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

1994) de-streamed the Grade 9 curriculum. Under the new policies, rather than being
streamed into academic, general, and basic course of study, all Grade 9 students
followed the same program and were granted eight credits towards their high school
diploma. Initially, the Rae government entertained the idea of de-streaming Grade
10 as well, and eliminating the program appendage for university-bound secondary
school students, commonly known as Grade 13 though reconstituted in the mid-
1990s as a set of advanced academic courses called Ontario Academic Credits.
However, secondary school teacher and public opposition sidelined those plans.
Antiracism and Ethnocultural Equity in School Boards: Guidelines for
Policy Development and Implementation (1993) followed a 1992 Education Act
amendment that required all school boards to adopt antiracism and ethnocultural
equity policies. The guidelines called for systemic policies targeting curriculum,
learning materials, student assessment and placement, hiring, staffi ng, race
relations, and community relations.
The Violence-Free Schools Act (1994) was adopted by the NDP government
after several widely publicized incidents in schools in Canada and the US, and
in response to a government discussion paper entitled the Safe Schools Report.
This policy was intended to ensure that all school boards had explicit policies in
place to prevent and respond to violence. The Conservative government introduced
further measures in June 2000; whereas the 1994 policy simply required school
boards to develop safe schools policies, the Conservative’s Safe Schools Act set a
common provincial Code of Conduct for students that included explicit standards
of behaviour and prescribed consequences for serious infractions, including
compulsory expulsion for possession of weapons, damaging school property,
and swearing at or threatening teachers. Implementation has been marked by
controversy over the severity of consequences, the lack of fl exibility afforded
principals, and claims of racial profi ling and bias against students with behavioural
exceptionalities (Kalinowski, 2003b; Miller, 2003; Miller, 2003).
The NDP government commissioned a review of education in Ontario in
mid-1993. The Royal Commission on Learning (RCOL) was released in January
1995. Many of the 167 recommendations in the RCOL pre-fi gured future policy
initiatives, including:
• prescription of learner outcomes in core curriculum areas;
• reform of secondary education by reinstituting the two stream (academic
and general applied) program;
• a mandatory community service requirement;
• standardized report cards linked to the provincial curriculum;
• standardized testing of pupil performance on provincial curriculum
expectations;
• a literacy test for high school graduation;
• establishment of an accountability agency to manage the provincial
assessment system;
• creation of a College of Teachers;
• mandatory professional development and recertifi cation of teachers;
• school-community councils; and,
• equalization of per-pupil funding.
Chapter 5: Ontario 81