The Canadian International Engagement Challenge
There is a “significant challenge” for Canadians to get students to take advantage of the international opportunities available to them in countries around the world, according to The Times Higher Education. A recent Canadian Bureau for International Education survey of 1,300 students from Canada found that those participating abroad found the experience “significantly” improved the outcomes for learning.
These are important steps to take for Canadian students to become global citizens. Canada is a “major trading nation whose continued prosperity hinges on cross-border mobility of people, goods and services.”
Public Education Defense in Canada and the Americas
According to the Calgary Herald, the many skilled immigrants in Canada are “struggling to work in their field,” even as some consider international students “ideal immigrants.” The assumption is integration should be easier for them because of Canadian education experience.
According to a 2015 Canadian Bureau of International Education, half of the international students in Canada want to stay here. However, employees of the CBIE state more work needs doing to have this immigration strategy become more effective.
John McCallum, Immigration Minister, in Ottawa in June said, “I have not had one person disagree with me when I say international students are a very fertile recruiting stream for us?They’re young, educated, they speak English or French. They know something about our country.”
Defense of Nunavut schools by Minister
According to CBC News: North, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) considered Nunavut’s educational system “grossly inadequate” for resource provision and a “national embarrassment.” Nunavut’s Education Minister defended the territory’s educational system as being “very rigorous”.
The Nunavut government had been finishing consultations on potential changes to the Education Act, which arise from a 2015 review. These were “dramatic recommendations.” Concerns about educational quality have been heard before. For example, a 2013 Auditor General’s report stated there was inadequate delivery of differentiated learning necessitated by policy set for the Department of Education. Apparently, the instructors “were overwhelmed and struggling to meet the needs of their students.”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is an AUSU Councillor. He works with various organizations, and runs In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, and In-Sight Publishing.
