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

Major Policies and Policy Initiatives under the Liberal Government
Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal party took power in the fall of 2003. In their
fi rst year, the Liberals embarked on a different approach to education policy and
improvement, reversing several Conservative policy initiatives and restoring
local governance to elected trustees in the Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa District
School Boards. This action was celebrated by teachers and trustees as a return to
democracy, and as symbolic of the new government’s trust in public education
(Boyle, 2004; Ontario Teachers’ Federation, 2003b). Ongoing concerns about fi scal
responsibility and trustee compensation, however, led the education Minister to
suggest that the province might soon review the governance issue.
Midway through their fi rst year, the Liberals announced plans to invest an
additional $1.6 billion in education by 2006, echoing the Rozanski proposals. This
included increases in all funding categories to better refl ect infl ation, as well as
new money for student success initiatives. The budget increased pupil grants by
6 percent ($8,325), allowed for a 2 percent raise in teachers’ salaries, and came
with added reporting requirements to ensure local compliance with government
priorities (e.g., class size reduction and help for students at risk). The Liberals also
revoked the private school tuition tax credit policy, signalling the government’s
commitment to public education and providing a source of additional funds.
The Liberal government next responded to criticisms about the cost of, need for,
and negative professional climate surrounding the initial certifi cation test for new
teachers, and the policy requiring recertifi cation based on mandatory continuing
education credits (COMPAS Inc., 2003; Ontario Secondary School Teachers’
Federation, 2004). Bill 82, the Professional Learning Program Cancellation Act,
ended the recertifi cation requirements (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004b), and
the teacher qualifying test was suspended soon after. These actions nullifi ed these
professionally unpopular and questionably useful policies (there was no evidence
of impact on teacher quality); however, the government did not shelve the ideas
of recertifi cation and of initial certifi cation requirements beyond the Bachelor of
Education degree, and what alternatives it might consider remained uncertain.
In terms of curriculum and support for improvements in student learning,
the new government’s actions during its fi rst year emphasized refi nement to,
and additional resources for existing policies and practices. A review of the
Education Quality and Accountability Offi ce was completed in 2004. Despite
teacher criticisms of the utility and costs of the provincial testing system (Ontario
Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, 2004), the government announced plans
to revise the elementary testing program, rather than eliminate it. The revision plan
called for shorter tests, administered later in the school year, more closely aligned
to the curriculum, and offering more specifi c feedback on student performance
(Education Quality and Accountability Offi ce, 2004).
The major thrust of the Liberal’s education agenda was increased support for
improvement in student learning. In 2004, less than two thirds of Grade 3 and 6
students met the provincial standards for the literacy and numeracy tests; Ministry
of Education targets called for 75 percent of students to meet the standards by
2008. To facilitate this, the Ministry created a provincial Literacy and Numeracy
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