Ministry of Education (Ontario)


The Ministry of Education is the ministry of the Government of Ontario responsible for government policy, funding, curriculum planning and direction in all levels of public education, including elementary and secondary schools.
The ministry is responsible for curriculum and guidelines for all officially recognized elementary and secondary schools in the province and some outside the province. The ministry is also responsible for public and separate school boards across Ontario, but are not involved in the day-to-day operations.
The current minister of education is Paul Calandra.
A number of ministers of education have gone on to become premier of Ontario, including Arthur Sturgis Hardy, George Ross, John Robarts, Bill Davis, and Kathleen Wynne. Four premiers held the education portfolio themselves while premier. They were Howard Ferguson, George Henry, George Drew and John Robarts. All four of them served as their own education minister for the full duration of their premiership.
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History

Prior to Confederation, the supervision of the education system and the development of education policy of Canada West were the responsibilities of the Department of Public Instruction.
In 1844, Governor General Sir Charles Metcalfe appointed Egerton Ryerson as the Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada with a mandate to widen the reach of secular public schools. The Common School Act, 1846 prepared by Ryerson formally established the position along with a preliminary structure of a central education authority with a supervisory board of seven members. The act also mandated the used of common textbooks, teacher training, school inspectors, and local governance through elected school trustees.
The 1846 act was followed by the Common School Act, 1850, which provided appropriation for the department to be headed by the chief superintendent and formalized a Council of Public Instruction. The department came to be known as the Department of Public Instruction. The act also enabled school tax to be levied on all property, provided for the free admission of all children to schools. It also included the controversial provision authoring the creation of separate schools for "Protestants, Roman Catholics, or coloured people" upon the application of twelve or more families. Ryerson has long been an opponent to segregation in schools, saying at the time that that enshrining racial and religious bias into law would be "a disgrace to our Legislature", and attempted to force school boards establishing segregated schools to admit Black students, encouraging their families to mount lawsuits when they wouldn't.
The 1850 legislation prescribed that the chief superintendent be responsible to a portfolio minister of the province. Ryerson was of the belief that educational issues should not be subject to politics, and he made his department a semi-autonomous agency with no ministerial head specified. Though formally responsible to the Executive Council, Ryerson established policy, sought political support for it inside and outside parliament throughout his time in office as a minister would. Even after confederation, Ryerson's competence, strong will and long tenure deterred premiers of the new province from formally appointing an education minister before his retirement in 1876. In a letter commenting on Premier John S Macdonald's defeat and resignation, Prime Minister John A Macdonald wrote to John Carling, a minister in his cabinet, noted that he had pressed the premier to name an education minister and lamented that the premier took no steps towards doing so.
In February 1876 upon Ryerson's retirement, Premier Oliver Mowat formally instituted the Department of Education, the first newly created ministerial portfolio in Ontario ministry to assume the responsibility of the Department of Public Instruction and the authorities formerly held by the chief superintendent of education. Mowat named his Treasurer Adam Crooks, who served as vice-chancellor of the University of Toronto prior to his election, as its inaugural minister. Crooks was relieved of his treasury duty the following year to focus in the education portfolio.
Responsibilities for post-secondary education were part of the department's portfolio prior to 1964 when the Department of University Affairs was created. The Department of Education continued to be responsible for post-secondary education in applied arts and technology until 1971 when the responsibility was transferred to the renamed Department of Colleges and Universities.
In 1972, the Department of Education was renamed the Ministry of Education. The ministry again oversaw post-secondary education between 1993 and 1999.

Reports

Hall-Dennis Report, 1968

The Hall-Dennis Report, officially titled Living and Learning, called for broad reforms to Ontario education, to empower teachers and the larger community, and put students' needs and dignity at the centre of education.

Fullan Report, 2013

The Fullan Report, officially titled Great to Excellent, calls for a focus on the 6 C's: Character, Citizenship, Communication, Critical thinking and problem solving, Collaboration and teamwork, and Creativity and imagination. The report also calls for innovation in how these areas are learned.

Approach to discipline

Ontario public schools use progressive discipline. Discipline is corrective and supportive rather than punitive, with a focus on prevention and early intervention. It is a whole-school, systemic approach, engaging students, families and the larger community, as well as classes, schools and boards. Schools are to recognize and respect the diversity of parent communities, and partner with them accordingly. Students are surveyed at least every two years about their experience of the school climate.
"For students with special education needs, interventions, supports, and consequences must be consistent with the student’s strengths and needs".
While the school principal is responsible for discipline, all board employees who come into contact with students are responsible for stepping in if inappropriate behaviour occurs. The principal may also delegate powers and duties related to discipline.

Ministry agencies