Alberta revises parts of contentious K-6 draft curriculum

The Alberta government has made changes to its proposed curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 6 students after fierce opposition from some teachers and students.

A 300-page government report says some subjects — including math and science — are to be taught with changes in the upcoming school year.

“Most of the feedback we received from Albertans so far relates to the social studies curriculum. We have heard that some Albertans feel the draft content has students learning too much too soon and too quickly,” said Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on Monday.

LIVE: Providing an update on the draft K-6 curriculum https://t.co/dwFtGzlhdX

— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) December 13, 2021

Science, for example, is to include details on how climate change can be explained by natural and human causes, and that clean energy production has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The report also includes a revised social studies section, which had been criticized as being full of jargon and lacking accurate Indigenous perspectives.

“It provides a snapshot of the key themes, the focus of study and content at a glance and it will help us draft K-6 social studies content through the lens of developmental and age appropriateness. It also addresses concerns that have been raised regarding diversity inclusively and bias language.”

The government says it will seek advice from a group of education and curriculum experts early in 2022 to further revise social studies and other subjects including as fine arts, French, literature and science.

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Those revisions are expected to be released in the spring.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) noted in a report last fall that several teacher surveys suggested the curriculum was skewed toward Eurocentric history and referred to First Nations, Inuit and Metis only in the past tense.

Teachers also said the curriculum failed to teach students critical thinking skills and lacked accurate Indigenous perspectives.

ATA president Jason Schilling said Monday’s announcement was a success but emphasized that work on this draft needs to continue.

“The government still does not have this curriculum right, however, this is a step in the right direction towards fixing a disastrous draft curriculum.”