Dutch-Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21St Century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism
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Dutch-Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism Mariia Alekseevskaia Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Sociology School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa © Mariia Alekseevskaia, Ottawa, Canada, 2021 Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism ABSTRACT Faith-based schools have become a growing phenomenon in Canada in recent decades and a cause of public concern in the context of a pluralistic society, where immigrants are increasingly likely to create educational institutions that reflect their culture and faith. This thesis presents a case study of Canadian Reformed schools in Ontario established by Dutch post-war immigrants who are members of the Federation of Canadian Reformed Churches (CanRC). Most children in this community have gone through this school system, an important feature of this long-standing, ethno-religious, immigrant-origin community. This thesis aims to examine how Canadian Reformed schools in the Province of Ontario have prepared their graduates for living in a diverse and pluralist Canadian society and their role in preserving the community’s ethnic and religious identities. The research is based on the theories of retention of immigrant ethno-religious identity as well as the role of religious schools in promoting immigrant-origin students’ ethical autonomy. Qualitative case study methodology was applied. The results are based on the analysis of sixty-four interviews with current and former members of the Reformed communities. Where possible, the results were triangulated by the content analysis of documents and mass media. This thesis concludes that Canadian Reformed schools have had a significant impact on the preservation of the community’s religious and ethnic identities. While Canadian Reformed schools have retained some level of self-isolation and a strict policy on the religious identity of both students and teachers, the findings reveal that the Ontario Canadian Reformed schools have evolved significantly in their five decades of existence. The tendency to shelter children is still present but principals and teachers generally aim to introduce current teaching strategies and develop standardized curriculum plans across the schools. Since their establishment, Canadian Reformed schools have encouraged students to discuss topical issues and develop their own ii Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism solutions to enhance critical thinking skills. Tolerance and compassion to individuals with a different worldview are being promoted. Several respondents identified areas for schools’ improvement, including the need for a more inclusive and up-to-date curriculum, comprehensive school-based sex-education, a more profound level of understanding of religious tradition, reducing identity strain when exposed to the outside world, and high educational costs. This thesis addresses a gap in the study of how Christian schools in Canada prepare their graduates for socio-political engagement and in scholarly knowledge about Dutch Reformed community. This study also aims to contribute to policy making because the findings identify the challenges that religious schools’ graduates face and highlight the roles these schools play in bridging religious communities and the broader society. Keywords: immigrant integration, religious school, Dutch Canadian, Canadian Reformed, ethnic identity, religious identity. iii Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my great appreciation and sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Philippe Couton for the continuous support during my research. His guidance and constructive recommendations helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I would like to acknowledge the guidance of Dr. Lori Beaman. Valuable advice and immense support given by Dr. Lori Beaman helped me to bring my study to its completion. I am also grateful to Dr. Elke Winter and Dr. Kathleen Rodgers for agreeing to be on my committee and for their valuable comments. I am profoundly grateful to each of my interviewees. This research would have been impossible without honest thoughts, critical comments, and experiences that they generously shared with me. In addition, special thanks should be given to several friends and colleagues, including Delia Pop, Sossy Sahakian, Anke Patzelt, Sonya Dabir and Alla Berezhnaya. Your friendship has been incredibly valuable throughout the whole Ph.D. program and the process of conducting this research. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my parents and my life partner Jésaël Lisiecki for their support and encouragement throughout my studies and life. iv Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism I dedicate this thesis to my mother and father who showed me the importance of commitment, discipline and perseverance and encouraged and helped me pursue my dreams. v Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1. Introduction and Context ............................................................................................ 1 1.1. The Background of post-war Dutch Reformed communities in Canada ......................... 1 1.2. My Personal Interest in the Thesis Topic ............................................................................ 9 1.3. The Topicality and Structure of the Thesis .................................................................... 10 Chapter 2. Literature review and Theoretical framework .......................................................... 13 2.1. Interrelations between the concepts of “ethnicity”, “race”, “religion”, “nationality”, and “migration” ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.2. Religion in a multicultural and pluralist Canadian society ............................................ 34 2.3. Faith-based schools: the right to exist ............................................................................ 60 Chapter 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................ 78 3.1. Multi-methods approach to a case study ........................................................................ 78 3.2. Research philosophy: Constructivist paradigm .............................................................. 79 3.3. Design of the research .................................................................................................... 81 3.4. The relationships between the researcher and the researched ........................................ 82 3.5. Methods of data collection ............................................................................................. 85 3.6. Access, ethical issues and informed consent .................................................................. 95 3.7. Data analysis ................................................................................................................ 102 3.8. Restrictions/Limiting Conditions ................................................................................. 104 Chapter 4. Dutch identity of Canadian Reformed Christians .................................................. 106 4.1. Pillarization as a cause for the intertwinement of Dutch ethnicity and Reformed tradition ................................................................................................................................... 106 4.2. Constructing a Collective Memory .............................................................................. 112 4.3. “Dutchness” as a problem ............................................................................................ 120 4.4. Symbolic ethnicity........................................................................................................ 125 4.5. Feeling of belonging..................................................................................................... 130 Chapter 5. Canadian Reformed schools: origins and challenges ............................................. 136 5.1. Canadian Reformed perspective on faith-based school system: legal, philosophical, and theological arguments ............................................................................................................. 136 5.2. Main challenges............................................................................................................ 156 vi Canadian Reformed Schools in the 21st century: Successes and Limitations of Ethno-Religious Educational Pluralism 5.3. Critical thinking skills .................................................................................................. 161 5.4. Gender & feminism in church and school ...................................................................