Ontario Historical Education Collection

The Ontario Historical Education Collection (OHEC) is available to scholars, researchers, students, and other individuals interested in the history of education in the Province of Ontario. The Collection includes numerous documents, mainly from the Ontario Ministry of Education, formerly the Ontario Dept. of Education, that cover the areas of elementary, secondary and teacher education in the Province from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.

Collection Overview

The Collection includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Calendars: for teachers colleges, summer schools for teachers and model schools from early 1900s to 1979
Circulars: including Circular 14, a list of textbooks authorized from 1873 to 1996
Course profiles, elementary curriculum units and exemplars: also available in circulating collections from 1990
Curricula: for both elementary and secondary levels together with support documents from early 1900s to present
Examinations: written province-wide including high school entrance, high school leaving, departmental, normal school and school inspector from 1873 to 1967
H.S.1 documents: outlining requirements for high school graduation from 1943 to present
Ontario teacher college yearbooks: from 1900s to 1970s
Ontario teacher manuals: used in normal schools and teachers colleges from 1910s to 1930s
Policy documents: examples include Cooperative education, Opening or closing exercises for public schools in Ontario
Policy/Program memorandum: from 1950s to present
Programs for observation of special days: including Empire Day, Commonwealth Day, Remembrance Day and Arbour Day
Regulations: covering legislative grants, religious education, etc.
Reports: from nineteenth century to the present.

Access to the Collection

Access to the Collection is by appointment only. All items in the collection are searchable in the University of Toronto Libraries' online catalogue. Reference staff can assist you in finding these materials in the catalogue. Only the most recent material from this collection may be photocopied. A staff member will determine if the condition of the material will allow it to be photocopied. Items to be photocopied must be left with staff and will be copied at a cost of 15c per page. It is not possible to guarantee immediate photocopying.

Contact and More Information

For further information, and to book an appointment to use the Collection, please contact Kathy Imrie at 416-978-1918 or by email: kathleen.imrie@utoronto.ca.