Education System in Canada Research Paper

The education system in Canada during the 19^th century was marked by the establishment of school systems that incorporated social, cultural and political aspects.

Children from different social and cultural backgrounds were allowed to attend schools in large numbers which gave way to mass schooling or standardized education as an effective instrument in teaching. The school systems during the 19^th century were designed to solve a myriad of problems that existed within the Canadian society such as poverty, crime, teen idleness and poor knowledge levels among the youth during that time.

The reasons that underlined the development of school systems in the 19^th century was the impact of constant immigration by Canadians as well as foreigners in the country, the change from agriculture to industrialization and the process of state formation which allowed Canadians the authority to exercise power (Gaffield, 2011).

During the later stages of the 19^th century, state formation, industrialization and immigration played an important role in the development of the school system in Canada where educators established schools that would reflect the cultural, religious and ethnic variations in the Canadian society. For example, in the western coast of Canada, immigration played an important part in developing the mass schooling system that was in existence.

Other provinces in Canada that were affected by immigration included Winnipeg, Manitoba and British Columbia where the arrival of large numbers of Asians played an important role in developing the Canadian schooling system. The impact of immigration had become a major factor in the 19^th century where anglo conformity became an important aspect in ensuring national cohesion and unity in the country (Mochoruk, 2004).

The schooling system in Canada during the 19^th century was mostly marked by the use of textbooks, classrooms, teachers and curriculum based education which were used to train school going children on how they could be contributing members to the Canadian society.

These teaching modes however underwent some changes to ensure that they reflected the changing needs of the society which required that children with different educational abilities and knowledge be catered for. This saw the introduction of technical and vocational courses that were meant to meet the needs of children who were not found suitable for academic training.

The criterion that was used in selecting children for educational courses was however based on social and cultural prejudices where children from white backgrounds had the first priority over children from other ethnic backgrounds. However, in the 1920s, schools began using IQ tests to measure the knowledge levels of children to ensure that there was equitable selection of children during the selection process (Gaffield, 2011).

The education system in the 19^th century was characterized by the distinctions that existed between male and female children in public schools. For example girls used a separate entrance from the boys and they also had separate classrooms where girls were taught alone and boys were taught alone.

The recess areas were also separate for both the girls and the boys with the dining halls incorporating some distinction where the girls ate separately from the boys. The redefinition of a family unit as an association of emotional attachment during the 19^th century saw the generalized idea that girls were meant to be taught on household duties and responsibilities while boys were meant to be taught on manual and technical skills that would train them to be the breadwinners of their families (Gaffield, 2011).

The distinction that existed within the educational programs during the 19^th century saw girls being taught more on home economics and cooking rather than on technical or manual skills which was the preserve of male students.

The separatist and distinctive teaching patterns were meant to reflect the ideal situation in the 19^th century society where women were meant to be the caretakers of the home while men were meant to the breadwinners. The 19^th century also saw the establishment of separate schools for children from different religious and cultural backgrounds to deal with the educational conflict that arose during that time (Usa, 2009).

Immigrants and foreigners during that time had to conform to the existing standards and guidelines in Canadians schools and society which did not reflect their diversity and culture. Religious communities for example did not agree with some of the non-denominational Christian curriculum that was being used in most of the Canadian schools which saw the formation of Catholic and Protestant school systems in some areas of Canada such as Quebec and Ontario.

The region of Newfoundland was the first to incorporate a complete denominationally based school system in the whole of Canada which was possible as a result of the Constitution Act of 1867 (Gaffield, 2011).

Religious studies in these schools therefore became a central part in the school curriculum which saw the growth of Catholicism and Christianity in many of the Canadian provinces. Despite some resistance, the establishment of the L’Action Catholic School in Manitoba in 1934 saw a growth of Catholicism in the province as well as the incorporation of Catholic communities in the education system.

The province also offered a secular education system that incorporated religious, cultural as well as non-denominational curriculum. Private and independent schooling was introduced in Manitoba in 1977 to reflecting the changing schooling system around the country.

The changing patterns of immigration also had an effect on the structure and organization of school systems where various Canadian provinces placed emphasis on meeting the needs of the general society rather than meeting the needs of Religious groups such as the Catholics and the Anglicans (Mochoruk, 2004).

Public schooling in Canada in the 19^th century was therefore created as a framework that would develop the society by shaping children to be moral citizens of their community. Public schools were created to generate unity of thought as well as to teach children about the idealized Canadian society.

Schools focused on teaching children from foreign countries the English language as well as the Canadian culture which would play an important part in their adaptation to the country’s laws and cultural practices. Social integration and cohesion were therefore important aspects in the establishment of various schooling systems in Canadian provinces during the 19^th century (Axelrod, 2003).

In summary, the history of Canada’s education system saw a growth in the formal instruction of children where the educational curriculum incorporated the various cultural, moral and social differences that existed within the Canadian society during the 19^th century.

While there was a general focus on providing equal access to schooling for all, different cultural, social and religious values made it difficult for children to be incorporated into Canadian education systems that were mostly driven by Canadian social values. The schooling system established in the 19^th century gave way to an institutional framework that would be used in the 20^th century to govern the operations of the government, prisons and hospitals in the country (Axelrod, 2003).

References

Axelrod, P. (2003). The promise of schooling; education in Canada, 1800-1914. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Gaffield, C., (2011). Education, history of education in Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en

Mochoruk, J., (2004). Formidable heritage: Manitoba’s north and the cost of development, 1870 to 1930. Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba Press.

Usa, I.U., (2009). Canada education system and policy handbook. New York: International Business Publications.