Draft Alberta K-6 social studies curriculum to hit more than 400 classrooms after years of criticism, changes

More than 1,700 K-6 teachers in Alberta will pilot the draft social studies curriculum this fall, years after changes to programming were first proposed by the United Conservative Party.

The province says the latest draft, released in April of this year, will build students’ critical thinking skills and empower them to be engaged citizens.

In its infancy, the new curriculum was criticized for being full of jargon and lacking Indigenous perspectives. The Alberta Teacher’s Association reported in fall 2020 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 at the time the curriculum failed to teach students critical thinking skills and lacked accurate Indigenous perspectives.

Now, after surveys, feedback, and multiple revisions, the updated social studies curriculum draft will be taught in elementary classrooms across 429 schools.

“I am incredibly pleased with the number of school authorities and teachers piloting the draft social studies curriculum this school year,” said Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides. “I look forward to continued collaboration with school leaders and teachers as we continue our work to build a comprehensive curriculum that builds students’ critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills and inspires a passion for learning.”

The province says the draft curriculum was adjusted to strengthen the development of critical thinking skills, including research and analytical skills, promote the understanding of Canada’s diversity, including the histories, perspectives and contributions of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and Francophones, and address feedback on developmental appropriateness and load.

Throughout the piloting process, teachers will be given the information and tools they need to work with the draft curriculum, according to the province. This includes teacher release days for planning and instruction preparation, learning and teaching resources, professional learning opportunities, and the chance to give feedback to Alberta Education on the draft curriculum, including how it’s experienced in classrooms.

Alberta Education says it will consider all feedback from classroom piloting projects to finalize the K-6 social studies curriculum before it is fully implemented in September 2025.

The province said the 2024 budget allows for $34 million to support curriculum piloting and implementation in the 2024-25 school year.