Tensions are still high with regard to bargaining towards the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Progressive Conservative Government of Ontario. I wanted to gain a clear understanding of why the educators are teaching, at the same time avoiding any ideological or partisan lens with regard to the news. The most trusted sources in my humble opinion come from the Fraser Institute (via the Sudbury Star, 2020) and the Ottawa Citizen (2019) articles that outline the major issue heading this strike is the withdrawal of administrative services and class sizes.
I contend that class sizes are important, but it predominantly depends on the characteristics and the competency of the educators in x or y school board, this is outlined in the quantitative inquiry by Woessmann and West (2002) who conclude that proficient teachers are able to teach large classes, while less proficient teachers are not able to teach in large classes, heavily depending on teacher competency. With regard to student achievement, grades are dependent on the characteristics of teaching and the subject being taught such as a bell curve past a threshold for mathematics with no significance for humanities (Chin-His, Kwon, & Zhang, 2018; Hanushek & Woessmann, 2017). Clearly defining its not just x number of students that make the difference, other factors play a big role in the effect of class size.
As for administrative services, it all depends on what is described for the role of a teacher. A college professor would only get paid a little bit more than a K-12 teacher and be responsible for teaching the class, engaging in research, and providing fundamental service to the institution and the community. This also doesn’t take into account department heads and deans who are also engaged in research and service to the institution and community, with a bevy of clerical and administrative tasks for more bodies in a college or university setting.
My hope is that this strike can be resolved in due time and educators can go back to doing what they were trained to do, effectively teach learners. At the same time I hope the government opens their eyes to the fact that injecting more resources to help educators be even more efficient will not hurt. Everyone needs to be held accountable, and everyone needs to hold each other accountable.
References
Chin-His, L., Kwon, J. B., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Online self-paced high-school class size and student achievement. Educational Technology Research and Development 67, 317-336. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9614-x
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2017). School resources and student achievement: A review of cross-country economic research. In M. Rosen et al. (eds.) Cognitive Abilities and Educational Outcomes, Methodology of Educational Measurement and Assessment, pp. 149-171. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-43473-5_8
Miller, J. (2019, Nov. 30). Ontario high school teachers planning a one-day strike: What are the issues in the dispute. Ottawa Citizen. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/what-are-the-issues-in-ontario-teacher-dispute
Van Pelt, D., & Clemens, J. (2020). Understanding the foundation for teacher strikes in Ontario. Fraser Institute via Sudbury Star. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/understanding-the-foundation-for-teachers-strikes-in-ontario
Woessmann, L., & West, M. (2002). Class-size effects in school systems around the world: Evidence from between-grade variation in TIMSS. Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Retrieved from https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG02-02.pdf
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