Personality Development and Education

For more than 100 years, our diverse community of innovators, collaborators, and leaders has been advancing education, human development and professional practice around the world.

We ignite possibilities by putting award-winning faculty, top researchers, and bright, passionate students together with world-class resources, a tradition of excellence, and a rich network of collaborators.

OISE’s proud history dates back to 1906, when the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto was founded following a Royal Commission report arguing that the "Teaching of education is best performed where the theory and practice can be made to supplement each other.

" The Faculty established the University of Toronto Schools (UTS) in 1910, to serve as a laboratory to improve the practical and experimental aspects of its program.

In 1926, the St. George's School of Child Study became the first university laboratory preschool in Canada. In 1939, it became the Institute of Child Study (ICS), the first of the University of Toronto's multidisciplinary research centres.

OISE in its current form dates from 1996, when the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education merged to form the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

Today, OISE provides an exciting context for teaching, learning and research. With approximately 100,000 alumni worldwide, over 3,000 students in teacher education and graduate degree programs, 7,500 continuing education registrants annually, 4 academic departments and 19 research centres and institutes, OISE is among the University of Toronto’s largest faculties and is one of the largest and most research-intensive faculties of education in North America.