A recent poll commissioned by the BC Teachers’ Federation found extremely strong support among British Columbians for the two significant promises made by Premier David Eby and the NDP during the election campaign: to ensure there’s a mental health counsellor in every school and an education assistant in every Kindergarten to Grade 3 classroom.

Respondents also expressed a high degree of concern about the teacher shortage, especially in terms of the impact on all students when those with special needs cannot be properly supported. 

The online public survey was conducted by Viewpoints Research between December 3, 2024, and January 6, 2025. It explored the opinions of 1,060 British Columbians about schools, teachers, and their concerns and priorities for public education in BC. The data is weighted based on age, gender, and parents vs. nonparents to ensure an accurate representation of views. The margin of error is +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level.

Here are some of the key findings:

Overall, 80% of respondents say a mental health counsellor in every school is important.
Respondents who currently have dependent children, 18 years or younger, living with them and who regularly attend public school are slightly more likely to prioritize the importance of counsellors in every school over non-parents.

75% say an education assistant (EA) in every primary classroom is important.
Again, parents are more likely to say EAs in classrooms are extremely important than those without dependent children.

A majority of respondents have a positive impression of BC teachers.
Overall, 67% of respondents said they had a positive impression of BC teachers: 25% said very positive and 42% said somewhat positive.

Almost three-quarters say there is a teacher shortage in BC.
Overall, 74% of respondents think there is a shortage of teachers in BC. This is a 12% increase since 2021. Only 1% said there are too many teachers.

Additionally, 74% said hiring more teachers to address BC’s current teacher shortage is a high or extremely high priority.

The top concerns about the teacher shortage relate to the inability to meet the needs of all students, including those with special needs, and the need for individual attention to all students.

• 72% said that without enough teachers in the classroom to help students with diverse needs, other students’ needs cannot be met.
• 68% said there are not enough specialist teachers—like guidance counsellors, academic and behaviour support teachers—to meet students’ needs.
• 61% also said students living with special needs are not getting the support and programs they need.
• 65% said class sizes are too large, so many students are falling behind and do not get the individual attention they need.
• 66% said that important courses are not being offered because we do not have enough qualified teachers to teach them.
• 53% said they are concerned that people without teacher training are filling in gaps and acting as substitute teachers.

There is clear agreement among British Columbians on the top priorities for education:

• Ensuring all students have strong basic math, reading, and writing skills was identified as an extremely high priority by 77% of respondents. This is an increase from 63% in 2020.
• Three out of four respondents said there should be increased funding so that schools don’t rely on teachers and parents to fundraise for the basics. At 75%, this is the highest figure since tracking began in 2018.
• Increased skilled job training and apprenticeships in secondary schools was also a high priority among 77% of respondents.
• Ensuring good arts and music programs are available to students in all schools was a priority for 68% of respondents.

Support for smaller class sizes has remained consistent in recent years.
This year, 65% of respondents said we should “reduce class sizes so students get more individual attention from their teachers.” This figure has remained essentially the same since 2021.

A scant majority said BC’s public education has deteriorated in the past five years.
This year, 52% of respondents said they felt our public education system has deteriorated in the past five years. This is a 6% decrease from 2023 (58%), but still an increase from 2021 (28%). The most common reason (24%) for feeling education has deteriorated is insufficient funding to schools.

A significant majority of British Columbians believe teachers should speak out publicly.
An overwhelming 88% of respondents agreed with the following statement: “BC teachers should continue to speak out publicly about conditions in classrooms to protect students and improve learning conditions.” Among them, 52% strongly agreed and 36% agreed.

Media inquiries: Please contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF Media and Public Relations, at 604-340-1959 or nknickerbocker@bctf.ca