I’m also curious whether the ministry has really thought through the resources (human and otherwise) required to uphold these values; I see dollar signs all over the page. To that end, I like the corresponding principle of ‘sustainable and efficient use of resources,’ but I firmly believe that the decision-makers in charge of optimizing resources need to consult with folks on the ground for ideas and to confirm genuine duplication. The public education system definitely needs to be more savvy in this regard; the requests for increased funding need to be complemented by better financial management strategies and more thoughtful spending.
The principle of ‘learner-centred’ looks good on paper, but I suspect what it’s really saying is that that decision-makers are responsible for speculating about what kids need and to try to accommodate for that. Policies and plans are (and should be) future-oriented, rather than attempts to respond to needs in the moment, and thus pretty well have to posit kids as future workers and adults with needs. That said, I think kids’ ideas and opinions are valuable and that, just as I will make a space for their voice in my classroom and enable them to make and learn from their decisions, I think the government should genuinely and regularly seek kids’ opinions and ideas on issues in education.
I was struck by the sentence, “To ensure the learning opportunities are relevant, the education system must be nimble in responding to the changing needs of communities and the world” (my emphasis). To me, this speaks to the very tricky task of effective change management. Change management requires organizations to constantly look forward and stay on top of developments in all areas affecting their line of work; to consider all of the implications of change on processes, systems, resources, and people; and to adequately prepare for change, especially considering communication and training requirements. Effective change is very costly. In the past, the public education system’s definition of ‘nimble response’ has looked like rash bandwagon hopping. I think the system needs to remain fairly decentralized like it is now, with districts and even some schools being able to make decisions independently in order to be more responsive to the needs of their community, but principals and superintendents need better support and guidance in change management, financial management, and human resource management.
Finally, I’m curious about whether these values and principles were developed in collaboration with the FNMI community and align with their values and principles, especially in light of the other integration initiatives the province is undertaking. And I’m concerned that ‘businesses’ are listed among the partners in education, seemingly as equals among families, communities, and government.