Ignoring race: a comparative analysis of education policy in British Columbia and Ontario

Racial equity in Canadian education remains elusive. Despite Canada's status as a multicultural nation, many minority students continue to be marginalised. In this article, we compare equity-related education policy in two Canadian provinces - Ontario and British Columbia - to ascertain how rac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRace, ethnicity and education Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 159 - 179
Main Authors George, Rhonda C., Maier, Reana, Robson, Karen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.03.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
British Columbia
Comparative analysis
Content analysis
Critical race theory
Critical Theory
Data Collection
Education
Education policy
Educational Policy
Educational systems
Elementary Secondary Education
English Language Learners
Equal Education
Fairness
Foreign Countries
Language Proficiency
Minority Group Students
Minority students
Multicultural education
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Official documents
Ontario
Policy analysis
Politics of Education
Race
Racial Bias
racial equity
Racism
Special Education
Student Diversity
Student Needs
Canada
British Columbia Canada
Ontario Canada
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Summary:Racial equity in Canadian education remains elusive. Despite Canada's status as a multicultural nation, many minority students continue to be marginalised. In this article, we compare equity-related education policy in two Canadian provinces - Ontario and British Columbia - to ascertain how race and racialized students are understood in official documents. After reviewing provincial policy contexts from the early 1990s onward, we discuss the results of a content analysis of provincial education policy documents using Critical Policy Analysis and Critical Race Theory. We argue that the treatment of race and equity in these documents demonstrates 'symbolic anti-racism,' rather than substantive anti-racism, in three key ways: 1) the lack of robust education policy related to racial equity; 2) the construction of racism as an individual characteristic rather than a structural problem in the education system; and 3) the near-absence of race-related data collection. Policy recommendations follow based on these findings.
ISSN:1361-3324
1470-109X
DOI:10.1080/13613324.2019.1679754