Abstract
This chapter describes and analyses the province’s K-12 public educational governance system in the province of Ontario, Canada. Drawing from a two-stage approach (Dupriez V, Maroy C, J Edu Policy 18:375–392, 2003) and using the concepts of centralization, coordination, and hard/soft power as a sense-making framework, it describes the three-tiered formal authority structure as well as the constellation of school agencies that compose the wider education governance system. Conceived by the authors as an “echo chamber,” the centralization that characterizes the province provides a structure for amplifying and reinforcing dominant narratives about educational goals, while other agencies contribute tenuous coordination efforts that nuance those narratives. Recent examples of high profile issues and conflicts provide occasions for considering the value of counterbalancing voices and the risks of silencing alternate ideas and innovations to address complex educational challenges.
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Notes
- 1.
In addition to 72 school boards, Ontario has “10 school authorities, consistent of 4 geographically isolated boards and 6 hospital-based school boards authorities [… and] 1 provincial schools authority (Ontario Ministry of Education 2018a).
- 2.
2015–2017 academic year.
- 3.
A second ministry is responsible for higher education but is not discussed here.
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Appendices
Appendices
1.1 Appendix A: Key Professional Colleges, Councils, and Institutes in K–12 Education, Ontario
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College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE)
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Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE)
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Catholic Principals Council of Ontario (CPCO)
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Global Institute for Catholic Education (ICE)
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Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)
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Ontario Principals Council (OPC)
1.2 Appendix B: Ontario’s Teachers’ Associations
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L’association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO)
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Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)
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Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA)
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Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)
1.3 Appendix C: Influential Pan-Canadian/National Bodies Shaping the Policy Discussion in K-12 Education in Ontario and Across Canada
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Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative
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Fraser Institute
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Canadian Education (“EdCan”) Association
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Conference Board of Canada
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Council of Chief Executives (Renamed Business Council of Canada)
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Learning Partnership
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People for Education
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Faubert, B., Paulson, E. (2020). Ontario, Canada: Education in the Echo Chamber: Understanding K-12 Education Governance in Ontario, Canada. In: Ärlestig, H., Johansson, O. (eds) Educational Authorities and the Schools. Educational Governance Research, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38759-4_13
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