Focus on Teaching

First launched in 2023, Focus on Teaching is the only survey that is available to all Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs).

The survey’s questions are carefully designed to gather and analyze data about the professional experiences and demographics of OCTs. The College owns the resulting analysis and publishes the results in the year following each survey.

Reliable data encourages informed decision-making

There are more than two million students in Ontario’s public and private schools. Providing safe and supportive learning spaces for them depends on the collective efforts of organizations and individuals who work within or in proximity to the education system.

Each partner in our education system has their own role to play and key decisions to make. The College is uniquely positioned to provide a data-rich picture of OCTs and their professional experiences to key decision-makers. That data can then be used to inform choices that will shape and strengthen the system in the future.

Mapping long-term trends in the teacher workforce

Focus on Teaching expands on data that was collected by the College’s previous annual survey, Transition to Teaching, which was available only to OCTs in the first five years of their career.

Distributing the Focus on Teaching survey to all OCTs in good standing allows the College to maintain Ontario’s only long-term record of the dynamics of the teaching profession.

Students benefit when their learning spaces are led by certified teachers. A better understanding of how and when OCTs enter and exit the profession can contribute to that goal.

2025 survey development

The College renewed its partnership with Forum Research Inc. (“Forum”) for development and distribution of the 2025 Focus on Teaching survey. Consultations were conducted with key education system leaders such as the federation and affiliates, district school board associations, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security. These sessions were facilitated by TCI Management Consultants, in collaboration with Forum.

OCTs also directly contributed to the development of the survey through focus groups. The College hosted more than 15 focus groups that gave OCTs the opportunity to refine survey questions and calibrate average survey completion times. The focus groups were facilitated by Gray & Associates and Amorell & Co. Inc.

Amorell & Co. Inc. also edited the survey questionnaire to ensure adherence to principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The 2025 survey launched on August 18, and closed on October 20, 2025.

Survey questions

The survey asked a series of questions related to teacher supply and demand, type of employment, demographics, career progression and labour mobility. Information specific to French-language district school boards was intentionally included to support sector-specific analysis. Each of the survey questions were voluntary. Respondents could exit the survey at any time, and any responses given up to that point were recorded. All survey responses are included in the survey results.

Protecting data privacy

Focus on Teaching survey results are aggregated and anonymized before they are shared with the College. The College will not be able to link any responses to individual respondents.

All data provided by respondents or the College will be stored safely and securely by Forum on their servers in Ontario, Canada. These servers can be accessed only in and from Canada.

After the survey closed, Forum deleted all names, email addresses, phone numbers and survey access codes. Forum performs data cleansing, coding, anonymization, aggregation, and analysis before sharing any data with the College.

The College reviewed and/or conducted iterative rounds of analysis of the aggregated and anonymized data.

At a pre-set date, Forum will delete all remaining data.

Data usage and reporting

The College provided guidance to Forum to prepare anonymized and aggregated survey responses that are specific to district school boards. These responses from individual boards will be presented in comparison with the aggregated responses from all English and French language boards, as applicable, as well as total 2025 survey responses.

Aggregated and anonymized board-specific data will be available to the district school boards that requested their report.

At no point will personal identifiable information be shared with the College, or any other organization, including school boards, federations, or the Ministry of Education.

A report of survey findings is now available on the College’s website.

Upcoming Focus on Teaching survey

This year, the College will not be conducting a survey. The report published in July provides a significantly more robust and comprehensive dataset than in previous years, offering deeper insights that will require time for thorough analysis and implementation. Given the breadth and depth of the findings, our priority is to allow interest holders sufficient time to review the results, make decisions accordingly, and implement actions informed by the data. To support this process and maximize the value of the information collected, the next survey cycle will be conducted from August 16 to October 8, 2027.

Next steps for Focus on Teaching

To better understand the impact and usefulness of the findings presented in the 2025 report, a review will be conducted during the 2026–27 period with key education interest holders. Administered by an independent third-party agency, the review will gather feedback on how the report has been or could be used, the extent to which it has informed decision-making and planning, and its perceived value in supporting improvements across the education system. The results will help assess the report’s relevance and identify opportunities to enhance the applicability, usefulness and overall utility of future reporting.

Reports