Committees at Work

Standards of Practice and Education Committee

The Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession, the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession and the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession (PLF) together convey a collective vision of teacher professionalism in Ontario. This collective vision is the foundation of initial teacher education, continuing teacher education, professional practice and educational leadership.

The standards describe the professional knowledge, skills, values and ethical commitments inherent within educators’ professional practice in Ontario. The PLF articulates the multiplicity of forms of ongoing education and learning engaged in by members of the profession.

The Standards of Practice and Education (SP&E) Committee advises the College Council on the development, implementation and review of the ethical and practice standards and the PLF, which help to support teacher professionalism. The SP&E Committee also reviews Additional Qualification (AQ) policy guidelines and associated research.

In 2016, the SP&E Committee focused on:

  • enforcement of the ethical standards and standards of practice within teacher education and professional practice;
  • communication and education regarding the standards;
  • development of standards-based teacher education research and resources;
  • development and implementation of policies related to AQ course guidelines;
  • development and implementation of policies related to the standards and teacher education;
  • educative teacher processes related to ethical leadership and practice as outlined in the ethical standards;
  • the review of the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession;
  • broadening membership engagement in the work of the College, and in particular, engaging members such as retired teachers and First Nations, Métis and Inuit teachers.

Teacher Education: Review of AQ Course Guidelines

AQ courses are offered by approved providers from across Ontario. The foundation for these courses is the AQ policy guidelines issued by the College. The content of these teacher education policy guidelines is developed collaboratively with members of the profession, educational partners and the public. The ethical standards and the standards of practice form the basis for AQ course guidelines, which provide a holistic framework for enhancing educators’ professional knowledge, skills and practices. Accredited AQ courses are aligned with the College’s AQ policy guidelines.

In 2016, the committee approved 46 draft AQ course guidelines for provincial validation. These AQ guidelines included:

Schedule A:

  • Biology, Senior
  • Chemistry, Senior
  • Classical Studies — Greek, Intermediate
  • Classical Studies — Greek, Senior
  • Classical Studies — Latin, Intermediate
  • Classical Studies — Latin, Senior
  • Family Studies, Intermediate
  • Family Studies, Senior
  • Français, Intermediate (FRENCH)
  • Français, Senior (FRENCH)
  • Geography, Intermediate
  • Geography, Senior
  • Health and Physical Education, Intermediate
  • Health and Physical Education, Senior
  • History, Intermediate
  • History, Senior
  • Philosophy, Schedule A — Senior
  • Physics, Senior
  • Politics, Senior
  • Science, Intermediate
  • Science, Senior
  • Social Sciences, Senior

Schedule C:

  • Adapting Curriculum for the Catholic School System
  • Adapting Curriculum for Second-Language Learners
  • Adult Education
  • Classroom Management
  • Education Law
  • Français — 7e et 8e année (FRENCH)
  • Mentoring
  • Outdoor Experiential Education
  • Safe and Accepting Schools
  • Special Education for Administrators
  • Teaching Combined Grades
  • Teaching in the Catholic School System
  • Teaching LGBTQ Students

Schedule D (3-Part Specialist):

  • Enseignement et Leadership en situation minoritaire
  • Family Studies
  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples: Understanding Traditional Teachings, Histories, Current Issues and Cultures
  • Reading
  • Teacher Leadership
  • Writing

Schedule E Honour Specialist:

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Classical Studies
  • Family Studies
  • Geography
  • Health and Physical Education
  • History
  • Physics
  • Science
  • Social Sciences

Program:

  • Principal’s Qualification Program (PQP)
  • Supervisory Officer’s Qualification Program (SOQP)

In 2016, the committee approved 35 final AQ course guidelines to guide the design and implementation of AQ courses. These AQ guidelines included:

Schedule ABQ:

  • Primary Division
  • Junior Division

Schedule A:

  • Anglais, Intermediate and Senior
  • English, Intermediate and Senior
  • French as a Second Language
  • International Languages, Intermediate and Senior
  • Law, Senior

Schedule D (Parts I, II and Specialist):

  • Business Studies — Information and Communication Technology
  • Dramatic Arts
  • French as a Second Language
  • International Languages
  • Media

Schedule E, Honour Specialist:

  • Dance
  • Dramatic Arts
  • English
  • Environmental Science
  • International Languages
  • Music

Schedule F — Teaching Transportation Technology:

  • Auto Body
  • Auto Service
  • Heavy Duty and Agricultural Equipment
  • Light Aircraft
  • Small Engine and Recreational Equipment
  • Truck and Coach

Program:

  • Principal’s Development Program

Release of Final Principal’s Qualification Program (PQP) and Supervisory Officer’s Qualification Program (SOQP)

The committee approved the final Principal’s Qualification Program (PQP) guideline and the Supervisory Officer’s Qualification Program (SOQP) guideline for public release.

These guidelines were revised through extensive collaboration with members of the profession, educational partners and the public.

A broad spectrum of perspective and voices was sought from both members and stakeholders representing all jurisdictions, interests and regions in Ontario. A variety of consultation methods were employed to ensure that these provincial leadership qualifications are reflective and responsive to the province’s rich diversity, and that they accurately reflect the necessary professional knowledge, skills and practices required of principals and supervisory officers in our province in response to changing realities.

AQ Provincial Writing Teams and Consultations

The committee received information regarding 17 AQ provincial writing teams that engaged members of the profession in 2016 for the following AQ course guidelines, as identified within the Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation 176/10:

Schedule A:

Schedule C:

Schedule D (3-Part Specialist):

Programs:

In addition, 21 AQ course guidelines were developed through provincial partnerships with the following educational organizations:

Social Sciences and Humanities Leadership Council (OFS3HLC)

  • Schedule A: Family Studies, Intermediate

  • Schedule A: Family Studies, Senior

  • Schedule D: Family Studies — Part I

  • Schedule D: Family Studies — Part II

  • Schedule D: Family Studies, Specialist

  • Schedule E: Family Studies, Honour Specialist

The Ontario History and Social Sciences Teachers’ Association (OHASSTA)

  • Schedule A: Social Sciences, Senior

  • Schedule A: Politics, Senior

  • Schedule E: Social Sciences

Ontario Classical Association (OCA)

  • Schedule A: Classical Studies — Greek, Intermediate

  • Schedule A: Classical Studies — Greek, Senior

  • Schedule A: Classical Studies — Latin, Intermediate

  • Schedule A: Classical Studies — Latin, Senior

  • Schedule E: Classical Studies, Honour Specialist

Ontario Philosophy Teachers’ Association (OPTA)

  • Schedule A: Philosophy, Senior

Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario (STAO)

  • Schedule A: Sciences — Biology, Senior

  • Schedule A: Sciences — Chemistry, Senior

  • Schedule A: Sciences — Physics, Senior

  • Schedule A: Sciences — General, Senior

  • Schedule A: Sciences — General, Intermediate

Six Nations Polytechnic

  • Schedule C: Teaching Cayuga

Electronic surveys have provided rich data that have helped to inform the development of the following AQ policy guidelines:

Changes to the Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation

As a result of SP&E Committee approved motions, a number of regulatory changes were made in the Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation 176/10, which became effective in 2016:

The following qualification is renamed in Schedule A:

The following AQs are renamed in Schedule C:

The following AQs are renamed in Schedule D:

The following AQ is added to Schedule D:

The following AQ is renamed in Schedule E:

Historical Qualification — Teaching the Trainable Retarded

Clarification of French- or English-Only Qualifications

The Committee approved that the following two new AQs and proposed name change be forwarded to the College Council for inclusion in Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation 176/10:

The committee was informed of the electronic consultation processes the College engaged in related to possible regulatory name changes for the following AQ courses:

Written Reports

The following written reports were generated to support the policy development, research and standards-based educative work of the committee:

Teacher Educative Sessions

The committee received seven presentations by members of the profession to support the policy development work related to the following:

Find an AQ

In 2016, 378 member queries were received via the “Find an AQ” section of the College’s website. This is a significant increase in member AQ inquiries since the committee recommended enhancements to the Find an AQ section. These inquiries have resulted in the College being able to better support members’ access to specific AQs.

Revised AQ Candidate Survey

The committee analyzed and reviewed data compiled from 9,246 AQ course candidate surveys that focused on 124 AQ courses.

Accreditation of AQ Course Submissions

The committee reviewed the College’s re-conceptualized approach to the accreditation of AQ course submissions, which was aligned with the processes and practices associated with the policy development processes used for AQ courses. In 2016, 414 courses were submitted to the College for accreditation, which is a 67 per cent increase from the previous year.

Professional Education for AQ Providers

The committee received information related to the 400 AQ developers and instructors who attended 10 AQ institutes entitled “Exploring an Inquiry Stance within AQ Course Design — An Institute for AQ Course Developers.” These experiential institutes offered AQ course developers and instructors the opportunity to explore AQ course guideline concepts and design through the lenses of universal design, differentiated instruction, professional inquiry and critical pedagogy.

Standards Education

Standards educative sessions along with standards-based resources continue to influence and support teacher education and leadership development. These educative sessions support the integration of the ethical standards and the standards of practice within teacher education.

In 2016, staff facilitated 61 sessions for over 2,100 participants, including teacher candidates, new teachers, teacher-educators and leaders, principal candidates, AQ course developers and internationally educated teachers. Figure 1, below, provides a breakdown of these educative sessions during 2016.

Figure 1. Standards Educative Sessions

Pie Chart

Standards Teacher Education Resources

The SP&E Committee supported the ongoing development of written and visual standards-based resources for use within initial and continuing teacher education and professional practice.

The chair of the SP&E Committee provided Council with an overview of the many research-based standards resources that have been developed to support the teaching profession.

Review of the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession (PLF)

In 2016, the committee approved the final version of the revised PLF, which was provincially reviewed, revised and validated through a variety of processes and research methodologies. All educational partners and stakeholders have also received a copy of the new PLF.

First Nations Teacher Education Resources

The following standards-based First Nations teacher education resources for initial and continuing teacher education were publicly released:

These resources help to support the meaningful inclusion of First Nations cultures and worldviews within initial and continuing teacher education.

The College continues to receive very positive feedback regarding, Exploring the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession through Anishinaabe Art. To date, approximately 100,000 posters featuring original art created by a First Nation member of the profession have been requested and shipped to members of the profession, educational partners and members of the public. The posters depict the four ethical standards and the five standards of practice from an Anishinaabe perspective.

Other Standards Education Resources

The committee has supported the development of a new visual professional education resource, entitled Acting on our Ethics: Caring for Haiti. An inquiry-based discussion guide is being developed to accompany this teacher education and leadership development resource.

This resource will be used within initial teacher education, continuing teacher education and leadership development courses. It holds promise to significantly inform and advance professional ethical practice related to many of the concepts inherent within the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession, Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession and the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession.

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