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Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, and Racialized Students in Canada

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The Education Systems of the Americas

Part of the book series: Global Education Systems ((GES))

Abstract

This chapter reflects on multicultural education as framed by a Canadian multiculturalism ethos and the settler-colonial reality of Canada, noting what each is intended to accomplish. Through a discussion of Canada’s model of multiculturalism and its framing of multicultural education, we examine Canada’s nationalist agenda of acculturating racialized students into the settler-colonial state as well as the values and norms of whiteness, rather than ensuring equitable schooling and social outcomes for them – Black and Indigenous students in particular. The chapter will show that multicultural education serves to uphold a racial hierarchy that aligns with Canada’s national settler-colonial project. As such, the poor educational outcomes of students are largely a consequence of Canadian educational systems, albeit that many people in Canada and elsewhere continue to believe they are models to be emulated given the framework of multiculturalism. We conclude by proposing that an educational project that centers a vision of decolonization, social justice, and racial equity rather than multiculturalism would better serve the diverse student populations in Canada, and contribute to their educational advancement.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Carl E. James

  2. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Philip S. S. Howard

Authors
  1. Carl E. James
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  2. Philip S. S. Howard
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Correspondence to Carl E. James .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsches Institut für Internationa Pädagogische Forschung, Frankfurt, Germany

    Sieglinde Jornitz

  2. Institute of Education, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

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James, C.E., Howard, P.S.S. (2021). Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, and Racialized Students in Canada. In: Jornitz, S., Parreira do Amaral, M. (eds) The Education Systems of the Americas. Global Education Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93443-3_44-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93443-3_44-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93443-3

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