Research Paper on The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)

The Federation of Students in Canada

Introductory Concepts

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has a well known program known as Drop Fees, which seeks to reverse currently legislative practices that provide a conducive environment for increased tuition fees that directly influence accessibility to higher education for students in Ontario. Though considered a student movement, decreased access to higher education under programs like Reaching Higher, is holistically a matter of inequality in social justice. According to J.C. Wakefield, "Economic goods are not the only kind of goods that are subject to considerations of justice; a minimal amount of a wide variety of social and psychological goods is also owed to each member of society as a matter of justice" (as cited by Hardcastle & Power). Building from the issue of social justice, the the four cornerstones of social work can be designated as indignation, inquiry, compassion/caring and social justice. As an agent of change in the form of a newly hired social worker seeking to revitalize the Drop Fees campaign, all four cornerstones of social work are present in the Drop Fees paradigm. Organized students have expressed indignation over the current practices, inquiry has revealed less that efficacious dynamics associated with the practice, compassion/caring has motivated the CFS to action and social justice is not being met under the current legislative conditions. Despite the present cornerstones and righteousness of the Drop Fees movement, not all students have the same needs and greater attention to these individualized needs in the organization process will be congruent with increased efficacy in a new revitalized Drop Fees campaign.

The Current Conditions

The Drop Fees campaign is essentially an answer to the government program known as Reaching Higher. Under Reaching Higher, allowance for "Tuition fees to increase at a higher rate than did the polices of the government of Premier Ernie Eves" (CFS, 2009). The inconsistent annual increases have come between four and eight percent, which has allowed for Ontario to be home to the second highest undergraduate and highest graduate tuition fees in the country (CFS, 2009, p. 2). Rationalization of the fees generally comes within the concept that increased fees are equitable to better education. This however, has been proven by advocates and the CFS to not be the case (CFS, 2009). In some instances, it has been noted that students are paying as much as 1000 dollars more than students from a different cohort in the same program (CFS, 2009). While some students have simply taken time off from school or moved back in with parents to pay off debts (Bottom, 2010), an organized campaign has formed to clearly reflect the student sentiment for the current practices. According to the CFS (2009):

Students in Ontario have spoken clearly about how polices of Reaching Higher have affected their experience in higher education. From the frustration and lost class time that has marked labour disputes triggered by lack of adequate funding, to the more than ten thousand students who marched for lower tuition fees on November 5, 2008 in greater numbers than since the days of Mike Harris, the desire for change has never been greater.

The organizing principles behind a new CFS Drop Fees campaign necessitate the most efficacious organization modalities possible for achieving the aims eliminating the attributes of Reaching Higher, which has been demonstrated to be nothing more than a catchy political slogan that actually does the opposite socially of what its name would suggest.

Public Health and Vitality Paradigms

Access to post secondary education is congruent to strong public health. In a conventional sense, public is generally considered to be medically related. According to Rapheal (2009) public policies for health most not only encompass getting health care when its needed but it must also implement policies for keeping people well. Wellness, however, is important on the individual and on the social level. Reducing access to post secondary education is creating paradigms that do not allow for a level playing field for socially approved means of economic prosperity. The equation in its present form can be put into this perspective, restricted access to post secondary education keeps individuals from becoming educated and advancing themselves economically. Lack of economic advancement is generally related to criminal activity and diminished capacity for individual wellness. According to the CST (2009), "Access to post secondary education is more important than ever to enhancing Ontario's competitiveness, increasing standard of living, and reducing socio-economic inequalities" (p. 2). At the present time, the world economy can be classified as being "uncertain." (CST, 2009, p. 2). The age of globalization and the global recession have taken their toll to varying degrees on the entire vitality of the market. Shifts in labor patterns are the norm and a "highly educated population is key to a healthy economy" (CST, 2009, p. 2). Undermining this potential, however, is high unregulated tuition fees.

A Theoretical Framework

The Drop Fees campaign can be summed up as follows, it calls for changes to be made to current governmental post secondary policies to policies that will positively benefit students (CST, 2009). It is not a removal from government from the process in a conservative small government manner, put a regulatory push to keep actions like Reaching Higher from decreasing post secondary education access to cross sections of the population. In its present form, those who are affected adversely by the Reaching Higher program are those of limited economic means to pay for the tuition fee increases. The necessary theoretical framework for accomplishing these goals requires, moving from the right of politics to the left, synergy of goals, cooperation, recruitment and community participation (Fraser, 2005). The move from right wing type political frameworks to more left leaning social policy requires some clarification. Many of the early community organizing frameworks in the United States and Canada has strong connectivity to New Left and/or Marxist paradigms (Shragge, 2007). There were significant theoretical and practical flaws in this early trend. While they believed in the movement as a fundamental agent of change, they also believed that "The processes of self critical reflection on the use of self would slow down the process and lead to mainstreaming organizers and co-optation of their practice by a hidden force of clinicians" (Shragge, 2007, p. 159).

Self reflection is a necessary component for individuals participating in the Drop Fees program on all levels. On the most important level, it requires self reflection of the entire program itself. The exploration of related literature has revealed that the current scope of the Drop Fees program is not most efficaciously mobilizing its human recourses by acknowledging individualized needs for social justice. The revitalized Drop Fees program does not have to be Marxist or non Marxist, it only has to have a singular unified characteristic of getting the fee increase mechanism to stop while lobbying for legislation that keeps such programs from returning thereby increasing accessibility to post secondary education. While social welfare is generally a left leaning phenomenon, the desire for getting quality post secondary education for a fair price is truly a bipartisan mechanism. Regardless of political affiliation, a more educated populous is advantageous to the nation and the province. The new vitalized program should walk the ideological line between both schools of political thought under a common goal of accessible education. With a common goal and synergy of political thought, maximization of the movement can occur without being hindered as being related to Marxism or the New Left but at the same time not excluding those types of organizing movement members.

According to Hardina (2002), "The implementation of strategies and tactics takes place in the context of interpersonal interaction among individuals and groups" and this makes it "critical that the organizer be able to use practice models, analytical frameworks and research data to choose situation specific strategies and tactics that will facilitate social chance" (p. 225). Hardina's (2002) analysis marks the bridge between theory and practice. Theoretically, the new Drop Fees paradigm will (1) pay attention to specific needs of movement members in practice and recruitment, (2) commit to a common goal in the most bipartisan manner possible to accomplish that goal and (3) have the necessary vitality to be both a grassroots campaign that still has the sophistication to become a formidable lobbying entity in the political arena. In case of theoretical paradigm (3), it is not enough to simply be noticed and acknowledged as being in opposition to Reaching Higher, efficacious and directed action must also be utilized.

Practical Action

The fundamental practical action related goal proposed by the CFS (2009) is still holistically applicable to the situation. In this regard, the CFS (2009) suggests " A new funding framework should immediately freeze tuition fees and outline progressive reductions for each year of a new multi-year framework to allow students to plan for the full cost of their education" (p. 2). The outlined recommendations also look at the needs of international students as it additionally suggests that, "international student fees must be re-regulated and progressively reduced. A new framework must halt the arbitrary difference in fee level charged to students based on year" (CFS, 2009, p. 2). Social organizing for change is a process that can and has worked. The most practical guides for efficacious action against policy and foes of higher resources can be seen through unionization and general workers movements. Workers and students, as a group looking for recognition in a paradigm that puts their needs second, share a lot of similarities. Like students, workers are unified under a single title but they individual needs based on distinctions within the same occupation (like majors), different types of workers (gender, race, religion) and variance in social standing (poor to middle class). In regards to variance in social standing, generally workers and students who would be affected by the tuition rate increases would be middle to low economic standing. It is possible, however, that though they are not effected to the same degree, that more affluent students would equally be dissatisfied with tuition rate increases based on the social justice paradigm. As a result, potential synergy with more affluent CFS members and groups should not be ruled out based on unnecessary adherence to Marxist paradigms.

In a case study presented by La Rose (2009), members of the CUPE Local 2190 "took a stand against fundamental changes to their work processes resulting in standardization of practice and the introduction of neo-conservative/neo-liberal values" (p. 223). Their practical methods included using their collective bargaining agreement, collaboration with the labor movement and skills and techniques of community practice (La Rose, 2009). The result was a unified challenge from inside and outside the system (La Rose, 2009). The Drop Fees campaign should be a similar inside and outside the system movement. Outside the system activities should include recruitment and public awareness campaigns. This would be the recognition phase of the struggle. The more people that are aware of the injustice increase the propensity for more people to take action and form public opinion on something in which they may have been unaware or ambivalent toward. The old Drop Fees paradigm had been focused on this level with limited results. With attention to individualized student needs and the limited bipartisan political focus, more students and community members can be organized. It is also possible to move beyond Ontario and get other students and Canadians angry at the social injustice occurring. Having more people even beyond those affected putting pressure on policy makers is potentially more efficacious than a singular special interest group perception.

The inside of the system paradigms would be the recruitment of politicians and political contributors who side with the aims of Drop Fees. Through effective organization and the proper presentation of variables related to the situation, getting people on the inside to support the movement is of the utmost importance. What the revitalized drop fee program cannot do is to allow itself to be perceived as simply a student radical group. Amongst insiders, student radicals are characterized as being spirited but misguided and uninformed in a practical sense. By having key liaisons between organizers and insiders that can articulate the negative dimensions of the current situation and the overall benefits of stopping the fee increase process, it is far more likely to be perceived as a legitimate social movement rather than simply sign waving radicals. Though there is a time for demonstrations the conduct at those demonstrations can either undermine or increase the efficacy of the organizing liaisons to pivotal insiders.

The final component of the revitalization campaign would be the evaluative portion. At this phase, evaluating the results and the progress that has been made can provide key information for determining which methods should continue and which ones should cease or be modified. According to Hardina (Outcome, 2002), "Evaluation is an inherently political process rather than a method that is entirely scientific or value free" (p. 327). As a result, there will be a certain degree of value and perceptions present in the revitalized Drop Fees social movement campaign. The fundamental evaluation will be the degree to which the campaign is helping to move toward the goal of stopping fees from continuing to rise. This will also necessitate a comparison and contrast of the new revitalized campaign verses its original incarnation.

Conclusions

In the revitalization of the Drop Fees program, it is important to note the fundamental concepts and actions of the original campaign were not wrong, however, they were limiting the potential degree of success that can be channeled by the new organizational paradigm. Attention to the diversity of the current and potential movement members with connected synergy toward a common goal that will reduce oppression and marginalization is of the utmost importance. In addition, conduct on the internal and external level can diminish the tendency for student based movements to be considered spirited and radical rather than well thought out and organized. While the conduct is one component of reducing stereotypes, liaisons with other community members in Ontario and beyond, as well as organizations and like minded policy makers are also central to accomplishing this goal. By following proven theoretical and practical models, there is sufficient promise in the Drop Fees movement to be able to accomplish all of the goals related to making higher education more attainable to all members of the community.

References

Canadian Federation of Students (2009). Drop Fees: Moving beyond Reaching Higher.

Four different approaches to community practice. Community Development Journal 40 (3), 286-300. Hardcastle, D. & Power, P. (2004). Using the advocacy spectrum. Community Practices: Theories and Skills for Social Workers, 2nd Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press. Hardina, D. (2002).

Intervention planning: using strategies and tactics. Analytical Skills for Community Organization Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. Hardina, D. (2002).

Outcome and process evaluation. Analytical Skills for Community Organization Practice. New York: Columbia University LaRose, Tara. (2009).

One small revolution: Unionization, community practice and workload in child welfare. Journal of Community Practice 17 (1), 223 - 246. Ontario Student Assistance Program (2010). Retrieved May 1, 2010 from osap.gov.on.ca

Rapheal, D. (2009). Social determinants of health: An overview of key issues and themes. Toronto: Canadian Scholar's Press. Shragge, Eric. (2007).

"In and Against" The community: Use of self in community organizing. Deena Mandell (ed.) Revising The Use of Self: Questioning Professional Identities.

Toronto: Canadian Scholar Press Inc. Till debt us do part: The Bottom Dwellers (2010). Slice.