Podcast: How To Improve The $4.3-Billion Atlantic Canadian Public Education System
In the latest episode of the “Insights” podcast, Don Mills and David Campbell discuss the quality of the education system in Atlantic Canada with Paul Bennett, one of the country’s leading experts on public education.
Their conversation includes a discussion of the shortcomings related to inadequate student assessment; the consequences of a “no-fail” policy; the question of teacher performance and the need for a College of Teachers to professionalize the sector; and the lack of a strategy to narrow the learning gap created by the pandemic that may lead to a loss learning generation.
They also take a look at the economic impact of public education within the region which generates more than $4.3-billion of economic activity.
Bennett, an education consultant, author and researcher, says that more than 20,000 teachers are employed in public schools across the Maritimes. He says that only 44 percent of people employed in the systems are classroom teachers, so employment levels are very high indeed, far higher than most people would expect.
He notes that a major private-sector employer like Irving Oil only employs 2,800 people, a small number, relatively speaking, when you consider that the Department of Education in New Brunswick employs more than 7,500 teachers.
“So my question always is, why is education so invisible? I talk to those involved and they tell me the same thing,” says Bennett. “Education is its own silo. It’s removed from economic development and therefore is never counted in terms of its impact on development.”
You can listen to Mills’ and Campbell’s conversation with Bennett in the player above or on a podcast platform like Apple or Spotify.
The “Insights” podcast combines the experiences of an economist, David Campbell, and a social scientist, Don Mills, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada, to promote data-driven decision-making among policymakers, and to encourage a wider dialogue and debate leading to greater prosperity for the region.