Ontario's private schools

This study is the most recent and comprehensive Our parent survey identified several differences be- attempt by researchers to document the characteristics tween the average parent of private school children, of private schools and the characteristics and motiva- and the average Ontario parent with school aged chil- tions of Ontario parents of private school students. [...] We as- signed each of these schools to one of the following three types: The market One of the few legislated requirements for private Academically-defined schools, of which there are more schools in Ontario is annual registration with the Min- than 250, are those which either pursue key tenets of a istry of Education (see Education Act, R.S. [...] In contrast, the 37 Is- as those schools affiliated with the Ontario Alliance of lamic and the sole Sikh school were all established Christian Schools (67) and the Association of Chris- within the past fifteen years. [...] When a sample of Ontario private schools and the par- school declined to participate, the next school on the ents that had chosen them, with specific attention to list of randomly selected schools in that group was ap- the features which attracted parents. [...] The over-representation of Dutch languages mirrors the relatively higher propor- Parents sending children to private schools typically tion of our private school parents who were born in the had much higher levels of education and tended to Netherlands (2% in our data, 0.23% in the 2001 census work in professional or semi-professional and adminis- data).