Education in Canada
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The Canadian education system is actually a set of different situations for each province, since education is a legislative power of provincial jurisdiction.
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Canada-Wide
Education in Canada is a provincial responsibility and, as such, there are many variations between the provinces. However, there are some constants. Education from Junior Kindergarten (age 4) to Grade 12 (age 17) is free and all children are obligated to attend school until the age of 16. While about one out of ten Canadians do not have any high school education and only one in seven have a university degree, this is changing rapidly, partly due to changes in the labour market that require people to have a high school diploma and, in many cases, a university degree.
Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it).
Divisions by Religion and Language
Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are the exception to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Catholic school boards. In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Quebeckers must attend a French school up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception).
Length of Study
Most Canadian education systems continue up to Grade 12 (age 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary 5, the equivalent to Grade 11 (age 17). Following this, students are encouraged to attend CEGEP as means of preparing for studies at the university level.
Pre-University
Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province.
In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school or secondary school, differs depending on what province one resides in. Typically, Canada's secondary school system follows the American pattern with some variations.
Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. Some students are struggling with their classes, especially mathematics, due to the compacting of the curriculum. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebeckers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration (see Education in Quebec).
University
The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec and British Columbia receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in the Maritimes generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year Bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree (known as an Honours degree).
Bachelor's degrees in Quebec are typically three-year programs, as the two-year CEGEP pre-university program covers most first-year requirements at a traditional university (in some cases, such as education, engineering or certain medical programs, they are four-year programs). CEGEP graduates who go on to universities outside of Quebec are sometimes able to receive up to one year of credit from a four-year undergraduate program. On the other hand, students who graduate from a four-year high school system (Grade 12) and undertake their studies at a Quebec university must complete a "Freshman" program before continuing on to the Bachelor's program.
Private vs. Public
Private elementary and secondary schools do exist in Canada and are sometimes elite institutions, but are typically small religious or specialty schools. At present, there are no private universities in Canada that are accredited to teach courses in the humanities and the sciences without some sort of religious denomination, but this is set to change with the opening in 2006 of British Columbia's Sea to Sky University, the country's first private liberal arts university. Many provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have passed legislation allowing private degree-granting institutions (not necessarily universities) to operate there.
Many Canadians remain polarized on the issue of permitting private universities to infiltrate the Canadian market; on the one hand, Canada's top universities cannot compete with the private American powerhouses because of funding, but on the other, the development of another "tier" of universities, where accessibility is based primarily on one's ability to pay, could prevent a significant portion of Canada's population from being able to attend these schools.
Canada Outside Quebec
- Pre-School, Nursery School or Head Start (5 and under)
- Elementary school: refers to Kindergarten or Grades 1 through Grades 7 or 8
- Kindergarten (5-6)
- Grade 1 (6-7)
- Grade 2 (7-8)
- Grade 3 (8-9)
- Grade 4 (9-10)
- Grade 5 (10-11)
- Grade 6 (11-12)
- Junior high school: also called "middle school" or "intermediate school". In many places, junior high school and high school are merged into one consisting of a high school with Grades 8-12. In other areas, the junior high grades are merged into elementary schools consisting of Grades K-8. In parts of Toronto, "senior public schools" exist, consisting only of Grades 6, 7 and 8 or grades 7 and 8. This particular split is driven by demographics and school building capacity.
- Grade 7 (12-13)
- Grade 8 (13-14)
- Grade 9 (14-15) (in many areas, this is the first grade of high school)
- High school
- College or University
- College or University
- College: Two to three years leading to a Diploma or, in some cases, an Associate's degree (not common in Canada)
- University: Three years leading to a Bachelor's degree; four years leading to an Advanced Major degree or an Honours Bachelor's degree (the later is usually required for graduate school)
- Graduate school
- One or two years leading to a Master's degree.
- Two or more years leading to a Doctoral degree.
- College or University
Special note on Ontario:
Ontario schools offer what is known as Pre-Kindergarten for children 4 years of age. Alternatively, Pre-Kindergarten is referred to as Junior Kindergarten, while Kindergarten is used interchangeably with Senior Kindergarten. French schools in Ontario sometimes use Pré-Jardin and Jardin in the place of Quebec's Maternelle.
Quebec
- garderie (Nursery School); Under 5
- maternelle (Kindergarten); 5-6
- école primaire (Elementary school)
- Grade 1; 6-7
- Grade 2; 7-8
- Grade 3; 8-9
- Grade 4; 9-10
- Grade 5; 10-11
- Grade 6; 11-12
- école secondaire (High school)
- Secondary I; 12-13
- Secondary II; 13-14
- Secondary III; 14-15
- Secondary IV; 15-16
- Secondary V; 16-17
- CEGEP
- Pre-university program, two years (typically Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Arts)
- Professionnal program, three years (e.g. Paralegal, Dental Hygienist, Nursing, etc.)
both leading to a Diplôme d'études collégiales (DEC) some professional programs can lead to an Attestation d'études collégiales (Associate's degree) for one additional year
- University (Must have DEC or equivalent)
- Undergraduate
- Three years leading to a Bachelor's degree
- Graduate (or postgraduate)
- One or two years leading to a Master's degree.
- Two or more years leading to a Doctoral degree.
- Undergraduate
See also
Sources
- CICIC - Postsecondary Education in Canada (http://www.cicic.ca/postsec/indexe.stm)