SUPPORTING TEACHING EXCELLENCE
Supporting Teaching Excellence
The Teaching Profession
Whether you are currently an Ontario certified teacher or are thinking about becoming a teacher, here is some information important to the teaching profession.
- Ontario Teaching Certification
- Ontario College of Teachers
- Teacher Education Application Service
- Faculties of Education
- Teacher Employment Information
- Building Futures – Bâtir l’avenir
- Additional Qualification Courses
- Internationally Trained Teachers
- Language Proficiency Test
- Education Partnership Table
Ontario Teaching Certification
To teach in a publicly funded school in Ontario you need an Ontario teaching certificate from the Ontario College of Teachers. To obtain a teaching certificate you will normally need an undergraduate degree, and one year of teacher training. Teacher training is available at Ontario universities offering the Bachelor of Education program.
The Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Student Performance), 2006, which received Royal Assent on June 1, 2006, removes the requirement for teacher candidates to pass the OTQT as a condition of teacher certification.
Teachers new to the public system are required to complete the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) as evidenced by two satisfactory ratings on teacher performance appraisals in their first 12 months on the job. The NTIP will be in place in all publicly funded schools in the province at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year.
The Ontario College of Teachers will convert all Certificates of Qualification (provisional) or Interim Certificates of Qualification (provisional) into Certificates of Qualification or Interim Certificates of Qualification. Subsequent eligible graduates of Ontario faculties of education will receive the Certificate of Qualification rather than a provisional certificate.
If you want to obtain an Ontario teaching certificate, please contact the Ontario College of Teachers. As well, you may find the College's Think About Becoming a Teacher pamphlet a useful resource.
Ontario College of Teachers
The Ontario College of Teachers was established by legislation to serve and protect the public interest through certifying, governing and enforcing the standards of practice for the teaching profession.
The College's functions include setting out clear standards of practice, providing for the ongoing education of teachers, investigating complaints involving members, conducting hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and taking appropriate disciplinary action and accrediting teacher education programs.
Teachers in publicly funded schools in the province must be members in good standing with the College. Many private schools also require their teachers to be College members.
Recent amendments to the College’s legislation have changed its governance structure to give practising classroom teachers the majority on Council.
Teacher Education Application Service
The Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) is a non-profit centralized application service for applicants to the faculties of education at the following institutions: Brock University, Lakehead University, Laurentian University, Nipissing University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Ottawa, Queen's University, University of Toronto, Trent University, University of Western Ontario, University of Windsor, and York University. Visit the TEAS website for information on Ontario's teacher education programs.
Ontario Faculties of Education
For information about Ontario teacher education programs, visit www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/list/faculty.html.
Building Futures – Bâtir l’avenir
Building Futures - Bâtir l'avenir, began in 2004 with the purpose of establishing support and guidance to new teachers making the transition from the faculty to the classroom.
The Building Futures - Bâtir l'avenir provides teacher candidates with information about key education priorities and effective teaching strategies through workshops presented by experienced and dynamic educators with classroom, as well as education policy expertise. Workshops offered include Literacy and Numeracy (Elementary and Secondary), Student Success / Learning to 18, Special Education, and English Language Learners (ELL). Practical and essential resources are also provided to each teacher candidate on the day of the program.
Further information about the program can be found at www.building-futures.ca.
Teacher Employment Information
In Ontario, all teaching positions are arranged between the teacher and a publicly funded school board, provincial school authority, demonstration school or private school.
The Ontario College of Teachers' website includes a link to a number of Jobs in Education websites.
Additional Qualification Courses
Teachers who hold a Certificate of Qualification and Registration may complete in-service professional development programs that lead to additional qualifications recognized by the Ontario College of Teachers. These in-service programs are offered by Ontario's faculties of education, and other organizations, in a number of formats: one-session programs, three-session specialist programs and one-session honour specialist programs. The Ontario College of Teachers may grant equivalent standing for some qualifications if a teacher has completed comparable course work at a faculty of education outside Ontario or as part of a graduate program in education.
Internationally Trained Teachers (ITT)
Teachers trained outside Ontario must satisfy the basic requirements of certification in Ontario. The Ontario College of Teachers evaluates the qualifications of applicants and, if satisfied, will issue an Interim Certificate of Qualification (ICQ), pending completion of 194 days of successful teaching in an Ontario classroom. The ICQ can be converted to a Certificate of Qualification by completing the conditions placed on the certificate, including 194 days of successful teaching in an Ontario classroom.
For more information on ICQs, please visit the College's website at www.oct.ca.
Given the number of requirements that teachers trained outside of Ontario must meet in order to be eligible to teach in Ontario, many teachers find it challenging to navigate through the system to get the information they need for certification.
To address these challenges to certification, the McGuinty government is providing funding to assist Internationally Trained Teachers to gain the skills and knowledge they need to teach in Ontario's publicly funded school system. Called Teach in Ontario, this bridge training project for internationally trained teachers is a partnership with the Ontario College of Teachers and other organizations.
For more information about requirements for Ontario certification visit the Ontario College of Teachers or the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration's link to Access to the Teaching Profession in Ontario.
Language Proficiency Test
If you wish to become certified to teach in Ontario and you have completed a teacher education program outside of Ontario in a language other than English or French, you are required to provide proof of proficiency in English or French by completing a Language Proficiency Test. For more information about this requirement, contact the Ontario College of Teachers at 416-961-8800 or toll free in Ontario at 1-888-534-2222. You can also obtain information about the language proficiency requirement on the College's website.
Education Partnership Table
The Education Partnership Table, established by the Minister of Education, is a practical forum designed to get broad and diverse insights from the education sector on provincial education policy early in the government's policy development process.
Participants have the opportunity to contribute to the common public interest in publicly funded education. In return, they agree to work toward consensus and, wherever possible, to raise issues first at the Table for all to examine and help solve collectively. Mini-papers are brought to the Table to facilitate discussions.
