This study investigates the extent of portable classroom use in the province of Ontario between the years 2010 and 2020. The research uses administrative data obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Education and from the 27 largest school boards in the province. The findings reveal that portable classrooms are used as long-term solutions to address…

This handbook updates the general descriptions for the indicators of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) as new sets of tables are released. It is a reference document that gives readers a broad understanding of each indicator, rather than the very specific methodological descriptions that would be necessary to reproduce the…

Over the past several months, news headlines have been filled with stories that illustrate the realities of an underfunded public education system. All across British Columbia (BC), school districts are facing "tough budget decisions" and gaping budget shortfalls. BC continues to fall behind other provinces in funding. Funding for…

This article looks at fifty years' worth (1970-2020) of public K-12 education expenditure data from the Canadian province of British Columbia. It asks if spending has increased or decreased in this period and examines the causes and correlates of spending changes. Previous research has tended to assume that spending has decreased during this…

Systemic racism has and continues to impact the delivery of government programs and services in British Columbia (B.C.). To guide anti-racism research in the province, the B.C. government announced 10 anti-racism research priorities in 2023, with systemic racism in B.C.'s education system identified as one of them. This report describes progress…

The establishment of the Commission on Private Schools in Ontario in 1984 renewed long-standing debate over public funding of the Canadian province's public schools. Engaging Maarten Hajer's discourse coalition approach and argumentative discourse analysis, we demonstrate how actors with disparate -- sometimes even competing -- goals and values…

The Report of the Funding Model Review Panel claims to be about "Improving Equity and Accountability." It fails on both counts. The Panel's recommendations offer neither a blueprint for equity for students nor one for accountability by the province and school districts in providing services to students. If the funding model is to meet…

British Columbia's review of the funding model for public education has produced a flawed result via a flawed process. The only reasonable next step is for the government to immediately halt the implementation of a new funding model and return to the drawing board. Consultation with education system stakeholders has ended without the Ministry of…

The amount of tuition paid by international students to British Columbia (BC) public school districts in the 2017-18 school year reached $256,829,094. That is an increase by nearly $15 million compared to last year. This represents about 5% of total district revenues provincially, but the bulk of gains are concentrated in just 10 districts in…

Purpose: Public education is an important institution in any democracy, and the significant resources invested form a critical pillar in its provision. The evidence used to manage said resources is, therefore, an important issue for education leaders and a matter public interest. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role education finance…

International policy and practice reviews support policy development by learning what works, in what contexts, and why. They also provide the opportunity to consider how that learning might be effectively translated to the English context. Three years after the publication of the 2017 Careers Strategy (ED612489) (Department for Education, 2017),…

This fact sheet reports on education funding in British Columbia (BC). Funding for public education significantly increased in 2017-18 and is projected to continue to increase in line with increasing student enrollment. However, government spending on K-12 education as a proportion of total public spending continues to decline. An increase in…

This fact sheet reports on how education in British Columbia (BC) compares to education in the rest of Canada. Statistics show that BC's spending on students had declined to close to $1,900 less per student than the Canadian national average. One of the outcomes of inadequate funding is a heavier workload for BC's public-school teachers with…

The Ministry of Educations's goals are to help government achieve the following three commitments to British Columbians: (1) Make life more affordable. British Columbians are counting on government to make their lives easier by containing costs and service fees; (2) Deliver the services that people count on. Government services touch the lives of…

This article reports on a rigorous approach developed for calibrating the Evidence-Based Adequacy Model to suit the Ontario K-12 public education context, and the actual calibrations made. The four-step calibration methodology draws from expert consultations and a review of the academic literature. Specific attention is given to the technical…