Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberal Party have made a pre-election promise to double the length of Ontario’s teacher’s colleges to increase the quality of educators’ training, according to The Globe and Mail.
They hope to work with universities and colleges and move forward with more practical in-class experience before students become teachers. The idea of a two-year program has faced scrutiny, with some students worrying about paying another year’s tuition.
“We’re not proposing any changes,” he added. “Does [doubling the length of teacher’s college] mean that we also have people coming out of teacher’s college with another year of debt?”
The Liberal platform would provide students with 30 per cent tuition grants for all undergraduate students, if their family’s incomes are under $150,000, said Ottawa Centre Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi.
“Right now, under the current system, teacher education requires a practicum of 40 days or 20 per cent of the school year,” Naqvi said. “We will increase that significantly so that students are getting more opportunities to spend time in the classroom and get practical experience before they become teachers.”
Naqvi compared Ontario to other regions like Japan, Singapore and Finland, which have multi-year programs, and higher test scores because of increased in-class experience.
Samantha Ingram, a concurrent education student at Brock University, said she feels as though the extra year is necessary.
“I couldn’t even imagine getting thrown into a classroom for a year and becoming a teacher,” Ingram said. “If I were doing the teacher’s college route, I would prefer the two-year degree. Every child is different so you need that hands-on activity before you become a teacher.”
Carolyn Broadhurst, a district counsellor in Dawson Creek, B.C., graduated from a one-year program at Nipissing University.
“I don’t think [teacher’s college] prepares you to be in a regular classroom,” Broadhurst said. She compared this with two-year programs in British Columbia where people are older and “mature” when they graduate. Broadhurst also said a lengthier program is “going to be a deterrent for people who aren’t meant for the profession.”
According to Professionally Speaking, the magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers, “first-year involuntary unemployment has grown from just three per cent in 2006 to 24 per cent by 2010 for graduates of Ontario universities and US border colleges.”
Underemployment rates rose from 27 to 43 per cent during that period, the magazine reported.
Naqvi said the Liberals will amend the Ontario College of Teachers Act and work with universities and teachers colleges to articulate a new curriculum.
