll found that ACanadians surveyed continue to give higher grades to schools in their community than to schools in their province as 54 percent compared to 46 percent respectively graded these schools [with a value of] A or B in 1998
(APoll Highlights: The 1998 Canadian Teachers= Federation National Issues in Education Poll.@). A
Leger Marketing poll conducted in August 2002, found 57 percent of Canadians were either >very
or somewhat= satisfied with Athe education system in your province@ (Leger Marketing, 2002: 2)
while just over one-quarter (26 percent) of Canadians expressed dissatisfaction. Residents of the
Prairie provinces (72 percent) and Quebecers (68 percent) were the most satisfied, while British
Columbians (34 percent) and Ontarians (32 percent) were the least satisfied. The fact that residents of B.C. and Ontario have recently seen the most complete overhaul of their education systems may be a factor here. -11-
The data also reveal a longstanding sentiment that parents are less likely to be undecided and more
likely than the public as a whole to report satisfaction with schools. AThis pattern applies to
satisfaction with the school system in general and satisfaction with value obtained for taxpayers=
money. However, parents and the public as a whole hold similarly favourable views of teachers=
performance@ (Livingstone, Hart and Davie, 2001: 8). As Quebec researcher Jean-Pierre Proulx notes the Adifference observed between the general public and parents is not particular to Quebec. It
corroborates what is constantly observed elsewhere@ (2000: 14).
It is worth noting that the Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of Americans= attitudes toward public
schools finds the same condition repeated on an annual basis.14 Like Canadians, AAmericans=
perceptions of public education vary depending upon respondents= closeness to the schools in
question . . . Parents continue to give high marks to the schools their own children attend, while the
public at large offers more mixed reviews of the public schools in its communities and is generally
critical of the nation=s public schools as a whole@ (L. Saad, Gallup News Service, August 20, 2002).
14 An overview of the U.S. literature indicates that consistency in opinion related to education and schooling extends not only across Canada but southward as well. According to the 13th OISE/UT survey AThe Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll in the U.S. ... [found] parents ... are more likely to offer higher grades to their local schools. They are also more likely to offer higher grades to the school their oldest child attends than to local schools as a whole. In other words, parents= views of schools appear more distinct from those of non-parents B and more favourable B the more Alocal@ the focus of the question. In 1996 we asked respondents about their satisfaction both with Ontario schools and with schools Ain your community.@ As in the U.S., differences between parents with children in school and those without were greater for local schools, with parents offering more favourable views (Livingstone, Hart and Davie, 2001: 8).@ -12-
Ideological Battlefield: The Ontario Case
As illustrated in Figure 2 below, a dramatic drop in school support took place in Ontario between
1989-1993, a slide in confidence which coincides with the severe economic downturn of the day
(Hart, 1998: 3). The decline in confidence in education and schools is a much-commented upon
anomaly, although this singular episode of decline (since tracking began in the 1970s) was followed
by a recovery that continues to the present (1998: 16), although pre-1989 confidence levels have yet
to be regained. Hart notes that
... public perceptions of the quality of schooling ... appear to be in slow decline; moreover, even after the recovery of opinion [post 1993], only half are satisfied with the schools' performance. [...] confidence ratings remain below levels [of] a decade earlier (Hart, 1998).
Most analysts15 have argued that battles between teachers and provincial governments have hurt both parties, hence the lack of complete recovery in confidence in educational regimes. Hart (1998) claims that there has not been a steady descent in support for publicly-funded education in Ontario, but
rather that AOpinion trends reveal wave like patterns or less regular fluctuations, but do not show
long term, substantial declines [...] willingness to fund and be taxed in support of schools has at least
held up during hard times@ (Hart, 1998).
FIGURE 2 ABOUT HERE (use >Chart 1=)
15 See for example, Judith Maxwell=s comments in APoll suggests Canadians fear for their quality of life,@ in The National Post, September 3, 2002. -13-
Nevertheless, the >crisis in education= alarm has been pulled by a variety of commentators, such as
Emberley and Newell and Andrew Nikiforuk16. These authors generally maintain that there is an
ongoing crisis in education with claims of a Acollapse in public confidence in education@ primarily
due to a Asubstandard quality of schooling (Guppy and Davies, 1999).@ Yet, according to the CPRN,
ACanadian 15-year old students performed well compared with students in 31 other countries,
ranking second in reading, sixth in mathematics, and fifth in science (2002: 7).@ Recent international
test scores refute the crisis rhetoric, for example in the 1990s:
in the majority of provinces, students ranked among the top-performing countries in reading, science and mathematics. Even in those provinces which scored below the national averages, students tested at or above the international average (2002: 7).
Additionally there is apparently no great hue and cry from the public for a large policy shift in education. While it is true that Apublic perceptions of changes in the quality of high school education reveal a gradual but persistent erosion in the proportion who see improvement@ (Hart, 1998), others strongly dispute the crisis rhetoric.
16 See for example, Andrew Niciforuk, School=s Out: The Catastrophe in Public Education and What We Can Do About It (1993) or Emberley, P. and W.R. Newell, Bankrupt Education: The Decline of Liberal Education in Canada. (1994). -14-
Canada: Regional Levels of Satisfaction
Some dissatisfaction with the state of schooling in Ontario C where discontent registers the highest and is largely the result of the seven year battle between teachers and the provincial government C should not submerge the quiet satisfaction found in other regions of Canada. As a 2001 Compas poll puts it, AIn all other regions of the country, a plurality of respondents believes that schools are better now than when they attended. This sentiment is especially strong on the Prairies (56 percent) and in the Atlantic provinces (61 percent)@ [Compas, 2001: 7.]. Conversely, an Angus-Reid-Globe and
Mail poll explains Awhile a majority (54 percent) of Canadians are satisfied with the public school system ... almost as many (43 percent) are disappointed@ (Angus-Reid, June 22, 1999). However, an eleven-point gap remains significant, and despite eager detractors= hyperbole, there is an explanation for the comparatively depressed school support reported here. This poll recounts that on a region-by- region basis, overall satisfaction with public schools was at the 60 percent level, with the exception of Ontario. Once again, Ontario=s protracted skirmishes with public school boards and teachers produced a comparatively low public satisfaction level (48 percent) and dragged the average
Canadian satisfaction rates from 60-plus, to 54 percent. Note however that Guppy and Davies= analysis of declining confidence in education finds Alittle support for demographic shifts as an explanation, but we do find that confidence in all institutions, not just public education, is waning@
(1999: 265-280).
In 2000, Université de Montréal researcher Jean-Pierre Proulx presented a study which reported on a thirty year overview of Quebec public opinion on school satisfaction. Quebec schools are required by the Quebec Public Education Act (s. 83) to report on both the quality and variety of services -15-
offered in the public education system, and Proulx hoped his study would establish an inventory
which might help to focus attention on satisfaction measures related to Quebec schools. The same
question was asked of respondents in almost all cases (nine of eleven were Gallup surveys) over an
27-year period. According to Proulx, between 1973 and 2000, just over half of those surveyed were
dissatisfied with the quality of education provided in Quebec=s public schools. Over one-third of respondents (39 percent) reported they were satisfied, but both 1999 and 2000 surveys saw improvement in this area, with 52 percent and 47 percent respectively, reporting satisfaction.
Thirteen surveys asked respondents to compare their perceptions of school performance today versus the past. An average of 30 percent of respondents found the present system an improvement over the education system of the preceding quarter-century (averaging between 22 and 45 percent).
Proulx comes to several interesting conclusions: he highlights the difference between the satisfaction of the general public and that of parents and students (2000: 14). In fact this conclusion has been noted elsewhere in Canadian studies, notably by Livingstone et al. (2001). In these cases, public satisfaction levels are generally lower (in the 50-60 percent range) while parents typically express higher levels of satisfaction (in the 75 percent range). This trend can also be seen in both the 13th
OISE/UT (2001) and Learning Alberta surveys. With respect to differing levels of support in
parental satisfaction between elementary school parents versus high school parents, Proulx observed
that more parents of high school-aged children are indeed dissatisfied (2000: 16-17), however he also
remarks that most parents are satisfied with both elementary and high school Aand in a proportion
that never falls below 75 percent (2000: 16).@ In fact, this remains the case whether the issue is
general satisfaction with the education system, satisfaction with teachers, supervision, or discipline. -16-
Simply put, the correlation lies with the age and grade level of the child. Proulx notes that shifts in
the public=s support of schools have little to do with the changes that actually occur within schools.
Confidence and Trust Surveys
Canadian schools have traditionally fared well in surveys on Canadians= confidence in institutions,
however Gallup Canada=s 1999 >Respect and Confidence= poll disclosed that Afor the first time since
1994 respect and confidence for Canadian public schools has dropped out of first place@ (Gallup,
1999: 1), although a healthy majority of Canadians (55 percent) have either Aa great deal or quite
a lot of respect and confidence@ in Canadian public schools, up from 52 percent in 1998. While
Canadians responding to institutional confidence surveys have generally rated schools in first place
and the military in second place, the 1999 survey saw these two institutions trade positions. The
miliary moved up dramatically from 50 to 58 percent, and confidence in schools rose slightly from
52 to 55 percent. Obviously a surge in support for the military, rather than a drop in support for
schools is responsible for this shift.17 Large corporations have historically lagged in institutional
confidence surveys, ranking ninth out of a total of twelve institutions.18 Among these Canadian
institutions five registered between 30 and 40 percent, with >large corporations= tracking at the
bottom of this group.
FIGURE 3 ABOUT HERE
17 U.S. data from the 1998 Phi Delta Kappa poll shows that Athe church or organized religion@ is highest in confidence among U.S. respondents (57 percent), with Apublic schools@ in second place (42 percent).
18 A recent (June 28, 2002) U.S. Gallup poll reports AAmericans= confidence in organized religion and big business has fallen significantly over the last year, while their confidence in the military and the presidency has increased.@ This American trend may foreshadow Canadians= views, although historically there have been significant disparities between the two nations in reported confidence polling. See also AAmericans Express Little Trust in CEOs -17-
The likelihood is that the comparatively low levels of confidence in large corporations may have
dropped further still in light of recent U.S. corporate scandals such as Enron, Worldcom, and Arthur
Anderson.19
Pollsters also regularly survey Canadians on their trust in occupations. In 1997, pollsters at Ekos
Research tested levels of trust and distrust by occupational categories and discovered that teachers
were the third most-trusted occupation among Canadians. Nurses were accorded a commanding lead,
with 90 percent of respondents assigning nurses Aa lot of trust@. Doctors and teachers followed next,
with both registering slightly below the 80 percent trust mark. This compares very favourably with
the occupational category of >business leaders=, for example, who garnered the trust of Canadians at levels below 40 percent, half the level of trust instilled in teachers.
FIGURE 4 ABOUT HERE
of Large Corporations or Stockbrokers@ Gallup Poll (U.S.), July 17, 2002.
19 See David Olive ABush just doesn=t get it.@ The Toronto Star, July 10, 2002. E01. -18-
Most significantly perhaps, politicians= negatives were over six times that of teachers, with
Canadians= distrust in politicians20 at 66 percent, just below the worst showing which was reserved for car salespeople (69 percent), and represents a significant contrast to the comparatively low levels of public distrust in teachers (below 10 percent). Distrust levels for business leaders were midway between these two poles, at just over 30 percent.
Resource Allocation and Confidence in Schools
Canadians= willingness to support increased provincial funding for public schools has increased in
recent years. The 13th OISE/UT survey noted that this is a growing phenomenon and that Asupport for increased funding of public education is now higher than ever before (2000: 1).@ This is an issue which has been tracked by OISE/UT researchers since 1988, although only a slight majority (52 percent) of Ontarians polled supported this view (versus 45 percent opposed). An Angus-Reid (June
1999) survey of Canadians= views of school systems concluded that Amost Canadians are dissatisfied with the current amount of government funding@ allotted to their provincial school systems, with nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents supporting increased provincial allocations in their own province. Approximately one-third, or thirty-four percent, were satisfied with present (1999) funding levels.
On a regional basis, perhaps most tellingly, Albertans C the first Canadians to undergo recent
20 Levels of trust in politicians were below 15 percent. -19-
widespread provincial education reform C were the greatest supporters of increased transfers from
Provincial education ministries to schools. However Albertans were joined by Atlantic Canadians
who have traditionally been supportive of government transfers These two regions saw support levels
which fell into the range of approximately 70 percent support. Younger Canadians were also
supporters of increased funds to public education (about 70 percent), a clear contrast when compared
to Canadians over 55 (52 percent support). Thus, Canadians= own educational experiences and
attainment may have an effect on their attitudes to increasing the flow of funds to schooling.
A growing mountain of evidence (see for example, Livingstone et al. 2000) reveals that the public
feels tax cuts and tax rebates are the chief culprit behind any perceived deterioration in the quality
of health and education services. Many members of the public are ahead of their governments in
acknowledging that public schools have been >bled dry= by a decade of incessant budget cuts. For
example, in January 2002, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board backed its request from
Ontario for a 36 percent funding increase with a poll showing public support for a increased
provincial spending (and arguably a tax hike) was strongly (43 percent) or generally (33 percent)
supported by Ottawa residents. While support was widespread across the city, it was strongest among
women, younger residents and higher-income households (Decima website, Jan. 11, 2002). It might
be argued that it is a lack of resource allocation to schools which helps to create a crisis of
confidence in schools, and leads to a further erosion of public support while heightening the
demands for increased school funding. An overview of OISE/UT surveys found that Afrom 1980 until
1988, the proportion of respondents in each [OISE/UT] survey who wanted higher spending on
schools rose from 38 to 60 percent. Thereafter, the figure has fluctuated between 49 and 55 percent -20-
@ (Hart, Oct. 1998). But Hart claims A..there has been no consistent trend to eroding [public] support
[for higher education spending] (Hart, 1998).@ Frank Graves, President of Ekos Research Associates, says AMany see devoting public resources to knowledge and education as an investment in the
future.@ AIt is a motherhood issue,@ he adds (Toronto Star, Sept. 23, 1997). Decima pollsters allege
that Athose who maintain that education has declined are most apt to see this as resulting from a lack
of funding or resources@ (Decima website, Jan. 11, 2002). This view has been validated repeatedly,
most recently by a national Leger Marketing poll which saw 71 percent of Canadians in favour of
a proposal which would see a larger proportion of their federal income tax passed to provincial
governments specifically used to improve the education system (Leger, 2002).21 Among those who
were particularly supportive of investing more federal funds on improving education were Quebecers
(89 percent), 25-34 year olds (81 percent), professionals (80 percent), university graduates (78
percent), and members of the workforce (77 percent).
An Overview of Satisfaction Surveys
21 Leger Marketing pollsters interviewed 1500 Canadians between August 20-25, 2002. The wording of the question was as follows: AWould you be in favour or against a larger proportion of your federal income tax given to your provincial government so they can use it to improve the education system?@ The results were 71% for, 21% against and 7% don=t know/refusal (Leger Marketing, 2002: 8). -21-
While expectations and demands on the system have shifted radically, when judged by the toughest
yardstick C views on the subject of taxation and funding support are firmer than ever. An overview
of survey and polling results reveals the following:
C An Angus-Reid poll conducted at the end of January 1995 reports that 55 percent of respondents felt the public education system was at risk, with 11 percent who thought it was at extreme risk. However, 50 percent felt Alberta public education was still working well, and 10 percent thought it was working >very well=. 52 percent felt not enough money was being spent on the provincial public education system (a jump of 21 percent from a poll one year earlier). Half who were polled felt that the greatest threat came from provincial government cutbacks, reduced funding and layoffs in public education. Even among the 60 percent of those surveyed who felt public education was still working well, six of ten respondents felt that cutbacks, reduced funding or layoffs pose a risk to the quality of education or might result in lower academic standards. (Bob Gilmour, ACuts threaten education B poll Half of Albertans feel system still working, but concern of future building.@ Edmonton Journal. Feb. 16, 1995.)
C According to the 2000 OISE/UT survey nearly three-quarters of Ontarians support increased spending for all levels of education. Most notable is corporate executive support (53 percent) and those over 55 (50 percent) have now become majority supporters, despite being strongly opposed to increased funding in the past. As one researcher put it, AAll social groups are on board.@ Forty-four percent of Ontarians are satisfied with school system in general while 63 percent were satisfied with the job teachers are doing. (Judy Noordermeer. APublic supports increased education funding, survey shows Nearly three-quarters of Ontarians support spending for all levels of education.@ UT Bulletin. May 7, 2001.)
C Most Ontarians disapprove of the way the province manages education, with almost 63 percent of those surveyed by Decima stating Athe province is not doing a good job running the education system@ and 35 percent feeling >strongly= about the issue. An additional 32 percent said the cause was a lack of emphasizing the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic, while 29 percent said the most >urgent= issue was ending hostility between teachers and the government. Lastly 23 percent said the cause of education woes was ensuring more education spending in the classroom. (Theresa Boyle,AOntario flunks polls.@ Toronto Star. July 14, 2001.)
C In reply to the [OISE/UT] survey question: Ahave government changes to the education system improved or worsened the system?@ 44 percent said Aworsened@, 24 percent said Aimproved@, and almost one-third had no answer. The report said 62 percent of respondents were satisfied with the job teachers were doing, but only 44 percent were satisfied with the school system as a whole. (Mark Stevenson. A[Southam] Poll finds many believe schools growing worse.@ Southam News, May 12, 1999.) -22-
C The School Review Survey of Parents, distributed to more than 7,500 Scarborough families showed 83 percent of parents are pleased with programs offered at their child=s school. 93 percent of parents said they feel comfortable contacting their child=s school and 88 percent were satisfied with their child=s safety at school. (Sandra Gionas. AParents pleased with schools.@ Toronto Star. Nov. 24, 1995.)
C Almost half (46 percent) of Ontarians believed education would worsen and the gap between rich and poor would widen if the Progressive Conservatives win the June 3/99 election, a poll by Ekos Research said. 47 percent of respondents said a new Tory government would have a bad impact on the education system, the biggest single negative rating for Premier Mike Harris. Just over one-third (35 percent) thought an Ontario Conservative government would do well on education. (Joel Ruimy. AEducation, poor seen worse off if Harris wins.@ The Toronto Star, June 2, 1999.).
Overview: Illustrative Themes Related to Education
A review of publicly-available polling data unearthed many wide-ranging themes related to education and schooling. These are discussed below:
C Education Reform and Governance Issues:
Since the 1990s the Alberta and Ontario governments have both exemplified the latest attempt at education reform in a world profoundly affected by large-scale downsizing, the extensive use of computer applications in the workplace C and therefore a perceived need for enhanced technical and literacy skills in the schools C and an even greater intensification of work practices. Accordingly these provinces embarked on a wholesale reconstruction of their educational regimes within a new corporate context and a shift in political ideology. These changes include a revision of the fundamental goals of education, new definitions of what constitutes a classroom, revamped curriculum with an emphasis on maths and sciences, school and school board reorganization and decentralization, greater use of accountability mechanisms (see below), greater emphasis on student -23-
preparedness for the world of work, increased corporate-school partnerships, greater parental
inclusion, and the beginnings of a school voucher system.
According to Angus-Reid (1999), Canadians= critique of public education centres on curriculum
issues, especially with regard to the feeling that schools do not provide enough Abasics@ in their
curricula. Among those who reported unhappiness with their school system in 1999, fully one-third
of Canadians Asingled out issues related to curriculum (Angus-Reid, 1999: 5).@ This is connected to
the general belief that high schools do not sufficiently prepare Canadian students for the workforce.
To wit:
C two-thirds of Canadians believe high school graduates today do not have good reading and writing skills; C sixty percent say high schools are not doing a good job preparing students for today=s workforce; C over fifty percent believe that there is too much attention paid to learning how to use computers, rather than the basics.
The public=s concern over curriculum content and standards is indicative of Canadians= growing
anxiety around the changing nature of the workforce, the >needs of the labour market= mantra, and
Canadians= ability to maintain their skills and retain their jobs.
C Labour-Relations Issues:
The reforms undertaken by many provincial regimes (see above) have led to difficulties in teacher-
government-labour relations, and a perceived deprofessionalization22 of teachers, with teacher testing
and compulsory professional development. In order to stretch increasingly tight budgets, teachers=
hours of instruction per day have been increased, further degrading labour relations and leading to
22 Conversely, some might designate the establishment of provincial teachers= colleges as the >professionalization= of teachers. -24-
staffing and labour shortages as teachers took advantage of early retirement provisions.
C School Funding Issues: Taxation related to school funding:
Broadly speaking, a majority of Canadians would like to see more of their Federal tax dollars
devoted to the improvement of publicly-supported provincial education (Leger Marketing, 2002).
Increased support for education funding through tax dollars has been at or near the top of Canadians=
social spending list for many years. Across the nation, education spending typically eclipses tax
rebates and is topped only by health care spending as a priority. A Toronto woman summarized the
question neatly when she said AThe younger generation is our future ... if they=re not educated, they won=t be able to pursue their goals or support their families@ (P. Small, Toronto Star, Sept. 23, 1997).
Expressing concern about a growing gap between the >have= and >have nots=, the advocacy group
People for Education warned, in May 2002, that funding shortfalls hit children from lower socioeconomic status neighbourhoods the hardest (Toronto Star, May 31, 2002, A1.). For example, this recent People for Education report found that in two cases alone, funding cuts led to a 55 percent drop in access to both psychologists and social workers.
A related observation notes the findings of an American Ipsos-Reid poll, conducted in February
2002, which claims A67 percent of the American public would accept a larger deficit in order to provide improved education for students from kindergarten through college. This places support for increased education spending just behind spending for the war on terrorism (78 percent) as deficit expenditures Americans will accept today.@ In fact, only 39 percent of surveyed Americans supported permanent tax cuts as an acceptable spending proposal during a deficit (Ipsos-Reid, 2002). -25-
Contrasting Canadians= relative propensity to more readily support public spending (and our historic
tendency to be not nearly as critical of the state=s rights to tax), to America=s record, the likelihood is that Canadians are even more willing to accept education-related deficit spending.23
$ Private, Voucher and Publicly-Funded Religious Education:
A National Post/Compas poll (June 2, 2001, A1.) reported that a total of 47 percent of those
surveyed supported either partial or complete tax relief to cover tuition fees for private schools.
However, this reaction may not come as a surprise to the seasoned observer, as Neil Guppy of the
University of British Columbia notes
I think in the context of what has been a declining confidence among Canadians in the public school system, it is not surprising that a majority of people are supporting some sort of tax relief for private schools@ (Ibid.).
A 2002 report related that Edmonton=s public school board responded to provincially-legislated (but taxpayer-supported) charter schools with the conversion of existing public schools from general to specialty programs, including schools which focus on dance, military, hockey, soccer, Ukranian,
German, Hebrew, and Mandarin, and >back-to-basics= education (Globe and Mail, August 31, 2002:
A9).
23 See for example, A80 per cent support increased funding for public education, says public opinion poll.@ Canadian Teachers= Federation press release, July 11, 2002. -26-
The elimination of a separate school system was a much-debated issue on the east coast.
Newfoundlanders participated in a provincial referendum on the issue in 1997, when 73 percent voted in favour of a Asingle school system where all children, regardless of their religious affiliation, attend the same schools where opportunities for religious education and observances are provided@
(Hamilton Spectator, Dec. 24, 1997. D3.).
C Accountability Issues
Standardized student testing and other accountability mechanisms remain high on the list of
Canadians= priorities. For example, 86 percent of Ontario parents, and 87 percent of the general public, approve of province-wide teacher testing in order for teachers to obtain and maintain a teaching certificate (Livingstone et al., 2000: 31). In general, provincial governments are only too willing to comply with the public=s wishes for teacher-regulation often to the consternation of teachers, who are increasingly feeling the burden of this added measure of accountability (2000: 31).
The issue of student testing is another concern, with an overwhelming majority of Ontarians supporting the view that in order to graduate from high school, Ontario students Ashould have to pass a provincial examination in each compulsory subject@ (Livingstone, 2001: 28). This sentiment is echoed in the National Post-Compas survey, which also sees an overwhelming majority of respondents (79 percent) in support of provincial student testing in at least a few grades (Compas,
2001: 13-14). Support for student testing as an indicator of teacher performance is supported by one- quarter of Canadians, but is notably highest in Quebec at 35 percent, Awhere high school matriculation examinations have been part of the educational landscape for decades@ (Compas, 2001: -27-
13).
Conclusion
In summary, within the limitations of the data gathered for this study, one could determine that although education generally seems to be neither in a serious state of decline nor crisis, there is still much room for improvement, in the view of Canadians, especially those in Ontario and British
Columbia, the provinces which register the lowest levels of satisfaction. Canadians in the Prairie provinces and Quebec are generally the most satisfied in the nation, with residents of the remaining provinces in-between these poles. Overall, more than a simple majority of Canadians are satisfied with their provincial education regimes, although Canadians are registering their collective weariness of a decade of cutbacks in education, and appear wary of what the future holds for public education.
This seems especially true for the provinces of Alberta and Ontario, which have seen wholesale restructuring of their public school systems.
A solid majority of Canadians are in favour of testing students and teachers in order to measure the performance of schools. If Canadians had their way, schools would be much more assessment- driven, and there seems to be a strong trend in this direction. Additionally, the past few decades have seen the public as well as policymakers treat education as a bridge to the labour market. Average
Canadians invest so much economic importance schooling that a majority are willing to invest ever- greater amounts of their tax dollars in maintaining and improving public and post-secondary education. Above all, this gauge remains the soundest vote of confidence in the Canadian pubic education system. -28-
Research-Related Recommendations:
Accurately gauging public levels of school satisfaction remains a difficult-to-measure concept,
particularly with regard to comparability across surveys. Thus the following recommendations are
aimed at eliciting more frequent, comparable, and detailed readings of Canadian public opinion
related to satisfaction with education and schooling. This is a necessary step if we are to increase our
bank of usable information and get a clear and verifiable picture of the predominant Canadian view
of education. The first two recommendations are internal, and aimed at the OISE/UT research
community, while the last two are directed more generally at national and provincial research
agencies.
1. Shift the research calendar of the OISE/UT survey by six months, from a biannual February
release date to a late-August, early-September release date. This would greatly increase media and
public access to C and interest in C this survey=s substantial findings and analysis. Greater publicity
would undoubtably draw attention to both emergent and longstanding issues which are regularly
highlighted in this series, including:
C broad divisions among different age groups in their satisfaction with elementary and secondary public schooling; C unprecedented levels of public support for increasing the funding of public education; C strong public support for accountability mechanisms, like the continuation of teacher testing; C high levels of public support for early childhood education and universal schooling from the age of four; C differences in attitudes, by educational attainment, to perceptions that accessibility to higher education by disadvantaged social groups is fair (Livingstone, Hart and Davie, 2000).
2. Establish sufficient year-round permanent funding to support a sustained program of research -29-
in media and public opinion views on education-related themes. This would allow for:
C the engagement of a news-clipping service which would facilitate a more sustained and disciplined news-gathering effort of national, provincial and regional news articles from print and electronic news media. This might be accomplished in partnership with the OISE/UT library (Education Commons); C conducting regular focus groups and surveys on education between biannual
OISE/UT survey releases, using consistent question formats which would allow for
ease of measurability and cross-comparison (i.e. the establishment of a trend line)
from year to year.
3. With provincial, territorial, and regional university education faculties and school boards,
coordinate a program of research which will, on a sustained basis, solicit school satisfaction
and other education-related information. Research partnerships should also be established
with colleges of teachers, education ministries, parent organizations and teachers= unions.
4. Initiate a sustained research program which examines exemplary models of schooling, school
boards, education ministries, and international exemplars in education. This should include
national, regional and local school and school-board models that work, schools for
marginalized groups, including Aboriginals, special needs students, arts programs, etc. -30-
Appendix >A= B Polls and Surveys Used in Data Analysis:
C Angus Reid, 1996 C Angus Reid/Ontario Principals= Council, 1998 C Angus Reid, 1999 C Angus Reid/Ontario Ministry of Education, 1999 C Angus Reid-Globe and Mail, 2001 C Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail, August 28, 2002 C Bradgate/Ontario Ministry of Education, 1996 C Canadian Teachers= Federation, 1998 C Canadian Teachers= Federation, 2002 C Decima, 2001 C Decima, 2002 C Gallup, 1994 C Gallup, 1995 C Gallup, 1996 C Gallup, 1997 C Gallup, 1999 C Gallup, 2000 C OISE/UT Survey, 1996 C OISE/UT Survey, 1998 C OISE/UT Survey, 2000 C Proulx, Jean-Pierre, (overview from 1970-2000) C Toronto District School Board, 2001 C Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail, August 28, 2002. C Leger Marketing/Canadian Press, August 20-25, 2002. -31-
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FIGURE 1: School satisfaction-dissatisfaction compared (Ontario, 1979-2002)
School satisfaction-disatisfaction compared (Ontario, 1979-2002)
60
50
40
Satisfied 30 Dissatisfied Percentage
20
10
0 1979a 1980a 1982a 1986a 1988a 1990a 1996a 1996b 1996c 1998a 1999d 1999e 2000a 2000b 2002a Year -36-
FIGURE 2: “Canadians’ Satisfaction with the Public Education System (Angus-Reid, May 1999)”
Canadians' Satisfaction with the Public Education System (Angus-Reid, May 1999)
Atlantic
Quebec
not at all satisfied Ontario
not very satisfied
Man/Sask.
Region/Province somewhat satisfied
very satisfied Alberta
B.C.
0 102030405060
Percentage -37-
FIGURE 3: “Canadians’ confidence in Large Corporations and Public Schools Compared (1979-1999)
Chart 3: Canadians' confidence in Large Corporations and Public Schools Compared (1979- 1999)
100
90
80
70
60
50 Percent 40
30
20
10
0 Year 1979 1984 1989 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Public 0 54566244474950555255
Large 0 34283322263227303130 Year
Large Public -38-
FIGURE 4: Levels of Trust by Occupation (Ekos Research, 1997)