Education in Calgary

Over half of Calgarians (58%) are aware of changes which have recently been proposed or implemented to the education system. Among those who are aware of changes, the vast majority of specific changes recalled involve funding cutbacks or extra charges for education services. For instance, among those aware of changes, 22% said that they recalled funding cutbacks, 20% mentioned year round schooling, 16% said charging more for ECS, and 15% said classroom overcrowding. In total, cutbacks of one variety or another were mentioned by over half of respondents, whereas mentions of extra charges or fees were mentioned by approximately one-third of Calgarians.(see Table 15)

Reaction to the changes in education which have been noticed are primarily negative, with two out of three of those aware of changes saying that the impact of the changes has been either very negative (37%), or somewhat negative (30%). Only one in four Calgarians stated that the impact of the changes had been positive (see Table 16).

Opinions are split within Calgary on the performance of school trustees. Calgarians were asked whether or not they approved or disapproved of the performance of local trustees in general, and specifically, the performance of trustees from their own area. The proportion of people who approve of trustees in general or their own trustees is roughly the same (38% or 39%), however, one-third of Calgarians are unsure about the performance of trustees in general, and that rises to 44% who are unsure about the performance of their own trustee. These results (see Table 17) clearly indicate that awareness of the performance of trustees on a local level is fairly low. Nevertheless, factoring out those people who are unsure, there are twice as many people who approve of their own local trustees' performance as disapprove (39% versus 17%).

Perhaps even more important in evaluating trustees' performance is the rating of trustees among parents. Among Calgarians with children, 41% approve of trustees' performance in general, and 42% approve of their own trustees' performance. This level of approval drops to only 31% and 34% respectively among Calgarians without children (see Table 18). This indicates that among the electorate that has the most at stake (parents), trustees' performance is generally rated better than among those who are not as impacted by changes to the education system.

Over the past 18 months, many Calgarians believe that the quality of education has declined. In April 1994, one-third of respondents (33%) believed that the quality of education had worsened, and that figure has risen to 41% in September 1995. In fact, only 7% of Calgarians questioned in September 1995 believed that the education system has improved in the past year (see Table 19).

Commenting on the poll results, Bruce Cameron, Senior Vice President in charge of the Alberta Angus Reid Group office said:

"Growing awareness of the impact of education changes, which most Calgarians view in terms of cutbacks or extra charges, is resulting in a deterioration in confidence regarding the quality of education in Calgary. This growing unease about the impact of cutbacks and additional charges has not yet been directly tied in Calgarians minds to school trustees. This no doubt reflects the fact that many trustees are simply dealing with changes initiated by the Provincial Government."

TABLE 15: AWARENESS OF CHANGES TO EDUCATION SYSTEM

"Q. Are you aware of any changes to the education system in Alberta to the education system in Alberta which have recently been proposed or implemented? What changes are you aware of?"

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TABLE 16: AWARENESS OF CHANGES TO EDUCATION SYSTEM AND REACTIONS AMONG CALGARIANS

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TABLE 17: OPINIONS SPLIT ON PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES

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TABLE 18: RATINGS OF TRUSTEES HIGHER AMONG PARENTS

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TABLE 19: ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES IN THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION

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This Alberta-wide survey was conducted with a random and representative sampling of 801 adults between November 23 and 27, 1995.

Results of the total Alberta sample of 801 respondents are accurate within ±3.5%. In other words, the results of this poll would not be more than 3.5% above or below the result of a total population survey, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error is higher for sub-samples.

This public opinion survey was conducted by the Alberta Division of the Angus Reid Group on behalf of the Calgary Herald.

For further information, contact:

Bruce Cameron
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(403) 237-0066
944-9164 in Edmonton