Canadians' Assessment and Views of the Education System

Education has climbed the ranks on the public's agenda during the past year. This special Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail Report examines Canadians' current perspectives on the education system in this country - both at the public school and post-secondary levels - and compares them to Angus Reid Group soundings taken earlier this decade.

The survey results presented here stem from a National Angus Reid Poll of 1,515 Canadian adults conducted between May 11th and 16th, 1999. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,515, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results for each survey are within +2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

Highlights

Canada's Public School System

More than one-half of Canadians are satisfied with the overall state of public schools in this country (only about one in ten are "very" satisfied), but over four in ten voice discontent. This is a virtually identical assessment to the one recorded almost three years ago. The primary reasons driving these dissatisfied Canadians' concerns about the public school system today include: curriculum-related issues; the overall quality of education; funding/ spending; student discipline/violence; teachers and their unions; and large class sizes.

Further reflecting their muted endorsement of the overall state of the public education system, Canadians are split as to whether public schools today provide students with a better or worse education compared to 25 years ago (around one-third each); one-quarter perceive no change. This divided appraisal is more favourable than the one offered by Canadians in 1993 but is not as positive compared to over a decade ago - in 1986, a plurality of four in ten thought students in public schools were getting a better education than 25 years earlier.

This survey also explored Canadians' perceptions and views of the public school system via a series of attitudinal statements, listed here in descending order of overall agreement:

• A solid majority of Canadians - six in ten - believe that private schools provide students with a much better education than public schools.
• Almost as many Canadians (close to three in five) perceive there is too much emphasis in today's classrooms on learning how to use computers rather than "the basics" - a view held by fully two-thirds of the older generation.
• The general public is fairly divided (53% versus 46%) on whether public school boards should accept corporate donations, such as computer equipment for students and teachers, in exchange for allowing companies to have some advertising in the classroom. The generational divide is again evident, with two-thirds of younger Canadians supportive of this concept while a majority of those 55 and older voice opposition.
• A lack of confidence in teachers' professional training is held by four in ten Canadians (a slight improvement since 1993). Still, a majority believe that teachers are trained adequately to carry out their duties in the classroom.
• Four in ten Canadians say that high schools prepare students well for today's workforce - a figure which has been improving slowly but steadily since 1993 (up 12 percentage points) - but a solid majority continue to give high schools poor marks on this subject.
• Similarly, only one-third perceive today's high school graduates to have good reading and writing skills (albeit an 11-point improvement since 1993) compared to twice as many who feel they do not. Once again, older Canadians are particularly critical of the public school system's performance on this "basics" dimension.

Most Canadians are unhappy with the amount of government spending on the public education system: almost two in three would like to see government funding for public schools in their own provinces increased from current levels, double the number who are satisfied with existing funding levels. Only a handful advocate financial cuts in this area.

Canada's Post-Secondary Schools

On the skilled trade versus university education debate, a slim majority of Canadians would steer today's young people in the direction of learning a trade/skill at a community or technical college instead of acquiring a more general education at a university (the preferred option of one in three). The trade/skill route has been the majority public choice since the early 1990s and contrasts sharply with Canadians' very divided and uncertain views back in 1986, when each option was chosen by roughly one in three and a similar proportion were unsure as to which approach would be best for young people to take.

Public support for four potential reforms to post-secondary education in Canada was measured in this survey. Listed in order of the overall support received by each proposal:

• Canadians are very receptive to allowing the private sector to provide funding for certain post-secondary programs such as business schools - fully nine in ten of those polled expressed overall support.
• Two-thirds of Canadians would like to see universities specialize in certain areas rather than offer a broad range of programs.
• A majority - just over half - would also be in favour of establishing some privately owned and operated universities in Canada, but many Canadians continue to be opposed to this prospect.
• Meanwhile, public opposition has grown to the idea of hiking tuition fees so that university and college students pay more of the actual costs of education: whereas 34 percent of Canadians surveyed in 1993 expressed support for tuition fee increases, this figure has fallen to 19 percent today. In fact, a clear majority now voice "strong" opposition.

And, similar to their views on funding for public schools, a clear majority of six in 10 Canadians say government funding for post-secondary institutions in their own provinces should be increased from current levels. In comparison, around one in three are satisfied with present government funding of post-secondary education and only a very small minority argue for financial cutbacks in this area.

Discussion

Canada's education system has experienced its share of concerns and challenges in recent years. Financial issues have been among those at the very head of the class, primarily how to continue providing quality education in the face of rising costs and reduced government funding. As part of the largely nationwide deficit-reduction effort in the second half of this decade, the provinces - which have constitutional responsibility for education - cut back or held the line on spending for social programs, including education. Their actions were partly fuelled by the federal government's focus on slashing the deficit, which included a $6 billion reduction in Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) payments to the provinces between 1995 and 1998.

As a result, education has been a climbing concern on the public's agenda in the second half of the 1990s. Ever since the Angus Reid Group's Issue Watch tracking began in 1988, the education system had typically been flagged "top-of-mind" as a priority issue by under 5 percent of surveyed Canadians. By October of 1996, mentions of this issue reached double-digits (11%) and have been increasing fairly steadily since then, surpassing the 20 percent mark for the first time this past March. Currently, education (at 21%) shares the No.3 spot on Canadians' list of the most important issues facing the country, tied with unemployment and behind the Kosovo conflict and health care.

In addition to generating heightened public concern these days, the education system is not inspiring confidence on the part of a great many members of the general public. Our survey shows that almost half of all Canadians continue to be dissatisfied with the overall state of the public education system. A slim plurality even go so far as to say that public schools today provide students with a worse education than they did 25 years ago - not exactly a strong vote of confidence. Satisfaction with the public school system is lowest in Ontario, where the Harris Conservative government has made major cuts and changes to education, and has been locked in battle with the province's teachers.

Canadians' criticism of the public school system is mainly directed toward curriculum issues, both in general and specifically concerning the perceived lack of emphasis on "the basics". Among those respondents who said they are unhappy with the public education system, fully one in three singled out issues relating to the curriculum/courses. Other survey findings underline Canadians' discontent on this front: two-thirds believe that high school graduates today do not have good reading and writing skills; six in ten say high schools are not doing a good job of preparing students for today's workforce; and, interestingly, a clear majority perceive there is too much classroom attention paid to learning how to use computers rather than the basics. Clearly, Canadians are worried that the public school system these days may not be providing students with some of the important fundamentals.

The Angus Reid Group is Canada's largest and most well known Canadian research company. Established in 1979 by Dr. Angus Reid, the company serves 1200 clients via its six offices in Canada, four offices in the United States and its European office in London, England. With a compliment of 250 full time qualitative and quantitative researchers, the company has annual revenues of $65 Million and is growing at an average rate of 30 percent per year. The employee owned company also operates its own field service entity, Direct Reid, utilizing 450 CATI telephone interviewing stations for north American calling and a 50,000 household consumer panel in Canada.