Page 7 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Cooperative Education

This document sets out curriculum policy for cooperative education and implementation policy relevant to cooperative education and other forms of experiential learning in Ontario secondary schools. This policy document replaces Cooperative Education and Other Forms of Experiential Learning: Policies and Procedures for Ontario Secondary Schools, 2000.
Beginning in September 2018, cooperative education courses in Ontario schools will be based on the curriculum expectations and implementation policy outlined in this document.
SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
The goal of Ontario secondary schools is to support high-quality learning while giving individual students the opportunity to choose programs that suit their skills and interests. The updated Ontario curriculum, in combination with a broader range of learning options outside traditional classroom instruction, will enable students to better customize their high school education and improve their prospects for success in school and in life.
The revised curriculum recognizes that, today and in the future, students need to be critically literate in order to synthesize information, make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and thrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important that students be connected to the curriculum; that they see themselves in what is taught, how it is taught, and how it applies to the world at large. The curriculum recognizes that the needs of learners are diverse, and helps all learners develop the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they need to be informed, productive, caring, responsible, healthy, and active citizens in their own communities and in the world.
SUPPORTING STUDENTS’ WELL-BEING AND ABILITY TO LEARN
Promoting the healthy development of all students, as well as enabling all students to reach their full potential, is a priority for educators across Ontario. Students’ health and well-being contribute to their ability to learn in all disciplines, including cooperative education, and that learning in turn contributes to their overall well-being.
Educators play an important role in promoting the well-being of children and youth and of adult learners by creating, fostering, and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, relevant, engaging, and accepting. A learning environment of this kind will support not only students’ cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development but also their sense of self and spirit, their mental health, their resilience, and their overall state of well-being. All this will help them achieve their full potential
in school and in life.
5
PREFACE