The best of the web on education from kindergarten to postsecondary, as chosen by Globe and Mail education editor Simona Chiose.
Differentation in the works for Ontario postsecondaries
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is recommending that future funding for colleges and universities be partly based on individual mandates and outcomes. Some courses, such as large introductory classes, could even be offered online, or through a blend of online and in-class learning. While enrolling more students is important to the public, the report also argues that quality must be preserved in any growth plan.
The recommendations were made in a report that reviewed the submissions made by colleges and universities in response to a consultation process begun by Glenn Murray, the former minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. The report is the first step toward greater differentiation between postsecondary institutions and was envisioned as leading to individual agreement with schools.
The full report is available here: http://www.heqco.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/FINAL%20SMA%20Report.pdf
Four hours in the classroom
Quite the discussion over in the U.K. over a proposal by its National Union of Teachers to limit classroom teaching to four hours a day. The proposal comes as the union is continuing its public fight with Education Secretary Michael Gove over Gove's plans for a standardized curriculum, his lack of consultation with the sector, and new administrative requirements that teachers say mean they work late into the night. Teachers , the Guardian reports, are pointing to huge funding and quality discrepancies between public and private schools with a ratio of eight students to one teacher at prestigious Eton and as high as 31 to one in the publicly-funded system.
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