PARACHUTE: pan-Canadian educator survey series

1. Where did the idea for the Parachute Educator Survey Series originate? 

The Parachute Educator Survey Series is in response to a motion passed by the   Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) Board of Directors in 2023. The motion called for the development and coordination of a pan-Canadian strategy to address teacher retention and recruitment towards a national response to this crisis. (See https://www.ctf-fce.ca/ctf-fce-board-teacher-retention-recruitment-crisis/)  

The Parachute Educator Survey Series is key component of the Pan-Canadian Retention and Recruitment Strategy. Born of the need for data, this 3-year (2024-2027) evidence-based initiative  supports the larger  Strategy for the CTF/FCE and its Member and Associate Organizations.  

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2. What is the goal of the Parachute Educator Survey Series? 

Survey data gathered will be vital to the design of a Pan-Canadian campaign to address the issues contributing to the teacher retention and recruitment crisis. This campaign will advocate for the transformation of Canadian public education in the following ways: 

• Garnering support from the public, parents, students, educators, students, and legislators in Federal and Provincial and Territorial governments; 

• Providing a data-driven systemic and economic framework for change, addressing educator working conditions, including class size and complexity, and aggression and violence in schools; 

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3. How are the surveys designed?  

The Parachute Educator surveys follow the Tri-Council Policy on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans and are mixed method surveys – asking closed-ended and open-ended questions. This survey methodology allows for both statistical data and educator lived experience and professional insights from the CTF/FCE membership. The CTF/FCE membership includes over 365,000 educators in all provinces and territories.  

The surveys are developed using the online survey platform Alchemer. Alchemer uses Canadian data centres, ensuring respondent data is always confidential and secure (for more information about Alchemer data policies click here.). 

Each survey edition is thematic, focussing on a key area or issue in educator retention and recruitment. Surveys take between 10-12 minutes for completion and respondents are free to skip questions in whole or in part, except for the initial Member Organization and identifying questions, which are required. As a result, the number of completed responses varies by question.  

The CTF/FCE uses the number of completed responses for each survey in its reporting.  

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4. Who is consulted in developing the Parachute surveys?  

The CTF/FCE develops the Parachute surveys in collaboration with its Executive, Board of Directors, pan-Canadian networks, and committees. This ensures surveys meet the priorities of our Member and Associate Organizations, are grounded in the needs and realities of educators, and also that they garner valuable results to support and uplift the teaching profession in Canada. Those consulted include:   

CTF/FCE Executive  

CTF/FCE Board of Directors  

The National Teacher Research Network  

The Advisory Committee on the Teaching Profession  

The Advisory Committee on French First Language  

The National Strategic Communications Network  

The National Advisory Council on Education 

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5. How are the surveys distributed, and responses collected? 

The Parachute educator survey series is biannual  with distribution in the Fall and Spring. It is open to current public school K-12 teachers and education workers in Canada. The survey is distributed through direct email recruitment through CTF/FCE Member Organizations as well as snowball recruitment using social media platforms.  

All responses are collected through dedicated survey links and responses are housed on the Alchemer survey platform (in their Canadian data center). All responses are then “cleaned” by CTF/FCE researchers to ensure anonymity and data quality before analysis and reporting.  

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6. How are the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and its Member and Associate Organizations using the survey outcomes?  

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation provides Member and Associate Organizations with specialized aggregate reports to aid their advocacy and understanding of the contexts, needs, and experiences of Canadian teachers in their jurisdiction and across the country. We also provide demographic segment reports to dig into the particularities of how elements like teachers’ years of experience, gender, language of instructions, or region impact juristictions differently.  

The CTF/FCE will continue to publish and build upon the body of evidence from this survey series towards a pan-Canadian strategy to uplift the teaching profession, hold Ministries of Education accountable to teachers and students, and advocate for systemic change to ensure Canada can continue to have provide quality, inclusive public education for all.  

Parachute in the news:  

• The Walrus. “You Can’t Solve the Teacher Shortage by Pretending Anyone Can Do the Job. By Amanda Perry. https://thewalrus.ca/you-cant-solve-the-teacher-shortage-by-pretending-anyone-can-do-the-job/ 

• CBC. “Teacher shortages persisted this school year. What’s being done to fill the gap for the next?” By Jessica Wong. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/teacher-shortage-1.7572362 

• CBC. “Educators say Canada’s teacher shortage at crisis point.” https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IyHDD5Qh-g4 

• The Future Economy. Why Canadian Teachers Are Working Like No One Else”. By Heidi Yetman. https://thefutureeconomy.ca/op-eds/why-canadian-teachers-are-working-like-no-one-else/ 

• ATA News. Stark realities: Parachute offers pan-Canadian context for Alberta teachers’ degrading working conditions. https://teachers.ab.ca/news/stark-realities 

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