1 of 23

Slide Notes

DownloadGo Live

Special Education Highlights in Canada over the last 70 years

Published on Jan 21, 2019

No Description

View Outline

MORE DECKS TO EXPLORE

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

1.

Special Education Highlights in Canada over the last 70 years

By Jasakarn Malhi for EDFE1300 N
Photo by bill barber
2.

1950s

A Special Restart ft. Gifted Students
Photo by SportSuburban
3.

Special Fact 1:
The 1950s signalled the public assessment of special education through the Royal Commission on Education (inf. The Hope Report) in 1950. Post-war atmosphere allowed for social change and the Hope Report carried an ideal vision of education in peaceful times. Although, the commission suggested that education is not mandatory for “atypical” students, the amount of exceptional students enrolled in education increased.

Photo by Samuel Zeller
4.

Special Fact 2: During the 1950s, having gifted status was not desirable. Instead, athletically excelling students had exalted status and gifted students were looked as an academic burden and social outcasts. This began to change towards the end of the 1950s as gifted students became seen as national assets that could improve society.


This period is prototypical in the evolution of special education and marks the social distance based on people’s abilities.

Photo by Wi2_Photography
5.

1960s

A Paradox in Education ft. Indigenous students
Photo by brizzle born and bred
6.

Special Fact 1: In the 1960s, a phenomenon occurred known as the Sixties Scoop where Indigenous were displaced from their indigenous families into European-origin families. This process left intergenerational scars which emotionally impaired students’ education.

Photo by ahisgett
7.

Special Fact 2: In 1962, the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) was introduced to prevent discrimination and promote equality. The OHRC fostered equal education opportunities for students regardless of their capability. The Provincial government repealed many of its laws due to the creation of the OHRC.


This period introduces legal framework for equal education but also shows the duality of the government policy in theory versus practice.

Photo by Penn State Special Collections Library
8.

1970s

A Group Effort & Practical Difference ft. Physically disabled students
Photo by foundin_a_attic
9.

Special Fact 1: In the 1970s, a lot of specialty organizations began to form including the United Handicapped Groups of Ontario. Many of these advocacy groups became under the umbrella of the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped. In 1978, the provincial government launched the Ontario Advisory Council for the Physically Disabled. This type of advocacy allowed for consultation on legislation including education.

Photo by Theen ...
10.

Special Fact 2: By 1978, the province had invested heavily into special education. The province had reported $369 million in funding which is over $1.2 billion when modern inflation is factored. 80% of Ontario’s exceptional students had been in a special education program. There were 11 special education teachers for every 120 students.
This period implemented the past introduced legal framework into classrooms and saw the rise of advocacy for special education.

Photo by pina messina
11.

1980s

Mandatory Accommodations & the Power of ASL
Photo by Hello I'm Nik
12.

Special Fact 1: In 1980, Bill 82 was introduced which enforced that schools in Ontario must take all students regardless of whether they needed accommodations. This guaranteed that an exceptional student will receive an education.

Photo by alamosbasement
13.

Special Fact 2: In the 1980s, American Sign Language became a language of instruction in many Ontario schools to replace the act of forcing students to learn in spoken English. This process occurred in a wave rather than through one piece of legislation. It should also be noted that in 1986, Ontario opened doors for Quebec Sign Language through the Centre Jules-Léger.

This period learned from the large top-down structure of the last period to transition towards accommodating based on students’ personalized needs. The deaf community sought one solution with the inclusion of ASL which came organically versus government prescribed spoken English-only pedagogy.

Photo by Andrei Lazarev
14.

1990s

Another Commission and Funding Cuts
Photo by Rahn G.
15.

Special Fact 1: In 1995, the Royal Commission on Learning was conducted. In this commission, educational reforms were introduced which included having exceptional students in the same classroom as students without special needs. This is a major change as students were often physically segregated and socially alienated.

Photo by blisschan
16.

Special Fact 2: By 1997, Bill 160 was passed which cut over $1billion of public education funding. The Bill moved the responsibility of allocating of funding from school board trustees to Ministers’ hands. This Bill led to over 120,000 teachers protesting. The government labelled the legislation as the Education Quality Improvement Act but many teachers felt that education should not have been cut even in a fallen economy.



This period exceptional students were being introduced into the classroom but the status of their special needs became vulnerable.

Photo by HowardLake
17.

2000s

Individualized Education Plans and Autism Strategies
Photo by Jimena
18.

Special Fact 1: In 2001, the Ministry of Education released an updated version of its handbook for teachers of students with special needs. An important part of this guidebook is the inclusion of an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which is a written document that prepares teachers for the accommodation of exceptional students.

Photo by Patrick Perkins
19.

Special Fact 2: In 2003, the Ontario government hosted a conference for teachers to better teach students with Autism. Scientific research of autism was relatively new and as educators learned about this, they wished to better understand and prepare themselves students on the spectrum in their classroom. In 2006, the federal government further supported autism research through the creation of the research project called the National Autism Strategy.


This period allowed educators to realize that students with special needs have individualized needs and that education is reliant on other government ministries such as health.

Photo by Paulo Vasco
20.

2010s (Present)

Removing Kinks and Adding Service Animals
Photo by Tomasz Frankowski
21.

Special Fact 1: In 2015, the Ministry of Education launched an accessibility plan to be implemented starting 2016. This included updated curriculums for students with special needs in departments such as Health and Physical Education, and Canadian and World Studies. The encouragement of mental health initiatives has been included as well.

Photo by BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives
22.

Special Fact 2: In 2018, the Ontario government announced an amendment for increasing the number of service animals within the classroom. In the past, service animals were allowed in all public places but only 54% of school boards had service animal policies in place. Service animals help exceptional students with aural, visual, physical and mental disabilities.




This period does not have a lot of major changes to special education. There are changes which are still to be reflected on their effect due to how recent they have been implemented.

Photo by Calsidyrose
23.

References

Jasakarn Malhi