Anti-racist education, institutional culture and the search for educational transformation: a case study of the Toronto Board of Education's Secondary Panel

This thesis examines the manner in which a large, diverse, urban school board—the Toronto Board of Education (TBE)—has responded to racial diversity and anti-racist education from 1970 to 1995. The central focus, therefore, is on the institutional culture of the TBE: the myriad formal and informal practices, policies, programs and events which shape the day-to-day and long-term management and vision of the Board, from decision-making processes to the educational activities in the classroom. A qualitative, applied approach based on an anti-racist education framework emphasizing critical pedagogy, is used to examine the secondary panel of the TBE. This approach aims to provide a forum for better understanding how inequitable power relations are perpetuated, and how educational institutions respond to the needs and interests of marginalized groups. The research methodology involved two components: (1) one-on-one interviews with twenty-two key decision-makers, six principals and seventeen racial minority teachers, in addition to a focus group discussion with five racial minority teachers; and (2) data gathered through three detailed questionnaires—one for principals, one a random sample survey for teachers, and the other being a targeted survey for racial minority teachers only—were provided by 5 principals, 60 White teachers and 35 racial minority teachers, all working in the secondary panel. An analysis of the ways the institutional culture in education have marginalized racial minorities is provided by reviewing the implementation of employment equity in education, policy development in education, and multicultural education. Laying the groundwork for the research is an historical review of the implementation of the various overlapping components connected to equity in the TBE from 1970 to 1995. The thesis has nine principal findings, which together indicate that, despite the leadership shown by the TBE over the past two decades, a coherent, effective equity strategy has been lacking. Further, it was found that the implementation of equity, and in particular anti-racist, initiatives has been wrought with a number of inconsistencies, underscoring the entrenched and systemic nature of the institutional culture. Despite having developed a cadre of committed and respected experts adept in the field of equity and organizational change, Board efforts aimed at inculcating equity seem to be largely isolated, often disconnected from the larger decision-making process. While a number of White individuals within the Board have worked towards reforming the education system, a greater number do not seem to share the same strong views about racial inequities, and a third smaller group of Whites strongly opposes, and is resistant to, measures favouring anti-racist education. Conversely, the study found that racial minorities almost universally felt that racial inequities were a serious issue within the institutional and educational context. In sum, it is argued that these barriers perpetuated within the institutional culture serve to diminish the significance and quality of education for all students. The thesis identifies how the structural barriers inherent in the secondary system prevent the full implementation of anti-racist education. The role of the principal is shown as being integral to the implementation of all equity initiatives.

Keywords: School boards, Administration
School boards, Ontario
Multicultural education, Ontario
Minorities, Education
Minorities, Ontario
Discrimination in employment, Ontario