Overview of Education System
In Ontario, education is governed principally by the Education Act and its regulations, which set out duties and responsibilities of the Minister and Ministry of Education, school boards, school board supervisory officers, principals, teachers, early childhood educators, parents, and students.1 By law, the Ministry of Education has the overall responsibility for developing curricula; allocating funds to school boards; setting policies and guidelines (e.g., for principals, school board trustees, and directors of education); and setting requirements for student diplomas and certificates. Policy and program requirements are set out in a 2016 document called Ontario Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12: Policy and Program Requirements.2
Elementary and secondary public education is free for all students who are qualified to be resident students of a school board. Students who turn age 6 before December 31 can begin school in September. Parents may enroll their children in junior kindergarten at age 4 or in senior kindergarten at age 5. Students whose birthday is between September 1 and December 31 may start school at the junior kindergarten level at age 3. Although kindergarten is not mandatory, more than 90 percent of eligible children are enrolled. The Education Amendment Act, passed in 2006, requires students to continue their education until they graduate from high school or turn age 18.3
Approximately 94 percent of Ontario’s students are enrolled in publicly funded schools. Ontario has 72 district school boards: 31 English public, 29 English Catholic, 4 French public, and 8 French Catholic. During the 2014–2015 school year, there were more than 2 million students in the publicly funded education system, enrolled in about 4,000 elementary and 900 secondary schools. About two-thirds of Ontario’s students were enrolled in public schools and one-third in Catholic schools. Approximately 5 percent of Ontario’s students were enrolled in French language schools.
Five provincial schools and four demonstration schools serve students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, deaf and blind, or who have severe disabilities. Approximately 1,073 Ministry‑recognized private schools do not receive government funding. During the 2014–2015 school year, approximately 75,000 full time equivalent teachers were employed in elementary schools and 40,000 full time equivalent teachers in secondary schools.4 Some of the Grade 4 students who participated in PIRLS 2016 were phased in to full day kindergarten beginning in 2010.
Ontario has a two year kindergarten program that is a child centered, developmentally appropriate, and integrated program of learning for students ages 4 and 5. The purpose of the program is to establish a strong foundation for learning in the early years and to do so in a safe and caring, play‑based environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of all children.
The kindergarten program reflects the belief that students ages 4 and 5 are capable and competent learners who are full of potential and ready to take ownership of their learning.5 The kindergarten program promotes integrated learning in four frames or broad areas of learning, a way that is designed to reflect the learning that naturally occurs during play and inquiry, and focuses on aspects of learning that are critical to young children’s development. Literacy and mathematics learning is embedded throughout the day.