Growth of Online Schooling in Canada

In Canada, a country of vast landscapes, northern climates and relatively few people, the formal provision of education has always involved alternatives. Records going back to the late 1800s discuss pilot projects that provided education to school-aged children in remote rural areas. Correspondence education, beginning in 1919 and offered by almost all provincial authorities, depended on the post and long-distance haulage to link students and teachers (Haughey, 1990). Each new technology became a part of an educational provision that was of particular importance to secondary school students, who were unable to obtain sufficient courses at their local school to qualify for a high school diploma. More recently, the advent of computers and the Internet have transformed this alternative form of education. It has changed from one for those unable to attend classroom-based instruction to one that is being chosen by students for its adaptability and flexibility, as well as for the ongoing reasons associated with long distances to schools, unavailable courses, and family and personal circumstances. In this chapter, I review the development and present configurations of online schooling in Canada and discuss trends and issues this new form of provision has raised.