EQUITY IN EDMONTON SCHOOLS THE NORTHERN ALBERTA ALLIANCE ON RACE RELATIONS (NAARR) CHARLENE HAY ERNEST KHALEMA RANDOLPH HALUZA-DELAY JAY VAN BAVEL BEQUIE LAKE JASMINE BAJWA THE DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE AND THE ALBERTA HUMAN RIGHTS, CITIZENSHIP, AND MULTICULTURALISM EDUCATION FUND 2 Table of Contents SECTION I: RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. 6 SECTION II: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................. 9 Introduction ......................................................10 School Culture ....................................................10 Individual Racism ..................................................11 Student to Student .............................................11 Parents and Teachers as Recipients ................................11 Systemic Racism ..................................................11 Shortage of Role Models .........................................11 Culture and Teaching ............................................11 Curriculum and Culture ..........................................12 Other Systemic Issues ...........................................12 Inequity and the Student ............................................12 Inequity and the Parent .............................................12 When Schools are Confronted ........................................13 At the System Level ................................................13 SECTION III: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .............................. 14 SECTION IV: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................. 18 Literature Review Abstract ..........................................19 Demographic Context ..............................................20 Introduction ...................................................20 Quality of Life for Aboriginal and Visible Minority People ................. 20 Labour Market .................................................20 Trends in Local Education ........................................21 The Concepts of Race and Racism .....................................21 Types of Racism ...............................................21 Individual Racism ...........................................21 Cultural Racism .............................................22 Institutional or Systemic Racism ................................22 Racism in Housing ...........................................22 Racism in Justice ..............................................22 Racism in the Media ............................................23 White Supremacy ..............................................23 Racism and the Education System .....................................24 The Effect of Racism on Students ..................................24 Barriers Created by Racism .......................................25 Barriers: School Response to Racial Incidents ..................... 25 Barriers: Identity Formation ...................................26 Barriers: Expectations, Achievement, and Dropping Out ............. 27 Curriculum ....................................................29 Teachers .....................................................29 EQUITY IN EDMONTON SCHOOLS 3 Anti-Racism and Equity .............................................30 Multiculturalism ................................................30 Anti-Racism ...................................................30 Equity ........................................................31 Creating Equitable Education ......................................32 Step One: Tie Equity to Organizational Mission .................... 33 Step Two: Implement Equitable Policies, Procedures, and Practices .... 33 Policies ................................................33 Practices ...............................................34 Pedagogy ..............................................34 Pedagogy: Culture ........................................34 Pedagogy: Identity and Expectations .........................35 Curriculum ..............................................36 Step Three: Equitable Hiring Practices ...........................36 Conventions, Legislation, and Existing Policies ........................ 37 International Conventions .....................................37 Federal Legislation ...........................................38 Provincial Legislation .........................................39 Equity Initiatives in Alberta’s Education ...........................39 Edmonton Public School Board .................................39 Edmonton Catholic School Board ................................40 The Need for Equity Policies in Edmonton School Systems ............... 40 References .......................................................42 SECTION V: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................ 51 Research Design ..................................................52 Sample Design ....................................................52 Participants ...................................................52 Sample Size ...................................................53 Research Instruments ..............................................53 Instrument Design .............................................53 General Research Questions ......................................53 Focus Group Questions ..........................................53 Survey Items ..................................................54 Data Collection Methods ............................................54 Parent Focus Groups ............................................54 Survey Pre-test ................................................54 Survey Administration ...........................................54 Data Analysis .....................................................55 Analysis of the Qualitative Data ....................................55 Analysis of the Student Survey ....................................55 Validity and Reliability ...............................................56 Ethical Considerations ..............................................57 References .......................................................58 EQUITY IN EDMONTON SCHOOLS 4 SECTION VI: FOCUS GROUP DATA ANALYSIS ........................ 59 Introduction ......................................................60 Individual Racism ..................................................61 Student to Student .............................................61 Parents and Teachers as Recipients ................................61 Systemic Racism ..................................................61 Few Minority and Aboriginal Teachers ...............................61 Teaching and Discipline ..........................................62 Culture .......................................................63 Teacher Awareness of Culture .................................63 Curriculum and Culture .......................................64 English as a Second Language .................................65 Support for Immigrant and Aboriginal Students ..................... 66 Assessment and Labeling .....................................66 Streaming and Placement .....................................67 The Student as Recipient .........................................67 Emotional Response .........................................67 When Emotions are Directed Inward .........................68 Low Achievement ........................................68 Low Self-Esteem .........................................69 Attendance and Dropping Out ...............................69 Depression and Potential Suicide ............................70 When Emotions are Directed Outward ...........................70 Parent Response ...............................................71 Parents and the Edmonton School System ........................ 71 Life Circumstances ..........................................71 Culture ....................................................72 Respect for Parents ..........................................72 Fear of Repercussions ........................................72 Parents Express Concern to Schools .............................73 Changing Schools ...........................................73 School Response ...............................................73 No Racism Here ............................................73 Lack of Training .............................................74 Find the Source of the Problem .................................75 Inequitable Discipline .........................................76 Low Tolerance for Challenge ...................................76 School Systems .............................................76 SECTION VII: SURVEY DATA ANALYSIS ............................. 78 Introduction ......................................................79 Demographic Breakdown of the Sample ................................80 Findings .........................................................82 Conclusion .......................................................96 Summary .....................................................98 References .......................................................99 EQUITY IN EDMONTON SCHOOLS 5 APPENDIX I: SURVEY ..........................................100 APPENDIX II: FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS .......................... 106 APPENDIX III: MAP ............................................108 EQUITY IN EDMONTON SCHOOLS SECTION I: RECOMMENDATIONS 7 Recommendations NAARR believes the following changes need to be made at the system level in each Edmonton school district and that this should be done through policy change and through adequate resources being applied to ensure practical change. EDMONTON SCHOOL