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Our society has undergone radical shifts in everything from family structure to demographics to where and how families and children spend the majority of their time. Canadian schools, first developed in the context of the family farm and small town, have struggled to respond to the massive shifts that have taken place in how children are living their lives outside of the classroom walls.
Education systems have been forced to find ways to deal with the results of societal and lifestyle changes – less active kids, highly stressed families, increased diversity in classes, higher numbers of violent and suicidal students, and streets that may not be safe for walking to school. Breakfast programs, after school care and counseling services have valiantly attempted to step in and take on roles previously filled by extended family, churches and neighbours. What was once a three-legged stool of school, home and community has increasingly become unbalanced, with one of the legs (school) expected to compensate for the rest.
And it’s not working. The significant increase (some say an epidemic) of depression among our youth1 is just one of a number of signs of trouble that point to a larger issue with modern life that school alone can’t fix. Education is not just ‘schooling’. It does not begin and end at the door to the classroom. Massive shifts in our social fabric mean radically rethinking how school, home and community work together to ensure children thrive in the context of today’s world and in whatever future unfolds.
Loss of Social Capital
Canada, a country overwhelmingly rural at its founding, now has more than 80% of its people living in an urban environment2 (and these numbers are still rising). And ‘urban’ increasingly means ‘suburban’, that is, ‘planned’ communities that lack a downtown core, small shops and streets bustling with pedestrians, but rather offer malls and box store development as car destinations for suburban consumers. We have more people living together, but not more connections! Trends over the last 25 years clearly indicate a steep decline in activities that build ‘social capital’ or connectedness within communities, such as attending club meetings, family dinners, and having friends over to our homes3.
This has direct implications for communities and for schools, as there are “specific benefits that flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks4”. Research has shown that the best predictor of math scores and science scores, for example, is the social capital in the community5. If we care about education, we must be concerned with the health and vitality of our communities and, ideally, foster community involvement in our schools. Reduction in Free Play
While many adults remember childhoods populated by well-used sidewalks, corner stores, endless bike rides and hours of adventure exploring empty lots, river banks, fields and forests, children today rarely enjoy such a luxury. By the 1990s, the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to one-ninth of what it had been in 19706. Modern urban living more often includes more time using technology, increased concerns for safety and children shuttled by car from structured activity to structured activity, stopping only at the mall. All of these factors add up to a significant decline in free play and free outdoor play, in particular.
And there are consequences. Free play is widely recognized to be key to successful learning and development, especially in young children7. If children’s lives are increasingly built on structured activities with a focus on outcomes (i.e. practicing sports-related skills or playing competitive games rather than climbing trees and building forts), early years opportunities for the development of creativity, communication, inventiveness, curiousity and imagination may be lost. Also, sadly, many children see more pavement than nature. The term “nature deficit disorder” has been coined in recent years, to describe the broken bond between young people and nature. Researchers propose that people’s mental, physical and spiritual health depend on a connection to the natural world and have linked children’s lack of nurture from nature to disturbing current children’s health trends, such as Attention Deficit Disorder, childhood obesity and rising rates of youth depression8. Some scholars are also concerned with what they see as the emerging long-term impact of ‘bubble-wrapping’ kids, describing an increase in “overly compliant young people with depression and anxiety9”. It appears that we have created a world where the very business of childhood – playing, discovering, exploring and developing independence – is increasingly thwarted. Changing Family Structures and Pressures
Work has changed, and who does what kind of work. With the onset of women’s rights and shifts in the economy, women have poured out of their homes and into the paid workforce. In 2003, almost 72% of Canadian mothers with children under age 16 were in the labour force working either full- or part-time and 63.4% of women with children under 3 were employed, up from 39% in 197610. Children leave the home at a young age, as babies and toddlers spend their ‘workdays’ in the care of paid caregivers.
Two parents working means families are busier and under greater stress than they used to be. In 62% of two-parent families, both parents work full-time. Pre-school schedules, after-school activities, longer work hours and the continuing demands of keeping house and home in order have left many people exhausted and overwhelmed. Forty-one percent of respondents in one Canadian study said it was hard to find time and energy for parenting11. Children and youth, when asked what they would like from their parents, asked for more time12. But whether it is driven by a societal pressure and expectation to maintain a ‘certain lifestyle’ or simply due the imperative to pay for the household’s basic needs, the pace for most families is not slowing. John Abbott and Heather MacTaggart Discuss Changing Family Structures and the Need for Community
Over the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of lone-parent families13. And many lone-parent families – especially those headed by women – struggle to make ends meet. For one in eight students, poverty is an issue that stresses their emotional and physical health, thwarting their ability to learn and to thrive in school and beyond14.
Changes in social roles, the law, ideologies and economics have meant that families –and their role in the lives of children – have changed. Families once exerted enormous influence on their children, but values and beliefs once formed by family and church may now be more influenced by peers15 or media. Many families are more mobile, less situated within family and community networks. Increasing changes and pressures in family life underline the need for our society to support parents in order for children to thrive and learn. It also means that schools must be flexible and innovative in increasing opportunities for parent involvement in children’s learning. The Rise of Media Influence
Television – and increasingly, the internet – have created incredible possibilities for learning, connecting people, places and information in ways never before imagined, but they may also be having a detrimental effect on communities and social capital, as well as children’s health. Today’s youth have been raised in a wired world. Almost half of youth (ages 9-17) say they use the internet from home at least an hour every day and 79% say they watch television for an hour or more every day16. In a year, the average child spends 900 hours in school and nearly 1,023 hours in front of a TV17. Studies have found that people spent much less time talking, socializing outside the home, doing household tasks, engaging in leisure activities (such as reading, knitting, and writing), and being involved in community activities and sports after television became widely available. They even slept less. It is clear that television’s impact on children arises not only from the kinds of behavior it may promote, but also from the other activities it may replace18.
Demographic ShiftsCanada’s foreign- born population is at its highest level in 70 years19. Such a multi-cultural society brings a wide variety of both benefits and challenges to education and to schools. The continuing growth of culturally diverse populations means that more school-age children will enter the public school system with unique linguistic and socio-cultural needs. In the last decade, major school boards have seen their numbers of students requiring English as a Second Language services grow exponentially. In fact, if properly identified and assessed, more than 15% of learners in urban school jurisdictions are from an ESL background20. Cultural demographics are changing within established Canadian society, too. From 1951 to 2001, the aboriginal population grew sevenfold, while the Canadian population as a whole only doubled21. Administrators, teachers and students must work hard to create schools where diversity is accepted and valued, and where the appropriate programs and environment maximize each child’s ability to learn and develop to their full potential. |
33% of Canadians thought that the purpose of education should be to help students prepare for work, 23% thought schools should focus on citizenship and character building, 17% thought the most important goal is to encourage intellectual growth and the desire for learning Featured VideoPrograms at Work
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1 Factsheet: The New Canadian Family, Child and Family Canada. Fact: Depression is the most prevalent mental health condition in Canada. In 2002, 1.2 million Canadians said they had suffered from depressive episodes in the previous year, with young people (especially adolescent women) reporting higher rates than any other group.
2 Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 Canadian Social Trends bulletin. Fact: in 2006, 80% of all Canadians lived in an area classified as urban, up from 78% in 1996 and 76% in 1986.
3 Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community. Stats: attending club meetings, 58% drop; family dinners, 43% drop; having friends, over 35% drop. Statistics are American and quoted from the author’s website.
4 Putnam, as above.
5 Terry Ryan, “Children, Families, Social Capital and Education in Go-Go Capitalism: A Dispatch from America’s Richest Country” . Source: 21st Century Learning Initiative.
6 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Books, 2006, quoted on the bookflap. For more author info visit the Richard Louv website.
7 Let the Children Play: Nature’s Answer to Early Learning from the Canadian Council on Learning.
8 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Books, 2006, quoted from the Richard Louv website.
9 Michael Ungar, Too Safe for Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive McClelland & Stewart, 2007. Quote from publisher’s book description.
10 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: Families: A Canadian Profile.
11 Factsheet: The New Canadian Family, Child and Family Canada website.
12 Factsheet: The New Canadian Family, Child and Family Canada website.
13 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: “Families: A Canadian Profile”
14 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: “Families: A Canadian Profile”
15 Gordon Newfeld. Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Matter. Ballantine Books, 2006. Chapter One.
16 Media Awareness Network. Survey: Parental Awareness of Canadian Children’s Internet Use (Canada) 2005.
17 KidsHealth website, How TV Affects Your Child
18 Public Health Agency of Canada, The Effects of Media Violence on Children, Dr. Jane E. Ledingham, C. Anne Ledingham, John E. Richardson. Ottawa, 1993.
19 Coalition for Equal Access to Education, Demographics Trends publication. Note: most of their information is from Statistics Canada, 2005.
20 Coalition for Equal Access to Education, Demographics Trends publication. Note: most of their information is from Statistics Canada, 2005.
21 Calvin Helin, Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance. Orca Spirit Publishing, 2008. or see The Calvin Helin website.
2 Statistics Canada — Catalogue No. 11-008 Canadian Social Trends bulletin. Fact: in 2006, 80% of all Canadians lived in an area classified as urban, up from 78% in 1996 and 76% in 1986.
3 Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community. Stats: attending club meetings, 58% drop; family dinners, 43% drop; having friends, over 35% drop. Statistics are American and quoted from the author’s website.
4 Putnam, as above.
5 Terry Ryan, “Children, Families, Social Capital and Education in Go-Go Capitalism: A Dispatch from America’s Richest Country” . Source: 21st Century Learning Initiative.
6 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Books, 2006, quoted on the bookflap. For more author info visit the Richard Louv website.
7 Let the Children Play: Nature’s Answer to Early Learning from the Canadian Council on Learning.
8 Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Books, 2006, quoted from the Richard Louv website.
9 Michael Ungar, Too Safe for Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive McClelland & Stewart, 2007. Quote from publisher’s book description.
10 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: Families: A Canadian Profile.
11 Factsheet: The New Canadian Family, Child and Family Canada website.
12 Factsheet: The New Canadian Family, Child and Family Canada website.
13 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: “Families: A Canadian Profile”
14 Canadian Council on Social Development, Fact Sheet: “Families: A Canadian Profile”
15 Gordon Newfeld. Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Matter. Ballantine Books, 2006. Chapter One.
16 Media Awareness Network. Survey: Parental Awareness of Canadian Children’s Internet Use (Canada) 2005.
17 KidsHealth website, How TV Affects Your Child
18 Public Health Agency of Canada, The Effects of Media Violence on Children, Dr. Jane E. Ledingham, C. Anne Ledingham, John E. Richardson. Ottawa, 1993.
19 Coalition for Equal Access to Education, Demographics Trends publication. Note: most of their information is from Statistics Canada, 2005.
20 Coalition for Equal Access to Education, Demographics Trends publication. Note: most of their information is from Statistics Canada, 2005.
21 Calvin Helin, Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance. Orca Spirit Publishing, 2008. or see The Calvin Helin website.
