Public attitudes towards education in Ontario 1994: Tenth OISE survey

The OISE/UT Survey has been conducted and published annually from 1978 to 1980, and biennially from 1980 to present. It is the only regular, publicly disseminated survey of public attitudes towards educational policy options in Canada. Its basic purpose is to enhance public self-awareness and informed participation in educational policy-making.This tenth OISE/UT survey finds that a majority of the Ontario public supports increased funding for education, with a majority being willing to pay higher taxes for education. There is a growing division of opinion, however, in regard to which schools should be publicly funded. Almost two-thirds feel that the public has too little say in how schools are run, and 85 percent support setting up parent councils in neighbourhood schools. The majority of the public now deny that schools make it difficult for students from either working-class or visible minority backgrounds to succeed. High school streaming and destreaming remain a prominent issue. Assessment is a divided issue, with opinion sharply divided on whether high school students' final grades should mainly reflect teachers' assessments or the results of province-wide tests. A majority think the future of community college lies in providing more advanced professional/technical education rather than expanding their role as a bridge to universities. Participation in adult and continuing education courses has declined for the first time this year in the past decade, and the decline has been the sharpest in the youngest, least schooled, and unemployed. Computer literacy is higher among the young and better educated and is increasing quickly.OISE/U