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Winter-Spring 2009 | Volume 8 | Issue 2
Prof e s s i on a l D e v e lo pment
Perspectives
In this issue:
3 EDITORIAL
Make Child Poverty History? Yes We Can
7 FEATURE
Family Security in Insecure Times:
Poverty Reduction as Poverty Prevention
11 Canadians are Primed and Ready for
Poverty Reduction Leadership
14 Reducing Class Size: Promises and Perils
18 Full-Day Kindergarten: A Boost for
Children Living in Poverty
20 Bullying Gets Digital Shot-in-the-Arm
24 Playing Games: Creating the Neo-liberal
Person?
29 Education for the World, Education for All:
Quebec Education in the Context of
Globalization
Canadian Teachers’ Federation
Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants
PD PERSPECTIVES
Editor
Bernie Froese-Germain
Canadian Teachers’ Federation bfroe@ctf-fce.ca
Design & Layout
Conducting research | Expanding knowledge | Fostering understanding Nathalie Hardy
nhard@ctf-fce.ca
www.ctf-fce.ca
Canadian Teachers’ Federation
As a national bilingual organization representing close to 200,000
2490 Don Reid Drive
teachers in this country, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF)
Ottawa, ON K1H 1E1
is the umbrella organization of 16 Member organizations and one Tel: 613-232-1505
Affiliate Member. CTF has a strong voice within various coalitions Toll free: 1-866-283-1505
and networks working to enhance the well-being of Canadian Fax: 613-232-1886
www.ctf-fce.ca
children and youth. Among CTF’s priorities is to support teachers
and teachers’ organizations as strong advocates for social justice,
PD Perspectives, published by the
with a particular focus on issues related to child poverty. CTF also Canadian Teachers’ Federation,
advocates for investment in the education of children as the most provides a forum for diverse
effective way to develop active and engaged citizens who will perspectives on a variety of
current education issues.
contribute to the social and economic health of our country.
The views expressed in PD
Highlights of CTF activities Perspectives are those of the authors,
and do not necessarily represent the
• Advocate at the federal level on issues relevant to the cause
position of the Canadian Teachers’
of public education;
Federation.
• Function as a national clearinghouse for education research
and knowledge sharing; Requests for permission to reproduce,
• Collect, analyze and report data on trends in education; in whole or in part, articles appearing
in PD Perspectives should be sent to
• Support and strengthen our Member organizations’ collective
the Editor.
bargaining capacity;
• Provide international cooperation and professional Please note that minor changes may
development opportunities through Project Overseas. have been made to spelling and
punctuation to conform to the style
and format of this publication.
PD Perspectives is also available
in French.
EDITORIAL
Make Child Poverty History? Yes We Can
by Bernie Froese-Germain
W
hat do we know about the relationship between The impact of school fees on poor students and their
education and poverty? Ben Levin and Jane families for a range of services and supplies – including
Gaskell, principal investigators of a SSHRC- student activities, labs, art supplies, music and athletic
funded research project on urban poverty and Canadian programs, workbooks, agendas, outdoor education
schools, have this to say about it: programs, field trips – is significant, underscoring the
connection between underfunding of schools and inequity
Socio-economic status continues to be the most and exclusion. People for Education notes that such fees
important single determinant of educational and “force many families to choose between a number of
social outcomes, and Canada’s cities continue to unpleasant options: pay the fee and experience financial
have high levels of disparity in income. Poverty hardship, go through the sometimes demeaning process
has only occasionally reached the forefront of of requesting help from the school to cover the costs, or
education policy discussion and, even then, the
have their child miss the enrichment program and possibly
actions arising are usually modest and often
uncoordinated. Although poverty is not created feel stigmatized.” [http://www.peopleforeducation.com/
by schools, and the problems of poverty cannot reportonschools08]
be resolved by schools, there are steps schools
can take to understand the issue more fully and The importance of high quality early childhood education
to cope with it more effectively. [http://home.oise. including full-day kindergarten has also proven beneficial
utoronto.ca/~blevin/poverty.htm] for children from poorer families. Vivian McCaffrey, in her
article in this issue of PD Perspectives (PDP), cites the
Indeed, an important step in furthering our understanding OECD in this regard: “International research from a wide
according to OISE/UT professor Joseph Flessa is to resist
the temptation to frame the relationship between poverty
and schooling in simplistic terms, as one characterized
by problems with only either/or solutions. The reality is
that conditions and influences both inside and outside the
schools matter. [http://cus.oise.utoronto.ca/UserFiles/File/
Poverty%20lit%20review%20(J_%20Flessa%20-%2010_
2007).pdf]
Flessa, in a literature review on poverty and education
prepared for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of
Ontario (ETFO), discusses some of the strategies that
schools and school systems can undertake to mitigate the
effects of poverty on learning – for example, school staffing
in terms of “advocating for more effective recruitment,
selection, preparation, and placement of teachers for
schools affected by poverty” as well as teacher education
PHOTO: ©iStockphoto.com/Sean_Warren
programs that support new teachers to be “agents of social
change”; improvements to curriculum and assessment
(recognizing that in the “current accountability environment”
an emphasis on standardized testing disproportionately
hurts disadvantaged students); school structures including
the creation of genuine professional learning communities
and nurturing a strong sense of community within schools;
and strengthening school-community connections including
relationships with parents.
EDITORIAL
range of countries shows that early intervention contributes Towards a national poverty reduction strategy
significantly to putting children from low-income families on
the path to development and success in school.” Campaign 2000 turns 20 this year – although there may not
be much celebrating, given that the anti-poverty coalition,
Another educational strategy that has been shown to a cross-Canada network of 120 national, provincial and
benefit student learning, especially for disadvantaged community partner organizations, was created as a way of
students, is class size reduction, particularly in the primary holding federal politicians accountable for their promise,
grades. In this issue of PDP Bascia and Fredua-Kwarteng way back in 1989, to eliminate child poverty in Canada by
report that for “students in populations that traditionally the year 2000, a promise they haven’t kept for two long
have not done as well in school, such as high-poverty and decades. Despite more than a decade of strong economic
visible minority groups, immigrants, and students attending growth, the national child poverty rate is essentially
inner-city schools …. The potential for improvement in unchanged from 1989 (see “Snapshot of Child & Family
learning is even greater for these students than for those Poverty in Canada” in this issue of PDP).
whose socio-economic profiles suggest they are likely to
do well.” There may however be reason for optimism.
There’s strong public support for class size reduction. Internationally there are encouraging developments on
Canadian Teachers’ Federation polling shows that a the poverty reduction front (this comes from a report by
majority of Canadians has consistently ranked class the National Council of Welfare, Solving Poverty: Four
size reduction as the top spending priority in K-12 Cornerstones of a Workable National Strategy for Canada,
education since 1997. [http://www.ctf-fce.ca/e/news/news. 2007 – http://www.ncwcnbes.net/):
asp?id=1215721914]
• The European Union has put in place a framework
Class size reduction – thoughtfully implemented – must that views poverty, not as an isolated problem, but
go hand-in-hand with class composition, giving special rather one to be tackled within a broad economic,
consideration to the degree of student diversity including social and political context.
factors such as socio-economic status, language and
• Sweden which has very low poverty rates
cultural background and numbers of special needs
compared to Canada “has set itself the objective
students, and viewed as a teacher working conditions of becoming the world’s best country in which to
issue. In terms of the specific benefits of class size grow old.”
reduction for teachers’ work, Bascia and Fredua-Kwarteng
found that, • The UK plans to cut child poverty in half in
Britain by 2010, eliminate it by 2020, and create
teachers of small classes report that they are more affordable child care spaces for all children aged
confident about their ability to identify and meet 3-14 by 2010.
students’ learning needs, and they express greater
job satisfaction than teachers with larger classes. • Ireland adopted a 10-year National Anti-Poverty
They report that they spend more time teaching Strategy in 1997 that has since resulted in
and have more interactions with parents than significant declines in poverty including child
they had with larger classes, and that students’ poverty.
behavior improves, as does their engagement with
classroom activities. • New Zealand, a country similar to Canada in
having large Aboriginal and immigrant populations,
This would go a long way towards improving the quality has taken an approach to social development
of education – well beyond higher test scores – for all which emphasizes both social protection and
students, and especially disadvantaged children. social investment, and the need to focus more on
its disadvantaged populations.
What all this boils down to is the fact that strong public
• Among the UN Millennium Development Goals
schools make the greatest positive difference in the (MDGs) is to eradicate extreme poverty and
learning and lives of the most disadvantaged students, and hunger, halving by 2015 the proportion of people
that is a critically important part of what public education is whose income is less than $1 a day, and achieve
all about. universal primary education for both boys and girls
by 2015.
EDITORIAL
Here at home, some promising provincial initiatives exist justice. Many are motivated to do something
in Quebec and Newfoundland/Labrador. The Quebec about poverty in Canada because they want to
government adopted a law in 2002, the Act to Combat strengthen our economic development, improve
Poverty and Social Exclusion; the impetus for the law our health outcomes and reduce expenditures,
came from the grassroots level by a broad-based citizens’ raise the educational achievement of our
children, or help reduce crime. Now, individuals,
movement, the Collective for a Poverty-Free Québec. The
organizations and governments are coming to
government has committed to investing $3.3 billion over the issue of poverty for a multiplicity of reasons,
five years to increase the incomes of welfare recipients and that’s a good thing. [http://www.ccsd.ca/
and low-income earners. In Newfoundland/Labrador, perception/2934/perception_2934.pdf]
following a promise in the 2005 throne speech to reduce
poverty to the lowest level of any province by 2015, the Teachers’ organizations are among this growing
government released Reducing Poverty: An Action Plan constituency. ETFO for example has done a considerable
for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2006 which includes amount of work in terms of conducting research and raising
among its objectives an increased emphasis on early awareness of the links between poverty and schooling.
childhood development and a better educated population It has produced One in Six, an educational video and
– over $90 million annually in new funding will be invested accompanying booklet featuring the stories of Ontarians
to prevent, reduce and alleviate poverty (see presentation affected by poverty, distributed to every elementary school
by Katherine Scott of the Canadian Council on Social in the province; created opportunities for professional
Development – http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2007/upp/CACL_ learning on poverty issues through the medium of theatre
Conference-November_08.pdf). with the play Danny, King of the Basement; delivered
Beyond the Breakfast Program workshops on the impact
of poverty to ETFO teacher locals; held a symposium on
poverty and education in November 2008; and as noted
A strong majority of Canadians believe above commissioned a literature review on poverty and
our political leaders at the federal and schools.
provincial level need to set concrete targets
Given strong public support and the growing momentum to
and timelines for poverty reduction, and reduce poverty both internationally and within Canada in
that taking action on poverty is especially terms of provincial initiatives, the lack of a comprehensive
important in a recession. national strategy to combat child and family poverty with
targets and timelines – and the lack of federal leadership
necessary to move such a strategy forward – is becoming
more conspicuous by its absence.
A recent national poll on public perceptions of poverty,
conducted by Environics Research for the CCPA’s Emphasizing that what “Canada lacks [is] action, not good
Inequality Project (see Trish Hennessy’s article in this issue ideas” on dealing with poverty and insecurity, the National
of PDP), found that a strong majority of Canadians believe Council of Welfare proposes these four “cornerstones” or
our political leaders at the federal and provincial level need elements of a national anti-poverty strategy:
to set concrete targets and timelines for poverty reduction,
and that taking action on poverty is especially important in 1. a long-term vision accompanied by measurable
a recession. timelines and targets;
According to Marcel Lauzière, CCSD President, we are 2. a plan of action to coordinate initiatives within
“reaching a critical mass” on the need to seriously address and across government departments and other
poverty in this country for a couple of reasons. One reason partners, with the necessary human and financial
as noted is a growing recognition, demonstrated by the resources for its implementation;
international experience, that far from being inevitable and
3. a government accountability structure for carrying
intractable, “poverty can be significantly reduced”. Another out the plan; and
is that, as Lauzière remarks,
4. a set of accepted poverty indicators to measure
the constituency to fight poverty has grown and results.
diversified. More people are realizing that poverty
must be addressed not only for reasons of social
EDITORIAL
According to Sherri Torjman at the Caledon Institute of Effective within-school strategies to counter the effects of
Social Policy, poverty must be coupled with comprehensive coordinated
poverty reduction strategies at the national and provincial
Because there is no single measure that fully level.
addresses the problem, a robust poverty strategy
involves a combination of safety net elements Canada appears to be at a critical juncture. There’s no
that help offset the impact of low income and doubt that ending child poverty is doable – it makes sound
springboard components that create opportunities economic sense (given the enormous financial costs
for success over the longer term …. Not
wrought by poverty), it leaves an enduring political legacy
surprisingly, education and literacy are the most
important springboards out of poverty. Knowledge (something that can’t be ignored), there’s good momentum
and learning are keys that unlock the doors to both including solid public support to move forward on this issue
economic wealth and social well-being. [http:// now, and oh yes, it’s the right thing to do – eradicating
www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/720ENG. poverty is a basic human right.
pdf]
In addition to investing in the powerful springboard of Bernie Froese-Germain is a Researcher with the Canadian Teachers’
education at all levels from early childhood education Federation in Ottawa.
through to post-secondary education and training, a
poverty reduction strategy would require investments in
Erratum
affordable housing, universal child care, income support
and replacement programs (and an expansion of eligibility In the article on the CTF Gender and Leadership Survey from the Fall 2008
for Employment Insurance), and higher minimum wages issue of PD Perspectives, the composition of the NSTU Executive Staff (see
Table 1 on p. 16) was incorrectly reported as 30% female – it is actually 40%
(see Laurel Rothman’s article in this issue of PDP). female. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
Engaged Teachers, Engaged Learners
The third in a series of CEA’s ground-breaking symposia exploring teaching and learning in a changing world
April 30 — May 2, 2009 | The Sutton Place Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta
Keynote Presentations
Convening Conversations about Learning and Teaching: What does high quality learning look like?
Richard Lemons | Director of the Institute for Urban School Improvement – University of Connecticut
How can we support collaborative and focused professional discussions about learning and teaching in the classroom? Using his experience as Associate Director of the
Harvard Change Leadership Group, Lemons will lead an examination of such discussions of large-scale instructional change efforts within school cultures.
Creating Our Teaching Stories Teachers as Learners
Kathy Gould Lundy | Destination Arts, York University Jim Parsons | University of Alberta
The Art Director for the acclaimed CEA project Imagine a school… will The 2007 co-winner of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Education
lead participants in a reflective and responsive session about what it Research Award draws on his experience with the Alberta Initiative
means to teach. for School Improvement (AISI) to outline the conditions and
factors that help teachers learn throughout their careers.
Please join us for a conversation that matters to all Canadian educators – What do we know about teaching and what will we do with what we know?
For more information and to register online, please visit:
www.cea-ace.ca/edmontonsymposium
FEATURE
Family Security in Insecure Times:
Poverty Reduction as Poverty Prevention
by Laurel Rothman
This Campaign 2000 brief offers recommendations to the federal government for the budget released on January 27, 2009.
A
s Canada enters into a period of economic Canada currently has a mechanism in place that can
insecurity, it is even more crucial for our quickly be adjusted to prevent further poverty. The
governments to focus on those individuals, families Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) including the National
and communities who are already vulnerable and will feel Child Benefit (NCB) Supplement, has played a major
the greatest impact. Adopting a Poverty Reduction Strategy role in preventing and reducing child and family poverty.
for Canada, including additional public investments in This joint federal, provincial and territorial initiative
the social security of Canadian families, is a logical and was launched in 1998 and reached its maximum cash
essential component of fiscal stimulus at this critical time. transfer of $3,271 for the first child in 2007. The NCB
can take the credit for preventing an estimated 59,000
Nearly two decades after the unanimous 1989 House families with 125,000 children from living in poverty.
of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada, That’s a 12% decrease in the number of families living
760,000 children and their families – almost 1 child out of in poverty during 2004. The NCB also helped to reduce
every 91 – still live in poverty when measured after income the depth of poverty by 18% among those families who
taxes. The rate of child and family poverty in Canada was remained in low income.
essentially the same in 2006 as it was in 1989 despite an
unprecedented period of strong economic growth since
1996. There have been cyclical variations, reflecting
recessions and recoveries, but the high rate of child
and family poverty has remained tenacious. This figure
does not include the shameful situation of First Nations’
communities where 1 in every 4 children is growing up in
poverty.2
Why move forward on poverty reduction now?
1. Public investments are needed to prevent and lessen
poverty.
Strong economic growth and prosperity did not, in and
of themselves, lift many children and families from
poverty. Times of economic crisis will only deepen the
hardship, as history illustrates, if there is no aggressive,
multi-faceted intervention including income transfers
and support for vital community services. Following
the early 1990s recession, as unemployment rose and
PHOTO: ©iStockphoto.com/Sean_Warren
severe cuts to social programs were implemented, the
child and family poverty rate went up, reaching a high of
nearly 18% (LICO after-tax) – about 1 in 5 children – in
1996. Designated expenditures in the 2009 budget are
essential to prevent child and family poverty rates from
again spiking high.
FEATURE
2. Investments in low income families stabilize communities in Canada has grown more than in any OECD country
directly and quickly. during the last decade, with the exception of Germany.7
Consider that the average income for the poorest
Increased public investments in low and modest income 10% of Canadian families has increased by just less
families serve to strengthen local economies and protect than $5,000 over the past decade, while the average
families from further hardship. Canadian consumers income of the richest 10% of Canadians increased by
power 57% of the economy.3 Public investments in over $50,000 between 1996 and 2006. For every dollar
low and modest income families are efficient and the average family in the lowest 10% of the population
particularly strategic because they use their money in has, the family in the highest tenth of the population
their local communities to pay rent, purchase food and had $11.59. Clearly, the wealth generated during good
other necessities such as child care and home care, in economic times was not distributed equitably.
contrast to more affluent families that often spend or
invest funds outside of Canada. Similarly, community 4. Public investment in social infrastructure contributes to
services such as early learning and child care services sustainable communities and stable, self-supporting
operate in local neighbourhoods, functioning as a families.
support to families, as consumers of local food and
services, and as local employers. Infrastructure in communities is not limited to bridges
and roads; social infrastructure, including early
3. Increased income supports are needed to prevent a childhood education and care services and social
wider gap between rich and poor. housing, are key components in poverty reduction and
are central to vibrant communities. Early childhood
Most Canadian households enter this recession with education and care (ECEC) programs are about more
a slim, if any, financial cushion. In 2006, 40% of low than poverty reduction, but poverty reduction requires
income children lived in families where at least one ECEC programs. Improved access to child care
parent worked full-time throughout the year yet still lived facilitates poverty reduction. With access to high quality
in poverty. Low income families, in particular, pay high child care, female lone parents – who often are unable
proportions of their income on rent, with very little left to pay steep child care user fees – are better able to
over for food, clothing, transportation and child care, let seek further education, train for work, get decent jobs
alone savings. and accept job promotions. Two parent families have a
better chance to improve economic stability and income
With an alarming 1 in 4 households paying more than in a time of insecure employment. Informetrica Ltd has
30% of their income on housing, it is not surprising that calculated that spending $1 billion in child care would
the financial situation of many Canadian families is a create 46,000 jobs and boost GDP by double compared
delicate house of cards.4 With the average savings rate to that same investment made in municipal infrastructure
falling sharply from $7,300 per year in 1990 to $1,000 which would create only 11,000 jobs.
in 2006, families have limited nest eggs to rely on in
case of unemployment and/or loss of housing.5 At the 5. The cost of poverty is too great in both the short-term
same time, household debt is at a record high. In 1984, and the long-term.
at the peak of double-digit unemployment following
the recession of 1981-82, households owed about 70 The cost of poverty is great; poverty prevention and
cents on every dollar of income, on average. By 2007, poverty reduction will benefit all Canadians. A recent
households owed $1.27 on every dollar of income.6 analysis estimates the cost of poverty at $38 billion for
Canada when it calculates the value of lost output due
The fragile economic state of many Canadian families to high unemployment, along with increased costs of
means that loss of a paycheque or loss of housing health and social services, policing and criminal justice
they can afford may drive them to use up their limited systems.8
resources quickly. Many may fall into poverty and have
no choice but to rely on Employment Insurance or Public investment in poverty reduction is smart
social assistance to attempt to pay the rent and feed the economics. Repeating the “belt-tightening” methods
children. of the 1990s will not only deepen inequalities within
Canada but will cost taxpayers more in the future
This prospect of a hollowed-out middle class is already through increased health care costs and emergency
apparent in the gap between rich and poor in this housing resources in addition to more services.
country. Strikingly, inequality between the rich and poor
FEATURE
Recommendations expansion and quality improvement. These capital
costs are part of social infrastructure designed for
Based on the knowledge we have about the likelihood of short-term economic stimulus. ECEC services must
increased poverty in recessionary conditions; about the be improved and strengthened – as UNICEF noted
cost of poverty in both human and financial terms; and in its recent report identifying Canada as last among
about the emerging success in the jurisdictions (Quebec, 25 developed countries on benchmarks for access
Newfoundland & Labrador and the UK) that are actively and quality – if they are to contribute effectively to
pursuing poverty reduction, Campaign 2000 urges that the poverty reduction and the overall well-being of young
following be included in the 2009 federal budget as part of children and their families. Two-year funding will
a Poverty Reduction Strategy: allow time to develop a longer-term policy framework
with provinces/territories and local governments. In
1. Increased and improved funding to the income support the interim, federal funds should be spent according
and replacement programs that directly benefit families. to broad principles previously agreed upon by the
federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Specifically,
• Reform and revise the Universal Child Care Benefit
• Increase the National Child Benefit to a maximum to ensure that some of the funds are used for ECEC
of $5,200 (2009 $) over the next two budget years. services and that the remaining funds are directed
Closing the child benefit gap is essential to ensure to the increased child benefit which is a progressive
that parents working full-time, full-year can lift their income transfer to families, administering more funds
families out of poverty. In 2007, Campaign 2000 to families who need it the most.
commissioned a simulation on the impact of this
increased NCB that estimated a 31% decline in the 3. Earmark specific funds for affordable housing which are
child poverty rate at an additional cost of (est.) $5 a key part of poverty reduction and an essential social
billion. infrastructure program.
• Expand eligibility for Employment Insurance • Double the current five-year investment commitment
and improve benefit levels to provide support for in affordable housing and homelessness (as
unemployed workers. Current eligibility criteria allow announced on Sept. 19, 2008) to $780 million
only 40% of unemployed male workers and 32% of annually. This infusion of funds will stimulate the
unemployed female workers to qualify.9 Eligibility economy, help to stabilize households, and address
requirements should be restored to 360 hours, with pent-up need for affordable housing.
benefit levels based on the best 12 weeks of earnings
at 60% of earnings as a minimum. The estimated $50 • Commit to reinvest all funds saved, as long-term
billion accumulated surplus in the EI fund can be used federal social housing mortgages expire, back into
for these expenditures. the maintenance, modernization and expansion
of Canada’s affordable housing supply. No budget
• Improve the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) increase is needed.
by increasing the income level of eligibility and
increasing the credit to up to $2,400 per year while • Enhance the federal home energy retrofit program
also encouraging increases to minimum wages. The with an additional $250 million annual investment for
WITB needs to be enhanced for low income workers; five years to target low income households with limited
the maximum payment for lone parents and couples capacity for home energy audits and retrofits.
should be increased to $2,400 and eligibility should
be broadened. Also, a method to administer the
credit quarterly needs to be instituted, so workers can Poverty reduction makes sense in the short-, medium-, and
receive the benefit of the credit more immediately long-term
rather than waiting until the following tax year.
Increased public expenditures are needed to prevent
2. Designate new federal transfer funds for Early Childhood further child and family poverty and to stem an even wider
Education and Care services. gap between rich and poor as Canada enters a recession.
The cost of poverty is high for all Canadians. There is good
• Specify funds in the next two federal budgets for evidence that as a society we either share the collective
ECEC operating costs ($500 million in 2009 and $1 responsibility to prevent and reduce child and family
billion in 2010) and for capital expenses including poverty, or we face rising costs in health care services,
FEATURE
criminal justice and education, and reduced output due to 2 Assembly of First Nations (2006). Make Poverty History
high unemployment. The majority of Canadians agree; in for First Nations. Ottawa; First Nations Centre, National
Aboriginal Health Organization (2005). First Nations
a recent study, an overwhelming majority (92%) say that if
Regional Longitudinal Health Survey (2002-2003). Ottawa:
other nations like the UK and Sweden can reduce poverty, National Aboriginal Health Organization.
so can Canada.
3 Yalnizyan, A. Presentation to 25 in 5 Poverty Reduction
Forum, Toronto, October 28, 2008.
Our choice is clear – we can pay now or we can pay later.
Campaign 2000 believes that paying now to improve life 4 Shapcott, M. (2008). The State of the Nation’s Housing.
chances and provide more opportunities for independence Toronto: Wellesley Institute.
and success makes good sense. 5 Vanier Institute. State of the Family 2007.
6 Statistics Canada. CanSim. Series 378-0003.
Endnotes 7 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(2008). Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty
1 Latest available child poverty data is for 2006. Data prepared in OECD Countries. Paris.
by Statistics Canada using the Survey of Labour and 8 Ontario Association of Food Banks (2008). The Cost of
Income Dynamics (SLID) masterfile (1993-2006) and by the Poverty. Toronto.
Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia
(SPARCBC) using Statistics Canada’s Income Trends 9 Townson, M., & Hayes, K. (2007). Women and the
in Canada. These data exclude those on First Nations Employment Insurance Program. Ottawa: Canadian Centre
reserves, in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut for Policy Alternatives.
and children living in institutions. A child is defined as a
person under 18 years living with parent(s) or guardian(s).
Children in poverty are those living below the Low Income
Cut Off (LICO) as defined by Statistics Canada. LICOs vary Laurel Rothman is the National Coordinator of Campaign 2000, a non-partisan,
by the size of the family and of the community. For example, cross-Canada network of over 120 national, provincial and community
the after-tax LICO for a lone parent with one child in a large organizations committed to working together to end child and family poverty in
urban centre (pop. over 500,000) was $21,384 in 2006. Canada. The Canadian Teachers’ Federation is a Campaign 2000 partner.
10PHOTO: ©iStockphoto.com/BernardLo
Canadians are Primed and
Ready for Poverty Reduction
Leadership
by Trish Hennessy
T
he volatility of global stock markets and an uncertain
economic future has got Canadians wondering what
will happen when hard times come knocking at their
door. With poverty far from beaten in this country, new
polling shows the majority of Canadians are primed and
ready for political leadership, federally and provincially, to
reduce poverty and income inequality.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives engaged By 2006, the richest 10% of families raising children earned
Environics Research to conduct a national poll in the fall 71 times more than the poorest 10% – almost two-and-a-
of 2008 to get a clearer sense of what citizens believe half times the ratio in 1976.
their governments should do about poverty and income
inequality. For decades, Canadians have been told we need to work
harder, make Canada more competitive, grow the economy
The results are definitive: Any government that acts to – and ‘a rising tide will lift all boats’. But it hasn’t happened.
reduce the number of poor people in Canada will find The lion’s share of gains from economic growth has gone
favour with a resounding majority of Canadians. to the richest 10%, not the majority.
As Canada teeters on the edge of a recession, the poll Among families raising children in Canada, the bottom half
found a significant number of Canadians are worried about earned 27% of total earnings on average during the period
their own financial future. 1976-79. By 2003-06 that share had dropped to 20.7%
– even though those families are today putting in more time
The majority of Canadians (83%) say they are worried in the workplace.
about the rising cost of living (only about 17% say they
aren’t worried). There is a strong income component to Up to 80% of families lost ground or stayed put compared
these responses: Canadians most strongly concerned to the previous generation, in both their share of earnings
about rising costs of living are households with incomes and after-tax incomes. Relatively little of the gains from this
under $30,000 (63%), while households with incomes over remarkable period of economic growth has trickled down to
$100,000 were least likely to be concerned (though 37% those in the bottom half of the income spectrum.
strongly agree they are worried).
Household debt is at a record level high, while household
Just under half (47%) of all Canadians admit they struggle savings are at a record level low. And the gap between rich
to keep their personal debt under control, while the other and poor has been growing at a time when it should have
half (50%) does not. been shrinking.
And 39% of Canadians say they are one or two Growing inequality is a trend that usually unfolds during
paycheques away from being poor. recessionary periods, when the bottom half of the labour
market loses access to jobs or to hours of work. If
How does perception compare with reality? Data from inequality has grown so markedly over the past decade
Statistics Canada shows that, while there is some – a time of strong and sustained economic and job growth
improvement in earned incomes for all Canadians – what can we expect as we head for a recession?
compared to the mid-1990s (when labour markets were
just starting the process of recovering from two profound For more than a decade Canadians have been told not to
recessions in as many decades), the richest 10% of expect much from their governments, but when it comes
Canadians saw the most rapid gains in earnings. to reducing poverty and income inequality, Canadians
11Snapshot of Child and Family Poverty in Canada
beg to differ. Times are changing, as the global economic
• Canada’s after-tax child poverty rate appears stalled
at 11.3%. meltdown is making abundantly clear, and the vast majority
of Canadians want their governments to do more, not less,
• Nearly one out every nine Canadian children lives to reduce poverty.
in poverty.
In fact, 90% of Canadians say it is time for strong leadership
• Child poverty is persistent across Canada. Rates of to reduce the number of poor people in Canada. What’s
child and family poverty are at double digits in five more, they say it would make them proud to see their
out of ten provinces. Premier take leadership on poverty reduction in their
province.
• Implementation of poverty reduction strategies in
Newfoundland & Labrador and Québec continue
Without similar rates of economic growth, Great Britain,
to prevent and reduce child and family poverty in
those provinces. Sweden and other nations have managed to make
significantly greater strides toward poverty reduction than
• A startling 40% of low-income children live in Canada. The vast majority of Canadians (92%) agree that
families where at least one of their parents works if other countries can succeed in significantly reducing their
full-time year round – they’re the working poor. number of poor people, so can Canada.
• Children in racialized, new Canadian and In fact, 88% say Canada should try to distinguish itself in the
Aboriginal families as well as children with world as a country where no one lives in poverty.
disabilities are at greater risk of living in poverty.
Canadians have long been fair and pragmatic people. The
• Nearly one out of every two children (49%) living in
majority of Canadians (86%) believe that if government
a family that recently immigrated to Canada (1996-
2001) lives in poverty. took concrete action, poverty in Canada could be greatly
reduced; 89% say both the Prime Minister and the provincial
• Poverty rates are a formidable barrier in Aboriginal Premiers need to set concrete targets and timelines to
communities. Almost one in two Aboriginal reduce the number of poor Canadians.
children (49%) under the age of six (not living in
First Nations communities) lives in a low-income The majority of Canadians (81%) agree their provincial
family. government should reduce poverty by at least 25% over the
next five years – 55% of Canadians say a 25% reduction
• Families live deep in poverty. Low-income two sounds just right but another quarter (26%) say that’s not
parent families, on average, would need an ambitious enough.
additional $7,300 per year to reach the poverty line.
For lone parent mother-led families, the average
depth of poverty is $6,500. And Canadians are very clear about specific measures they
believe their governments should take to reduce poverty and
• In 2007, 720,230 people in Canada used food help families make ends meet.
banks, including 280,900 children. This is an
86% increase since the 1989 unanimous House of Across Canada, there is majority support to:
Commons’ resolution to end child poverty.
• raise the minimum wage;
• Government programs have an impact on poverty • improve income support programs to help poor families
reduction. Without government transfers including with the costs of raising children;
the GST credit, Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB), • create more low-cost child care spaces;
Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and • create more affordable housing;
Employment Insurance, child and family poverty • make sure welfare rates keep up with the cost of living;
would have been 10% higher in 2006. and
• invest in more jobs and skills training for people who
• Canada is a laggard on social spending. Canada are in between jobs.
spends less money on benefits for families and the
unemployed than other countries. Canada is now
25th out of 33 OECD countries in the percentage of These findings cut across regional, demographic and
GDP spent on social programs. partisan lines. While there are small variations in opinion, the
overriding conclusion is that Canadians everywhere believe
Source: Campaign 2000 National Report Card on Child in the power of their governments to combat poverty and
and Family Poverty, Family Security in Insecure Times: income inequality – and they want their governments to act
The Case for a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Canada, now.
2008 – www.campaign2000.ca.
12Some politicians claim they would like to do something
about poverty but are constrained by the emerging
downturn in Canada’s economy. This view does not find
favour with the majority of Canadians – they believe now is
the time for action. Three quarters of Canadians (77%) say
that in a recession, it’s more important than ever to make
helping poor Canadians a priority.
In light of the economic moment these polling results
provide strong advice from Canadians to their
governments: don’t cut back public programs. In fact, they
believe now is precisely the time to do something that can
make a difference for Canada’s most vulnerable.
Poised on the brink of recession, or at least economic
slowdown, Canadians’ desire for governments to act is not
weakened, but emboldened. Canadians seem to be calling
on governments to be less timid, more active. They want CTF working with teacher
governments that will do them proud, at home and around
the world. unions around the world to
The good news is that what Canadians say would be best achieve gender equality po
for helping the poor in fact would benefit all of us. La F
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) supports Women’s
Networks in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America appu
- networks that are strong information lifelines for sharing Afri
Note: Environics interviewed 2,023 adult Canadians by telephone between con
Sept. 24-Oct. 21, 2008. A survey of this magnitude yields results that can be experiences and strategies for action on women’s equality within
teacher unions, and that influence national policies on gender et d
considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. The full
equality. synd
report on the poll, Ready for Leadership: Canadians’ Perceptions of Poverty by
Trish Hennessy & Armine Yalnizyan, is available at: www.policyalternatives.ca. sur
The Girl Child Project in Uganda addresses significant
barriers, challenges and abuses many female students face, Le
and encourages government, civil society and schools to take aux
Trish Hennessy is director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’
Income Inequality Project – www.growinggap.ca. coordinated measures to support and safeguard female students. fille
Canadian teachers are active partners. à pr
élèv
Our work with Latin American teacher unions helps develop ce p
non-sexist and inclusive teaching practices and school curricula
that is increasingly recognized by Ministries of Education in Grâ
these countries. l’Am
d’en
In Canada, CTF works to address gender inequity in the sont
teaching profession, by promoting discussion and action on pays
increasing the number of women in leadership roles in education
and eliminating barriers to promotion for female teachers. Au
hom
As a lead organization in the Canadian Global Campaign for la d
Education, CTF also promotes Global Action Week (April les p
2009), an annual awareness campaign to remind governments prom
around the world, including Canada, to meet “Education for
All” 2015 targets. Currently, 70 million children are out-of- Com
school; two-thirds of them are girls. de l
prom
cam
Find out more about the international and gou
national work of CTF: www.ctf-fce.ca les o
actu
Canadian Teachers’ Federation fréq
Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants
Pou
et i
13Reducing Class Size:
Promises and Perils
by Nina Bascia & Eric Fredua-Kwarteng
W
hat’s not to like about small classes? This
policy idea – reducing the ratio of students to
teachers – has been a point of discussion in
educational circles since the 1970s. It has been taken up
in school districts in several parts of Canada, including
Edmonton, Toronto, and the entire province of Ontario, as
well as in many other jurisdictions in North America and
beyond. School districts and governments know that the
idea that students will get more – and more individualized
– attention from teachers is popular with parents (and thus
with voters). Teachers, too, believe that reduced classes
will help them address the range of different academic and
social needs of students in their classrooms, and – given
an ever-escalating number of curricular expectations
– better manage a demanding teaching workload.
analyzing students’ test scores in relation to the cost of
As a popular but expensive educational strategy idea, class the initiative. There were also a number of studies on
size reduction has received a great amount of attention other related consequences when jurisdictions introduced
from educational researchers. Teachers’ salaries are the class size reductions – focusing, in particular, on the
costliest item in educational budgets, and educational initiatives undertaken in Edmonton, Wisconsin, Tennessee,
decision makers want to know that the investment will California, and the U.K., which have been very well-
be worth the expense. Does reducing class size really documented.
make a difference in how well students learn? In addition
to their academic achievement, does it have a positive We found much support for small classes as an
impact on children’s social development? Is it particularly educational strategy, but we also found many
helpful or, conversely, less effective with students facing contradictions across studies, and sometimes researchers’
academic and social challenges? Is it more cost-effective enthusiasm for small classes as an educational strategy
than other policy choices, such as new kinds of training for did not seem well supported by the actual evidence they
teachers or special supports for students? How does small reported.
class size work: what are teachers actually doing in their
interactions with students that might be different from what The enthusiasm for class size reduction is, we argue,
they are able to do in larger classes? And how small is an example of the kind of ‘magical thinking’ that is
small enough to make a difference in student learning: unfortunately common among educators, policy makers,
25 students to one teacher? Twenty? Fifteen? and researchers alike, representing a belief that a single
ingredient can make a profound positive difference in
Ontario’s most recent Primary Class Size Reduction teacher effectiveness and student learning. Not unlike
initiative, announced by the Province in 2004, mandated the old alchemists, who undertook a quest for the elixir
a 20-student ‘cap’ on classes in Kindergarten and Grades that could cure all illnesses, governments often look for
1-3, beginning in the school year 2007-08. In beginning the one powerful policy ‘lever’ that could make a dramatic
to study the impact this initiative has had on students’ difference in educational practice. When research reports
and teachers’ classroom experiences, as well as on focus on the impact of a single factor, like class size,
school and school district activities more broadly, we without examining or reporting on other conditions that
read through the large body of available research on might be influential, they reinforce ‘magical thinking’.
class size reduction. Some of the research we reviewed This ‘one aspect at a time’ tendency of research is
focused on the costs and benefits of reducing class size by like the fable of the blind men and the elephant; each
14PHOTO: ©iStockphoto.com/kate_sept2004
continue to do better, both academically and socially, than
their peers. In some research, students whose progress
was tracked for a number of years after their participation
in small class initiatives demonstrated higher high school
graduation rates, and some research suggests that
students who have spent time in small classes demonstrate
greater civic and democratic values, as measured by their
scores on paper and pencil tests of attitudes and beliefs
before and after their attendance in small classes. Lower
pregnancy and incarceration rates also suggest that those
who have been students in smaller classes continue to
experience a higher quality of life.
Such findings have encouraged educational decision
makers in many jurisdictions to focus class size reduction
efforts on the primary grades, arguing that these are
the years when children develop the fundamental skills,
dispositions and socialization patterns necessary for
successful educational outcomes. Their argument is
particularly forceful when applied to students in populations
that traditionally have not done as well in school, such as
high-poverty and visible minority groups, immigrants, and
students attending inner-city schools. The potential for
improvement in learning is even greater for these students
than for those whose socio-economic profiles suggest they
study focuses on one small part of the whole without are likely to do well.
understanding how the parts fit together.
In fact, observations of teachers’ work in small classes
Reducing class size does seem to have a positive effect does reveal that, under certain conditions, they are able to
on student learning, particularly in primary grades and change the way they teach, individualizing their teaching
among students who do less well academically in larger to better match different students’ academic and social
classes. But class size reduction is not a ‘magic bullet’; if conditions. Even when students show no greater gains
not undertaken thoughtfully and in combination with other in academic achievement, teachers manage student
kinds of educational supports, it can potentially result in behaviour differently in smaller classes. In interviews and
some troubling outcomes that actually inhibit good teaching on written survey responses, teachers of small classes
and effective learning. report that they are more confident about their ability
to identify and meet students’ learning needs, and they
express greater job satisfaction than teachers with larger
What’s good about smaller classes classes. They report that they spend more time teaching
and have more interactions with parents than they had with
All else being equal, smaller classes provide more optimal larger classes, and that students’ behaviour improves, as
environments than larger classes for both students and does their engagement with classroom activities.
teachers. When class sizes are reduced, students tend to
learn more (at least by a modest amount), as measured by Parents of children attending smaller classes rate their
standardized test results, and their engagement in learning children’s educational experience more highly than do
is enhanced, as demonstrated by classroom behaviour, those of children enrolled in classes where size has not
attitude, and effort; some studies suggest that students been reduced. They also report more contact with teachers
expend more academic effort and initiate more of their own and higher satisfaction with schools.
learning activities in smaller classes. There are also reports
that, when compared with students in larger classes, Because studies on the effects of small classes have
students in smaller classes interact more with their peers tended to focus on students in one or a few sequential
and are more active in initiating contact with their teachers. grades and to measure student learning in specified skill
areas, such as math or reading, it is not appropriate to
Studies on the continued effect of smaller classes on assert that small classes are better across all grades and
quality of life in the years after the small class experience subjects. And the research suggests that school-level
have found that students with small-class experience
15factors, especially the resources available to support Teaching quality
teaching and learning, matter in terms of how much
difference reducing class size can achieve. In other Teacher preparation and quality matter; in fact, many
words, we are still learning about the pedagogical and researchers believe that teacher effectiveness is more
organizational nuances that shape the effectiveness of critical than class size for students’ academic achievement.
small classes and cannot claim that they are universally
and uniformly useful. Small classes provide the opportunity for better teaching
and learning environments, but they don’t guarantee them.
Teaching effectively in small classes is not just a matter of
Why caution is needed applying the same strategies to fewer students; it requires
new strategies. However, without support, teachers will not
Although most studies on small classes emphasize automatically change teaching strategies when class size
positive results for students and teachers, a few studies is reduced. They need training in differentiated instruction
report different degrees of success and, in some cases, – sustained professional development, not just one-day
actual negative consequences. There are indications that workshops. They need opportunities to observe other
class size reduction is not a ‘magic solution’: the great teachers and receive mentoring from skilled colleagues
enthusiasm of some researchers has been challenged over time in order to bring about significant changes in how
by others. How can we account for such differences, and they work in their classrooms. Professional development,
what are the implications for practice? One answer is therefore, is a substantial cost factor if small classes are to
that the research has tended to be relatively silent on the bring about improvements in student learning.
contextual factors that shape how any particular small
class initiative plays out. Studies of California’s small class In addition, teachers need time to develop and practice
initiative are among the only reports that examine actual their new teaching skills. Observations of teachers
implementation factors. Beyond this, there are several working in schools where class size reduction initiatives
important differences in how research on small classes has were implemented have shown that it takes more than
been carried out, as well as what the initiatives themselves one school year to become adept in using new teaching
include. strategies, and closer to three years to demonstrate real
competence.
Varying assumptions The importance of teacher quality and preparation
become clear when initiatives to reduce class size are
To some extent, the differences seem to be the result of introduced and a jurisdiction is forced to increase its
different assumptions on the part of researchers. Some teaching pool quickly and substantially. For example, the
have focused on pupil-teacher ratio, the actual number state of California’s primary class size reduction initiative,
of students with a teacher, rather than the average class instituted in the late 1990s, resulted in a 38 percent
size (for a school or a school district), since averages can increase in the teaching force. School districts competed
conceal large differences in actual class sizes. Others for teachers, and many had to hire unqualified teachers on
emphasize the pupil-adult ratio, which might include an emergency basis. As new positions opened up, some
administrators, librarians, counselors, parent volunteers qualified teachers working in schools serving poor children
and others, as well as classroom teachers. Some studies took the opportunity to transfer to more affluent schools.
take into account classroom educational assistants, As a result, schools serving racial minorities and English
but they do not always describe what roles such adults language learners saw a more than 16 percent drop in the
provide in the teaching-learning process. Although these number of qualified teachers. Because so many teachers
other adult roles may be important in supporting student were inexperienced and lacked training, there was a great
learning, their inclusion confuses the class size issue, need for professional development, but such professional
since it is not clear what is being measured. This confusion development had not been factored into school district
may partially explain why different results have been budgets.
reported across different studies. What, for example, can
we learn about the effects of additional teaching support In fact, research into the California initiative demonstrated
staff in classrooms if we don’t know what they contribute to that poor children and racial and linguistic minority students
students’ learning? – those most in need of the benefits of small classes – tended
to lose out disproportionately.
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