Ontario, Canada: the state asserts its voice or accountability supersedes responsibility

Canada is a confederation of nine provinces and three territories, each of which has constitutional control over its education system. Except at the higher education level (in the funding of research), the national government has at best marginal influence on the school systems. Because of the huge diversity in the organisation of schools and of reforms in the various provinces, this chapter will focus on the most populous, Ontario. The administration of the system in Ontario is stratified geographically with a central Ministry based in the capital, Toronto, and 72 District School Boards. A historical artefact stemming from the national constitution of 1867 is that the public system in Ontario includes the fully funded Catholic system (and no other religious schools). At the individual school level, School Councils with advisory responsibilities consist of members of the community, teachers and school administration. The system is extensive, with, in the 2003-04 school year, 1,442,979 elementary (grades JK-8) and 686,763 secondary students being taught by 73,340 elementary and 41,600 secondary teachers in 4880 schools (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005). Teacher education is provided by 11 Faculties of Education in the province, who between them prepare some 7000 new teachers annually as well as providing continuing and postgraduate teacher education. With a 2005-06 budget allocation of $17.2 billion, it is the second largest sector after health care, a reversal of relative funding over the past decade.