Chapter D
The learning environment and organization of schools

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D1. Instruction time
D2. Teachers' salaries

D1 Instruction time

Context

This indicator examines the amount of time, as established in public regulations, that Canadian students aged 7 to 15 must spend in class. More precisely, this indicator shows the annual number of hours of compulsory and intended instruction time in the curriculum for students aged 7 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14, and at the age of 15. This information is for Canadian public institutions in 2009 (the 2008/2009 school year). Data are presented for Canada, and for the provinces and territories.¹

Instruction time in formal classroom settings accounts for a large portion of the public investment in student learning and is a central component of effective schooling. The amount of instruction time available to students is the amount of formal classroom teaching they receive and can therefore determine their opportunities for effective learning. It is also central to education policy decision-making. Matching resources with students' needs and making optimal use of time are major challenges for education policy. The main costs of education are the use and deployment of teacher resources, institutional maintenance and other educational resources. The length of time during which these resources are made available to students (as partly shown in this indicator) is thus an important factor influencing the budget in education.

In combination with the information on teachers' salaries presented in Indicator D2, this indicator on instruction time contributes to the development of a set of key measures for full-time teachers in public institutions that, in turn, contribute to expanding the context for quality of instruction and understanding certain aspects of education processes.

Observations

Total intended instruction time is an estimate of the number of hours during which students are taught in both compulsory and "optional" courses, which also fall under compulsory.

In Canada in 2009, the total compulsory instruction time in formal classroom settings was 7,377 hours, on average, between the ages of 7 and 14, which generally covers five of the six years of primary studies and three years at the lower secondary level: 1,837 hours between the ages of 7 and 8; 2,768 hours between the ages of 9 and 11; and 2,771 hours between the ages of 12 and 14. By comparison, total compulsory instruction time for the OECD countries for which data were available was 6,497 hours, or close to 900 fewer hours than the average total compulsory instruction time in all public institutions in Canada during the 2008/2009 school year (Chart D.1.1).

Chart D.1.1 Total number of cumulative compulsory instruction hours in public institutions from age 7 through 14, Canada, 2009

Determining total instruction time is a provincial or territorial responsibility in Canada. Choices relative to the average annual number of compulsory and intended hours in a curriculum thus reflect priorities for the education that students receive at different ages. Total compulsory instruction time for students aged 7 to 14 varies by province and territory (Chart D.1.1). In 2009, it was lower than the Canadian average of 7,377 hours in Prince Edward Island (7,169 hours), Nova Scotia (7,061 hours), New Brunswick (7,313 hours), Quebec (7,200 hours) and in British Columbia (7,184 hours), but higher than the average in Newfoundland and Labrador (7,480 hours), Ontario (7,458 hours), Manitoba (7,678 hours), Alberta (7,600 hours), Yukon (7,479 hours), and in the Northwest Territories (8,120 hours).

In the case of 15-year-old students who were registered in typical programmes for this age group (in general, this corresponds to the first year of upper secondary level), the average annual number of hours of compulsory instruction time was 921 hours in Canada, which represents about 19 hours more than the total time of compulsory instruction time in the OECD countries in 2009. Total compulsory instruction time was below the Canadian average of 921 hours in only three provinces: 880 hours in Prince Edward Island, 900 hours in Quebec, and 880 hours in Ontario. Total compulsory instruction time was above the Canadian average in all other provinces and territories in Canada (Table D.1.1).

Table D.1.1 Compulsory and intended instruction time in public institutions from age 7 through 15, Canada, 2009

Intended instruction time is an important indicator of students' opportunity to learn and of the public resources invested in education. This indicator captures intended instruction time, as established in public regulations, as a measure of exposure to learning in formal classroom settings, which includes compulsory and non-compulsory instruction time, if present. It does not show the actual number of hours of instruction received by students and does not cover learning outside of the formal classroom setting.

There was no difference between the average number of compulsory and intended hours in the curriculum for 7- to 14-year-old students and 15-year-old students in Canada in 2009 (Table D.1.1). This seems to indicate that, in Canada, in all of the provinces and territories, all "optional" courses actually fall under the compulsory instruction time category. Choice of courses, if there is any at the ages concerned, is made within the time allotted to compulsory instruction. This is also the case in other OECD countries, such as Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Definitions, sources and methodology

Data on instruction time are from the 2010 OECD-INES Survey on Teachers and the Curriculum and refer to the 2008/2009 school year. Instruction time for 7- to 15-year-olds refers to the formal number of 60-minute hours per school year organized by the school for class instructional activities for students in the 2008/2009 reference year. Hours lost when schools are closed for statutory holidays are excluded.

Compulsory instruction time refers to the amount and allocation of instruction time that almost every public school must provide and almost all public-sector students must attend. The total compulsory curriculum comprises the compulsory core curriculum, as well as the compulsory flexible curriculum.

Intended instruction time refers to the number of hours per year during which students receive instruction in the compulsory and non-compulsory parts of the curriculum. Intended instruction time does not include non-compulsory time outside the school day, homework, individual tutoring, or private study done before or after school.

The average for Canada is calculated by weighting the figures of provinces and territories by the population of children in the respective age groups (7 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14, and 15) in each jurisdiction. All jurisdictions except Saskatchewan and Nunavut are taken into account in the Canadian average.

In Table D1.1, typical instruction time for 15-year-olds refers to the programme in which most students at this age are enrolled. When vocational programmes are also taken into account in typical instruction time, only the school-based part of the programme should be included in the calculations.

Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is D1, How much time do students spend in the classroom?

Table 1 Calculation of instruction time by jurisdiction

D2 Teachers' salaries

Context

This new indicator presents annual statutory salaries for teachers at the start of their careers, after 10 and 15 years' experience, and once they have reached the top of the salary scale. These categories reflect salaries for teachers with the minimum training required for certification in public elementary and secondary educational institutions. All data on these salaries are presented for teachers in three International Standard of Classification (ISCED) categories: primary (ISCED 1); lower secondary (ISCED 2); and upper secondary (ISCED 3) education.²

Teachers' salaries represent the single largest expense in education (see Indicator B3 in this report). Thus a comparison of salary figures at different points reveals some useful information on basic salary structures and the points of salary advancement in a teaching career. Salaries and the accompanying working conditions contribute towards developing, attracting and then retaining qualified teachers. Therefore, any compensation issue should be a major consideration for policy makers or others in the education field who want and need to maintain a high quality of instruction, perhaps while balancing an education budget.

In combination with the information on instruction time presented in Indicator D1, this indicator on teachers' salaries contributes to the development of a set of key measures for full-time teachers in public institutions that, in turn, contribute to expanding the context for quality of instruction and understanding certain aspects of education processes.

Observations

Starting salaries in Canada

In Canada, the starting salary for teachers in public elementary and secondary schools was close to $43,000 Canadian dollars in 2008/2009 (Table D.2.1). More specifically, "the starting annual statutory salaries" in the ISCED 1 and 2 categories, which represent teaching in primary and "lower secondary" (pre-high school), were each $42,979 (Chart D.2.1.1). The Canada-level starting salary for those at ISCED 3, or "upper secondary", schools was slightly higher: $43,078, which is only due to the slightly higher starting salary for teachers in Ontario high schools—in all other jurisdictions, the starting salary is independent of the level or grade at which teachers teach (Chart D.2.1.2). Among the 11 provinces/territories reporting salary information, the starting salary was lower than the overall figure in 5 jurisdictions, regardless of level of teaching, ranging from $38,641 in Quebec to $41,204 in Ontario. Among the provinces, Alberta had the highest starting salary. As expected for the territories, salaries were the highest in the country, both by level of teaching and across the various categories of teaching experience. In general, the national and provincial/territorial salary figures reflect the gross yearly salary for a full-time teacher with the minimum training necessary to be fully qualified at the beginning of a teaching career (see the "Definitions, sources and methodology" for this indicator for more detail.)

Chart D.2.1.1 Annual statutory teachers' salaries, full-time teachers in primary and lower secondary institutions, by teaching experience, Canada, 2008/2009

Salaries throughout career experience

After 10 years' experience, primary and lower secondary teachers in Canada had annual salaries of $66,041 in 2008/2009 (Table D.2.1; Chart D.2.1.1), slightly below the $66,192 salary of their counterparts in upper secondary institutions (Chart D.2.1.2). In most of the reporting jurisdictions, teachers in all three groups had reached the top of the pay scales after 10 years' experience, making over 1.5 times their starting salaries (Table D.2.1). New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were among the few exceptions; in 2008/2009, salaries in those provinces rose by more than $2,000 as teachers moved from 10 years of experience to 15 and top-of-scale figures. However, the gap was most noticeable in Quebec, where the salary for 15 years' experience/top of scale was over $13,000 more compared with that for Quebec teachers who had reached the 10-year point on the salary scale. In addition, the top-of-scale salary was 1.8 times the starting salary figure.

Table D.2.1 Annual statutory teachers' salaries in public institutions, by level of education taught and teaching experience, Canadian dollars, Canada and jurisdictions, 2008/2009

Chart D.2.1.2 Annual statutory teachers' salaries, full-time teachers in upper secondary institutions, by teaching experience, Canada, 2008/2009

Number of years to reach top of salary scale

In Canada, annual statutory salaries for full-time teachers in public elementary and secondary schools were fairly consistent across levels of teaching in 2008/2009, particularly after several years of teaching experience had been acquired. By contrast, in most of the countries that recently reported to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), teachers' salaries tended to rise with the level of education taught.³

Although the OECD averages reveal similar differences between starting salaries and those at the top (ratios of 1.6 for the OECD and Canada), Canada's teachers reached the top of their salary scales much sooner than their OECD counterparts. For example, the OECD average for "years from starting to top salary" for teachers in lower secondary institutions was double that for Canada in 2008/2009: 24 years compared with 12 (Table D.2.2). The amount of time needed to reach the top of the salary scale was lowest in Scotland (6 years), where, similar to Canada, salaries after obtaining 10 or 15 years' career experience were the same regardless of the ISCED level at which teachers were teaching. This pattern is also evident in Australia and England, although the starting and top salaries in all three of these OECD countries were below those for Canada. Teachers in several other countries also reached their maximum salaries relatively early (Estonia, 7; Denmark, 8; Australia, 9; England, 10; Poland, 10; and Slovenia, 13).

The Canada average of 12 "years from starting to top salary" for teachers in the lower secondary category reflects 2008/2009 provincial/territorial figures that ranged from 9 years (Newfoundland and Labrador) to 15 in Quebec (Tables D.2.1 and D.2.2). While the OECD does present the 24-year average for its reporting countries, some vast differences from country to country make it somewhat difficult to consider meaningful provincial/territorial—international comparisons for this particular statistic. A review of the salary figures by teaching experience, however, clearly indicates that full-time teachers in public institutions in Canada receive higher salaries overall compared with their OECD counterparts. And, with a few exceptions, they also tend to reach their maximum salary after 10 years' experience—much sooner than their counterparts in other OECD countries (Chart D.2.2).

Chart D.2.2 Annual statutory teachers' salaries, full-time teachers in lower secondary institutions, by teaching experience, Canada and OECD, 2008/2009

Comparing starting salary levels

For all levels taught, starting salaries in Canada and its provinces and territories were consistently higher than the OECD averages for its reporting countries. Overall in Canada, the starting salaries for each ISCED category were around $36,000 (US dollars) (Table D.2.2). By comparison, the OECD figures began at $29,767 for teachers in primary education, increased by close to $2,000 for beginning salaries of $31,687 for teachers in lower secondary institutions, then rose again by about $1,400 to bring the starting salary for teachers in the upper secondary category to $33,044.

Table D.2.2 Annual statutory teachers' salaries in public institutions, by level of education taught and teaching experience, US dollars, Canada and jurisdictions, 2008/2009

The pattern of similar starting salaries across levels of teaching seen in Canada is also evident in several other OECD countries. Australia, Portugal, England and Scotland, for example, all reported the same starting salaries for all teachers in elementary and secondary schools, and their figures ranged between $32,000 and $34,000. Other countries also indicated identical starting salaries regardless of the level of education taught, but the salaries were much lower ($12,139 in the Slovak Republic; $14,881 in Estonia). Japan and Greece, as well as Slovenia, with across-the-board starting salaries of approximately $29,000 and $28,000, respectively, fell somewhere in between.

Starting salaries in the United States were slightly higher than the approximately $36,000 recorded for Canada: just below $37,000 in US public elementary and secondary schools.⁴ There was a more marked difference between the maximum salary levels in these two North American countries in 2008/2009. While top-of-scale salaries in Canada were all around $58,000, the US maximums for teachers in lower and upper secondary were about $3,000 less ($54,725 and $54,666, respectively). The difference was even larger for teachers' salaries in primary schools, where the top US salary figure ($51,633) was about $6,500 less compared with Canada.

Definitions, sources and methodology

The data on annual statutory teachers' salaries were derived from the 2010 OECD-INES Survey on Teachers and the Curriculum and reflect the 2008/2009 school year. All information has been reported in accordance with formal policies for public educational institutions. Canada's contribution to this long-standing OECD/Education at a Glance indicator began in 2010, when a working group comprising representatives from each province and territory ran the underlying survey for Canada.

"Statutory salaries" refer to salaries according to official pay scales and schedules. In Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and the Northwest Territories, the annual statutory salaries are based on 2008/2009 salary scales in collective agreements between each jurisdiction's teachers' unions and the provincial or territorial government. In some provinces, however, namely Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, these pay scales are established at the school-board level and there is no province-wide bargaining.⁵ The salaries reported are gross (total sum paid by the employer), less the employer's contribution to social security and pension (according to existing salary scales). Salaries are "before tax" (before deductions for income taxes). Gross teachers' salaries are presented in current Canadian dollars, to be compared with the averages for Canada, which were derived from the provincial values (Table D.2.1). The average salary for Canada was calculated as a weighted average of all provinces. Weights used depend on the salary calculated. For teachers at the beginning of their careers (starting salaries), the number of full-time educators younger than 30 was used. For teachers with 10 years of experience, the number of full-time educators aged 35 to 44 years was used. And, for teachers with 15 years of experience, as well as those at the top of the salary scale, the number of full-time educators aged 45 or older was used. Salaries have also been converted to US dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) for Canada⁶ from the OECD National Accounts database; this allows international comparisons, and the same weighting applies (Table D.2.2).

"Starting salaries" capture the scheduled gross salary per year for a full-time teacher with the minimum training necessary to be fully qualified at the beginning of a teaching career. Salaries after 10 and 15 years of experience refer to the scheduled annual salaries of full-time classroom teachers with the minimum training necessary to be fully qualified and 10 or 15 years of experience. The salaries reported for "top of scale" refer to the scheduled maximum annual salaries for full-time classroom teachers with the minimum training necessary to be fully qualified for the job.

Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is D3, How much are teachers paid?.

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Notes

1. Data for the 2008/2009 school year were not available for Saskatchewan and Nunavut.
2. Please see the "ISCED classifications and descriptions" section in this report's Notes to readers for brief descriptions of the ISCED categories.
3. The international data presented in this report reflect the figures available from the OECD at the time of writing; however, the OECD may have made further final adjustments. For more detailed information on the latest international statistics, please refer to Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, available on the OECD's Web site: www.oecd.org.
4. Salary figures for Canada and other OECD countries can be compared using the US dollar figures that have been converted using purchasing power parity (PPP), which accounts for differences in cost of living across countries. However, when viewing differences between US dollar salary figures for Canada's provinces and territories and those for other countries, or the OECD overall, it is important to consider that this adjustment could not be made to the salary figures for Canada's provinces and territories (see "Definitions, sources and methodology").
5. In Ontario, the estimates are the midpoint of the range that is funded by the province. In Manitoba and Alberta, estimates are averages across all school boards.
6. ThePPP for 2008/2009 is 1.197250332 US$/CAN$, which takes into account differences in cost of living across countries. A similar adjustment for comparisons across provinces and territories could not be done at this time.