Abstract
The province of Alberta, Canada, is regarded as having a strong education system that serves a highly diverse student population well. This report regarding Alberta’s education system begins with a comparison of competing perspectives on the current condition of education and school improvement and then summarizes Murphy’s (J Edu Adm 51:252–263, 2013) framework for school improvement. After presenting the organizational framework in Alberta and the drivers that have shaped educational change in the province, the report applies Murphy’s architectural framework to summarize the building materials, construction principles, supports, and integrative dynamic in Alberta.
The report concludes with a summary of key strengths and challenges in Alberta’s education system. Admittedly, the system still wrestles with meeting the needs of diverse learners and with contentious issues such as some opposition to standardized testing and legislation on gay-straight alliances. However, the education system boasts many strengths including high quality teaching, positive relationships among the province’s educational stakeholders, strong community connections, and a well-designed program of studies renewed on an ongoing basis. The system also is based on a clear set of values and on public and alternative organizational structures for reorientation in response to constantly changing economic, demographic, cultural, and pedagogical influences.
Parts of this report are drawn from Webber, C.F. & Nickel, J. (2018). The Alberta, Canada, School System. Report to O. Johansson and H. Ärlestig (Eds), Educational Authorities Inquiry. Stockholm, SE: Swedish Commission
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Webber, C.F., Nickel, J. (2020). Alberta, Canada: School Improvement in Alberta. In: Ärlestig, H., Johansson, O. (eds) Educational Authorities and the Schools. Educational Governance Research, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38759-4_12
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