Public attitudes toward education in Ontario 1984: Fifth OISE Survey

Abstract

In this fifth OISE survey, a popular faith in the capacity of education has been indicated by respondents' consistently high priority for education in relation to many other pressing needs for government spending. The survey found that while the vast majority of Ontarians have expressed support for at least maintaining public educational expenditures at current levels since the late 1970s, an increase since 1982 of the proportion favouring increased expenditure on all levels of formal education may be indicative of a growing popular recognition of the importance of education. Public perceptions of the quality of education in Ontario high schools have remained divided over the last decade, with a plurality seeing quality deteriorating. The Ontario public is similarly divided on several of the major financial reallocation measures which are under active consideration for the school system. There continues to be a strong majority perception that the higher education system generally offers equal opportunities to students from all family backgrounds. With regard to the general matter of who should be responsible for making decisions about formal education, the Ontario public is divided on most of the major issues surveyed. The survey addresses topics in the following areas: opinion surveys, educational change, quality assessment, educational funding, educational access, equal opportunities, educational decision-making, curricular priorities, curricular content, schooling and work, and adult education.