WE SUGGEST THE FOLLOWING LIST OF BOOKS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS TO FURTHER ASSIST YOU IN YOUR RESEARCH:
This section of the FISA BC website is under active development on an ongoing basis. Suggestions for inclusion of materials dealing with independent school issues are welcome. Citation format is in APA style.
- Anderson, J.C. (1996). Developments in Human Rights. In W.F. Foster and W.J. Smith (Eds.), Education and Law: Reaffirming the Partnership (pp.26-29). Proceedings of the sixth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held Victoria, BC, 1996.
Section 2 of the paper deals with an admission case in which it was held that human rights legislation applied to an independent school. - Barman, J. (1991). Deprivatizing Private Education: The British Columbia Experience. Canadian Journal of Education, Vol. 16, No. 1
A recounting of the events that led to the granting of government funding to BC independent schools in 1977. 27 pages. - Barman, J. (1986). Transfer, Imposition or Consensus? The Emergence of Educational Structure in Nineteenth Century British Columbia. In Sheehan, N.M., & Wilson J.D., & Jones D.C. (Eds.), Schools in the West: Essays in Canadian Educational History (pp.241-264). Calgary, Alberta: Detselig Enterprises Limited.
A history of the formation of the British Columbia school system, with an emphasis on the political and public debates. - Blair, A.G. (1986). The Policy and Practice of Religious Education in Publicly-Funded Elementary and Secondary Schools in Canada and Elsewhere. Toronto, Ontario: Queen’s Printer (Ministry of Education).
A factual description of legislation and practice with respect to religion in all Canadian provinces and thirteen countries. Historically useful and current up to 1986. 48 pages. - Cardus Education Survey. (2012). A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Measuring Non-Government School Effects in Service of the Canadian Public Good. Hamilton: Cardus. www.cardus.ca/research/education/
- Cunningham, V. (2002). Justice Achieved: The Political Struggle of Independent Schools in British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: The Federation of Independent School Associations in BC.
A history of the work of the FISA in obtaining legal recognition and partial funding for independent schools in British Columbia. 311 pages. - Doctor, E. (2003). How Independent are Independent Schools? In 3 R.C. Flynn (Ed.), Law in Education: Help or Hindrance? (pp. 295-334). Proceedings of the fourteenth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held in Jasper, Alberta, 2003.
Legal concepts of procedural fairness and natural justice in relation to independent schools. - Downey, L.W. (1986). The Aid-To-Independent Schools Movement in British Columbia. In Sheehan, N.M., & Wilson J.D., & Jones D.C. (Eds.), Schools in the West: Essays in Canadian Educational History (pp.305-323). Calgary, Alberta: Detselig Enterprises Limited.
An examination of the passage of Bill 33 in 1977 providing partial grants to independent schools, with an emphasis on political issues. - Gibson, D. (2009). Towers, Bridges and Basements: The Constitutional and Legal Architecture of Independent School. InLaw in Education: Tower or Bridge? Proceedings of the twentieth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held Toronto, Ontario, April 26-28, 2009.
The author argues for a constitutional middle ground that reconciles legitimate state concerns with parents’ historic responsibility for their children’s schooling. 37 pages. - Green, B., Sikkema, D., Sikkink, D. (2018). Cardus Education Survey 2018: British Columbia. Hamilton: Cardus. https://www.cardus.ca/
A report examining outcomes for secondary school graduates of independent and public schools in BC. 20 pages. - Froese, P. (2010). Political action through consensus: a case study of the Federation of Independent School Associations of British Columbia. University of British Columbia
An examination of FISA BC’s unique organizational structure and its consistent ability to achieve consensus and harmony within a heterogenous group. 309 pages. - Hunt D., Van Pelt, D.A. (2019). Who Chooses Independent Schools in British Columbia and Why? Hamilton: Cardus. https://www.cardus.ca/
An empirical study of the reasons why parents choose an independent school education for their child(ren). 40 pages. - Keel, R.G. & Nickle, M. (1993). Alternative Education: Is there a Right to It? The Canadian and US Experience. In W.F. Foster (Ed.), Education & Law: Education in the Era of Individual Rights (pp. 232-250). Proceedings of the fourth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1993.
Legal and legislative basis for home-schooling and independent schooling. - Kroeker, F.M., Norris, S.P. (2007). An Unwarranted Fear of Religious Schooling. Canadian Journal of Education, 30 (1), 269-290.
The authors articulate the view that religious schooling can achieve the liberal civic education goals of tolerance, critical reasoning, and personal autonomy. - Mackay, A.W. (1986). The Equality Provisions of the Charter and Education: A Structural Analysis. Canadian Journal of Education, 11 (3), 293-312.
A discussion of Section 15 of the Charter as it may apply to education with a brief but significant section on conditions under which application of the charter could be extended to independent schools. - Magsino, R.F. (1986). Human Rights, Fair Treatment and Funding of Private Schools in Canada. Canadian Journal of Education, 11 (3), 245-263.
A discussion of the inequality of funding between independent and public schools in the context of human rights. - Manley-Casimir, M.E. (Ed.). (1982). Family Choice in Schooling. Toronto: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company.
Fourteen papers covering a variety of topics relevant to independent schools delivered in May 1980 at Simon Fraser University, B.C. at the international symposium entitled Family Choice, Schooling, and the Public Interest. Chapter 1 is particularly helpful for Canadian historical and constitutional perspectives. 210 pages. - Plant, P.G. (1994). The Legal Position of the Independent School Student in British Columbia. In W.F. Foster (Ed.), Rights, Responsibilities & Reasonableness: Striking the Balance in Education (pp. 476-493). Proceedings of the fifth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education, held Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1994.
Discusses the contractual nature of the relationship between independent schools and their students. - Randall, E.V. (1994). Private Schools and Public Power: A Case for Pluralism. New York, New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
An examination of government regulation of independent schools as it relates to public policy and pluralism with frequent reference to case law. American, but extremely useful for a clear expression of underlying concepts, philosophy, and ideals surrounding contentious issues. 219 pages. - Thiessen, E.J. (2001). In Defence of Religious Schools and Colleges. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
An examination of objections to religious day schooling with reasoned answers to those objections: social harmony, rights and freedoms, economic concerns, narrowness, theological influence, liberalism and pluralism. 368 pages. - Van Pelt, D.A., Mitchell, P.J. (2018). Mapping Independent School Associations in Canada. Hamilton: Cardus. https://www.cardus.ca/
This report looks at the function of the fifty-six provincial, national, and international educational associations in which independent schools in Canada participate. The analysis explores for key functions of education associations: professional development, public relations, administrative operations, and student services. 23 pages - Whiteley, R. (2017). Let’s Talk about Schools: Educational Policy-Making in British Columbia in the 1970s and 1980s. BC Studies, no. 193, Spring 2017.
A historical overview of the policies, and happenings behind the polices, enacted by the BC Government over a twenty-year span with a section dedicated specifically to examining independent school legislation. 25 pages.