This BCTF sponsored conference examined the accountability mandate placed on BC’s public schools and its impact on learning, teaching, and the principles of public education. As part of this conference Anita Parhar and I developed a workshop on “what do parents want” with a particualr focus on minority and First Nations parents.

‘What parents want.’

This workshop explores the diverse expectations of parents as they advocate for their children within our public education system. Led by Charles Menzies (parent activist and UBC faculty member) and Anita Parhar (UBC doctoral candidate in Educational Studies) the workshop will emphasize the diversity of parent interests and experiences while paying particular attention to the concerns of First Nations and minority parents. Drawing upon the professional and personal experiences of the workshop facilitators and participants the goal of this session is to identify key parental expectations for BC’s public education system.

Workshop outline and agenda. Download file
Guided group discussion script.Download file

At the conference two workshops were scheduled:
9:15a.m.-10:45a.m.
2:40p.m.-4:10p.m.

Overview Bibliography

• On the gap between expectations and actual performance see: Neil Guppy and Scott Davies “Understanding Canadian’s Declining Confidence in Education.”
• On the role of Aboriginal parents in education: Tracey Friedel ”Barriers to change in an urban setting.
• On creating a place for parents: Debbie Pushor and Bill Murphy ”Creating a place for parents.”

Additional Resources

• On the perspective of Native American parents and leaders.
• On the relationship between parental expectations and children’s educational performance. Min ZhanDownload file
• On the role of social class. Graham Kinloch, Social Class and Attitudes Toward Education ; Vivian Louie, Parents’ Aspirations and Investment. Parents’ Aspirations and Investment.
• On parental expectations of their children’s teachers. Moshe Tatar and Gabriel Horenczyk Download file
  On parental expectations with respect to special education learner categories: adolescents with disabilities;
  parents of children with disabilities in general;with reference to children with different ‘genetic syndromes’;
  with respect to gifted learners .

• On parental expectations as linked to parental levels of education.
• On parental expectations with respect to preschool education.
• On parental expectations with respect to technology education.
• On the role of parents as partners.

Papers by workshop organizers related to theme.

• Parhar. Minority Parent Participation
• Menzies. On Parent/teacher partnerships: An Uneasy Custody.
• Menzies. A parents’ reflection on the October 2005 teachers strike

Following complaints and concerns raised in the wake of New Westminster School Board’s busines adventures, the provincial government commissioned a report on school board business. Read the report by downloading the file here.

School board capitalism was part of the 2001 Liberal government plan to liberalize education. This report documents some of the difficulties with a business minded set of solutions.

Noted author and educator, Alfie Kohn, has been invited by the Vancouver District Parent’s Advisory Council, in cooperation with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association and the Vancouver School Board, to speak with parents on October 19th, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Macgee Secondary School Auditorium. There is no charge for this event. Alfie Kohn will speak on the pitfalls of standardized testing.

Alfie Kohn will also be on the CBC radio show the Early Edition with host Rick Cluff Thursday morning, October 19th.

On October 5, 2006, the Deputy Minister of Education sent a ‘clarification’ on the school fees court decision. Read the letter here.

Additional information can be found on the BCSTA web site. School_fees_V3_Oct03-06.pdf

FROM: BCTF web page. The Supreme Court of BC has released a decision re-affirming that the BC School Act, Section 82, prohibits schools from the charging of fees for materials that are required in courses leading to graduation. Greater Victoria school trustee John Young filed a petition to stop all school fees in BC’s public schools. The BCTF calls on the government to adequately fund the system so that students and their families do not face user fees. “All students should have access to the education experiences that help them grow and learn, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay,” says BCTF President Jinny Sims.

Over the past several years graduate and undergraduate students enrolling in research methods course have been engaged in conducting real time research on issues that matter to the wider community. These projects have dealt primarily with education issues (though some have focused on issues of natural resource policy). Full details and background can be found on my UBC faculty member web page www.charlesmenzies.ca.

Applied Anthropology, ANTH 409 / RMES 500Q (2006)

• Evaluation of Grade Ten Provincial Exams
• Globalization and Education

Ethnographic Methods Course, ANTH 516 (2003)

• EXTRA! EXTRA! Public Education Chokes on Cup of Campbell’s Soup (a report on media representation of educational issues)
• Keeping it Together: Challenges for Inner City Education in Vancouver
• An Ethnographic Analysis of Aboriginal Alternative Programs
• Death by a Thousand Cuts: B.C. Parent Ad-Hoc Organizations Concerned with Education

Ethnographic Methods Course, ANTH 516 (2002)

• Clark and Campbell Sitting in a Tree, C-U-T-T-I-N-G
• Effects of the Wrecking Crew: Maintaining the House of Education in Vancouver’s Inner-City
• Cents and Sensibility: The State of Special Education in Vancouver

A VSB report on the impact of school choice legislation, dated October 24, 2005, indicates that there is a modest increase in applicants for alternative programs. However, the data contains some serious flaws (which are all noted in the report). Primarily they have not made any attempt to filter out multiple applications by a single student. In terms of the overall number of cross boundary enrollments they tend to be clustered where one would expect them: Montessori, French Immersion, and Fine arts. The report also notes that the majority of elementary school applications (please note that applications do not equal actual enrollments) were received at the kindergarten level (878 for the 2005-2006 school year).

The number of applications for cross boundary enrollment equals about 2.5% of the overall VSB student population (not a very large number). The actual number of cross boundary enrollments for the 2005-2006 school year were about 1200 students (about one and a half percent of the total VSB enrollment).

Elementary schools with the greatest number of applications (which ranged from 44 -Carr, to 63 -Shaughnessy) were: Carr, Gordon Jamieson, Laurier, Shaughnessy, Osler, Queen Mary. Significantly fewer students where accepted than applied. Accepted to enroll ranged from a low of 4 (Shaughnessy) to a high of 20 (Gordon).

For secondary schools the largest category of cross boundary application where from nearby schools. Fore example, Templeton will typically receive cross boundary applications from students in the Van Tech and Brittania catchment. Point grey will receive applicants from Kitsilano and Magee. The other significant point here is that most applications for cross boundary occur at the grade 7 to 8 transition. The next point is for special programs like City School or IB which have grade ten intakes.

While the data is a year old there is no clear evidence for the missing students being caused by a flight to west side schools. The majority of students, about 98% choose their neighbourhood school over other schools. In addition, the report notes that a number of cross boundary students are there due to overcrowding in their neighbourhood schools.

One further point is that the VSB has decided, as of a Standing Committee I meeting of October 24, 2005, to only collect and analyze cross boundary enrollments every second year. That means that, unless they change their minds, the VSB will not analyze cross boundary enrollments this year.