Teacher Education Policy in Canada: Beyond Professionalization and Deregulation

• In Event: Policy Issues Related to Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility

Abstract

In this paper, we present findings from a study aimed at better describing and understanding teacher education policy across Canada. The paper empirically investigates Peter Grimmett’s (2008, 2009) thesis that recent Canadian teacher education policy (i.e., 1990-2010) is best characterized by dual forces of deregulation and professionalization resulting from a neoliberal policy environment. Specifically, we examine teacher education governance, policy reform and political context across four Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. The paper highlights where deregulation and professionalization are present in the Canadian teacher education policy context while revealing additional opposing forces in teacher education policy. We also present an overview of the policy context in teacher education in the U.S. as a point of comparison.

Authors

• Judith Marianne Walker, The University of British Columbia

• HsingChi von Bergmann, The University of British Columbia