A comparison of educational reform in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta: a document analysis of the North American economic business model and its effect on education reform in Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta

Abstract

In recent years, education has been a major focus of government policy in many of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Governments have had an effect on changes in the education enterprise including curriculum, testing, governance, finance, and accountability. -- Greater accountability has been advocated for education systems as a means of ensuring that taxpayers are getting reasonable value for their education dollar. Strategies and tools for increasing school accountability have become an integral part of broader school reform initiatives. -- In examining reform initiatives in Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1990s and Alberta in the early 2000s, it has been observed that business model techniques have played a major role in driving school reform. In comparing education reform in Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta, one finds that the Alberta model of reform is well advanced in areas of technology, school development models, and student performance. However, it must be noted that the Alberta system is well-funded compared to the Newfoundland and Labrador system. -- The language and practices of the corporate world have increasingly become a part of school reform. As a result, today's Canadian education systems utilize business and economic models in pursuing the education enterprise.