In Canada, we need more qualified teachers.

Alberta’s Expedited Teaching Certificates, introduced in April 2026, have been presented as a solution to getting more teachers in classrooms.

So have other shortened university teacher education programs, recently announced in Ontario and in Nova Scotia in 2023.

In Alberta, four new expedited teaching certificate pathways will require training related to the province’s standard of professional competence and conduct.

One is for Alberta students in the final year of an Alberta-based bachelor of education program, and another for internationally educated teachers eligible to work in Canada. Arguably, these two groups have received the necessary training, expertise and practice that could serve students well.

Two more expedited certificates (Interim Trade Teacher Certificate and Interim Specialized Teacher Certificate) require eligible tradespeople and skilled professionals to complete “teacher preparation coursework,” including a practicum. These are more problematic, being premised on the idea that specific knowledge plus select courses and “training” is enough to teach.

The idea that if you know something, you can teach it, may seem like a straight line. For a gifted few, it might be.

But I and many other other experts argue that teaching children and young people requires knowing how to teach the content to achieve understanding that is useful to actual learning.

What learning to teach means

Knowing how to teach children and young people means having in-depth knowledge of pedagogy (varied philosophies of learning and teaching), assessment, learning styles and needs — and the varied complex dynamics that dictate the context for how effective teaching happens.

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