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Teaching the basics (reading, writing, arithmetic) in school is a goal Canadians support more than any other reason provided. However, more than 92% also agree that school should create a love for learning and prepare students for work, further education and to become good citizens.
Few Canadians believe that post-secondary institutions have enough spaces for qualified students or enough research funding.
Resources
Overall news release: Majority of parents can’t help their children with homework, say Canadians
Fact Sheet: Attitudes toward Structured Learning (PDF, 806 KB)
News release for structured learning: 65% of parents can’t help their children with homework, say Canadians
Summary of questions (PDF, 89 KB)
Complete questionnaire (PDF, 314 KB)
Canadians:
Canadians with recent direct experience with elementary and secondary schools:
Canadians with recent direct experience with post-secondary education:
Figure 1: Support of goals for Canada’s schools and whether Canadians feel those goals are being achieved
Respondents were asked about the importance of the following goals that elementary and secondary schools might strive to achieve:
Between 92% and 99% of respondents agree or strongly agree that each of these goals is important. However, they prioritize “teaching the basics” over all the other goals.
Respondents having recent experience with Canadian elementary or secondary schools (i.e., those who attended or have a child who attended school within the last five years) were also asked how well schools are doing with respect to each of these goals.
A strong majority of Canadians agree or strongly agree that schools are doing a good job of achieving these goals. However, the response patterns suggest that Canadians believe there is room for further improvement. For example, while 63% of respondents strongly agree that teaching the basics is an important goal, only 17% strongly agree that Canadian schools are doing a good job of meeting this goal.
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Figure 2: How well Canadians feel their schools are teaching specific subjects
Respondents having recent experience with Canadian elementary or secondary schools were also asked about the specific subjects that are taught in Canadian schools. A majority of Canadians agree that schools do a good job of teaching these subjects, but there are also indications that Canadians believe their schools can do even better: fewer than one in five strongly agree that schools are doing a good job of teaching any of these subjects.
Figure 3: Schools have adequate facilities and materials?
Most Canadians agree that schools have adequate arts and athletics facilities and adequate curriculum materials; however, fewer Canadians agree that schools have adequate science lab facilities. Strong agreement in all these categories is very weak.
Figure 4: How well class size and teacher training support learning
Most Canadians agree that teachers’ education prepares them well for the classroom, but fewer than half agree that classes are the right size to support learning.
Figure 5: What Canadians think about homework
Respondents having recent direct experience with Canadian schools, excluding those with children under the age of nine, were asked a series of questions about homework. The vast majority of Canadians agree that homework is an important part of schooling and that it enhances student learning.
Barely one-third of these Canadians agree that parents have enough knowledge to help their children with their homework.
Regarding the quantity of homework assigned, three-quarters agree that students are assigned enough homework, while just under half agree that the amount of homework assigned is a good indication of the quality of the education that students are receiving.
Figure 6: What Canadians think about achievement tests
Respondents having recent direct experience with Canadian schools were asked a series of questions about large-scale (i.e., provincial, national or international) achievement tests.
In general, Canadians are favourably disposed toward achievement tests. Three-quarters agree that the tests measure vital aspects of learning and help schools to provide better instruction. Two-thirds agree that achievement tests are a good tool to hold schools accountable for their performance. Nearly 60% agree that these tests are better measures of student achievement than teacher-assigned grades.
Figure 7: Goals for colleges and whether Canadians feel they are being met
Figure 8: Goals for universities and whether Canadians feel they are being met
Canadians were asked about the importance of goals that colleges (including community colleges, technical, applied arts or applied science institutions, and CEGEPs) and universities might strive to achieve. They were asked if they agree or disagree that it is important for college and university students to:
Canadians endorse all of these goals; however, they show weaker support for “learning for the sake of learning” than for any of the other goals. Respondents also indicate that learning goals for college students should be different from those for university students. Response patterns indicate that Canadians believe that learning work-related skills is the most important goal for college students. In contrast, for university students, acquiring general knowledge is just as important as learning work-related skills, and preparing for further learning is nearly as important.
Respondents having recent direct experience with Canadian colleges and universities (i.e., those who attended or have a child who attended college or university within the past five years) were also asked if colleges and universities are doing a good job of helping students achieve these goals. For colleges and universities, there is a large gap between the proportion of respondents who strongly agree that each goal is important and the proportion who strongly agree that colleges and universities are doing a good job of helping students achieve those goals, suggesting that Canadians believe there is room for further improvement in their post-secondary institutions.
Canadians indicate that colleges are doing a better job of helping students learn work-related skills than anything else, but they do not see this as a particular strength for universities. Instead, Canadians indicate that universities do their best work in helping students acquire general knowledge and in preparing them for further learning.
Figure 9: How well post-secondary institutions support students’ needs
Fewer than half of Canadians agree that post-secondary institutions have enough spaces to accommodate all qualified students. A slim majority of Canadians agree that funding is available to support students, while nearly three-quarters agree that there enough services exist to accommodate the needs and interests of students.
Figure 10: Canadians’ agreement about whether post-secondary institutions have adequate resources
Most Canadians agree that their post-secondary institutions have adequate resources for computer and library facilities, but barely one-third agree there is enough research funding.
Details on More Findings
Figure 11: Consequences of failing in school
When asked about the consequences of failing in school, most Canadians agree that failure can lead to a wide variety of negative outcomes. Three items elicited particularly strong and widespread agreement: more than 80% of Canadians agree—with more than 25% strongly agreeing—that failing in school can lead to:
The survey did not define what was meant by failure, leaving that to the judgement of the respondents.
Figure 12: How well schools evaluate students and teacher
Nearly two-thirds of Canadians agree that schools do a good job of evaluating student learning, but fewer than half agree that schools do a good job of evaluating teacher performance.
Figure 13: How well Canadians feel their schools accommodate special needs
Canadians are most likely to agree that schools can accommodate the needs of students with physical disabilities and least likely to agree that they can accommodate the needs of students with behaviour problems.
Figure 14: Do schools provide a safe and enriching environment?
More than two-thirds of Canadians agree that schools provide enough extracurricular programs, but fewer Canadians agree that schools place enough emphasis on preventing violent behaviour. Fewer than half agree that schools have the resources to assist low-income students.
Figure 15: How well do post-secondary institutions help students with the school-to-work transition
Most Canadians agree that programs combining work and learning are available, but only a minority agree that post-secondary institutions assist their students in finding jobs.
Figure 16: Perceptions about how well post-secondary institutions recruit professors and students
Two-thirds of Canadians agree that post-secondary institutions are making sufficient efforts to recruit top students, but only a slim majority agree that they are making sufficient efforts to recruit top professors.