The Kenney government recently appointed an advisory panel to provide advice on the development of future curriculum for Alberta schools.
The panel will have an “emphasis on the knowledge, skills and competencies students should have when they finish high school” and will be “informed by globally endorsed best practices, jurisdictional research and previous curriculum engagement feedback.”
The panel will eventually draft an updated ministerial order on student learning.
Whether the panel will come up with recommended changes to Alberta learning that will eventually make their way into classrooms remains to be seen.
What is known is that ensuring that current and future Alberta students receive educations that are both practical and first-class remains in everyone’s best interest.
Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s education minister, calls the panel’s work vital.
“We want to make sure we are taking the right approach for the right reasons for our children,” said LaGrange. “Members of the curriculum advisory panel come to the table with diverse backgrounds and experiences that I believe will enhance the vision and direction for student learning in Alberta.”
The panel itself includes representatives from the kindergarten to Grade 12 education system, post-secondary education system, education advocates, and career and training organizations.
“As a former teacher and former superintendent, I am excited to get to work to fulfil the mandate afforded to us. Albertans are counting on us to get it right,” sad panel chair Angus McBeath.
The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) has already voiced some concerns with the initiative, including that no teachers have been appointed to the panel.
“It is unclear just what extent the advisory panel’s authority is, how its recommendations will inform the process, and what sort of delay this will entail,” said Jason Schilling, ATA president.
“I am left to question the government’s intentions around curriculum, particularly given its unilateral withdrawal from a curriculum partnership with teachers that had supported more progress in curriculum development.”
The stakes for this new government-appointed panel couldn’t be higher, so here’s hoping it will get things right.
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor.
