Canada’s 10-year education reform report faces credibility questions over fabricated citations

A bold blueprint to modernize Newfoundland and Labrador’s education system is now under scrutiny, after revelations that its citations may not be what they seem. The 418-page Education Accord NL report, a 10-year roadmap aimed at transforming public schools and post-secondary institutions, includes multiple references to studies and materials that appear to be entirely fictitious.Released last month, the report was co-chaired by Anne Burke and Karen Goodnough, both professors at Memorial University’s Faculty of Education, and unveiled alongside Education Minister Bernard Davis. Its ambitious agenda spans early childhood development, health and well-being in education, lifelong learning, and innovative approaches to teaching. Yet, as educators pore over the document, questions about its scholarly rigor are overshadowing the province’s forward-looking vision for education.

Fiction masquerading as fact

CBC reports that at least 15 citations in the report reference sources that do not exist, including a 2008 National Film Board movie called 'Schoolyard Games'. A spokesperson for the board confirmed the film is entirely fictional. Experts point out that the same reference appears in a University of Victoria style guide, a template designed for teaching students how to format bibliographies, not an actual source of research.

“Errors happen. Made-up citations are a totally different thing where you essentially demolish the trustworthiness of the material,” said Josh Lepawsky, former president of the Memorial University Faculty Association, who resigned from the report’s advisory board last January. Lepawsky described the process as “deeply flawed,” with recommendations emerging from a “top-down” approach that left little room for independent review, according to CBC.

Artificial intelligence in the spotlight

Some educators are raising the possibility that generative artificial intelligence may have contributed to the fabricated references. An assistant professor at Memorial University, told CBC that “there are sources in this report that I cannot find in the MUN Library, in the other libraries I subscribe to, in Google searches. Whether that’s AI, I don’t know, but fabricating sources is a telltale sign of artificial intelligence.”Another political science professor at Memorial, said she spent days verifying the citations and found “numerous made-up references,” CBC reports. For academics like Tucker and Martin, the concern goes beyond factual errors, it strikes at the credibility of the province’s vision for education reform.

Government response: Credibility intact

Despite the controversy, Minister Bernard Davis downplayed the impact of the errors. CBC reports that he told reporters, “One error is one error too many.

We’re disappointed that’s happening, but it never impacted the body of the report or any of the recommendations. I don’t think it impacts the credibility of the document.”Meanwhile, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development acknowledged a “small number of potential errors in citations” in the report and said they would be corrected in an updated version, CBC adds.

Ethical AI and the future of learning

Ironically, the report itself emphasizes the responsible use of technology in education.

Among its 110 recommendations is a call for the province to “provide learners and educators with essential AI knowledge, including ethics, data privacy, and responsible technology use.” The juxtaposition of questionable sources with a push for ethical AI use has not gone unnoticed by critics.

A roadmap worth reading, with caution

Even as scrutiny mounts, the Education Accord NL lays out a vision that is both ambitious and necessary. Its focus on innovation, well-being, and lifelong learning reflects the evolving demands of 21st-century education.

Yet the shadow cast by fabricated citations serves as a stark reminder: credibility is the foundation upon which reform must be built.For policymakers, educators, and students alike, the report offers a cautionary tale, one where the promise of transformative change collides with the perils of careless scholarship and the potential pitfalls of AI-generated content. As Newfoundland and Labrador move forward with implementing the Accord, the challenge will be ensuring that the pursuit of innovation is matched by the rigor and integrity that such a roadmap demands.