This document summarizes the contents of the report entitled Saskatchewan 2020: 35 Trends Affecting Education.  Below you will find some typical questions about current trends in Saskatchewan and brief answers from the actual report.  To view the report in its entirety and to see details about the trends, click here.

Questions:

1. Will Saskatchewan's population increase or decrease in the near future? By how much?

2. How will life expectancy change?

3. Which demographic will increase the most in the near future?

4. How will the number of young adults change?

5. How will the number of young children change?

6. How will the number of seniors change?

7. What areas within Saskatchewan will see increases/decreases in population?

8. How will the number of Aboriginals change?

9. How will family forms change in the future?

10. How has the status of women changed?

11. Is the infant mortality rate changing?

12. How will Saskatchewan's GDP change?

13. How does Saskatchewan's economy compare against global trends?

14. How well is the population educated?

15. Will school enrolments increase or decrease?

16. Will Saskatchewan's educated stay or leave the province?

17. How are farm numbers and farm sizes changing?

18. How important is diversification of the economy?

19. What are the implications of improving communication and technology?

20. How many "regular" jobs are there?

21. How large is the labour force and how large will it be in the future?

22. Has there been a shift in the amount of women/men in the labour force?

23. Are families experiencing equalities in earned income?

24. How will development in communities in rural areas change?

25. What are government revenues becoming dependent on?

26. How is the fiscal crisis from the 1990s affecting future finances?

27. Have we learned any more about human and social development?

28. Is the realization of the importance of children's development having an impact?

29. How is the civil society developing?

30. Is the commitment to sustainable development having an impact?

31. What is the importance of shared values?

32. How will inequities be dealt with?

33. Is the public realm able to govern the economy?

34. Is there satisfaction with existing political processes?

35. Is the school role evolving? If so, into what?

1. Saskatchewan’s population will continue to grow slowly.
2. Life expectancy will remain high.
3. Over the next twenty years, the mature adult population will increase the most.
4. The number of young adults will stabilize.
5. Preschoolers and school-aged youth will be fewer.
6. The number of seniors will increase slowly. They will live longer and be healthier for more years.
7. People are continuing to migrate to urban centres and particularly the largest towns and cities.
8. The Aboriginal population will continue to increase and will be a higher proportion of the total population.
9. Family forms have become more diverse, but marriage and divorce patterns have stabilized.
10. The status of women has improved significantly.
11. The historical decline in the Saskatchewan infant mortality rate may be slowing.
12. Saskatchewan’s gross domestic product will continue to grow at a slow rate.
13. Saskatchewan’s small economy will continue to struggle with global trends.
14. Saskatchewan’s population is better educated than ever before.
15. School enrolments will decline.
16. Many of Saskatchewan’s educated people leave the province.
17. The number of farms is decreasing and farms are getting larger.
18. The economy is somewhat more diversified, but primary resources remain important.
19. Communication will continue to proliferate as high technology becomes increasingly prevalent and more significant for information transfer.
20. There are proportionately fewer “regular” jobs.
21. There has been stability in the overall size of the labour force, and there are expected to be shortages in the next decade.
22. The labour force has become more gender-equitable.
23. Families are experiencing inequalities in earned income.
24. In rural areas, imbalances in the development of communities across the province will continue to grow.
25. Government revenues are increasingly their reliance on different forms of consumption tax.
26. The fiscal crisis about debts and deficits that dominated the nineties has abated, but left an uncertain legacy.
27. We have more knowledge about human and social development.
28. Increased knowledge of the importance of children’s development is having an impact.
29. Civil society is emerging as a force for change.
30. Wider commitment to sustainable development is having an economic impact.
31. Shared values continue to be important to Canadians.
32. Intergenerational and other inequities require ongoing resolution.
33. The public realm is struggling to retain its ability to govern the economy.
34. Disaffection with existing political processes is leading to proposals for renewing democracy.
35. The school role may evolve into being a centre for development.
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