UPDATED: Alberta government unveils planned social studies curriculum

Alberta’s updated social studies curriculum is inching closer to completion. The Alberta government has launched a draft of the updated social studies curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 12 students. “As minister of education, I believe social studies should empower students to develop important life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and foster their ability to articulate ideas and understand complex historical events and contemporary issues,” said Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides at a Thursday press conference. “After my appointment as minister in June 2023, I immediately directed my time to begin to build a new consultation framework that would involve our partners and members of the public to inform the development of a new draft curriculum.” To implement the new curriculum, Nicolaides said his team developed a five-staged approach. Nicolaides said Stage One began in August, which involved Alberta Education sitting down with partners to have conversations. During Stage One, he said Alberta Education met with partners such as the Alberta Teachers’ Association, school boards and the College of Alberta School Superintendents to hear their perspectives about designing a proper curriculum. Stage Two involved a public survey to Albertans about the curriculum’s direction. Many respondents said they wanted students to learn about Canadian and world history, structures of government, early settlements and exploration, trade and the global economy, ancient civilizations and indigenous culture. After receiving input on this content, he said Alberta is ready to move into Stage Three. In Stage Three, he revealed Alberta Education will hold more public engagements and undertake a review of the curriculum. Stage Four will involve piloting it, which will start in September 2024 and go until June 2025. Stage Five will be final implementation in September 2025. The new social studies curriculum will involve five streams of learning — history, geography, economics, political science and civics and citizenship. Students will be exposed to topics in each of these areas in each grade. In kindergarten, children will learn about tradition, culture and community. In Grade 1, they will be taught about local communities and culture. Grade 2 students will learn about indigenous communities, Canada’s physical regions and leaders. To enhance education, Grade 3 students will learn about Alberta’s first inhabitants, geography, official symbols, natural resources and communities. In Grade 4, students will explore colonialism and confederation. While much of the younger years focus on Canada, Grade 5 students will learn about ancient civilizations. Grade 6 students will be taught about democracy. While more details about the Grade 7 to 12 curriculum will come out in the next few months, he said people can find details on the Alberta government’s website. Edmonton Public Schools Chair Julie Kusiek said it “is committed to high-quality public education that serves the community and empowers each student to live a life of dignity, fulfillment, empathy and possibility.” “Today’s announcement will give families and educators a glimpse into the new social studies curriculum,” said Kusiek. Under this curriculum, Kusiek said it shows the Alberta government is committed to enhancing students’ knowledge. She added she looks forward to reviewing the curriculum in more detail and collaborating with it. Edmonton Catholic Schools (ECS) Chair Sandra Palazzo said this curriculum demonstrates responsiveness to earlier feedback. “We appreciate there is a more unified curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 12, as this will give us a better understanding of the progression of learning,” said Palazzo.“From our initial perspective, there are important knowledge pieces as well as important life skills for students such as global citizenship, critical thinking, historical thinking, creativity and problem solving.” In the next weeks, Palazzo said ECS will review the curriculum and determine next steps. She pointed out high-quality education is crucial to student success. Alberta NDP MLA Amanda Chapman (Calgary-Beddington) said the United Conservative Party’s social studies curriculum was delayed due to its failure to consult with teachers in 2021. “They are rushing the rollout of a new curriculum, asking educators — who are already overworked and underfunded — to pay the price for their mistake,” said Chapman.“The last time the UCP tried to rewrite their curriculum, it was widely rejected by Albertans as racist, age inappropriate and a complete misrepresentation of the history of indigenous peoples.”.That curriculum ended up being thrown out and squandered time and public resources. While people do not deny the curriculum needs updating, Chapman said the lack of proper consultation created this delay in the first place.The Alberta government announced in November Holocaust education will be a compulsory study for students as it revamps the social studies curriculum.READ MORE: Alberta mandates Holocaust education in new social studies curriculumThe move came amid a rise in antisemitism globally, with it aiming to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of one of history's darkest chapters.The Holocaust was orchestrated by former German dictator Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the Second World War and saw the systematic targeting, arrest, abuse and elimination of millions of people, particularly Jews.