Changes in Secondary Education and Their Implications for Continuing Education in Canada. Experiments and Innovations in Education Number 5.

Overview & Synopsis

One of a series of papers devoted to new ideas in education, this study reflects on the question of educational change. Specifically, changes in secondary education in Canada which appear relevant to the emergence of operating systems of continuing education are described. The first part of the study examines the principles of educational innovation, deciding on the qualities of a relevant and significant innovation. This analysis leads to the view that the real test of innovation is the nature of learning and the behavior that results from learning, or the successful changes in secondary education which bring about self-reliance and innovative behavior. Examples of this innovative behavior from the province of Ontario are scrutinized. Conclusions about the innovative nature of these programs suggest that most changes are being developed and supported by people with little or no understanding of continuing education. Further, changes in the material of curriculum appear to be of little consequence while changes in the environment, relationships, premises and styles of teaching and learning are what matter. At the secondary level, education appears to be still tied too closely to custodial tasks and to a certain level of learning, rather than a specific method, and seems unable to fit harmoniously into continuing education. (Author/KSM)