The evolution of professionalism - Centre for Policy Studies in ...

and secure environments for all Alberta students. These included student-led
conferences; the development of materials for students, parents, and teachers to
deal with student aggression; collaborative research by Alberta’s three universities;
and studies on policy and program implications. The learning resource Building
Foundations for Safe and Caring Schools: Research on Disruptive Behaviour and
Violence (1999) was produced as a result of this project. The book is a collection
of readings that provide insight into the dimensions of disruption and violence, and
offer proactive solutions for teachers and administrators.
In 1996, Gary Mar was named Minister of Education, replacing Halvar
Jonson. Accountability remained a Ministry priority, with a new policy on school
authority accountability (Policy 2.1.1, 1997) combining three previous policies:
school authority education plans, comprehensive audits, and annual education
results report. School authority accountability was intended to ensure reporting and
availability of documentation; school authority education plans were developed
each year and made available to the public and the Ministry; school plans had to be
consistent with province and school board requirements.
A 1997 Ministerial order raised the issue of standards into the discussion of
teacher certifi cation and implemented the teaching quality standard. The standard
was applied to teacher certifi cation, professional development, supervision, and
evaluation of teachers, and was a precursor to the 1998 rewriting of the Practice
Review of Teachers Regulation by the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards
(COATS) 5 . The review was intended to address Ministry concerns about regulatory
process administration and to link the standard to the knowledge, skills and attitudes
of teachers and teaching practices.
In 1998, a task force was struck to examine the funding of provincially accredited
private schools. The resulting Report and Recommendations of the Private Schools
Funding Task Force (1998) recommended a funding framework whereby accredited
private schools would continue to receive some public funding, providing specifi c
conditions and standards were met, including their meeting the same requirements for
teaching and the same educational standards as public schools.
Diversity and respect were addressed by Bill 20, under the School Amendment
Act (1999), which built on activities initiated by the previous Minister, in 1996.
The Bill emphasized educational programs and materials that refl ected diversity
and would promote an understanding and respect for others. School boards were
made responsible for providing students with a safe and caring environment, with
diversity and respect being included under the broad term ‘safety’. Safety was
addressed again in Bill 206, the School Amendment Act (2000), which required
school boards to develop policies on student conduct (Students’ Code of Conduct)
in consultation with parents, students, teachers, and principals. The amendment was
based on a departmental emphasis on safety and respect in the schools, its 1996
three-year plan, and 1999’s Bill 20.
In the latter part of 1999, Lyle Oberg was appointed the new Minister of
Education, and the Department was renamed Alberta Learning. Alberta Learning
merged the two Ministries responsible for education and postsecondary education to
form a ‘super ministry’ 6 . The Certifi cation of Teachers Regulations were reviewed
in 1999. Part of the School Act, the regulations address teacher certifi cation, the
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