Curriculum Reform in Ontario: 'Common-Sense' Policy Processes and Democratic Possibilities PDF
Preview Curriculum Reform in Ontario: 'Common-Sense' Policy Processes and Democratic Possibilities
CURRICULUM REFORM IN ONTARIO ‘Common Sense’ Policy Processes and Democratic Possibilities This fi rst full account of curriculum policy formulation in 1990s Ontario helps readers understand the real-life experiences of policymakers both within the province and internationally. Having worked as a policy ana- lyst for the Government of Ontario, a public school teacher, and a uni- versity professor, author Laura Elizabeth Pinto is uniquely positioned to tackle the key issues of policy formulation: the politics and tensions among diff erent policy actors; the relationships between democracy in education and in policy formation; and the hidden role of privatization. Based on interviews with key policy actors, including ministry bureaucrats, curriculum policy writers, stakeholder consultation par- ticipants, and political staff ers, Curriculum Reform in Ontario provides a critique of conventional policy formulation processes. Pinto also suggests possibilities for more participatory approaches to policy for- mulation that can bett er support the critical role played by schools in creating democratic societies. laura elizabeth pinto is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Program at Niagara University. This page intentionally left blank Curriculum Reform in Ontario ‘Common Sense’ Policy Processes and Democratic Possibilities LAURA ELIZABETH PINTO UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buff alo London © University of Toronto Press 2012 Toronto Buff alo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in Canada ISBN 978-1-4426-6154-7 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4426-1285-3 (paper) Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based inks. ________________________________________________________________ Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Pinto, Laura Elizabeth Curriculum reform in Ontario : common sense policy processes and democratic possibilities / Laura Elizabeth Pinto. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4426-6154-7 (bound). – ISBN 978-1-4426-1285-3 (pbk.) 1. Education, Secondary – Curricula – Ontario – Planning – Case studies. 2. Curriculum planning – Ontario – Case studies. 3. Education and state – Ontario – Case studies. I. Title. LB1629.5.C3P56 2012 373.1909713 C2012-900026-4 ________________________________________________________________ This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its publishing activities. For Humphrey This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix 1 The Ideal of Critical-Democratic Policy Production 3 2 The Politics of ‘Common Sense’ Policy Production 22 3 Restructuring Education 48 4 Hidden Privatization in the Institutional Culture: Policy Actors or ‘Hired Guns’? 65 5 Policy Writers, Power, and Politicization: Were the Books Already Cooked? 90 6 Citizen (Dis)Engagement in Selection and Consultations 103 7 Perceived Policy Outcomes and Their Absence of Democracy 135 8 An Exploration of Possibilities: Porto Alegre, Brazil, as an Analytic Foil Contrasting Ontario 158 9 Conclusion 189 Appendix: Policy Formulation Timeline 209 Notes 211 References 219 Index 241 This page intentionally left blank Preface Large-scale, centralized education reform has occurred in a variety of jurisdictions in recent years. Such reforms usually include new approaches to funding and major changes to policies governing school board organization, curriculum, student assessment, and teacher work- ing conditions. Education reforms are shaped by the processes under- taken to develop them and by the variety of individuals and groups involved. While a great deal of contemporary research concerns the outcomes and impacts of educational policies, few studies examine the process of education policy development and its relationship to democ- racy in education. This book is concerned with curriculum policy production in a democracy: the ways in which agendas are constructed, as well as the ways in which compromises over policies are brought under the lead- ership and overall outlook of dominant groups. Walter Werner (1991, 107) poses an important question: who should have the right to determine curriculum goals and content? The signifi cance of curriculum policy doc- uments is that they defi ne what is to be taught and oft en how it is to be taught. Curriculum policy docu ments also may indicate why the cur- riculum decisions were made. As a result, curriculum policy refl ects a certain set of values, defi n ing priorities and legitimating what is worth learn ing. Whose voices and values are refl ected within curriculum policy is dependent upon the policy production process in any given jurisdiction. Specifi cally, this book reconstructs and critiques curriculum policy production during an important period in Ontario’s political history. Second, it investigates and analyses the degree to which this moment in policy production refl ected the ideals of democracy. Finally, it off ers
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