October 2007, Issue 1
The Public Interest
In this Issue :
Our E-newsletter Aims to Help You Understand the College's Role in Education
Would you like to know more about the professional qualifications of Ontario's teachers or what it takes to become a teacher in Ontario today?
Would you like to know more about the ethical and practice standards that guide the work of teachers?
The Public Interest lets you know. It brings you inside the teaching profession's regulatory body to answer your questions about teacher licensing, education and matters of significance to the profession and to the people it serves – you and the province's students.
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Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow
A lot has changed in the last few decades - new fields of technology, breakthroughs in science, greater diversity in Ontario society and schools. But the requirements to be certified as a teacher in this province are pretty much what they were 25 years ago.
Now the teaching profession itself is proposing wide-ranging changes to teachers’ qualifications to prepare our members for the challenges of tomorrow.
Over the last two years, the College undertook a sweeping review of what teachers learn during their initial teacher education program and the continuing education programs available to them for improving professional skills and knowledge throughout their careers.
The College is recommending that the teacher education program be lengthened to include special education and diversity.
During the review, we consulted widely with parents, teachers and numerous other stakeholders. All had an opportunity to suggest improvements that would ensure new teachers have the skills and supports to manage 21st century classrooms.
The review produced Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow: the Final Report 2006, which contains 66 recommendations. We’ve passed it on to the Minister of Education and the College is working with the government to implement the recommendations that require regulatory changes.
Some of those recommendations don’t require government action and we’re ensuring that we implement those ideas as briskly as possible.
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Why the Ontario College of Teachers Matters 
The Ontario College of Teachers is responsible for the self-regulation of Ontario's teaching profession. It acts in the public interest – your interest.
We certify teachers to work in Ontario's publicly funded schools.
We accredit education programs that prepare teachers to teach before they enter the classroom. We also accredit the additional qualification courses educators complete throughout their careers as part of their ongoing professional development.
And we are responsible for conducting discipline and competence hearings for teachers who cross the line of professional conduct or are not competent to teach.
We operate independently of the government under legislation that includes the Ontario College of Teachers Act, regulations stemming from that Act and College bylaws.
A 37-member council governs the College's work. The Council includes 23 elected teachers and other educators and 14 people the government appoints to represent you, the public.
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Learn More about College Members' Qualifications at Find a Teacher
If you've ever wondered what the qualifications of a certified College member are, there's a quick way to know. Find a Teacher, the College's online public register, contains the names of more than 210,000 Ontario educators along with their membership status.
Find a Teacher lists:
- the name of the member
- the date they were initially certified
- their teaching qualifications, including where they received their teacher education
- their College membership status
- any terms, conditions or limitations that affect their ability to teach in Ontario's publicly funded schools.
Members of the College who have been newly certified in the last year and who have received on-the-job support from their employer may also have a notation on their certificate that they have completed the New Teacher Induction Program.
This information provides a fuller understanding of the education
that prepares educators for service in today's complex, multicultural
classrooms.
Public Interest E-news
Questions? Thoughts for future issues? Please send a note to info@oct.ca.
