When discussing the best educational systems in the world, it is normal to think of Asian powers, such as Singapore or South Korea, or in Nordic countries, like Finland or Norway. But Canada has come, on its own merits, to the top of this list. Canada has been one of the few countries to achieve one of the top ten positions in mathematics, science, and reading.

What are the main characteristics of Canada study overseas from the point of view of international students?

Organization. Canada is one of some countries in the world that does not have a national education system. The ten provinces and the three territories have independent ministries of education that are responsible for the organization, management, and evaluation in their territorial areas at all educational levels, from primary to university education. This system has worked successfully: the literacy rate in Canada is 99%.

Although there are great similarities between the different provincial systems in the country, some of them reflect their historical, language or cultural differences.

1. According to the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada currently dedicates more than 16% of the country’s total public expenditure on education. According to the Human Development Report, Canada invests approximately 6% of its GDP to education. And we are talking about the tenth economy in the world!
2. Canada is a bilingual country by definition. The laws and policies of different levels of government require certain services to be available in English and French. However, only 18% of the population is bilingual.
3. Teacher training. The level of qualification of teachers in Canada is much higher than that of other OECD countries. For example, if we take as a reference the province of Ontario, where the capital of the country is located, the minimum requirements to access a job in public education are a university degree of -at least- three years and a program of postgraduate in education (usually two years). This demanding level of training leads to salaries that are also among the highest in the OECD and that remain uniform throughout the country, so, regardless of the place we choose as a destination for a school year abroad, teachers will be fabulous.
4. Size of the classes. Although many students are used to sharing class with other 26-30 students, in Canada the usual thing is that the classes are smaller, with an average little over 20 students. In that sense, the variety of subjects makes many classes even smaller, since -perhaps- the number of students who have chosen it is smaller. With all this, we achieve a great personalization in teaching.
5. Variety of subjects. The Canadian educational system and scholarships Canada has an approach whereby students are expected to finish high school having tested a multitude of classes in different fields, from the most typically theoretical to the most practical.