Decolonising dominant knowledge constructions in the education of immigrant youth in Canada
Abstract
This paper looks at how Canadian public schools present knowledge to students. This study finds that some teachers have biased knowledge and tend to racialize their students. They also tend to devalue the indigenous knowledges that immigrant youth bring to the classroom. They also reproduce anti-immigrant discourses and reinforced racial hierarchies in Canadian society. As a consequence, this affects how immigrant students identify themselves. It also negatively affects their sense of belonging in Canada. This article argues that Canadian schools need to create decolonized educational environments. This will change teacher’s interactions with immigrant students and eliminate the harm perpetuated by colonial discourses.
Notes
Location
Alberta
Community organizations
NA
Key populations
Chinese immigrant youth in schools
Key recommendations
Teaching practice needs to be decolonised to emphasizing valuing indigenous forms of knowledge, including the knowledge of immigrant students
Key findings
Chinese immigrant youth face discrimination by teachers and students in schools (both systemic and interpersonal forms of discrimination)
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
First and second-generation Chinese Canadian youth: “15 of these students were considered second generation insofar as they had either been born in Canada or immigrated before the age of six, while the remaining 21 were first generation who were older than six when they arrived. The ages of the research participants ranged from fifteen to twenty-five years old, with the average age being nineteen.”
Open-access – No
Gaps identified
NA