Canadian Publisher Discontinues Textbook Series Used by Catholic School Board
Canadian Publisher Discontinues Textbook Series Used by Catholic School Board
Fully Alive Series is "Presently Under Review"
One of Canada’s largest publishers of educational material, Pearson Canada, has ceased publication of Fully Alive, a series of textbooks that explore health and sexuality through a traditional Catholic viewpoint.
Although the publisher hasn’t explicitly explained its decision, the news comes after several years of complaints about content that’s allegedly at odds with educational best practices and perhaps even human rights law.
An archived version of the Pearson Canada website displays the series, which covers grades one to eight.
Photo Credit: Archived Version of Pearson Canada Website (October 2021)
Previous links to the textbook series now register a ‘not found’ message on the Pearson Canada website.
The company is reportedly discontinuing its digital version of the series as well.
Photo Credit: ‘Not Found’ Message from Pearson Canada Website (February 2022)
The Fully Alive series is used in local elementary schools that are a part of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB).
According to the Superintendent of Education at the HSCDSB, Christine Durocher, the series is “presently under review and will be published by another publishing company.”
Pearson Canada, in conjunction with the Catholic education system in Ontario, began publishing the series long ago, and since then “it has been evolving to be current and relevant to our families and students.”
“The Church’s teaching on sexuality is a pastoral approach,” Durocher explains.
The board therefore plans to use the series “until new resources are approved by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario.” Durocher adds that teachers within the HSCDSB are “coach[ed]… to be sensitive to the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusivity.”
Tonya Callaghan is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Calgary. A former Catholic teacher, her academic research is focused on homophobia and transphobia in Catholic curriculum in Canada.
Callaghan is not at all surprised by Pearson Canada’s decision, noting that “people have been complaining about this series for decades.”
She says that the series sometimes exhibits sexist stereotypes about women and femininity, giving the impression that they’re necessarily bound to a caregiving or familial role.
She also points to “homophobic and transphobic ideas” that exclude non-heterosexual and non-cisgender people, or might make children believe that diverse identities are at odds with the Catholic faith.
These elements of the series have been “very loudly opposed by any progressive teacher working in a Catholic school system,” says Callaghan.
Photo Credit: Excerpt from Fully Alive Teacher’s Guide (Grade Six - 2018)
She also says there’s confusion because Catholic educational authorities will sometimes portray the series as ‘recommended’ when asked publicly about it but maintain a ‘required’ or ‘mandated’ status within school boards. Based on her research, curriculum standards set by Ontario bishops are impactful, because the province sets the tone for other Catholic education systems in Canada.
Asked specifically about the content, Callaghan describes “an appalling effect on all kinds of people, whether they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, or not.” Although teachers have some autonomy to follow their own sense of educational best practices in what they highlight, they nonetheless “have to hew very closely to the curriculum.”
Photo Credit: Excerpts From Fully Alive Textbook (Grade Six - 2018)
Callaghan says this puts teachers in a difficult situation, because departing from mandated curriculum could lead to complaints and the attention of superiors. This dynamic shows her that the content of the series can also create “adverse effects” for teachers.
Callaghan believes that sections of the series may be contrary to human rights law, specifically mentioning equality provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She also says that an Advisory Committee of the Toronto Catholic District School Board is of the opinion that sections of the series may be contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code and they ought to be reviewed by provincial authorities to assess compliance.
The local branch of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association passed along a statement in response to questions about the Fully Alive series. It starts by noting the fact that all curricula taught at a local level is a product of the provincial government’s oversight and direction.
The government sets curriculum expectations, and the HSCDSB puts processes and resources in place to ensure those expectations are met. Catholic teachers then use their professional judgement in teaching curriculum to meet those expectations, using a variety of tools to best support the students we serve. The Fully Alive program… is a resource that has supported Catholic teachers in the delivery of the sexual health portion of the health and physical education curriculum for many years. As the curriculum is updated, the resource has also been updated.
The association can’t “speculate” on what the change of heart at Pearson Canada might entail for the series, but it says its members will continue teaching provincially mandated curriculum.
Further, its members “will continue to work with [their] education and Catholic partners, so that any curriculum updates are presented through the lens of [their] Catholic faith, grounded in the values of respect and inclusivity, and in keeping with the belief that everyone is deserving of God’s love.”
Finally, it says that daily, teachers “strive to create a safe and welcoming environment for all,” which includes support for “students, colleagues, and broader communities that self-identify as 2SLGBTQIA+.”
Callaghan hopes that Catholic educational authorities will seriously grapple with criticisms of the series, since Pearson Canada is “reputable” and “very highly respected.”
For her, the response from those responsible for curriculum hasn’t been encouraging thus far, and looks something like this: “We’ve got electronic copies, we’ve got physical paper copies, and we’re going to continue working with these as long as those tattered books will circulate physically in our schools.”
She says it’s important to mention the fact that Catholic education is still publicly funded, and therefore accountable to the public.
“The bishops still like to give the impression that they run the show,” according to her.