Pan-Canadian comparison finds minimal data collection, few comprehensive recovery plans
A scan of K to 12 education policies across Canada reveals a glaring reality; while all provinces and territories have detailed safety strategies for schools, few have articulated a vision or guidelines to manage, assess, or respond to the educational impact of COVID-19.
In January 2022, pilipili污漫 conducted a pan-Canadian scan of K to 12 education strategies in response to COVID-19. The information came from government websites and media stories focusing on provincial/territorial strategies, guidelines, and resources in areas such as broader learning opportunities (e.g., extracurricular activities, experiential courses, co-op placements), educator resources, student supports, exams and graduation requirements, and data collection measures.
A range of educational responses
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The scan reveals that only four out of the thirteen provinces and territories have developed comprehensive documents that provide both guidelines and goals to support students and staff as they deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic:
- 蚕耻别产别肠鈥檚 outlines key principles and areas for intervention, as well as a plan to support research to evaluate how students have been affected by the pandemic.
- Guidelines in Nunavut鈥檚 framework and its include a vision for 鈥渞ecovery learning鈥�; guidance about effective assessment that recognizes the impact of the pandemic; and practical tools to help education staff respond to students鈥� and families鈥� social-emotional needs.
- The includes strategies for individual educators and schools to evaluate the impact of the pandemic, including monitoring attendance patterns, analyzing data from the Early Years Evaluation, giving students a platform to provide feedback through surveys, and conducting ongoing reading assessments.
- British Columbia鈥檚 has a commitment to collaborate with stakeholders and direction for local boards and schools to 鈥渄evelop processes for identifying and addressing pandemic impacts on student learning and well-being with a focus on the 鈥榳hole child鈥� including literacy, numeracy, social-emotional development and mental health.鈥� British Columbia also regularly consults with its , made up of educators, parents, support workers, school staff and school leaders, trustees, First Nations, M茅tis, and public health experts.
None of the plans include provincial or territorial reporting, data-collection, or tracking of evaluations. In addition, it is not clear whether any of the plans and policies are backed up by adequate resources, staff, and/or time for implementation.
Supporting families and students
Despite the small number of education recovery plans among provinces and territories, several of them are working to provide supports for students and families. For example, Alberta is in the preliminary stages of hosting an which currently has six videos for elementary students, and New Brunswick has a with resources, updates, and a phone line.
, which is funded by the provincial government, has resources for system leaders, educators, parents, and students. The resources cover everything from 鈥済rounding exercises鈥� for overwhelmed students, to tips for adult allies.
Mental health a priority across the country
Nearly all the provinces and territories point to student and staff mental health as a key issue, but here too there are substantial variations across the country. For example, BC鈥檚 鈥� developed with support from the Ministry of Education鈥檚 Mental Health School Start-up Working Group 鈥� includes a set of recommendations and resources. Newfoundland and Labrador has a , and Prince Edward Island has a program that provides online mental health supports for children, youth, and families.
In their responses to the 20-21 Annual Ontario School Survey, principals reported that the demand for mental health and educational supports had skyrocketed over the previous year.
Minimal plans for evaluating impact on student learning
Some provinces and territories have suggested that boards, schools, and staff develop processes for assessing pandemic impacts on things like students鈥� literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional development. However, none appear to have put in place an overall plan for assessing and addressing the impact of the pandemic on student learning and mental health.
In Ontario, the province has provided funding for in the primary grades, and the Ministry of Education on things like parent and student feedback on the impact of remote learning and areas where educators required support to deliver online learning. Some Ontario school boards are such as students鈥� reading skills, but there is no overall provincial mechanism for reporting on pandemic-related impacts on students鈥� learning, participation rates, or mental health.
in Quebec using report card information has provided some data, but again, there does not appear to be any overall provincial strategy for assessment and evaluation.
Recommendations for next steps
In the first year of the pandemic, the UN warned of a potential . The currently available shows that Canada鈥檚 5.5 million children and young people are not immune from that impact.
The pandemic has proven that schools across Canada can rise to the occasion when needed, but without comprehensive plans to collect data and measure the impact of COVID-19 it will be difficult to develop effective, evidence-based, and adequately resourced recovery and renewal plans.
- The federal government should:
- establish a as recommended by the Canadian Teachers鈥� Federation.
- extend its current funding to provinces, territories, and First Nations with a multi-billion dollar, multi-year Education Recovery Fund to support planning, evidence-gathering, assessments, increased numbers of staff, and vital resources.
- Provinces and territories, working collaboratively with school boards and education stakeholders, should:
- develop comprehensive recovery and renewal plans supported by data collection, sample-based evaluations of student progress, student surveys, and well-being assessments.听听
- ensure听recovery and renewal plans include specific, measurable goals for addressing the inequities, structural barriers, and听systemic racism exposed and amplified by the pandemic and that continue to prevent equal access to all students. 听