The percentage of college graduates who are majors in philosophy is about five and half times higher in Canada than in the United States. One factor in this might be the success philosophers have had in implementing philosophy courses in Ontario high schools.

In the following guest post, Eric Wilkinson (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee), who earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Canada, recounts the story of how Ontario’s pre-college philosophy curriculum came into existence, discussing some of the challenges involved and sharing strategies and advice.

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Philosophy Department Survival Strategies: The Ontarian Approach
by Eric Wilkinson 

How might philosophy programs survive periods of retrenchment in higher education? The most straightforward survival strategy is to increase enrollment in philosophy majors and courses, and to raise the profile of the discipline generally. While this is easier said than done, we can look to past successes for guidance. One such success story has been the introduction of philosophy to high-schools in Ontario.

Prior to attending university, most students in North America have no opportunity to study philosophy. Yet, one of the main factors that influences undergraduates’ choice of major is previous experience with an area of study. If more students are introduced to philosophy earlier, it may lead them to select it as a major or minor, or to enroll in philosophy courses as electives.

The Canadian province of Ontario boasts the largest number of pre-university philosophy courses in the English-speaking world. Taught through Ontario high-schools, these classes are the outcome of many decades of lobbying by philosophy faculty, high-school teachers, and the groups they established to achieve this goal.

History of the Campaign

As early as the 1950s, faculty at the University of Toronto expressed interest in introducing philosophy to Ontario high-school education. However, these early efforts encountered resistance from groups who worried that philosophy would undermine public morality and religion. Another short-lived attempt in the 1970s fizzled out for lack of organization.

Only in the mid-1980s would the campaign for high-school philosophy begin in earnest. A group of university professors and high-school teachers from across Ontario coordinated with the Committee of Chairs of Ontario Philosophy Departments to lobby Ontario’s Ministry of Education. The Committee of Chairs then founded the Ontario Secondary School Philosophy Project (OSSPP) which liaised between the various stakeholders: university faculty, teachers, parents, and students.

During this period, three meetings were held by the OSSPP where philosophy faculty from across the province met and discussed the structure and content of the potential high-school course. At the same time, a committee of high-school school teachers from throughout Ontario was formed, which would by 1999 become the Ontario Philosophy Teachers’ Association (OPTA).

The OSSPP’s network of university professors, high-school teachers, parents, and students found connections within the Ministry of Education. Discussions with the Ministry about including philosophy in the curriculum began in the late 1980s, and it became clear that the Ministry would quickly assent to a course that was focused primarily on critical thinking.

Instead, the OSSPP pushed for a course covering a wider range of themes, including ethics, human nature, political thought, metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and philosophy of religion. After years of negotiations, the Ministry approved this broader course for Grade 13. In the summer of 1993, eight writers from Ontario universities and high-schools drafted the curriculum guideline. The Grade 13 course, entitled simply “Philosophy,” was introduced for the 1994/1995 school-year.

Around 1999, it was announced that Grade 13—the final year of high-school in Ontario—would be eliminated in 2003. At the time, Ontario was the only jurisdiction in North America with five years of high-school. The Ministry of Education initially signaled that philosophy, which was only taught in Grade 13, would be eliminated entirely. However, the OSSPP successfully organized its membership of university faculty, high-school teachers, and students to oppose its elimination.

Once the OSSPP was assured that philosophy would not be cut, they moved to design both the new Grade 11 course, “The Big Questions,” and a Grade 12 course “Questions and Theories.” Three textbooks were produced by those affiliated with the OSSPP and OPTA to support the high-school instructors teaching these courses, but they are not mandatory to use when teaching them.

In 1994/1995 when the initial Grade 13 course was introduced, only 10-15 high-schools in Ontario fielded the elective, with an enrollment of about 200 students. By 1997/1998, this number had increased to 5,600 students at 135 Ontario high-schools. Today, approximately half of the 880 high-schools in Ontario offer at least one course in philosophy with an estimated total enrollment of 25,000 students. Between 5-10% of Ontario high-school students will take a philosophy course.

There is no direct data on how the addition of philosophy to Ontario’s high-schools affected university enrollment in the province. Ontario’s universities have experienced a similar decline in enrollments in the humanities as other institutions in North America. Yet, the number of philosophy majors at Ontario universities is often several times that of similarly sized American institutions, and enrollment in philosophy at Canadian universities has often managed to grow or hold steady.

In Canada each year, approximately 5,000 undergraduate students graduate with a bachelor degree in philosophy, out of 250,000 students completing a bachelor degree (2% of graduates). In the United States, approximately 8,000 of the 2.2 million undergraduates who graduated have a major in philosophy (0.36%). Plausibly, some of this difference is due to earlier exposure to philosophy.*

Challenges

The university faculty involved in bringing philosophy to high-schools often worried about the quality of instruction, since few high-school teachers would have a background in philosophy. At the launch of the initial course, most teachers had a background in science, history, or literature. Philosophy departments worked to support the quality of instruction by providing school libraries with books to support teachers and students, sending guest lectures from nearby departments, and assigning liaison officers to support teachers leading philosophy courses. The creation of the OPTA also provided an organization for philosophy teachers to share resources.

By 2009, philosophy was made a “teachable” subject in Ontario. This made it easier for philosophy majors to become high-school teachers, and made available instruction on philosophy at teacher colleges. A 2012-4 study on philosophy in 16 Ontario high-schools found that approximately half of the philosophy teachers had some university background in philosophy—ranging from a minor in philosophy up to a PhD.

During the early attempts to promote high-school philosophy in the 1950s and 1970s, those advocating for it faced opposition from religious groups who worried that philosophy would foster religious skepticism. By the mid-1980s, religion had receded in prominence as society secularized. Nevertheless, strategies were adopted to head off religious opposition. Those advocating for high-school philosophy adopted a strategically low public profile by lobbying the Ministry of Education directly. This avoided unwanted attention from potential religious critics. In addition, by the 1990s, the campaign for high-school philosophy found support from some Churches and religious groups. Priests and religious leaders frequently receive some philosophical education through seminary or their religious training, which can constitute common ground from which to bring them on board.

Another concern among those advocating for high-school philosophy was that the Ministry of Education would insist on social or political material that would distract from the philosophical content of the proposed courses. While there was pressure to include such material, those designing the courses worked with the Ministry to include such material where appropriate. Since the courses are thematic rather than historical in focus, figures from a range of philosophical traditions can be included within the thematic units (e.g., ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, etc.). The OSSPP also worked to develop materials on Indigenous philosophy for use in schools with Indigenous students.

Concrete Strategies

Some of those involved in bringing philosophy to Ontario high-schools, like the late Frank Cunningham (University of Toronto) and David Jopling (York University), have offered advice for those hoping to replicate the success of the Ontario campaign. I distill some of their advice below.

• Building Organizations:
  • Establish a Working Project: An umbrella organization can coordinate the efforts of the parties involved, such as faculty, teachers, parents, and students. In Ontario, this was the role of the Ontario Secondary School Philosophy Project (OSSPP).
  • Create a Regional Teacher Association: A provincial or state-wide association for high-school teachers of philosophy is crucial to organizing interested teachers. The Ontario Philosophy Teachers’ Association (OPTA) began life as a group of teachers affiliated with the OSSPP before becoming the Ministry recognized association for high-school philosophy teachers.
  • Engage a National Association: In 2000, the Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA) launched the ‘Philosophy in the Schools Project’ in response to the successes in Ontario. The aim of the project is to coordinate the efforts to bring philosophy to high-schools throughout Canada, as each province has its own educational system. The American Philosophical Association (APA) can serve a similar role in the U.S.
  • Encourage Student Philosophy Clubs: Cultivating philosophy clubs in schools can help to show government officials that there is an appetite for philosophy courses.
  • Host an Annual Conference: An annual conference is an excellent opportunity to bring together faculty and teachers involved in promoting high-school philosophy. The OPTA has held an annual conference on high-school philosophy since 2003.

• Government Lobbying:
  • Identify Relevant Policy-Makers: In order to lobby effectively, the campaign must identify those in government with decision making power to introduce new courses.
  • Find Champions: In Ontario, high-level champions were found in the form of the Deputy Minister, who brought the proposal to the Minister of Education’s attention. A Senior Curriculum Manager was also crucial when it came to bringing the courses to fruition. Finding high-level officials who are sympathetic to the project is useful.

• University Involvement:
  • Liaison Officers: Philosophy departments can assign a liaison officer to coordinate their contributions to province/state-wide efforts and to any umbrella organizations.
  • Guest Lectures: University faculty can offer to guest lecture in philosophy-related classes in local high-schools, to build connections with teachers. Once philosophy courses are added to the curriculum, faculty can guest lecture in those instead.
  • Textbooks for Libraires: By gifting textbooks and other philosophy books to high-schools for their libraries, faculty can provide teachers and students with resources.
  • Essay Contests: An essay contest for high-school students can foster engagement with philosophy before university. The University of Toronto and OTPA have ‘The Aristotle’ annual essay contest, with cash prizes, for Canadian high-school students.

Those campaigning for high-school philosophy in Ontario in the eighties and nineties were not motivated by a desire to increase university enrollment in philosophy programs. At the time, it was unclear what effect it would have on enrollments. Instead, they just wanted to bring philosophy to more students. Nevertheless, the Ontarian experience suggests that the promotion of high-school philosophy is a productive long-term strategy for improving the fortunes of philosophy programs.

* In Canada’s second largest province, Québec, high-school ends in Grade 11, and students enter into CÉGEPs, publicly funded junior colleges. Philosophy is a mandatory subject in French-language CÉGEPs, though in English CÉGEPs students must instead take a “Humanities” course, with philosophy being one option among several. The CÉGEP model cannot easily be exported to other jurisdictions where this intermediary level between high-school and university does not exist.