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Alberta Education Announces 6-Year Phase-In of Up-Dated Curriculum

Jun 15, 2016 | 12:21 PM

LETHBRIDGE: Alberta is embarking on an upgrade of provincial education curriculum and will target six subjects over the span of six years, with a phased roll-out.

The subjects include Arts; Language Arts – English, French, Français; Mathematics; Social Studies; Sciences; and Wellness.

The overhauld doesn’t end there.

Education Minister David Eggen says the new plan will include topics such as climate change, gender diversity and sexual orientation. Gender diversity and sexual orientation have been contentious subjects in some Alberta schools, and Eggen says they will work collaboratively with partners to find solutions that work for everyone.

In a first for the province, the new curriculum will be developed in both English and French at the same time. It will be rolled out in stages starting with kindergarten to Grade 4 by the end of 2018, with Grades 5 to 8 by late 2019 and for high school from 2020 to 2022.

Funding for the new curriculum development will be through current budget allocations, with no new money required. The cost over six fiscal years is estimated at $64,430,684, including $38,850,000 for staffing, $20,394,684 for the engagement strategy and $5,186,000 for Curriculum Development Application (CDA).

At a news conference in Edmonton Wednesday morning, other elements of were noted:

— Current curriculum remains in effect until new curriculum is implemented.

— New curriculum will contain an explicit focus on the development of learner outcomes that support and reinforce 21st-century competencies across curriculum, as well as literacy and numeracy.

— Provincial curriculum will be developed simultaneously in English and French for the first time.

— New curriculum reflects the principles and standards outlined in the Guiding Framework, which consolidates research, feedback from consultations and results of prototyping. The framework sets a common, student-centred direction for the development of future curriculum.

— Support for First Nations, Métis and Inuit student learning, as well as the inclusion of Education for Reconciliation, which includes ways of knowing and diverse perspectives, will be reflected in future K-12 curriculum. Four million dollars in existing funding will be spent on consultation with Indigenous partners on future curriculum.

— Francophone perspectives will also be included in future K-12 curriculum.

— Provincial curriculum will be developed and available for use through a digital platform, the Curriculum Development Application (CDA).

— Teachers will be able to interact and develop learning opportunities for their students through the CDA. This interactive platform will become a one-stop shop for subject-specific programs of study, resources and assessment.

— The CDA will also support the move to a shorter curriculum development cycle and an improved ‘ever-greening’ process.

According to Minister of Education, the future provincial curriculum will have a common design and student-centred direction, which will ensure consistency across the K-to-12.

“This will make it easier for teachers to plan across subjects. It will also enhance the ability of those teachers who are teaching multiple subjects across grade levels to provide a more cohesive program, improving the overall learning experience for students and reducing teachers’ planning time.”

According to Eggen, Albertans will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the development of new curriculum through hundreds of face-to-face meetings and an online survey planned for this fall.