Abstract
Schooling has often been described as a great equalizer and entry point to social mobility. However, students, particular those inhabiting the intersections of oppression, experience myriad obstacles in realizing these possibilities. In this chapter, we outline a need for continued engagement in contending power inequities and highlight diverse possible methods of resistance discussed in subsequent chapters. We also revisit the difference between schooling and education and describe our analytic approach to engaging these oppressions and obstacles. We argue that the way to address power differential must encompass multiple methods, perspectives, and actions that work in parallel. Some of the methods and frameworks described and employed throughout this volume include anti-colonialism, anti-racism, Black, and African feminisms, to name a few, thus demonstrating the multiple ways communities can engage in resistance and change. The problems experienced in schooling today are not new, but they are compounded by newer logics, policies, and ideals such as neoliberalism, color-blindness, and efforts toward invisibilizing or justifying exclusion. We engage the concepts of transformative theory and practice and what it means to engage schooling critically in this chapter by challenging the ideals listed above. The chapter describes each contribution to the overall project and highlights the overall themes of how sections are organized. We conclude by discussing that while schooling in its current form is violent, we must not become hopeless. Our communities’ resistances have shown the value placed on schooling as a potential site of liberation.
Ghosh & Abdi, (2013) Education and the Politics of Difference (2nd ed.); Ghosh & Galczynski, (2014) Redefining Multicultural Education (3rd ed.); Egbo, Mogadime, etc.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alexander, M. J. (2006). Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, Memory, and the Sacred. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London and New York: Verso.
Arat-Koc, S. (2005). The Disciplinary Boundaries of Canadian Identity After September 11: Civilizational Identity, Multiculturalism, and the Challenge of Anti-Imperialist Feminism. Social Justice,32(4), 32–49.
Austin, D. (2010). Narrative of Power: Historical Mythologies in Contemporary Quebec and Canada. Race & Class,52(1), 19–32.
Balibar, E. (1991). Is There a Neo-racism. In E. Balibar & I. Wallerstein (Eds.), Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities (pp. 17–28). London: Verso.
Ballingall, A. (2017, October 25). A Majority of Torontonians Now Identify Themselves as Visible Minorities. The Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/10/25/a-majority-of-torontonians-now-identify-themselves-as-visible-minorities-census-shows.html.
Basu, R. (2004). The Rationalization of Neoliberalism in Ontario’s Public Education System, 1995–2000. Geoforum,35(5), 621–634.
Bernhard, J. K. (2009). Latin American Students in the TDSB: Research Findings and Recommendations. In D. Mantilla, D. Schugurensky, & J. F. Serrano (Eds.), Four in Ten: Spanish-Speaking Youth and Early School Leaving in Toronto (pp. 22–23). Toronto: Latin American Research Education and Development Network and the Transformative Learning Centre, Ontario Institute for the Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Calliste, A., & Dei, G. (2000). Introduction. In A. Calliste & G. Dei (Eds.), Anti-racist Feminism: Critical Race and Gender Studies (pp. 11–18). Halifax, NS: Fernwood.
Carranza, L. (2009). Humiliation and Schooling. In D. Mantilla, D. Schugurensky, & J. F. Serrano (Eds.), Four in Ten: Spanish-Speaking Youth and Early School Leaving in Toronto (pp. 29–31). Toronto: Latin American Research Education and Development Network and the Transformative Learning Centre and Ontario Institute for the Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Collins, P. H. (2000). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge.
Dei, G. J. S. (1996). Anti-racism Education: Theory and Practice. Halifax, NS: Fernwood.
Dei, G. J. S. (2003). Schooling and the Dilemma of Youth Disengagement. Mcgill Journal of Education,38(2), 241–256.
Dei, G. J. S. (2006). Introduction: Mapping the Terrain—Towards a New Politics of Resistance. In G. J. S. Dei & A. Kempf (Eds.), Anti-colonialism and Education: The Politics of Resistance (pp. 1–24). Rotterdam: Sense.
Dei, G. J. S. (2010). The Possibilities of New/Counter Visions of Schooling. English Quarterly Canada, 41(3/4), 113–132.
Dei, G. J. S., Mazzuca, J., McIsaac, E., & Zine, J. (1997). Reconstructing the Dropout: A Critical Ethnography of the Dynamics of Black Students’ Disengagement from School. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dei, G. J. S., Zine, J., & James-Wilson, S. V. (2002). Inclusive Schooling: A Teacher’s Companion to Removing the Margins. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Dion, S. (2009). Braiding Histories: Learning from Aboriginal Peoples’ Experiences and Perspectives. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Herder & Herder.
Giroux, H. (2007). Educated Hope in Dark Times: Critical Pedagogy for Social Justice. Our Schools, Our Selves,17(1), 195–202.
Goldberg, D. T. (1993). Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Press.
Haig-Brown, C. (2002). Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School. Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press.
hooks, b. (2015). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Hurtado, A. (1995). Variations, Combinations, and Evolutions: Latino Families in the United States. In R. E. Zambrana (Ed.), Understanding Latino Families: Scholarship, Policy, and Practice (pp. 40–61). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hurtado, A. (2003). Theory in the Flesh: Toward an Endarkened Epistemology. Qualitative Studies in Education,16(2), 215–225.
James, C. (2009). African-Caribbean Canadians Working “Harder” to Attain Their Immigrant Dreams: Context, Strategies, and Consequences. Wadabagei: A Journal of the Caribbean and Its Diaspora, 12(1), 92–108.
James, C. E. (2011). Multicultural Education in a Color-Blind Society. In A. C. Grant, & P. Agostino, (Eds.), Intercultural and Multicultural Education: Enhancing Global Interconnectedness (pp. 191–210). New York, NY: Routledge.
James, C., & Taylor, L. (2010). The Making of at-Risk Students: How Youth See Teachers Thwarting Their Education. Our Schools, Our Selves,19(3), 123–136.
James, C., & Turner, T. (2017). Towards Race Equity in Education: The Schooling of Black Students in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto, ON, Canada: York University.
Jiwani, Y., & Young, M. L. (2006). Missing and Murdered Women: Reproducing Marginality in News Discourse. Canadian Journal of Communication,31(4), 895–917.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2007). Pushing Past the Achievement Gap: An Essay on the Language of Deficit. The Journal of Negro Education,76(3), 316–323.
Leonardo, Z. (2004). Critical Social Theory and Transformative Knowledge: The Functions of Criticism in Quality Education. Educational Researcher,33(6), 11–18.
Li, P. (2001). The Racial Subtext in Canada’s Immigration Discourse. Journal of International Migration and Integration,2(1), 77–97.
Li, P. (2003). Deconstructing Canada’s Discourse of Immigrant Integration. Journal of International Migration and Integration,4(3), 315–333.
Ontario Ministry of Finance. (2017). 2016 Census Highlights: Factsheet 8. https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/economy/demographics/census/cenhi16-8.html.
Pon, G. (2009). Cutural Competence as New Racism: An Ontology of Forgetting. Journal of Progressive Human Services,20, 59–71.
Rankin, J., Rushowy, K., & Brown, L. (2013, March 22). Toronto School Suspension Rates Highest for Black and Aboriginal Students. The Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/22/toronto_school_suspension_rates_highest_for_Black_and_aboriginal_students.html.
Razack, S. (2004). Dark Threats and White Knights: The Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping, and the New Imperialism. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Rivas, C., & Duarte, J. (2009). Left Behind. In D. Mantilla, D. Schugurensky, & J. F. Serrano (Eds.), Four in Ten: Spanish-Speaking Youth and Early School Leaving in Toronto (pp. 89–91). Toronto: Latin American Research Education and Development Network and the Transformative Learning Centre, Ontario Institute for the Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Romero, M. (2008). Crossing the Immigration and Race Border: A Critical Race Theory Approach to Immigration Studies. Contemporary Justice Review,11(1), 23–37.
Savarese, J. L. (2017). Challenging Colonial Norms and Attending to Presencing in Stories of Missing and Murdered Inidigenous Women. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law,29(1), 158–181.
Schugurensky, D. (2009). The Educational Experience of Spanish-Speaking Youth: The Brown Report and the Forty Percent Question. In D. Mantilla, D. Schugurensky, & J. F. Serrano (Eds.), Four in Ten: Spanish-Speaking Youth and Early School Leaving in Toronto (pp. 3–10). Toronto: Latin American Research Education and Development Network and the Transformative Learning Centre, Ontario Institute for the Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.
Shujaa, M. J. (1994). Too Much Schooling, Too Little Education: A Paradox of Black Life in White Societies. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
Simpson, A. (2014). Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
The Guardian. (April 13, 2016). Canadian Government ‘Lied’ over $12bn Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/13/canadian-government-lied-over-12bn-arms-sale-to-saudi-arabia.
Thobani, S. (2000). Closing Ranks: Racism and Sexism in Canada’s Immigration Policy. Race & Class,42(1), 35–55.
Thobani, S. (2007). Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Toronto District School Board. (2014). About Us.http://www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us.
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2014). Unbecoming Claims: Pedagogies of Refusal in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Inquiry,20(6), 811–818.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Walia, H. (2013). Undoing Border Imperialism. Oakland: AK Press.
Wane, N. N., Deliovsky, K., & Lawson, E. (2002). Back to the Drawing Board: African-Canadian Feminisms. Toronto: Sumach Press.
Wotherspoon, T. (2009). The Sociology of Education in Canada. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Villegas, F.J., Brady, J. (2019). Continuing Important Conversations: An Introduction to This Volume. In: Villegas, F.J., Brady, J. (eds) Critical Schooling. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00716-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00716-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00715-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00716-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)