Darren E. Lund

Intercultural inquiry with pre‐service teachers

This study examines the intercultural competence of pre‐service teachers and ways to prepare them for responding to the needs of diverse student populations. In this study, pre‐service teachers provided critical incidents to describe experiences of meaningful events in their on‐campus and field‐placement learning related to intercultural competence. Data were collected through focus‐group interviews and written questionnaires. Findings indicate pre‐service teachers’ multiple and sometimes contradictory understandings of diversity, the importance of self‐examination and reflection in the process of intercultural inquiry, and a disconnection between theory and practice. Results demonstrate the positioning of diversity within the ‘other’ in contrast to approaching diversity as learning about self and others. Implications for supporting students to explore diversity through reflective practice during pre‐service education are also discussed.

Educating for Social Justice: Making sense of multicultural and antiracist theory and practice with Canadian teacher activists 1

This paper presents an argument for further engagement between educational scholars and school-based social justice activists. An analysis of one segment of the broad field of social justice education focuses on multicultural and antiracist education, particularly as they are understood in the Canadian socio-political context. A brief overview of the literature from UK and US sources highlights their complex and often overlapping concerns, and the need for more dialogue across national boundaries toward progressive social change. Excerpts from in-depth interviews with four Canadian teacher-activists reveal the potential for educators to take up various debates and findings from the academic literature in their daily struggles to work for social justice.

Rocking the racism boat: school‐based activists speak out on denial and avoidance

The present study seeks insights from current school activists on the tendency of educators and others to engage in denial and avoidance when discussing issues surrounding racism, and how that affects the daily work on social justice projects in schools. The author outlines contemporary and historical aspects of the denial of racism in Canada, and a problematic lack of engagement of school‐based activists, especially young people, in the academic literature, particularly related to their role as active participants in social justice movements. This research repositions student and teacher activist roles in schools and in educational research itself. Excerpts from in‐depth interviews with 11 student and teacher participants include the understandings of those who choose to engage in social justice work in actual school settings, and offer new insights into theoretical and practical considerations regarding the denial and avoidance of racism in schools.

Waking up the Neighbors: Surveying Multicultural and Antiracist Education in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Contemporary academic discourse about diversity and discrimination is a multilayered and contested landscape, with intersecting and conflicting views from a variety of ideological and theoretical positions even from within the field of education (Corson, 2000; Sleeter & Bernal, 2004). Compounding this tumult are manifestations of nationalist perspectives that may employ similar terminology but in very different senses. Even among scholars who define themselves as working in the field of multicultural education there is a wide range of thought and activity that often confounds attempts to define a common purpose, or indeed, any meaningful expression of political solidarity among its avowed supporters toward social justice. Certainly no one desires a monolithic vehicle for a complex and multifaceted field of inquiry that holds diversity near its heart, but scratching a bit at the perplexing and sometimes paralyzing contestation among multicultural educators might offer some helpful illumination. I humbly undertake to initiate a conversation on how contemporary multicultural educators and researchers in three very similar democratic Western countries approach pedagogical concerns around racism and other discrimination. Shining light on some specific national influences and perspectives on this challenging undertaking might illuminate the ongoing journey to help schools ensure equitable educational opportunities for all students regardless of their ethnic, cultural, racial, sexual orientation, class, gender, or other identities. My ongoing work is inevitably embedded within a unique historical and political context in Canada, just as those working in other countries operate against a unique social backdrop of their own. Each time I find myself enjoying the rewarding experience of comparing notes on activism and scholarship with my British and American counterparts at meetings and conferences (i.e., the American Educational Research Association and the National Association for Multicultural Education), I become more convinced that additional dialogue between more of these neighbors will be mutually beneficial. Mired as we all are in the thick of our own experiences and understandings, it seems a daunting task to take even a few moments to open our scholarly consideration to those who should be our close allies in education for equity, but here goes. I begin with a brief exposition of one wide swath of the larger fabric of social justice education, limiting my focus here mainly to addressing notions of “multicultural education” and “antiracist education” as they have

Exposing Privilege and Racism in "The Great White North": Tackling Whiteness and Identity Issues in Canadian Education.

We began this collaborative Great White North project 1 through a chance meeting of the authors at the annual meeting of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) in Atlanta in No...

Facing the Challenges: Student Antiracist Activists Counter Backlash and Stereotyping.

Young activists share their experiences with the current climate of hostility toward school diversity initiatives, and toward young people in general. The author outlines a problematic lack of engagement of student activists in informing teacher education for social justice, particularly related to their undervalued role as active participants in ongoing coalitions. Excerpts from in-depth interviews with seven student participants in western Canadian schools offer new understandings on the potential of school-based activists to counter stereotypical portrayals of young people, to resist a conservative social and political climate, and to inform academic efforts around educational research and teacher education.

Positioning of Weight Bias: Moving towards Social Justice

Weight bias is a form of stigma with detrimental effects on the health and wellness of individuals with large bodies. Researchers from various disciplines have recognized weight bias as an important topic for public health and for professional practice. To date, researchers from various areas have approached weight bias from independent perspectives and from differing theoretical orientations. In this paper, we examined the similarities and differences between three perspectives (i.e., weight-centric, non-weight-centric (health-centric), and health at every size) used to understand weight bias and approach weight bias research with regard to (a) language about people with large bodies, (b) theoretical position, (c) identified consequences of weight bias, and (d) identified influences on weight-based social inequity. We suggest that, despite differences, each perspective acknowledges the negative influences that position weight as being within individual control and the negative consequences of weight bias. We call for recognition and discussion of weight bias as a social justice issue in order to change the discourse and professional practices extended towards individuals with large bodies. We advocate for an emphasis on social justice as a uniting framework for interdisciplinary research on weight bias.

Exploring Duoethnography in Graduate Research Courses

In this chapter we explore the potential of duoethnography as a research methodology, attending to its dialogic and pedagogic features suitable for graduate research courses. Reflecting on our experiences with the approach, the invited co-authors—a professor and his current or former doctoral and graduate students—share insights on duoethnography as particularly salient in teaching collaborative and participatory research methods at graduate and doctoral levels. Through illustrations, we describe this dialogic approach as encouraging self-reflection, and opening up a critical examination of the beliefs and values underlying their practice. Here, we present duoethnography as a democratizing way of resisting some of the dehumanizing neoliberal features of contemporary universities, with encouragement for more scholars to engage and extend duoethnography with students in their university classes.

Measuring the Welcoming Capacities of Host Urban and Rural Communities

This portion of this cross-domain study attempts to measure the notion of “welcoming communities” in Canada. Research to this point has used micro-level data from the Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS). Using descriptive statistical methods and single-variable tests of significance on data regarding individual respondents to the EDS, the researchers seek an understanding of responses to the relevant portions of the questionnaire. Specifically, the researchers have investigated how responses to individual questions vary between the identified subpopulations of interest. There are four such populations, comprised of possible combinations over two binary categories: Immigrant and non-immigrant status, and visible minority and non-visible minority. Further distinctions were made as to how the responses of these subpopulations vary between urban and rural settings. Some statistically and practically significant differences were observed between subpopulations and between urban and rural settings. Numerous small sample sizes hampered the comparisons between some categories of respondents, so a second round of analyses was applied in order to identify and apply theoretically sound yet more statistically prudent stratifications of the population for the purposes of this study. Identification of important differences in subpopulation responses at the single-variable level has helped, and will continue to help in understanding the way in which EDS data can be used to describe Canadians’ experiences of welcoming communities.

School Choice, School Culture and Social Justice: A Canadian Case Study

This paper reports on findings from a case study conducted in a public school offering multiple programs of choice. A guiding purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of operating multiple programs of choice in a single school setting on the organizational and lived culture of the school. The urban Alberta school under study offered alternative educational programs in science, Mandarin Immersion, special education and “regular” programs. Multiple methods of data collection followed an ethnographic approach, and included document and policy analysis, field observations, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with administrators, parents, teachers and students from each of the programs. The results reported here focus on related themes of equity and social justice related to analyses of school choice, attending specifically to participants’ understandings of power and privilege, with policy and practice implications. Themes included social class stratifications, marginalization within advantage, perceptions of disempowerment, fragmented school identity, limitations of choice programs, and perceptions of teaching staff quality.