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Paul W Bennett

Saint Mary's University (Canada), Education, Adjunct

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Founding Director, Schoolhouse Institute, and Adjunct Professor of Education, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS. Founding Chair of researchED Canada (2017) and National Coordinator of researchED in Canada. Former Senior Education Policy Fellow, Northern Policy Institute (2013-16) Thunder Bay and Sudbury, Ontario.

Ed.D. (University of Toronto), MA - History (York University), B.Ed (FEUT, Toronto), Hons. BA (York University)

President, Canadian International Council, Halifax Branch, 2011-16; Board Chair, Halifax Public Libraries Board, 2014-2016; and Board Chair, Churchill Academy, 2018-2022, .
Address: Schoolhouse Consulting Inc.,
Halifax, NS Canada

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Papers by Paul W Bennett

Saving History in Canada's Schools

Macdonald-Laurier Institure , 2024

A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12... more A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12 schools. Can historical thinking flourish with the subject disappearing in schools? The paper examines and critically evaluates recent initiatives focusing on teaching historical skills while student enrolments in history courses shrink and lose ground in the overall curriculum.

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Curbing Social Media Addiction and Reclaiming the Smartphone Generation

Macdonald-Laurier Institute , 2024

A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and po... more A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and policy responses in Canadam the United States and around the world. Researched and written for the MLI in response to Jonatyhan Haidt's the Anxious Generation (2024). It offers comprehensive analysis, proposes and cross-sector strategy, complete with policy recommendations.

Education Fallout: Learning Loss, Collateral Damage and Recovery in Canada's Schools, Research Report, (Cardus Foundation, November 30, 2023)

Cardus Research Report , 2023

A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 di... more A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 disruption and school shutdowns on students, teachers, families and schools. It assesses learning loss, psych-social impacts, and the effectiveness of post-pandemic recovery initiatives. It demonstrates that "Long COVID" has had lingering effects on the pandemic generation.

Lifting the Veil and Closing the Loopholes: Teacher Misconduct, Professional Standards and Regulatory Reform, Education & Law, Vol. 32, No. 2 (November 2023), 97-120

Education & Law, 2023

A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory refor... more A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory reform initiatives, and a range of policy options for affirming professional standards, monitoring teacher conduct and 'weeding out' the small but everpresent proportion of teachers found to be a risk to students.

Dumbed Down Math: California’s “math lite” debacle and how to avert the misadventure in Canada, Commentary, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, October 16, 2023

Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023

A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University ... more A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University mathematics education professor Jo Boaler, and its implications for mathematics teachinng and learning in Canadian k-12 education. It makes the case that Boaler’s work is at odds with evidence-based research in the science of learning and may be potentially damaging to a whole generation of elementary school-aged children.

Unsettling the Status Quo: Stirrings of reform in the schoolboard trustee battlegrounds

MLI/ Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2022

An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent... more An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent revolt aimed at challenging centralized, top-down education management. Parent voice campaigns in about a dozen scattered school boards generated fears of a "Culture War,' but the movement fizzled out in the October 2022 round of elections.

Missing In Action: School Storm Days, Student Absenteeism, and the Workplace (AIMS,June 2019)

AIMS, 2019

An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studi... more An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies that examines the high incidence of school day cancellations in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes and its impact upon student learning, student absenteeism, and disruptions in the workplace, It concludes with a series of specific policy reform recommendations.

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Schools, Income and Student Success (AIMS, January 2019)

Atlantic Institute for Market Sudies

Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their educ... more Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their education. School district policies from 2009 to 2018, such as “Good Schools to Great Schools” and the “Priority Schools” initiative, attempted to address the educational inequities, but little changed in the trajectory of student achievement.

Based upon a comparative analysis of reported test results in 119 Primary to Grade 9 schools, the study not only identifies the top performing schools, struggling schools, and most improved schools, but proposes more effective ways of raising student standards and closing the gap affecting students in disadvantaged school communities.

Re-Imagining the Creation: Popular Mythology, the Mi'kmaq, and the Origins of Canadian Hockey (May 2018)

Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatine... more

Re-Engineering Education: Curing the Accountability and Democratic Deficit in Nova Scotia (AIMS, February 2018)

Unsettling 'Old Ways': Matter or Method, Relevance or Standards in Nova Scotia Teacher Education, Chapter 6, in Theodore Christou, ed., The Curriculum History of Canadian Teacher Education (New York: Routledge, 2018), pp. 75-92.

Reinventing the Building of Schools: The Real Legacy of Public-Private Partnership (P3) Schools in Nova Scotia (AIMS, May 2017)

School Consolidation in Maritime Canada: The Educational Legacy of Edgar L. Morphet and His Disciples, Country School Journal, Vol. 5 (2017), pp. 31-47

One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once... more One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once dominated the rural and small-town landscape of Maritime Canada. From the 1920s to the 1960s, one-room schoolhouses were gradually supplanted due to school consolidation, which was most actively promoted by influential American educational administrator Edgar Morphet (1895─1990) and a new breed of twentieth-century educational planners. Driven by a relentless "bigger is better" philosophy, Morphet and his Canadian disciples came to dominate school planning, design, and organization in the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) despite regular and ongoing resistance from rural communities. Clear signs of that resistance still survive today in family discussions around the kitchen table.

After the Healing: Safeguarding Northern Nishnawbe First Nations High School Education (Northern Policy Institute, November 2016)

Digital Learning in Canadian K-12 Schools: A Review of Critical Issues, Policy, and Practice, in Ann Marcus-Quinn and Triona Hourigan, eds., Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools (Springer, 2017)

Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in mos... more Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in most of the nation's ten provinces and three territories. Without a national education department, the promotion of 21 st century skills, technology and learning falls to provincial and territorial education authorities with varying degrees of commitment to K-12 technology education reform and classroom integration. National advocacy groups such as 21C Canada do hold sway over provincial ministers of education, but, so far, the implementation of 21 st century learning and the explicit teaching of 'digital literacies' is very uneven, particularly outside of the recognized eLearning leaders among the provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In spite of the tremendous potential for expansion of online learning and virtual schooling, the free market remains regulated and private providers are largely absent. Provincial or school district authorities promote a 'growth-management' strategy where online and blended learning are considered the next evolution of effective technology integration.

Training "Blue-Blooded" Canadian Boys: Athleticism, Muscular Christianity, and Sports in Ontario's "Little Big Four" Schools, 1829-1930, Journal of Sports History, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Fall, 2016), pp. 253-271.

E-Learning in K-12 Schools in Atlantic Canada: The Prospects for Disruptive Innovation (AIMS, May 2016)

Saving an Endangered Subject: High School History in Ontario Schools, 1960-2010 (Education Matters: The Journal of Teaching and Learning, 2016)

The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. Histo... more The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. History as an academic subject, once king of the social sciences, came, over the period 1960 to 2010, to occupy a smaller and smaller patch of the secondary school curriculum. Building upon insights gleaned from Bob Davis' 1995 book Whatever Happened to High School History?, veteran teacher, textbook writer and education professor Paul W. Bennett analyzes the impact of rise of the " new social studies " in the 1970s, the spread of the so-called " skills mania " of the 1980s, and the demise of the prevailing national narrative on the teaching of the subject. Summoning up lessons learned in the Ontario history classroom, he demonstrates how the fragmentation of the history-centred social studies curriculum contributed to the so-called " Canadian History Crisis " of the 1990s. In the wake of the 1995 Quebec Referendum, the teaching of Canadian history resurfaced as a major public policy issue. The recent advent of the " Historical Thinking " movement, sparked by UBC education professor Peter Seixas, signalled the beginning of a more recent revival and Trent University historian Christopher Dummitt's 2009 call in Contesting Clio's Craft to " move beyond inclusion " has begun to close the gap in the teaching of history between the university and high school levels.

Extending the Educational Lifeline: The Tuition Support Program and Its Benefits for Special Needs Students (AIMS, May 2015)

Education on Wheels: Seizing Cost and Energy Efficiencies in Student Transporation ( January, 2015)

Saving History in Canada's Schools

Macdonald-Laurier Institure , 2024

A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12... more A policy research report assessing the state of the teaching of Canadian history in Canada's K-12 schools. Can historical thinking flourish with the subject disappearing in schools? The paper examines and critically evaluates recent initiatives focusing on teaching historical skills while student enrolments in history courses shrink and lose ground in the overall curriculum.

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Curbing Social Media Addiction and Reclaiming the Smartphone Generation

Macdonald-Laurier Institute , 2024

A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and po... more A policy research report investigating social media addiction, excessive use of cellpones, and policy responses in Canadam the United States and around the world. Researched and written for the MLI in response to Jonatyhan Haidt's the Anxious Generation (2024). It offers comprehensive analysis, proposes and cross-sector strategy, complete with policy recommendations.

Education Fallout: Learning Loss, Collateral Damage and Recovery in Canada's Schools, Research Report, (Cardus Foundation, November 30, 2023)

Cardus Research Report , 2023

A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 di... more A research study produced for Cardus Foundation investigating the impact of the Great COVID-19 disruption and school shutdowns on students, teachers, families and schools. It assesses learning loss, psych-social impacts, and the effectiveness of post-pandemic recovery initiatives. It demonstrates that "Long COVID" has had lingering effects on the pandemic generation.

Lifting the Veil and Closing the Loopholes: Teacher Misconduct, Professional Standards and Regulatory Reform, Education & Law, Vol. 32, No. 2 (November 2023), 97-120

Education & Law, 2023

A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory refor... more A status report on recent "Teacher Misconduct" cases in Canada, major provincial regularory reform initiatives, and a range of policy options for affirming professional standards, monitoring teacher conduct and 'weeding out' the small but everpresent proportion of teachers found to be a risk to students.

Dumbed Down Math: California’s “math lite” debacle and how to avert the misadventure in Canada, Commentary, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, October 16, 2023

Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2023

A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University ... more A critique of the newly-adopted 2023 California Math Framework , inspited by Stanford University mathematics education professor Jo Boaler, and its implications for mathematics teachinng and learning in Canadian k-12 education. It makes the case that Boaler’s work is at odds with evidence-based research in the science of learning and may be potentially damaging to a whole generation of elementary school-aged children.

Unsettling the Status Quo: Stirrings of reform in the schoolboard trustee battlegrounds

MLI/ Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2022

An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent... more An education policy research commentary examining and assessing the incipient populist and parent revolt aimed at challenging centralized, top-down education management. Parent voice campaigns in about a dozen scattered school boards generated fears of a "Culture War,' but the movement fizzled out in the October 2022 round of elections.

Missing In Action: School Storm Days, Student Absenteeism, and the Workplace (AIMS,June 2019)

AIMS, 2019

An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studi... more An education policy study produced by Paul W. Bennett for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies that examines the high incidence of school day cancellations in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes and its impact upon student learning, student absenteeism, and disruptions in the workplace, It concludes with a series of specific policy reform recommendations.

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap: Schools, Income and Student Success (AIMS, January 2019)

Atlantic Institute for Market Sudies

Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their educ... more Where children live in the Halifax region does have a strong bearing on the quality of their education. School district policies from 2009 to 2018, such as “Good Schools to Great Schools” and the “Priority Schools” initiative, attempted to address the educational inequities, but little changed in the trajectory of student achievement.

Based upon a comparative analysis of reported test results in 119 Primary to Grade 9 schools, the study not only identifies the top performing schools, struggling schools, and most improved schools, but proposes more effective ways of raising student standards and closing the gap affecting students in disadvantaged school communities.

Re-Imagining the Creation: Popular Mythology, the Mi'kmaq, and the Origins of Canadian Hockey (May 2018)

Chapter 2 in Jenny Ellison and Jennifer Anderson, eds., Hockey: Challenging Canada's Game (Gatine... more

Re-Engineering Education: Curing the Accountability and Democratic Deficit in Nova Scotia (AIMS, February 2018)

Unsettling 'Old Ways': Matter or Method, Relevance or Standards in Nova Scotia Teacher Education, Chapter 6, in Theodore Christou, ed., The Curriculum History of Canadian Teacher Education (New York: Routledge, 2018), pp. 75-92.

Reinventing the Building of Schools: The Real Legacy of Public-Private Partnership (P3) Schools in Nova Scotia (AIMS, May 2017)

School Consolidation in Maritime Canada: The Educational Legacy of Edgar L. Morphet and His Disciples, Country School Journal, Vol. 5 (2017), pp. 31-47

One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once... more One-room schoolhouses organized in a multitude of small, locally controlled school districts once dominated the rural and small-town landscape of Maritime Canada. From the 1920s to the 1960s, one-room schoolhouses were gradually supplanted due to school consolidation, which was most actively promoted by influential American educational administrator Edgar Morphet (1895─1990) and a new breed of twentieth-century educational planners. Driven by a relentless "bigger is better" philosophy, Morphet and his Canadian disciples came to dominate school planning, design, and organization in the Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) despite regular and ongoing resistance from rural communities. Clear signs of that resistance still survive today in family discussions around the kitchen table.

After the Healing: Safeguarding Northern Nishnawbe First Nations High School Education (Northern Policy Institute, November 2016)

Digital Learning in Canadian K-12 Schools: A Review of Critical Issues, Policy, and Practice, in Ann Marcus-Quinn and Triona Hourigan, eds., Handbook on Digital Learning for K-12 Schools (Springer, 2017)

Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in mos... more Digital learning is on the rise in Canada and now exerting an impact upon education policy in most of the nation's ten provinces and three territories. Without a national education department, the promotion of 21 st century skills, technology and learning falls to provincial and territorial education authorities with varying degrees of commitment to K-12 technology education reform and classroom integration. National advocacy groups such as 21C Canada do hold sway over provincial ministers of education, but, so far, the implementation of 21 st century learning and the explicit teaching of 'digital literacies' is very uneven, particularly outside of the recognized eLearning leaders among the provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In spite of the tremendous potential for expansion of online learning and virtual schooling, the free market remains regulated and private providers are largely absent. Provincial or school district authorities promote a 'growth-management' strategy where online and blended learning are considered the next evolution of effective technology integration.

Training "Blue-Blooded" Canadian Boys: Athleticism, Muscular Christianity, and Sports in Ontario's "Little Big Four" Schools, 1829-1930, Journal of Sports History, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Fall, 2016), pp. 253-271.

E-Learning in K-12 Schools in Atlantic Canada: The Prospects for Disruptive Innovation (AIMS, May 2016)

Saving an Endangered Subject: High School History in Ontario Schools, 1960-2010 (Education Matters: The Journal of Teaching and Learning, 2016)

The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. Histo... more The rise, fall, and revival of History in Ontario high schools is full of twists and turns. History as an academic subject, once king of the social sciences, came, over the period 1960 to 2010, to occupy a smaller and smaller patch of the secondary school curriculum. Building upon insights gleaned from Bob Davis' 1995 book Whatever Happened to High School History?, veteran teacher, textbook writer and education professor Paul W. Bennett analyzes the impact of rise of the " new social studies " in the 1970s, the spread of the so-called " skills mania " of the 1980s, and the demise of the prevailing national narrative on the teaching of the subject. Summoning up lessons learned in the Ontario history classroom, he demonstrates how the fragmentation of the history-centred social studies curriculum contributed to the so-called " Canadian History Crisis " of the 1990s. In the wake of the 1995 Quebec Referendum, the teaching of Canadian history resurfaced as a major public policy issue. The recent advent of the " Historical Thinking " movement, sparked by UBC education professor Peter Seixas, signalled the beginning of a more recent revival and Trent University historian Christopher Dummitt's 2009 call in Contesting Clio's Craft to " move beyond inclusion " has begun to close the gap in the teaching of history between the university and high school levels.

Extending the Educational Lifeline: The Tuition Support Program and Its Benefits for Special Needs Students (AIMS, May 2015)

Education on Wheels: Seizing Cost and Energy Efficiencies in Student Transporation ( January, 2015)

The State of the System: A Reality Check on Canada's Schools

McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020

A provocative and revealing analysis of Canadian K-12 public education that will serve as catalys... more

Turning Points: 15 Pivotal Moments in Nova Scotia's History (April 2019)

Turning Points in Nova Scotia's History , 2019

The Last Stand: Schools, Communities and the Future of Rural Nova Scotia (Fernwood, September 2013)

T he hour is late and the clock is ticking for rural and small town communities in Nova Scotia. S... more T he hour is late and the clock is ticking for rural and small town communities in Nova Scotia. School closures capture the news headlines, but they signal a more profound development: the gradual, yet relentless, decline in rural populations and a demographic shift that threatens to extinguish what remains of rural communities in Nova Scotia. In The Last Stand, Paul W. Bennett responds to the looming crisis with a new, more accountable, efficient and sustainable model of public schooling.

Vanishing Schools, Threatened Communities: The Contested Schoolhouse in Maritime Canada, 1850-2010 (2011)

The Grammar School: Striving for Excellence in a Public School World (2009)

"Little Worlds": The Forging of Social Identities in Ontario's Protestant School Communities and Special Institutions for Children, 1850-1930. (Ed.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, 1990)