Recent Alberta Curriculum Change has historic roots
The government of Alberta is changing the curriculum in order to incorporate subjects like basic life skills, financial literacy, career education, and home maintenance. Let us explore these changes.
The province of Alberta has begun engaging stakeholders to develop draft curricula for several junior high subjects, including math, social studies, physical education and wellness, and Career and Life Management (CALM). This engagement aims to align the junior high curriculum with the new elementary standards and ensure students are prepared for both the classroom and life beyond school. Participants will provide feedback on critical areas such as career education, financial literacy, basic life skills, and home maintenance. Beginning this month, experts and education partners—including system leaders, First Nations education directors, and subject specialists—will review the draft content. Teachers, in collaboration with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and school authorities, will also play a role in the review. The new curriculum is expected to roll out in the 2026-27 school year, with drafts ready by spring 2024. As of the 2022-23 school year, new curricula have already been introduced for K-6 subjects, with pilot programs running in more than 500 schools.
The Alberta government’s latest push to overhaul the junior high curriculum is drawing attention as part of its broader agenda to reshape education in the province. The ongoing review, which spans subjects such as math, social studies, and physical education, is designed to prepare students for their future careers while also providing a foundation in practical life skills. This focus on career readiness, financial literacy, and basic life maintenance is, at first glance, a modern response to an evolving job market and a post-pandemic world. However, these shifts in Alberta’s educational system have roots that stretch far back into the province’s history—particularly to the era when the Social Credit Party held power from 1935 to 1971.
The Social Credit government, led by Premier William Aberhart and later Ernest Manning, took a hands-on approach to governance that deeply influenced the direction of education in Alberta. At the heart of their policies was a focus on self-reliance, financial responsibility, and community-building—values that were hallmarks of Social Credit ideology. The party’s fixation on financial literacy, in particular, was reflected in their promotion of economic education to shield citizens from what they saw as the dangers of unchecked capitalism and debt. Fast forward to 2024, and we see echoes of this approach in the proposed curriculum updates, which prioritize financial literacy and career readiness. While the context has shifted, the principles guiding these changes remain rooted in a desire to shape citizens who are not only knowledgeable but also self-sufficient and economically savvy.
During the Social Credit Party’s rule in Alberta (1935-1971), the educational curriculum reflected the party’s broader ideological vision of self-reliance, Christian values, and practical life skills. In the 1930s and 1940s, under Premier William Aberhart, education emphasized moral development, with a strong focus on Christian ethics and values. Aberhart, a former high school principal and preacher, believed that education should instill a moral compass in students, and Bible studies were an essential part of the school curriculum. The curriculum for elementary and junior high students during this period was heavily oriented toward citizenship and the development of responsible, community-minded individuals.
Subjects like math and science were important, but there was also a significant focus on agriculture, home economics, and industrial arts, reflecting the largely rural economy of Alberta at the time. Students in junior high were often taught practical skills like woodworking or sewing, and boys and girls were directed toward different paths based on traditional gender roles: boys focused on manual labor or technical skills, while girls were often trained in home management and care. This division reinforced the Social Credit government’s views on family and societal roles.
By the 1950s and 1960s, under Premier Ernest Manning, the curriculum expanded to include more emphasis on financial literacy and economics. Manning, a protégé of Aberhart, continued to stress the importance of educating students about the dangers of debt and the importance of personal financial responsibility. As a result, subjects like social studies and economics for junior high students began to include lessons on monetary systems, banking, and even the Social Credit theory of money creation. While these teachings aimed to equip students with practical knowledge, they also reflected the government’s populist and anti-establishment ideologies.
Today’s curriculum changes carry this legacy forward by advocating for skills that extend beyond the classroom, preparing students for the realities of adulthood and the workforce. The inclusion of financial literacy and life management skills echoes these earlier efforts to instill a sense of economic awareness and personal responsibility. However, what sets the current government’s approach apart is its effort to align this practical education with a modern, multicultural Alberta. By actively engaging First Nations education leaders, subject experts, and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), there is an attempt to ensure that the new curriculum reflects the diversity of Alberta’s students and acknowledges the varying challenges they will face in life. This openness to feedback marks a departure from the more insular, top-down approach of Social Credit’s era.
At the same time, the continued centralization of educational control under the provincial government has its critics, many of whom see parallels to the Social Credit’s overreach in the 1950s and 60s, when Manning’s government sought to regulate what was taught in schools, sometimes at the expense of academic freedom. The curriculum reforms under the Social Credit Party were often accused of pushing a narrow ideological agenda, and some fear that today's curriculum changes could similarly limit critical thinking by focusing too heavily on skills that align with specific career paths, rather than fostering a well-rounded, holistic education.
Nonetheless, the focus on financial literacy and career education taps into a widespread sentiment in Alberta: the need to adapt schooling to the changing economic landscape. The Social Credit Party’s populist appeal was partly rooted in its ability to connect with the economic anxieties of ordinary Albertans, and today’s government is playing a similar card by emphasizing practical, job-related skills. In a province still grappling with economic transitions from its reliance on the oil industry, the promise of an education system that prepares students for success in an uncertain job market resonates with many families.
As we await the full draft of this new curriculum, expected in the spring, it’s clear that the changes reflect both the demands of a new economy and the enduring values of Alberta’s past. Whether these curriculum updates will fully meet the needs of today’s students or merely echo a bygone era remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Alberta’s educational reforms—like so much of its politics—continue to be shaped by its history.
Sources:
Finkel, Alvin. The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta. University of Toronto Press, 1989. This book discusses Aberhart’s influence on Alberta’s education system and the introduction of Christian ethics in schools.
Harrison, Trevor W. Of Passionate Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the Reform Party of Canada. University of Toronto Press, 1995. Provides a historical analysis of Social Credit's governance in Alberta and their approach to education.
Marshall, Robert. Alberta's Quiet Revolution: The Social Credit Era. Athabasca University Press, 2010. Offers insight into the social and political reforms of the Social Credit government in Alberta, particularly their role in shaping provincial education policy.
Tomkins, George S. A Common Countenance: Stability and Change in the Canadian Curriculum. Pacific Educational Press, 2008. Explores the historical development of educational curriculums across Canada, including Alberta’s.
Government of Alberta. "Alberta Education – Junior High Curriculum Review" (2024). Available through the Alberta Ministry of Education website.