EDMONTON — The Alberta government has made changes to its proposed curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 6 students after fierce opposition from some teachers and students.
A 300-page government report says some subjects — including math and science — are to be taught with changes in the upcoming school year.
Science, for example, is to include details on how climate change can be explained by natural and human causes, and that clean energy production has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The report also includes a revised social studies section, which had been criticized as being full of jargon and lacking accurate Indigenous perspectives.
The government says it will seek advice from a group of education and curriculum experts early in 2022 to further revise social studies and other subjects including as fine arts, French, literature and science.
Those revisions are expected to be released in the spring.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association noted in a report last fall that several teacher surveys suggested the curriculum was skewed toward Eurocentric history and referred to First Nations, Inuit and Metis only in the past tense.
Teachers also said the curriculum failed to teach students critical thinking skills and lacked accurate Indigenous perspectives.