The province plans to trim teacher education to one full year — with longer practicum placements in elementary and secondary schools — starting in 2027.
Teacher training will run for a consecutive 12 months, from May to May, with three back-to-back semesters — instead of four semesters over two years — at all Ontario universities where education degrees are offered, Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn and Education Minister Paul Calandra are set to announce Friday.
“The more important component of going to teachers college is time in the classroom,” Quinn said in an interview. “Right now, there are about 80 practicum days, so we are looking at that to ensure they get the most time in the classroom. Our research does show it’s about time in the classroom, not necessarily the length of the course that the teachers are taking.”
While on-the-job training varies among universities, Quinn said the province is looking to standardize practicum lengths, and will consult before determining a final figure.
Ontario currently has one of the shortest practicum requirements in the country, with other provinces mandating days from as low as 70 to a high of up to about 120.
Teacher recruitment, retention
The province has been under pressure for some time now to ease the teacher shortage, with schools scrambling to find occasional teachers, with a particular need for French language educators.
While more than a decade ago the former Liberal government bumped the degree up to two years amid a glut of graduates who struggled to find work, the province now finds itself with the opposite problem.
(At that time, concerns had also been raised that two semesters, or about 10 months, was not enough time to properly train teachers.)
A report previously obtained by The Canadian Press under freedom of information indicated the government’s recent findings that longer programs aren’t necessarily better. Teacher unions have also been warning of both recruitment and retention issues behind the teacher shortage, arguing for more training but also smaller classes and more resources to keep educators from leaving the profession.
Calandra said that after consultations, the government landed on the three semesters including more on-the-job training placement days, and that legislation will be introduced in the coming days.
He eventually wants the province to require the longest practicum of all provinces.
While the condensed degree is partly to ease the teacher shortage, with new teachers graduating every year instead of every other, “another part of it obviously has to be keeping teachers in the profession longer,” Calandra told the Star.
“And the one thing I keep hearing from teachers is that one of the biggest problems is that they don’t spend enough time in front of the class training before they take over full-time responsibilities, so they’re not always prepared,” Calandra said.
Since taking office in 2018, the government has funded 6,700 more seats in education faculties.
Mentoring stipend goes up
Calandra said the stipend provided to experienced “associate teachers” to mentor and assess student teachers will rise from a total of about $100 or $300 to at least $635.
“None of them are doing it for the money, but it’s just a recognition that it is a challenge that we appreciate,” Calandra added.
Quinn expects the one-year program will appeal to older and mature students “who have been waiting for this — the ones that might have been a mechanic or they’re in skilled trades and have that technical component” or who found a two-year program to be a barrier.
‘Catching up’ to teacher shortage
He said the government will also be working with faculties of education so that previous experience — as an early childhood educator or other professional — provides some advanced standing.
While the teacher shortage has been growing over the past few years, exacerbated by the pandemic and expected to worsen in the coming years, Calandra said “now we’re catching up and doing what has to be done.”
As for students enrolled in a two-year program starting this fall, Quinn said the province will work with universities to ensure a smooth transition, especially in 2028 with two cohorts graduating in one year.
Under the change, universities will lose a semester of tuition. Students, meanwhile, will save an estimated $3,000.
“Three semesters is a very good balance,” Calandra added. “Not only (is it enough time) to get the course work done, but as we start to increase that practicum time, that will really be the game-changer.”
17 programs affected
The program change affects all 14 public universities and three private ones offering education degrees in the province.
Currently, students must earn an undergraduate degree before applying to teachers college, a requirement that won’t change, and then a teaching degree, with some universities offering a concurrent program that lasts five or six years. About 4,800 new teachers enter the profession each year.
The University of Toronto only offers a master’s degree in education, and Quinn said the province will work with it given the changes.
In the past, unions have said they support shorter teacher training as long as practicums are lengthened.
Teacher education is part of a number of changes Calandra is expected to announce when the house resumes, including school board governance reforms.
He said that he’ll also be introducing measures to help lure back teachers who have left the profession, and well as working conditions in schools.
