Begbie Contest Society

THE BEGBIE CONTEST SOCIETY

In the summer of 1993 a group of active and retired BC Social Studies teachers worked together to produce the first Begbie Contest. The idea for the contest grew out of their desire to raise the profile of Social Studies and Canadian history in the secondary schools of British Columbia. The group was aware that other disciplines offered secondary students opportunities to compete in a variety of subject-specific contests. They resolved to create a comparable competition which would allow Social Studies students to use both their knowledge of Canadian history and their skills of critical thinking and interpretation. The group also decided that the contest should be available to senior secondary students in both English and French.

The BC Social Studies Teachers’ Association provided initial funding for the contest. Volunteer teachers prepared and edited the contest, while Faculty of Education students were hired to mark the contestants’ papers. Participating schools were charged a fee to partially offset costs and to provide money for the contest prizes. In subsequent years financial support and support in kind has come from a variety of organizations. In 1997 the Begbie Contest Society was registered with the federal and provincial governments as a charitable organization which could issue tax receipts for donations received.

As the popularity of the contest continued to grow, the Begbie Contest Society began to seek entrants from other provinces. In 2001 we began the process of turning the Begbie Contest into a national contest. We believe that the effective study of our history can provide Canadian students across the country with the opportunity to develop the research, evaluation and communication skills so necessary for citizens in modern society. In developing and promoting the Begbie Contest, the Society hopes to meet the following specific objectives:

to produce a national Canadian history contest for high school students
to increase the profile and popularity of Canadian history among students, parents and the general public
to encourage students to acquire the common core of knowledge educated Canadian citizens need in order to make informed decisions about future problems
to expose students to the primary and secondary sources used by historians and to engage them in evaluating, analyzing and interpreting those sources
to challenge students to think critically about historical and contemporary problems and to encourage them to critically evaluate "expert" opinions
to encourage and recognize students who strive for academic achievement and academic excellence in the field of Canadian history.