Education, Faculty of
Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
DSpace
UBCV
Kahlon, Aneet Kaur
Master of Arts - MA
University of British Columbia
The purpose of this research is to examine how Canadian K-12 public education racial equity policy may function to reproduce the oppressive social, historical, and political forces it claims to challenge. This thesis conducts a qualitative content analysis of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028, through an anti-colonial discursive framework, to research how capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy may be overlooked within attempts to achieve racial equity in education. Specifically, this investigation focuses on how hegemony may be reinforced through the implementation of educational racial equity policy due to persistent power inequities embedded in the text which function in opposition to policy goals. This research delves deeply into investigating historical educational policies in British Columbia’s public schools in order to understand how educational policy has affected Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in the past and how these outcomes endure today. This research finds that in order for the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 to improve the equity outcomes of its target populations, it must acknowledge and address the normative colonial structures and values that enforce educational domination over and oppression of marginalized communities beyond the dimension of race. Racial equity and anti-racism policies must incorporate initiatives of critical structural reform of education systems that seek to address the root cause of racism, such as capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy, in order to meaningfully and holistically address racism for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities within K-12 public schooling.
INVESTIGATING RACIAL EQUITY AND ANTI-RACISM POLICY IN K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: AN ANTI-COLONIAL DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SURREY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S RACIAL EQUITY STRATEGIC PLAN by ANEET KAUR KAHLON B. Sc., University of Calgary, 2020 B. Ed., University of Alberta, 2022 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Educational Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2025 © Aneet Kaur Kahlon, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Investigating racial equity and anti-racism policy in K-12 public schooling in British Columbia: An anti-colonial discursive analysis of the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan submitted by Aneet Kaur Kahlon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Educational Studies Examining Committee: Dr. Hartej Gill, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies, UBC Co-Supervisor Dr. Bathseba Opini, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Studies, UBC Co-Supervisor Dr. Ali A. Abdi, Professor, Department of Educational Studies, UBC Additional Examiner iii Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine how Canadian K-12 public education racial equity policy may function to reproduce the oppressive social, historical, and political forces it claims to challenge. This thesis conducts a qualitative content analysis of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028, through an anti-colonial discursive framework, to research how capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy may be overlooked within attempts to achieve racial equity in education. Specifically, this investigation focuses on how hegemony may be reinforced through the implementation of educational racial equity policy due to persistent power inequities embedded in the text which function in opposition to policy goals. This research delves deeply into investigating historical educational policies in British Columbia’s public schools in order to understand how educational policy has affected Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in the past and how these outcomes endure today. This research finds that in order for the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 to improve the equity outcomes of its target populations, it must acknowledge and address the normative colonial structures and values that enforce educational domination over and oppression of marginalized communities beyond the dimension of race. Racial equity and anti-racism policies must incorporate initiatives of critical structural reform of education systems that seek to address the root cause of racism, such as capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy, in order to meaningfully and holistically address racism for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities within K-12 public schooling. iv Lay Summary This research looks at how the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 understands and addresses racism within K-12 public schooling. The research points to gaps in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan especially the failure to address and challenge the foundational systems of oppression that produce racism within the education system such as capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and the systems of whiteness and white supremacy. As a result, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan may be limited in its ability to create meaningful opportunities for racial equity and anti-racism practice within K-12 public schooling. The study intends to encourage policy-makers, administrators, educators, students, and community members to ensure that racial equity and anti-racism initiatives focus on fostering initiatives towards addressing the root causes of racism in education and significantly reforming educational structures to challenge the status-quo. v Preface This thesis is the original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Aneet Kaur Kahlon. Generative artificial intelligence was not used for any aspects of this work. vi Table of Contents Abstract......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface............................................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures................................................................................................................................ x List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... xi Glossary........................................................................................................................................ xii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... xvii Dedication ................................................................................................................................... xix A Migration Story ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Positioning Myself Within the Research Context................................................................ 3 1.2. Research Purpose ................................................................................................................. 7 1.3. Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 10 1.4. Background of the Study: Policy Description of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 .......................................................................................................... 11 1.4.1. Rationale for Conducting Research on Educational Racial Equity Policy and Choice of Policy ................................................................................................................................ 15 1.5. An Overview of the Organization of This Thesis .............................................................. 18 Threads Worth Pulling ............................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 23 2.1. Overview of the Literature Review.................................................................................... 23 2.2. Eurocentric Understandings of Human Rights and Equity in Education: Neoliberalism and the International Educational Market........................................................................................ 23 2.2.1. Racism and White Supremacy as Tools of Capitalism, Colonialism, and Imperialism............................................................................................................................................... 26 2.3. Eurocentric Educational Policies in Canada ...................................................................... 28 2.3.1. The Colonization of Indigenous Educational Practices on Turtle Island ................... 30 2.3.2. Colonial Education Systems for Black Students in Canada ....................................... 34 2.3.3. Multiculturalism and Diversifying Immigration’s Effects on Educational Policies in British Columbia ................................................................................................................... 37 2.4. Policy History: Currently Implemented Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policies in B.C. K-12 Public Education .............................................................................................................. 38 vii ਪਾਣੀ .............................................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 3: Discursive Framework ............................................................................................ 44 3.1. Overview of Discursive Framework .................................................................................. 44 3.2. Anti-Colonial Discursive Framework ................................................................................ 44 3.2.1. Anti-Colonial Theory Background and Alternatives .................................................. 48 3.2.2. Exploring Anti-Colonialism and How It Is Informed by Anti-Racism ...................... 50 3.3. Eurocentrism, Cognitive Imperialism, and Racism in Canadian Education...................... 54 3.4. Framing The Research Through Anti-Colonial Discursive Framework and Cognitive Imperialism ............................................................................................................................... 56 Nani’s Memory of the Partition ................................................................................................. 58 Chapter 4: Methodological Framework ................................................................................... 60 4.1. Anti-Colonial Qualitative Content Analysis ...................................................................... 60 4.2. Steps to Complete a Deductive Anti-Colonial Qualitative Content Analysis ................... 61 4.3. Steps 1 and 2: Data Selection Process and Deductively Derived Research Questions ..... 63 4.4. Step 3: Deductively Derived Initial Main/Subcategories of Analysis ............................... 65 4.5. Step 4: Formulation of Initial Coding Definitions, Frames, and Rules ............................. 66 4.6. Step 5 and 6: Coding Part of Data Set and Modifying the Coding Frame......................... 68 49.262504, -123.102125 ............................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 5: Presentation of Main Findings ............................................................................... 74 5.1. Overview of Main Findings ............................................................................................... 74 5.2. Anti-Indigenous racism...................................................................................................... 75 5.3. Anti-Black racism .............................................................................................................. 78 5.4. Responding to racism......................................................................................................... 79 5.5. Policy construction, amendment, and enforcement ........................................................... 82 5.6. Education and professional development .......................................................................... 84 5.7. Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources ...................................................... 86 5.8. Collaboration with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities ........................ 88 5.9. Defining key terms (other) ................................................................................................. 90 5.10. Data collection, research, and reporting........................................................................... 92 5.11. Summary of the Chapter .................................................................................................. 92 Borders ......................................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter 6: Discussion ................................................................................................................. 95 6.1. Critical Reform of Educational Spaces in Canada............................................................. 95 6.2. Conceptualization and Addressal of Racism within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan ...... 97 6.2.1. Initiatives of Preventing Incidents of Racism ............................................................. 98 viii 6.2.2. Proposed Responses to Incidents of Racism............................................................. 102 6.3. Indigenous and Black Communities’ Calls for Racial Equity and Anti-Racism ............. 105 6.3.1. Outcomes of Implementing Generalized Racial Equity Policy within Education.... 111 6.4. Historical, Economic, Political, and Social Influences on the Understanding of Racial Equity and Anti-Racism.......................................................................................................... 115 Self-Portrait ............................................................................................................................... 120 Chapter 7: Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 122 7.1. Conclusion Regarding the Goals of the Thesis ................................................................ 122 7.2. Research Significance and Contributions ........................................................................ 127 7.3. Conclusion Regarding the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s Addressal of Racism within K-12 Public Education ................................................................................................................ 128 7.4. Continuing Research, Advocacy, and Possible Applications of Research Findings ....... 130 7.5. Comments on the Limitations of This Research .............................................................. 131 A Letter to My Community...................................................................................................... 135 References .................................................................................................................................. 136 Appendices ................................................................................................................................. 153 Appendix A: Finalized Coding Frame .................................................................................... 153 ix List of Tables Table 1: Sample from Codebook .................................................................................................. 70 x List of Figures Figure 1: The Threads of Our Identities – London, England.......................................................... 2 Figure 2: Homeowners – Moh’kinstsis (Calgary, Alberta) .......................................................... 22 Figure 3: Giddha – Nathoke, Amritsar ......................................................................................... 43 Figure 4: The Knowing That Rests in Her Hands – Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran......................... 59 Figure 5: Meeting Our Home – Kot Jograj, Gurdaspur ................................................................ 73 Figure 6: Laying Foundations – Khalsa College, Amritsar .......................................................... 94 Figure 7: My Reflections – Amer Fort, Jaipur............................................................................ 121 xi List of Abbreviations BLM - Black Lives Matter DIA - Department of Indian Affairs EDI - Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion OECD - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development QCA - Qualitative Content Analysis R2E - Racing to Equity TRC - Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada UN - United Nations UNDRIP - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples UNESCO - United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization xii Glossary Anti-Colonial(ism) Anti-colonial is defined as “an approach to theorizing the colonial and re-colonial relations and the implications of imperial structures on the processes of knowledge production, validation, the understanding of indigeneity, and the pursuit of agency, resistance and subjective politics'' (Dei, 2006, p. 12 ). Dei (2019) describes anti-colonialism and decolonization as “intertwined logics,” wherein the “anti-colonial becomes a path to a decolonial future” (p. vii-viii) through a “decolonizing of the mind” (Dei, 2006, p. 2). Anticolonialism is about “developing an awareness/consciousness of the varied conditions under which domination and oppression operate” (Dei, 2006, p. 5). Anti-Racism/Racial Equity Dei (1996a) defines anti-racism as: . . . an action-oriented strategy for institutional systemic change that addresses racism and other interlocking systems of social oppression. It is a critical discourse of race and racism in a society that challenges the continuance of racializing social groups for differential and unequal treatment. Antiracism explicitly names the issues of race and social difference as issues of power and equity, rather than as matters of cultural and ethnic variety (p. 252). Alternatively, the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan and Racial Equity Strategic Plan define anti-racism and racial equity as an education system that “is free from racism and systemic barriers and promotes equity for all” (British Columbia Ministry of Education and Child Care, [MEC], 2023; Surrey Schools, 2023a). Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system in which capital is privately owned (Brown, 2015). This xiii research follows the understanding that capitalism is inextricably linked to, or a technology of, the system of white supremacy, settler colonialism and imperialism in Canada (Lowman & Barker, 2015). Colonial/Colonialism Colonialism is defined as systems and practices “that seek to impose the will of one people on another and to use the resources of the imposed people for the benefit of the imposer” (Asante, 2006, as cited in York University, n.d.). Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) similarly describe colonialism as “all forms of dominating and oppressive relationships that emerge from structures of power and privilege inherent and embedded in our contemporary social relations” (p. 85). Further, colonialism refers to actions taken on various levels (individual, group, national) that establish “sustainable hierarchies and systems of power” (Dei, 2006). The understanding of colonialism that this research draws on is that colonialism has not ended, nor is it a condition of the past. Colonization Colonization is defined as an active action or process of “political, physical and intellectual occupation of space by the (often forceful) displacement of Indigenous populations” (York University, n.d., para. 1). Cognitive Imperialism Battiste (2017) defines cognitive imperialism as “a form of manipulation used in Eurocentric educational systems…[and is] built on damaging assumptions of imperialism knowledge, educational curricula and pedagogy [that build] a monocultural foundation of knowledge, and its privileges through public education” (p. 161; Battiste, 1986). Cognitive imperialism generates “knowledge legitimation, production, and diffusion” resulting in the knowledge of marginalized communities to be invalidated or co-opted to privilege colonial and Eurocentric hegemony in xiv education (Battiste, 2017, p. 159). Decolonial/Decolonization Dei (2019) describes decolonization as an action-oriented approach to anti-colonial thought/orientation. Decolonization “marks an attempt by Indigenous and colonized bodies to take control of [their] own thought processes and to act in concrete ways to address colonialism, patriarchy and other forms of social oppression” (Dei, 2019, p. vii). This understanding builds on the works of Tuck and Yang (2012) who describe decolonization as a “necessarily unsettling” process in which Indigenous peoples sovereignty and futurity is centered, place-based, and acts to meaningfully resist settler moves to innocence (p. 7). Eurocentrism Battiste (2011) defines Eurocentrism as a theory that suggests the superiority of Europeans over non-Europeans and claims that Eurocentric thought is universal. Systems of colonialism and imperialism in Canada “enable Eurocentric worldviews to hold power and privilege over other ways of knowing (Hutchinson, 2017). Imperialism This research builds on the understanding that imperialism is a broader structure of colonialism, wherein colonialism functions to occupy land, materials, and subjugate Indigenous peoples in order to serve imperialist systems and grow imperial wealth (Lin, 2019; Tuck & Yang, 2012; Smith, 2021). Imperialism can be described as a set of “political/institutional structures that sustain the relations of domination” (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 300) that not only subjugates Indigenous peoples but also non-Indigenous people, “in order to serve the greater imperial enterprise,” even within educational systems (Lin, 2019, p. 72; see also Smith, 2021). Neoliberalism/Neoliberal Capitalism Neoliberalism is the “process of ‘economization’ of non-economic spheres,” wherein, monetary xv wealth generation becomes a focus of previously non-commodified social sectors, including education (Issar, 2021, p. 53; see also Brown, 2015). Under neoliberal governance, corporations view the public sector as an “untapped economic opportunity” from which they can monetarily benefit from the privatization of education, through the commodification of educational opportunities (Anderson & Donchik, 2016; Brown, 2015). Racialized/Racialization Racialization is a process “through which groups come to be designated as different, and on that basis are subjected to differential” and unequal treatment based on a group's socially perceived physical attributes (Dei, 2006, p. 9; see also Hogarth & Fletcher, 2018). Racism Max (2005) cites the Chippewas of Nawash’s definition of racism, which states: Racism is any communication, action or course of conduct, whether intentional or unintentional, which denies recognition, benefits, rights of access or otherwise abrogates or derogates from the constitutionally recognized rights and freedoms of any person or community on the basis of their membership or perceived membership in any racial, ethnic or cultural community (p. 80). Racism is a form of oppression where the idea of people’s “behavior, values, beliefs, cultural practices, etc.,” are hierarchized, wherein one group dominates over others (Dei, 2006; p. 10). IT can be individual, institutional, or systemic. In the context of Canada, the construction of racialization and practices of racism allow for white supremacist ideologies, practices, and systems to oppress racialized communities and suppress their resistance (Dei, 2006). Settler Colonialism Settler colonialism is described as distinct from other forms of colonialism as “settlers come with the intention of making a new home on the land, and homemaking that insists on settler xvi sovereignty over all things in their new domain” (Tuck & Yang, 2012, p. 5; see also St. Denis, 2007). Tuck and Yang (2012) importantly note that within settler colonialism “land is what is most valuable, contested, [and required” thus settlers make Indigenous land their source of capital whilst violently disrupting Indigenous relationships to the land (p. 5). White/Whiteness In this research, “white” or “whiteness” can be defined as a racial identifier and a system of dominance, oppression, and “systemic privilege” (Dei, 2006, p.12; Tuck & Yang, 2012). The system of whiteness, or adjacency to whiteness operationalizes unequal relations of power between those who are “white” and those who are considered “racialized.” White Supremacy Ansley (1997) refers to white supremacy as not only the overt and “self-conscious racism of white supremacist hate groups,” (p. 592) but also the “political, economic, and cultural system in which whites overwhelmingly control power and material resources, conscious and unconscious ideas of white superiority and entitlement…and relations of white dominance and non-white subordination…across a broad array of institutions and social settings” (p. 592). xvii Acknowledgements I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend post-graduate studies at the University of British Columbia and hold close to my heart all that I have learned during this time. As an uninvited settler, I wrote this thesis on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (TsleilWaututh) nations. As I continue through my academic journey, I hope to work towards fostering more relationally accountable educational research and academic practice. I feel an immense amount of gratitude towards my supervisors Dr. Hartej Gill and Dr. Bathseba Opini who went above and beyond throughout each step of this research to provide me with support. Dr. Gill’s profound guidance and supervision transformed my learning through her comprehensive nurturing of anti-colonial, decolonial, and decolonizing research within this study. I especially would like to thank Dr. Gill for encouraging me to work towards epistemological decolonization in this study through the additions of poetry and art. Thanks to your guidance, I now know and hold my family histories proudly and deeply understand their entanglement with our experiences of immigration. Equally, I am incredibly grateful for Dr. Opini’s support and supervision in this research project. Thank you for continually challenging my learning to foster a deeper understanding of anti-racism and decolonization in this research, as well as posing questions that offered me direction for critical reflection. I wish to extend my gratitude to Dr. Ali Abdi for helping guide my studies of educational policy throughout my time in the EDST program, and for supporting the examination of this thesis. I also would like to extend a thank you to Dr. Mona Gleason who has continually supported me through this program and helped me gather literature on histories of education in Canada. I would like to thank Dr. Sheryda Warrener who helped thread the needle that wove the poems throughout this thesis. Additionally, thank you to Dr. Samuel Rocha for editing an earlier xviii version of the poem, “A Migration Story” in a class I took with him that provided me with the lens to build the collection of poems within this thesis. Finally, I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude towards all of the professors who so thoughtfully crafted their courses in the EDST program to support my understanding of educational systems. Your support has greatly shaped this research project, as well as the trajectory of my academic interests moving forward. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn alongside my wonderful EDST cohort. I would especially like to extend my gratitude towards Diana Montaño, Kelsey Sablan Martin, Erin Villaronga Mulligan, and Cindy Hong. The discussions, feedback, and ideas I have learned from you all are nurtured throughout the research within this thesis. The learnings and artwork grown within this study are rooted in the family histories and photos shared by my family, to whom I am eternally grateful. I especially would like to thank my Nani, Parkash Kaur Khera, who spent hours recalling memories of her childhood to share with me for this work. As well, thank you to Savanna Sandhu who gifted me photos of her recent trip to Punjab highlighting landmarks that are important to our family. I would also like to extend my gratitude towards Shashi Shergill who supported me in my admission into this program and has continued to encourage me to seek equity within education through her own dedication to social justice. Thank you to my partner Lincoln Woo who stood by me throughout each step of my post-graduate journey. I could not have accomplished this without your support. Finally, I owe this work to my parents, Harvinder Singh and Rupinder Kaur Kahlon, who have continually encouraged me to pursue and prioritize education. My academic career is born out of your nurturing of my interests. I feel proud to come from a home that unconditionally loves and uplifts their daughters—all that I am is a reflection of you. xix Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my parents and siblings. Your unconditional love, care, and support is sewn into every line of this work. 1 A Migration Story Here, I thrive nestled in the same hands that reached into the rivers of Punjab, dredging through community to uproot us. Here, we sever branches of the same alluvial plains into divisive ruled rows running to irrigate empires. Here, as foe we displace the same earth and water, fracturing land and kin for colonized canals. Greed binds us now. 2 Figure 1: The Threads of Our Identities – London, England 3 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Positioning Myself Within the Research Context As a second-generation Punjabi-Sikh settler, I acknowledge that the educational privileges I have been afforded growing up on Treaty 7 territory on the traditional lands of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), including the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, and Métis Nation (Region 3), are tainted with histories and structures of colonialism, systemic violence against Indigenous peoples, and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous lands (Ranauta, 2020). Solidarity with Indigenous communities calls for sovereignty on these lands and around the world, it is important for me to note that the reclamation of Indigenous relationships to land (the very Indigenous lands I live on) are central to Indigenous resistance against colonization. My parents immigrated to Canada in the early 1990’s, seeking refuge from escalating persecution against Sikh’s in Punjab, as well as hoping to live a safer and more secure life.1 Their decision to migrate was foregrounded by the enduring impacts of British imperialism in India which resulted in the alienation of Punjabi people and their communities from their homeland, and the opening of racialized labor migration channels to Canada (Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020). This migration history is entangled with the dispossession and colonization of Indigenous lands through labor projects such as B.C.’s forestry industry, mining, agriculture, and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (Government of Canada, 2024). Part of my reflections within this research include acknowledgement that “non-Indigenous and non-Black communities, particularly South Asians, continue to benefit from 1 My research is guided through spiritual rootedness in Sikhi, which calls on people to seek social justice, equality, and human liberty for all. The Sikh faith was established to radically reject heirarchy across religions, caste, ethnic groups, and gender during a time of destabilization and violence due to the imposition of imperial projects in what are now known as India and Pakistan (Kaur, 2022). 4 Indigenous erasure in settler states through their labor and investments in the system of whiteness, contributing to the making of model minorities” (Ranauta, 2020, p. 366). The model minority myth is a white Euro-American stereotypical construct that all Asians are intelligent, hard-working, and diligent and therefore more academically, socially, and economically successful than other racialized groups (Vinney, 2022). It is a dangerous construction that pits Indigenous, Black, and other racialized groups against each other causing division among marginalized groups. The ‘model minority’ myth upholds white supremacy by creating divisions and perceived hierarchies between racialized communities through which histories of exclusion and racism such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, Japanese internment during World War Two, and the Komagata Maru are ignored and erased (Ellis, 2022; Harvard Law School, 2018; The University of British Columbia, 2021). As a result of my parents' struggles for migration, I have been afforded the privilege of accessing formal education in Canada, but I am also in the process of recognizing and unlearning the colonial and white supremacist attitudes that have been imposed on me through the Canadian education system (Dei, 2022; Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020). These Eurocentric ideals have led me to devalue my traditional cultural identity for the sake of blending into “Canadian” society. I am still working towards detangling these values from my cultural understandings to rebuild a sense of self-pride and decolonized understanding of my Punjabi-Sikh identity. Thus, I approached this research not only in solidarity with Indigenous communities’ calls for the recognition of their sovereignty across Turtle Island 2 and to avoid perpetuating the 2 The name Turtle Island is used by several Indigenous communities to refer to what is colonially known as North and Central America (Robinson, 2018). Turtle Island comes from a creation story that “tells stories of a turtle that holds the world on its back” (Robinson, 2018, para. 1). However, it is important to note that Turtle Island is still an anglicized version of traditional Indigenous names of place. I have chosen to use the name Turtle Island to refer to the land upon which Indigenous communities in North and Central America have lived and stewarded since time immemorial. Conversely, when I use the name Canada, United States, or North and Central America, I am referring also to the colonizing structures that have been imposed onto Indigenous communities, and that govern settler communities today. 5 erasure of Indigenous communities’ voices, but also from a perspective of holding myself, my family, and my community accountable for our complicity and active role in the continued colonization of Turtle Island (Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020; Tuck & Yang, 2012). To clarify, my reflections are not intended to minimize the oppressive British colonial and imperial histories that led Punjabi people to migrate to Canada. Nor do they seek to compare the British colonial experiences of Punjabi people to the experiences of Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism on Turtle Island. Instead, the purpose of my reflections is to acknowledge and understand my personal and community involvement and complicity in settler colonialism with the goal of taking meaningful action to detach from and dismantle my own and community values of settler innocence and futurity. Early on in my thesis writing process, I was asked why I am choosing to engage in anti-colonial work. The most meaningful way in which I have been able to respond to this has been to consider how my community has experienced colonialism and imperialism in Punjab, and how these experiences continue to influence our entanglement in colonialism by being settlers on stolen Indigenous land. Throughout history, Punjabi people have strongly resisted intolerance, violence, and inequity at the hands of those who held social and political power in India and its preceding empires, including British colonialists/imperialists. As a Punjabi-Sikh woman, I am choosing to engage in anti-colonial research to interrogate and work towards dismantling the detrimental and violent systems of colonial and imperial oppression that shape K-12 public education in Canada as guided by my community’s spiritual values, experiences, and histories. I will focus my reflections within the historical contexts of Punjab’s canal colonies, the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the utilization of Punjabi labour to further colonial missions of land dispossession on Turtle Island, and my family’s migration histories (Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020). In addition to formal academic resources, I will utilize oral history passed down from my 6 grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles to reflect on these experiences within the context of my research and therefore build on information that academia may overlook. As a way of further disrupting Eurocentrism, my study includes self-generated, reflexive, creative poetic and artistic expression that reflect on the entanglements of British colonial histories in Punjab and on Turtle Island. Decolonization and anti-colonialism require reflexivity and self-critique in order to interrogate how our personal histories are entangled with others (Manathunga et al., 2020). Separate from my formal analysis, the intention of these additions was to allocate space for embodied self-reflection and synthesis of my learnings as an action towards epistemic decolonization. My sketches are interpretations of family photos that are intended to provoke thoughts, ideas, and memories to engage in story sharing and “potentially break down [the] social barriers and hierarchies'' of traditional academic writing, for both myself and the reader/viewer (Ashworth, 2020, p. 209; see also LeBlanc, 2019). Additionally, poetry is central to Punjabi-Sikh culture, especially for women, wherein our religious understandings, song, and dance revolve around the language of poetry. For example, traditionally during celebrations or social gatherings Punjabi women recite boliyan (couplets) along with participating in giddha (Punjabi folk dance) which creates space for women to express themselves through poetic gestures that reflect their lived experiences in a playful manner. Having grown up in Canada, I have not learned to play with language poetically in the same way that my mother and grandmothers have learned. By incorporating poetry within this work, I am afforded an opportunity to take back a small piece of my Punjabi identity by learning community knowledge to enrich my research reflections (Sugiman, 2020). Additionally, the inclusion of poetry offers space for decolonization and anti-colonialism through acts of deep listening and poetic truth-telling through marginalized perspectives (Manathunga et al., 2020). I hoped that the outcome of my study and the inclusion of creative reflection would support de-centering 7 Eurocentric ways of knowing to benefit the valuation of knowledge systems and epistemic rights of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities that have been historically, persistently and systematically marginalized, delegitimized, and unjustly sidelined within Canadian education systems. Within the context of Canadian education, it is also important for me to acknowledge the deeply rooted epistemic injustices that European settler societies continue to perpetrate against Indigenous communities, and their diverse, complex, and inter-generational systems of knowledge. This includes education, social welfare, law, banking, healthcare, and policing systems that have perpetrated “poverty, racism, and intergenerational abuses,” such as through the residential school system, which delegitimized and disregarded Indigenous knowledges as valid epistemologies (Battiste, 2011, p. xvi). In this study, I did not intend to speak on behalf of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities through my discussion of epistemic injustices and Indigenous ways of knowing (Clement, 2019). Additionally, my opinions do not necessarily reflect the diverse set of values that are held even by my own community. My intention was to acknowledge the systemic marginalization and delegitimization of non-Eurocentric ways of knowing, within which Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems are significantly impacted by Canadian public education. In my research, I drew on the works of Indigenous, Black, and racialized scholars to guide my discussion of epistemic injustice, highlighting and creating space for non-Eurocentric epistemologies. 1.2. Research Purpose The purpose of my research was to investigate how Canadian K-12 public education racial equity policy may function to reproduce the oppressive historical, economic, social, and political forces it claims to challenge. I conducted a qualitative content analysis (QCA) of the 8 Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 through an anti-colonial discursive framework to show how colonialism may be overlooked or be framed as an experience of the past within the policy’s focus on achieving educational racial equity (Surrey Schools, 2023a). My research aims to provide further information on the specific historical, economic, social, and political contexts that may have influenced the development and implementation of this policy to identify potential areas of persistent Eurocentric hegemony and dominance in public education systems. This includes investigation into movements of resistance and community social justice advocacy that may have laid the groundwork for implementing the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Specifically, I analyzed the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s addressal of colonial hegemony in public education and how this oppressive system could potentially be reinforced through implementation of educational racial equity policy due to persistent power inequities embedded in the text which may function in opposition to the policy’s goals. Within the scope of this work, colonial hegemony refers to dominant Eurocentric epistemologies and pedagogies that serve to reinforce white settler colonial identities, historical narratives, and unequal relations in education systems and educational policy making processes (Mackey, 2000; Tupper, 2020). It is important to acknowledge that anti-colonial and decolonization work is not the same as anti-racist work, but they are interrelated through the desire to decenter and dismantle the system of ‘whiteness,’ through which settler colonialism exploits people by racial hierarchization (Tuck & Yang, 2012). Loppie, Reading, and de Leeuw (2020) describe how colonization is a way that specific groups have been marginalized and discriminated against through oppressive systems, such as racism. Further, “within the racialized hierarchy of Canadian society, Indigenous peoples continue to be ‘othered’ by settler groups in an attempt to rationalize colonial actions that disadvantaged, oppress, and ultimately harm” Indigenous peoples (p. 2). Colonization should be 9 discussed as an ongoing process and as a part of initiatives of anti-racism in Canadian contexts because anti-racism is rooted in colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous people from Indigenous land. My study examined if/how the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan acknowledges normative colonial structures and values that enforce domination over and oppression of marginalized communities, and how these structures may be embedded within public educational systems. Although I was unable to directly analyze the consultation process between Indigenous, Black, and other racialized community members provided to the Surrey School District in terms of how this input was utilized, this research analyzed publicly available documents and academic resources that provide information on how to meaningfully support racial equity and anti-racism in schooling from the perspectives of racialized communities. This research looked at the extent to which the initiatives outlined by racialized communites’ are applied within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. This research did not seek to devalue the tremendous efforts of educational scholars, administration, staff, students, and community members that have invested considerable efforts towards fostering racial equity through the production and implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, as well as the inclusion policies that came before it. Rather, this goal of this research was to better understand whether and how overarching systems of oppression such as Eurocentrism, white supremacy, and colonialism within educational systems may continue to perpetuate inequity, even if a policy’s overt intentions are to foster educational racial equity. Working from an anti-colonial framework, the study examined how, if at all, this plan may function to reproduce the inequity it claims to challenge, given the extent to which colonial hegemony is embedded within historical, economic, social, and political facets of education. An anti-colonial analysis of educational racial inequity allows for a critical analysis of how values of 10 capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, as well as the systems of whiteness and white supremacy have become deeply entrenched in Canadian public education systems, including educational “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” policies (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). For equity to be holistically and meaningfully addressed within educational equity policies for Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Canadian public education, policies must challenge Eurocentric and “neoliberal sanctioned knowledge forms and educational settings” (Bellingham et al., 2019, p. 78). In my analysis of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, I examined the historical and political contexts that have shifted policy production objectives in education towards a greater focus on racial equity and anti-racism, to see how these events may have influenced the plan’s production. Through this research, I hoped to contribute to ongoing dialogues on anti-racist and anti-colonial scholarship within educational policy development and equity initiatives in Surrey schools and other Canadian K-12 public school districts. 1.3. Research Questions Prior research into the area of anti-racism policy has focused on evaluating policy through neoliberal indicators of economic equity, such as employment and earnings after graduation (Ismail, 2015). I approached this work by grounding my research in the seminal works of anti-racism, decolonial, and anti-colonial scholars, notably George J. S. Dei and Marie Battiste, whose insights have paved the way for critical examinations of the impacts of colonialism and continuing unequal power relations within educational structures in Canada. Building on their extensive contributions, my research aims to investigate anti-racism policies from an anti-colonial framework. Anti-racism must challenge the ongoing colonization of Indigenous peoples, because “racist ideologies have fostered a social hierarchy in which Indigenous peoples are denied resources while dominant groups maintain authority and power” 11 and also rationalized colonialism (Loppie et al., 2020, p. 11). Therefore, my research focused on how systems of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy may function to perpetuate racial inequity, even within racial equity and anti-racism policy. In this work, I explored the connections between these systems of oppression to capture how they are entangled within systems of settler colonialism and imperialism in Canada. I examined the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 from an anti-colonial discursive framework, analyzing the policy’s impact on educational equity attainment for Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff in K-12 public schools. The research question that guided my analysis was: How does Surrey School District describe, problematize, and challenge racial inequity and racism against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 and its related sources? Sub-questions: a. How is racial equity conceptualized, addressed, and evaluated within this policy? b. What historical, economic, social, and political discourses and phenomena inform the prioritization of racial equity within the Surrey School District, and how does this affect policy production, implementation, and dissemination? c. How (if at all) is Eurocentrism and cognitive imperialism addressed and/or reinforced within this policy and its related sources with regards to racial equity? 1.4. Background of the Study: Policy Description of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 I conducted an anti-colonial QCA of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 which addresses racial equity issues for Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff within the K-12 public school system in Surrey, British Columbia (Surrey 12 Schools, 2023a). The plan aims to support all racialized students and staff within the district but allocates particular attention to challenging anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism. The Surrey School District enrolls a diverse population of students and in addition to being the largest school district in B.C., it is also the fastest growing (Surrey Schools, n.d.). The enrolment rate has doubled since 2022, with more than 1,500 students enrolling into the district in 2023, most being newcomers to Canada (Surrey Schools, 2024). The Surrey School District is located on the traditional and unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples including the SEMYOME - Semiahmoo, q̓ic̓əy̓-Katzie, and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓-Kwantlen First Nations, and more than 3,200 Indigenous students (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) are enrolled in their schools. As well, more than half of the students in the Surrey School District come from households where a language other than English is primarily spoken, with 197 language representations. The Surrey School District (n.d.) shared estimated demographic data for the 2023 to 2024 school year wherein it is stated that, “other than English...the highest percentages [of languages spoken] are Punjabi, Mandarin, Tagalog (Filipino), Hindi and Arabic” (p. 1). Comprehensive demographic data does not exist for the Surrey School District. In addition to historical educational structures that have entrenched racism, specifically anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism within Canadian public education systems, increasing immigration of non-European immigrants into Surrey has also resulted in stronger anti-immigrant sentiment and racism (Bryant & Appleby, 2024). Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities have called on the Surrey School District and public education systems in B.C. more broadly, to challenge racism (Kempf & Watts, 2024; Racing to Equity, 2022). The B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare first implemented the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, in order to “address [this] discrimination, dismantle racism and make B.C. a more equitable, inclusive and welcoming province” (MEC, 2023, p. 5). Building on this strategic plan, the Surrey 13 School District implemented the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, with the intent to contextualize anti-racism initiatives through the specific needs of students in the Surrey School District. The construction of this plan was also a result of the Racial Equity Environmental Assessment of Surrey School District, conducted by Racing to Equity (R2E), a “consulting group that supports individuals and institutions centre racial equity, healing, liberation and structural transformation in their personal and professional lives” (Surrey Schools, 2021). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan was presented in June of 2023 by JB Mahli, Director of Instruction for the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Department, and was constructed with “extensive input from Indigenous, Black and other racialized students, staff and families in Surrey and White Rock” (Surrey Schools, 2023b, para. 4). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan claims to draw on anti-racism specific policies to guide its construction (Surrey Schools, 2023a). These policies include the “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Declaration of Rights on Indigenous Peoples Act (B.C.), B.C. Human Rights and other Canadian Human Rights legislation, the B.C. K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, and the B.C. Anti-Racism Data Act” (p. 6). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan states that its objective is to “collectively strengthen and build work and learning environments that are culturally responsive, celebrate diversity of community, and strive to ensure belonging for everyone” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 8). The plan outlines four objectives: (i) “advancing racial equity initiatives,” (ii) “on-going education and Pro-D,” (iii) “responding to racism,” and (iv) “curriculum and resources” (p. 11). Each of these areas include a description of priorities, strategies, and actions to be taken between 2023 and 2028 for the corresponding objective. Key outcomes of these objectives include: implementation of policy to support racial equity at both the department and school levels; surveys on how to prevent racial inequity and effectiveness of the responses; staff training; presentations to 14 students; anti-racism curriculum; and diverse resources in classrooms and libraries. The plan also calls on commitment from the “Board of Education, district leadership, principals and vice-principals, teachers, and staff” within the district to address “interpersonal, internalized, systemic and structural” forms of racism (Surrey Schools 2023a, p. 7). It is implied that the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Department would take leadership in implementing policy objectives across the district, as well as be accountable for the implementation of the plan. It is important to note that this plan specifically uses the term racial equity rather than anti-racism to describe policy goals. It can be assumed that within educational policy in Surrey, the terms racial equity and anti-racism are used interchangeably, but it is worth noting that genuine anti-racist practice seeks to name racism and move beyond theoretical understandings of equity towards taking consistent and intentional action in challenging racial discrimination and racism (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022; Kendi, 2019). It is also worth noting that while a strategic plan offers an outline of potential actions that could lead to outcomes such as policy development, it is itself not a fully enforceable policy (MacLachlan, 2017). Therefore, the strategic plan is not necessarily a policy document. However, one can also argue that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan exists within the initial stages of a policy cycle, which fully consists of the policy origins, adoption, implementation, and impact stages of the policy production process (Fallon, 2015). My research falls within the policy origins and policy adoption stages of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. This includes analysis of the core beliefs that shape the policy, as well as taking a closer look at the historical, economic, social, and political policy drivers/actors that influence policy text production (Fallon, 2015). Additionally, an analysis of any related and already implemented policies, such as the ones 15 outlined above, can provide insight into how racial equity policy may be produced and implemented as a response to the implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan.3 1.4.1. Rationale for Conducting Research on Educational Racial Equity Policy and Choice of Policy I have focused on the Racial Equity Strategic Plan because current events are shifting the discourse that is prioritized within educational policy provincially, nationally, and internationally. It was important to conduct this study because there is a need to investigate how colonial hegemony is embedded into educational discourses, policy, and curriculum which results in systems of education potentially functioning to fulfill colonial goals, even within diversity and equity policy (Battiste, 2017). Policies, such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, must be closely examined to evaluate whether their stated goals match the anticipated outcomes of the policies’ implementation. Educational policy that aims at addressing systemic inequities, such as racial inequity, must employ complex, multi-dimensional, and transformative strategies to “engage with and react to multiple circumstances and shapes of oppression, exploitation, assimilation, [and] colonization” (Battiste, 2000, p. xxi). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not need to address all these areas of injustice, but my investigation sought to understand which systems of inequity and oppression are taken into account in this plan. Recent political events, such as the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, the unearthing of the unmarked residential school student graves, and the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action, have all contributed to a focus on racial equity and anti-racism at the institutional level (Connors & McCoy, 2022). Although these events have recently come to the attention of mainstream media and the wider public, it is crucial 3 I have described in detail the process of expanding my dataset within section 4.3. Steps 1 and 2: Data Selection Process and Deductively Derived Research Questions of my thesis. 16 to acknowledge the communities that have long been aware of and directly impacted by these injustices, and who have dedicated much of their lives to taking action on issues such as anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, and white supremacy. The BLM protests and advocacy began to garner mainstream media attention in 2012 and 2014 following the murders of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, as well as in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd (Connors & McCoy, 2022). It is noted that “#BLM is perhaps the most significant social movement shaping the current racial context” in North America with regards to educational systems (Connors & McCoy, 2022). Students, staff, and communities came together to call for educational systems to address systemic racism and institutional violence that is perpetrated against Black people throughout North America. This extends to K-12 public education, and as a result educational public policy areas started to move towards implementing more detailed and focused policies for “equity,” “inclusion,” and “diversity” in education through the implementation of racial equity and anti-racism specific policies. In light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, my research concluded that all levels of government must support legislation of educational policy that protects Aboriginal rights and ensures that Indigenous children and community have access to public education that is free of inequity associated with Indigenous specific racism and discrimination (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada [TRC], 2015). This would necessitate a shift in educational equity policy away from tokenistic and colonial conceptions of equity and towards centering outcomes such as improvement of Indigenous students’ educational attainment, representation within school, and protection of language rights (TRC, 2015). It is crucial to highlight the voices of residential school survivors working at the forefront of Truth and Reconciliation initiatives who have shared stories of their experiences and continue to resist and challenge residential school denialism, as well as persisting ideologies of 17 settler innocence (Carleton, 2021a; Tuck & Yang, 2012). Their advocacy set the foundation for mainstream media recognition of the unearthing of the unmarked residential school student graves, setting in motion wider-scale solidarity and advocacy efforts against Indigenous racism and colonial efforts for Indigenous erasure through schooling.4 Additionally, in March 2022, British Columbia’s provincial government released the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in response to the implementation of UNDRIP (Government of British Columbia, 2022). This plan clearly states the government’s commitment to Indigenous peoples’ freedom from racism and discrimination at interpersonal, systemic, and institutional levels, which includes the public education system (Government of British Columbia, 2022). I selected the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan because Surrey School District, along with the provincial government and other school districts in B.C., have dedicated greater focus to creating racial equity and anti-racism initiatives within their K-12 public school system. The Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan is of significance to me personally because I work as a substitute teacher in the Surrey School District and have a general understanding of the school climate for students, staff, administration, and community throughout the district. Further, there is a strong intention for this plan to focus on addressing anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism within the district. As a Punjabi-Sikh settler, I hoped to utilize this study as an opportunity to reflect on my individual and collective responsibility as a member of the Punjabi community in establishing equity that is holistic and meaningful to those whose epistemologies, histories, and culture have been devalued and delegitimized by Canadian education systems. 4 However, it should not be up to survivors to take on this task, and that simply making space for their voices “as victims…can tend to freeze Indigenous experience into a two -dimensional account of domination and victimization” (Marker, 2015, p. 492; see also Niezen, 2022). 18 Additionally, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is a recently implemented document and I have the opportunity to follow its impact over time. There is potential for me to continue this research over the course of the plan’s implementation to further evaluate any racial equity or anti-racism policies that may be developed in the Surrey School District as a direct result of this plan. Thus, this research has the potential to help us understand of how anti-racism and equity policy can support the inclusion and validation of knowledge and identities of those who have been historically delegitimized by colonial education systems in Canada. It is also significant because it has the potential to contribute to discussions by teachers, administrators, and students about anti-racist and anti-colonial educational practices, particularly in B.C.’s K-12 public school system. Such discussions may influence the development of potential racial equity and anti-racism policies over the course of the strategic plan’s implementation. I hope that my research will shed light on spaces of improvement within Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 allowing educators and leaders to better support transformative, anti-colonial, socio-political action for students, staff, and the broader Surrey School District community. 1.5. An Overview of the Organization of This Thesis This thesis is organized into seven chapters that reflect my analysis of the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028, and its related documents. Chapter 1 explains why I chose to conduct a policy analysis using an anti-colonial lens. It provides an overview of my own positionality, relationality, and genealogy. This chapter also briefly describes the Surrey School District Racial Equity Strategic Plan, the research questions that informed my analysis, and why this research is important to conduct amidst shifting recognition of the importance of fostering racial equity and anti-racism in educational spaces. 19 Chapter 2 provides key literature relevant to my study. I examined conceptualizations of neoliberal capitalism in relation to education, as well as the history of educational policy implementation in Canada for the main communities addressed within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, including Indigenous, Black, and other racialized settlers. Both of these sections foreground my analysis of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan by providing historical, economic, political, and social context for the production of racial equity and anti-racism policy in B.C.’s K-12 public school system. Chapter 3 presents my theoretical framework, which is informed by anti-colonialism. Specifically, I focus on George J. S. Dei’s anti-colonial discursive framework and Marie Battiste’s conceptualization of cognitive imperialism. Working from an anti-colonial framework allowed me to analyze how Eurocentric definitions of rights, racism, and equity have shaped the production of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, as well as how systems of colonialism may perpetuate racism through educational racial equity policy if colonialism remains unaddressed. Chapter 4 describes my methodological framework which utilized anti-colonial QCA to codify major themes and patterns present in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, and its related sources (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). Chapter 5 provides a summary of the main findings of this research after coding the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and its related documents. Chapter 6 discusses the analysis of the research findings on how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan describes, problematizes, and challenges racial inequity against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff. As well, the chapter shows how historical, economic, political, and social discourse and phenomena (as outlined in the literature review) have influenced the construction of this plan. 20 Chapter 7 summarizes the findings of this research, returns to my research questions, and provides additional reflections on the research process, as well as an overview of potential directions for future research. 21 Threads Worth Pulling A glimpse of her unwrinkled eyes rests longingly in my palm as her’s holds chiffon draped carefully over her salwar. The breeze that runs through curls resting against her cheek muffles bitter clicks of keyboards that climb up the nape of my neck. A flat pop of her needle piercing taut fabric is followed by stray fibers scratching against trim, weaving gently through her fingers while I grip this pencil grasping at words that paint her piece. Woven scripts command the gaze of cold concrete gates, it dances behind my ears as she hums into woody farm air tugging together lines threaded neatly on this page, snapped— by the clink of churiyan falling to her elbow. If only, my hands knew how to sew color into honeyed shawls that blend softly over baby blue walls. I could patch her scraps into a mosaic. 22 Figure 2: Homeowners – Moh’kinstsis (Calgary, Alberta) 23 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Overview of the Literature Review This chapter focuses on three main areas of literature. First, I examined how the international educational market influences and imposes neoliberal and Eurocentric understandings of human rights onto educational racial equity policies in Canada. As well as how this further reproduces systems of capitalism, colonialism, and white supremacy within the K-12 public education systems. Second, I briefly highlighted the colonial educational histories of those communities mentioned in the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan. I conclude this chapter with a summary of educational equity policies that have been implemented in B.C. and the Surrey School District prior to the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The literature review provided insight into the historical, social, and political events that have influenced the construction and implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 2.2. Eurocentric Understandings of Human Rights and Equity in Education: Neoliberalism and the International Educational Market Neoliberal ideologies act as a “governing rationality,” through which values of capitalism, colonialism, and white supremacy have become foundational to Canadian education systems (Brown, 2015, p. 30; see also Issar, 2021). Neoliberalism is the “process of ‘economization’ of non-economic spheres,” wherein, monetary wealth generation becomes a focus of previously non-commodified social sectors, including education (Issar, 2021, p. 53). Public policy, including education policy “is now increasingly required to serve the interests of global capitalism,” due to neoliberal governance strategies functioning to commodify social systems (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 30). This results in education systems operating to sell 24 people social, cultural, economic, and political capital in support of global capitalism, regardless of how this reinforces pre-existing systems of inequity (Lipman, 2011). The goal of neoliberalism and the commodification of education in my research was to draw connections between how educational racial equity and anti-racism policies in Canada have the potential to more efficiently benefit corporations and systems of capitalism, rather than meaningfully promote racial equity and anti-racism in schools. Internationally influenced educational equity policy use neoliberal indicators of economic equity such as employment, earnings, and return on investment to evaluate the extent to which economic capital is redistributed as an outcome of policy implementation (Ismail, 2015). This results in international educational equity policy, and its influence on state-sanctioned policy, to focus on “equity in terms of participation and capitalism,” instead of seeking to “address the broader historical and political contexts that produce disadvantage in the first place” (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, pp. 156-157; see also Ismail, 2015). This could result in educational equity policy reinforcing inequity and “oppressive social conditions” that it claims to challenge, as economic and social inequity is inherent within capitalist systems of economics (Glass, 2013, p. 101; see also Brown, 2015; Stanley, 2020). Under neoliberal governance systems, corporations view the public sector as an “untapped economic opportunity” from which they can monetarily benefit from the privatization of education, through the commodification of educational opportunities (Anderson & Donchik, 2016; Brown, 2015). Within the international educational market, social justice is reduced to a set of universal goals that are morally influenced by Eurocentric notions of marginalization, oppression, and discrimination, in opposition to being viewed as complex, place-based and community-centered concepts (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010; Shahjahan, 2005). Thus, neoliberal capitalism and its effects on education have “created new patterns of social inequality” which 25 excludes and exploits certain populations based on racial hierarchies, racism, and white supremacy (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 145; see also Issar, 2021). Over the last two decades, international educational organizations such as the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), have all had influence over the production of educational equity policies, in addition to being “vigorous proponents of neoliberal globalization” (p. 142). The production of global education policy by international educational organizations greatly influences the production of educational policy in Western countries, including Canada. An example is the OECD’s Adapting Curriculum to Bridge Equity Gaps: Towards an Inclusive Curriculum, which offers educators and policymakers information and advice on equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives within educational systems (OECD, 2021). Unaddressed colonial hegemony and assumed Eurocentric superiority within educational racial equity policy may perpetuate racial inequity against Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in the K-12 public education system, even if policy is specifically addressing this issue (Battiste & Henderson, 2018; St. Denis, 2007). Thus, my study argues for the “need to critically re-examine evaluative measures that are being used” in educational equity policy production to define human rights and equity for Indigenous, Black, and racialized students (Hart, 2019, p. 583). In particular, how the international educational market and other political factors may have influenced the construction of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan through the construction of racial equity indicators, as well as potential ulterior purposes for the implementation of equity policy such as increasing the competitiveness of B.C. education systems in a globalizing, neoliberal, educational market. 26 2.2.1. Racism and White Supremacy as Tools of Capitalism, Colonialism, and Imperialism It is important to call attention to “the ways in which racism permeates the organization and development of capitalism” in order to understand how racial equity and anti-racism policy may function to reinforce racial inequity and colonialism (Issar, 2021, p. 48). Grounded in Cedric Robinson’s (2000) theorization of racial capitalism, Issar (2021) points to the intersection of racism, white supremacy, and neoliberal capitalism to criticize how certain populations are exploited through racialization to seize Indigenous lands for resource extraction and control populations to perform “unfree labour” in support of colonial and imperial goals (p. 61). Wherein, “capitalism is racial capitalism,” wherein, “the organization, expansion, and ideology of capitalist society was [and is] expressed through race, racial subjugation, and racial differences” (Issar, 2021, p. 59; see also Tuck & Yang, 2012). This research follows the idea that by understanding capitalism in relation to other structures of oppression, research can “[unsettle] an often rigid boundary between the theorization of capitalism and that of white supremacy, anti-Black racism, patriarchy, homophobia, and Indigenous dispossession” and anti-Indigenous racism (Issar, 2021, p. 56; see also St. Denis, 2000, 2007). British settler colonial ideologies drew divisions between humanity wherein Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people were deemed “less than human,” and therefore subject to exploitation in order to further colonial missions on Turtle Island (Gerrard et al., 2022, p. 432). This was particularly severe for Indigenous communities as British colonial attitudes toward Indigenous peoples were overtly genocidal and assimilatory in nature (Gerrard et al., 2022; Lowman & Barker, 2015; St. Denis, 2007). For example, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as well as fishing, mining, and logging industries in B.C. employed exploitative racialized migrant labour to clear Indigenous people’s land while building market capitalism through natural resource extraction and the commodification of Indigenous lands and 27 waters (Government of Canada, 2024; Maynard, 2017; Puri, 1993; Ranauta, 2020). Lowman and Barker (2015) describe how settler colonialism does not necessarily require capitalism to function, however, capitalism and the creation of a settler state like Canada are technologies of colonialism, wherein capitalism becomes “the primary driver of exploitation of Indigenous peoples…[through] development and resource extraction driven by capitalist expansion” (pp. 75-77). In Canada, racist “capitalist endeavours often go hand and hand with settler colonialism” and the colonial project (Lowman & Barker, 2015, p. 75; see also Justice, 2023; Ranauta, 2020). Further, Ranauta (2020) describes how “obtaining Indigenous land has been the corner-stone” of creating a settler-colonial Canadian nation-state, influencing Canadian educational objectives and “[facilitating the] normalization of private property ownership over pre-colonial Indigenous relations to land” (p. 363). According to Ranauta (2020), the structures of settler colonialism that forced disruption between Indigenous peoples’ relationships to the land also included the construction of residential schools and reserve systems based on capitalist land-related policies. Over time, government and corporate investments in public education have “restricted the curriculum” to reproduce Eurocentric representations of history through national myth-making (Gerrard et al., 2022, pp. 432-433). They have also created and reproduced racisms by implementing strategies of exclusion and streaming within education to produce a “racially stratified workforce” (Gerrard et al., 2022, pp. 432-433; see also Justice, 2023; Maynard, 2017). Gerrard, Sriprakash, and Rudolph (2022) state that “these racialized hierarchies of labour, and the overrepresentation of white teachers and leaders in school and university…means that settler colonial education is a site in which the systems of whiteness and capitalism are interlocked (p. 433). Using an anti-colonial perspective, this study investigated how racism and the racialization of populations within educational equity policy may further support colonial 28 objectives of Indigenous land dispossession that reinforce cognitive imperialism. I examined the concepts used within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan to challenge racial inequity for Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff, as well as potential areas of international and neoliberal influence into the policy’s construction and implementation. This provided insight into how neoliberal capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, white supremacy, and their resulting systems of inequity may be embedded in historical and contemporary racial equity and anti-racism educational policy in Canada. In the subsequent sections of this literature review, I will discuss policies that have been implemented in B.C. that shape the educational opportunities of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities in B.C. 2.3. Eurocentric Educational Policies in Canada Colonial national narratives “re-shape problematic historical, cultural, political, and economic differences into a celebratory narrative,” which reinforce settler national mythmaking and create settler innocence (Mackey, 2000, p. 313-314; see also Dei, 2006; Tupper, 2022). These national narratives then reinforce values of white supremacy and objectives of settler colonialism through Eurocentric organization of “Canadian social, economic, political, and cultural life” (El-Sherif & Sinke, 2022, p. 81; see also Hutchinson, 2017; Tupper, 2022). Colonial national narratives not only reinforce Eurocentric relationships that validate violent colonial dispossession of Indigenous land and its people but also enforce understanding that colonialism is an experience of the past, yet it is ongoing (Mackey, 2000; Tupper, 2022). These mythological representations of diversity, inclusion, and multicultural have informed the creation of Eurocentric policy in Canada which can result in misleading understandings of equity within economic, social, and political systems, including education (Chan, 2007). 29 Eurocentric policy in Canada has not been supportive of equity and inclusion. According to Chan (2007), "policy is used as a tool to meet particular goals, such as separation and exclusion" (p. 131), as seen in the historical application of Eurocentric policy in Canadian society. The Indian Act of 1876, an overtly white supremacist document, functions to dispossess Indigenous peoples from Indigenous land, culture, and identity to benefit European settlers and colonial objectives (Joseph, 2018; Vowel, 2016). Residential schools, legislated into the Indian Act of 1876, “[constituted] genocide” against Indigenous children and their communities, in addition to the racist and exclusionary practices of B.C.’s public school system created in 1872 (Carleton, 2021a, p. 470: see also Carleton, 2021b). These systems functioned by “disrupting Indigenous lifeways and supporting continued settler colonialism and Canadian nation-building” (Carleton, 2021a, p. 468-469). These histories are still shrouded by a lens of settler denialism that devalues Indigenous communities’ efforts toward Truth and Reconciliation (Carleton, 2021a). The School Act of 1849/1850 established separate schools for Black children to segregate them from white students in common schools (McLaren, 2004; Knight, 2012). Policies such as the School Act of 1849/1850 reinforced mythical understandings of Canada as a nation that supported Black people's emancipation from enslavement, as well as "a haven from racism" relative to the United States (McLaren, 2004, p. 29). Historical policies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908, and the Act to Prevent the Employment of Female Labour in Certain Capacities of 1912 (along with many other policies), were all constructed to support exclusion and disenfranchisement of marginalized groups in Canada. From 1908 until 1922, education policy was used to segregate and exclude Chinese students from attending common schools owing to persistent and entrenched white supremacy throughout British Columbia and its public education system (Chan, 2007; Stanley, 1990). 30 Likewise, “the impact of evacuation and internment of Japanese children is an example of the culmination of racialized federal policy on education,” wherein no schools were built during this time of internment to accommodate Japanese students (Chan, 2007, p.135). In all of these examples, it is important to acknowledge the resistance of the communities to exclusionary Eurocentric education policy by protesting their implementation, as well as taking the education of their children into their own hands (Chan, 2007; Matsunaga, 2021; McLaren, 2004; Stanley, 1990). In the next section, I look at the history of schooling in Canada, specifically in British Columbia, and how Eurocentric schooling systems were imposed on Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people. I discuss how education policy has affected Indigenous and Black students to highlight the unique challenges these communities have experienced as a result of education systems deeply rooted in Eurocentrism.5 I utilized this literature to support my analysis of how racism and colonialism are intrinsically tied to public education. 2.3.1. The Colonization of Indigenous Educational Practices on Turtle Island The Racial Equity Strategic Plan addresses Coast Salish communities such as SEMYOME - Semiahmoo, q̓ic̓əy̓-Katzie, and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓-Kwantlen First Nations in particular as 5 Within the scope of this MA thesis project, I was unable to speak to how educational equity policy affects students and staff from each of the many diverse communities that Surrey School District hosts (Surrey Schools, n.d.). I also acknowledge that in contrast, generalizing and essentializing the experiences of all “racialized communities,” as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does as well, may also lead to educational equity outcomes that are not catered towards meeting the specific and unique needs of each community. I chose to touch on South Asian, Chinese, and Japanese histories, as these students make up the majority of non-European ancestry racialized settlers within Surrey, in addition to being communities that immigrated to Canada in the early 1900’s (Ellis, 2022). These groups of racialized settlers had specific discriminatory legislation against them that also affected their ability to access education for their children (Ellis, 2022). Examples include the barring of Indian immigrants’ entry into Canada from the Komagata Maru in 1914, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, and the internment of Japanese Canadians over 1942 to 1949 (Ellis, 2022). My work highlights some of these narratives that counter Eurocentric histories and identity formation in B.C. to instead draw on marginalized voices and create spaces of resistance within my analysis of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 31 these communities are located on the unceded landed where Surrey School District exists.6 In this section, I draw on the works of Sean Carleton and Michael Marker who have written extensively about Coast Salish experiences with British colonial schooling practices and have advocated for a shift in dominant perspectives on Canadian educational histories. It is crucial to consider ways British colonial and Eurocentric schooling practices have and continue to be imposed on Indigenous communities in order to understand how educational systems working toward anti-racism could potentially reinforce anti-Indigenous racism due to lack of addressal of anti-Indigenous specific racism and colonialism, in educational policies, practices, and pedagogies. Maynard (2017) notes that, “the violent dehumanization, forced assimilation and genocide enacted en masse on Indigenous children by means of residential schools from 1883 until the late 1900s cannot be seen as separate from the development of publicly funded education, and must be understood as foundation toward the development of white supremacy” (p. 213). Although most Indigenous communities that occupied what is now known as B.C. did not enter into the Numbered Treaties, the Canadian government still took control over Indigenous schooling practices through the centralization of the public school system in 1872 (Carleton, 2021b). “Many Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest, who have lived in the region since time immemorial, disputed the authority of both the federal and provincial governments and often challenged policies they saw as being unilaterally imposed on their Nations through settler colonialism” including educational policies (Carleton, 2021b, pp. 314-315). Nevertheless, it officially became the job of the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) to 6 However, my historical overview of Coast Salish histories and experiences is limited to the literature that is accessible through the University of British Columbia library. It does not include personal or Coast Salish community histories that are not aca demically shared, as I am not entitled to access or share these stories (McNiff, 2007). 32 oversee and fund the construction and implementation of schooling practices for Indigenous children in B.C.7 Indigenous parents were coerced into sending their children to federally funded and missionary run-schools instead of provincial public schools (common schools), eventually making attendance to missionary schools mandatory in 1920 (Carleton, 2021a, 2021b). From then until 1996, Indigenous children attended residential and day schools that aimed at erasing their traditional identities and relationships to the land (Carleton, 2021a; Ellis, 2022; Marker, 2015). Schools were also “directed towards the eradication of language and traditional cultural practices, [and] they were focused on replacing spiritual understandings of place with versions of Christianity and modernity” (Carleton, 2021b, p. 484). However, Carleton (2021b) notes that many Indigenous students attended provincial public schools into the late 1800’s and early 1900’s alongside children of white settlers. This was due to limited capacity of residential and day-schools, while public schools in rural area with low-attendance allowed Indigenous students to attend in order to increase enrolment to secure federal funding. This aspect of Eurocentric schooling practices imposed on Indigenous students is often overlooked in Canadian history. While my analysis focused on Surrey School District (Canadian) policy, it is important to note that Coast Salish communities, such as the SEMYOME - Semiahmoo, q̓ic̓əy̓-Katzie, and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓-Kwantlen First Nations, extend beyond the borders of Canada into the USA. Thus, Coast Salish children have had distinct experiences of schooling, as well as district strategies of resisting colonizing education due to difference in schools in British Columbia and Washington State, and their “traversing [of] a permeable colonial border” (Marker, 2015, p. 485). Marker 7 Due to the limited scope of my MA thesis project, I was unable to go into detail about how the federal government overtook Indigenous education responsibilities in B.C., in addition to the consequences of their actions on Indigenous children and community. Sean Carleton’s (2022) book, Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia , details the British settler colonial origins of schooling in B.C. from 1849 to 1930. This resource provides a more extensive overview of this process, the relation of colonialism to other systems of oppression, as well as how these systems continue to af fect Indigenous communities today. 33 (2015) asserts that “the border is a conceptual impediment to understanding Coast Salish sense of place,” and their experiences of schooling (p. 487). In the 1960’s and 1970’s Indigenous families in Washington State “often chose to send their children to Indian Boarding Schools hundreds of miles away to escape the oppression of the local public schools” due to settler resentment towards Indigenous fishing rights victories (p. 485). In British Columbia, public discussions about the legacies of residential schools surround discussions that focus on the abuses and genocidal actions committed by the Canadian government against Indigenous students and communities. This is in contrast to discussions of Indigenous boarding schools in Washington State, which "became a safe haven from both assimilationist pressures and racist attacks on Indigenous students" in the 1960s and 1970s, leading to public narratives of boarding schools as a symbol of Indigenous resistance and selfhood (Marker, 2015, p. 485). In 1949, British Columbia amended the Public School Act which allowed for the integration of Indigenous students into schools with settler students. However, Canadian national narratives celebrate these changes for “ushering educational equity after almost a century of segregated schooling in Canada,” while ignoring how the residential school system morphed into the child welfare system and continues to separate Indigenous families and impose assimilatory practices upon Indigenous children and communities (Carleton, 2021b, p. 337). Canadian public education systems continue to maintain colonial national narratives and Eurocentric practices in addition to dishonouring treaties, continual incidents of Indigenous specific racism by social services, the medical system, policies, and violence perpetrated against Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Ellis, 2022; Lowman & Barker, 2015; Maynard, 2017). The residential school system, in addition to other Eurocentric, assimilatory, and genocidal policies and practices, “transferred many of its assimilative functions to public provincial school systems,” through curriculum, pedagogy, policies, and practices (Rollo, 2022, 34 p. 122). For my research, it was important to consider the histories of settler colonial impositions of schooling on Indigenous peoples, in order to understand how contemporary educational racial equity policy may potentially continue to perpetuate similar systems and practices of Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination. 2.3.2. Colonial Education Systems for Black Students in Canada With reference to the “legend of the Underground Railroad,” dominant narratives embedded in public curriculum continue to reproduce ideas of Canada as a safe haven against chattel enslavement and representations of Canada as a place where segregation did not exist (McLaren, 2004, p. 28; see also Lowman & Barker, 2015; Maynard, 2017). These myths not only fuel misrepresentations that discriminate against Black children and youth but also drive educational policy production that reinforces education as a system that functions to advance white supremacy and settler colonialism. Education systems should recognize that “the segregated schooling of Black children and the explicit disinvestment in the education of Black youth in most parts of Canada” was a direct result of chattel enslavement resulting in the government, corporations, and other institutions directly profiting from the exploitation of Black people (Issar, 2021, p. 57; see also Maynard, 2017). This includes racism and discrimination rooted in settler colonialism and chattel enslavement “through food and housing redlining, mass incarceration, and surveillance” (p. 57). After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, there was a substantial influx of African-American People into Canada West, who settled near the borders to farm and provide assistance to incoming fugitives from across the border (Knight, 2012). Black people sought enrolment for their children in Canada West’s common schools by recognizing the potential value of education to “undermine racist, ideology, obtain superior employment, and gain voting privileges,” (Knight, 2012, p. 227). However, local prejudice resulted in segregation of Black 35 children from common schools which was greatly influenced by anti-integrationist white community members despite common school exclusion being illegal (Aladejebi, 2021; Knight, 2012; McLaren, 2004). From 1816 to 1850 in B.C., Black children and youth were most often not admitted into common (public) schools, and if they were, they were usually segregated from white students. In 1850, the School Act was established which included a provision to create separate schools for Black children. Theoretically, this provision was to be utilized by Black parents who wanted to establish a school for their children, but many Black parents sought and fought for integration (Knight, 2012; McLaren, 2004). This provision was instead often used by racist white community members to establish separate schools for the children they did not want attending school with their own children. An additional revision to the School Act in 1859, further supported more active segregation of Black students which resulted in many Black children being excluded from common schools, and Black students who did not have access to separate schools often received no formal education at all (Knight, 2012). There is a misconception in Canadian historical narratives that Black parents wanted segregated schools. McLaren (2004) states that in contrast, it was white leaders and missionaries that proposed and supported the establishment of segregated schools. Maynard (2017) states that “Black communities did not passively accept segregation in schools but actively contested it until it ended” and continued to educate their youth despite the obstacles and hardship (p. 277). Aladejebi (2021) also reminds us that “black8 Canadians worked tirelessly to address antiblack racism in Canadian schools and found ways to increase educational equity for persons of African 8 Kristin McLaren (2004) states that in her work, she uses “‘African Canadian’ and ‘black’ interchangeably to refer to the historic community of immigrants of African heritage (the vast majority of whom came from the United States) and their descendants in Canada” (p. 28). In addition to this, I refer to the work of Funke Aladejebi (2021), whose work “focuses heavily on black women’s journeys to self -discovery and definition,” within which she uses “black, as a marker of politicized collective racial identity” which has not been capitalized (p. 13). Aladejebi (2021) uses a lower case “b” to “incorporate the diverse national and ethnic identities'' of her research participants (p. 13). 36 descent” (p. 5). It is crucial to acknowledge that the understandings of Canada as a place where equity was sought was largely due to the advocacy of African Canadians who “fought for their rights to equal participation in British-Canadian institutions” (McLaren, 2004, p. 32). Mythical ideologies of egalitarianism that were, and continue to be, understood by dominant Canadian society are underscored by overtly white supremacist and colonial objectives. Knight (2012) states that “even” today Black parents struggle against more subtle racism in academic curricula and the assessment of student ability,” and that resistance against this is continually influenced by the work of Black parents in the mid-nineteenth century (pp. 235-236). Canada has used school systems and education to develop a mythical “Canadian” identity that functions to maintain white supremacy, particularly through the perpetuation of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black sentiment (Mackey, 2000; Maynard, 2017; Tupper, 2020). Additionally, cognitive imperialism privileges Eurocentric knowledge and aims to delegitimize traditional Black knowledge, thus excluding Black students within Canadian schools (Abdi, 2020; Dei et al., 2020). Educational systems in Canada continue to under-serve many communities from different backgrounds, and there are “unique dimensions to the experiences of Black youth who experience schools as carceral places characterized by neglect, heightened surveillance and arbitrary and often extreme punishment for any perceived disobedience” (Issar, 2021; Lowman & Barker, 2015; Maynard, 2017). The dehumanization of Black youth, across all genders, sexual identities, and abilities, “is visible in the hostility, surveillance, punishment and neglect in the fabric of the education system” (Maynard, 2017, p. 212). Maynard (2017) reminds us that “slavery, followed by centuries of segregation in the school system in many provinces, left an indelible legacy of racism in publicly funded Canadian education institutions,” and that education has acted as a tool of white supremacy and settler colonialism (p. 213). 37 2.3.3. Multiculturalism and Diversifying Immigration’s Effects on Educational Policies in British Columbia In the late 1960’s, Canada established the points system for immigration and by the early 1970’s most people immigrating to Canada were educated, English-speaking, of working age, and people of non-European ancestry (Troper, 2013). Immigration racially and ethnically diversified the B.C. public education system population which resulted in further educational policy changes to integrate non-European students into public schools. Federal multiculturalism and equality policy established “cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity as categories of consideration, rather than categories of separation and exclusion” (Chan, 2007, p. 137). This led to the legislation of the Canadian Human Rights Act of 1997, and revisions to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian Multicultural Act to better protect Canadians from discrimination on various grounds, including race, ethnicity, and religion. Schools and school boards made attempts to emphasize inclusion and equality in response to the diversifying public school system and the implementation of the human rights policies listed earlier (Chan, 2007). In 1987, a review of Vancouver School District’s racial equity policy was conducted, which revealed overt and covert racism in the school system, and “recommended the allocation of greater resources to promote and implement the policy” (p. 142). By 1997, close to half of the school districts in British Columbia had implemented multiculturalism and/or anti-racism policy that recognized marginalized communities’ rights through laws and practice beyond previous notions of cultural appreciation (Chan, 2007; Sleeter, 2018). However, as exemplified by the evaluation of Vancouver school policies, “the existence of a policy does not guarantee any action or particular practice,” because although a policy can be implemented, it does not necessarily have to be mandated (MacLachlan, 2017). Chan (2007) states that “racialization is embodied in ongoing discourses in education through institutional 38 policies, practices and norms” (p. 132). Lowman and Barker (2015) state that, “even well-intentioned activists and discourses of fairness and equality can actively further end -goals of settler colonialism” by validating settler innocence and futurity (p. 73). Lowman and Barker (2015) also warn that “Canadian hallmarks such as multiculturalism, anti-racism, and equality have repeatedly been co-opted to serve the settler colonial agenda,” because openly racist and white supremacist legislation, such as the Indian Act, exist paradoxically to legislation such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and it’s related multicultural policies (p. 74). Multicultural or racial equity policy that ignores settler colonialism, global imperialism, white supremacy, Indigenous identity, Indigenous land dispossession, and racism against Black and other marginalized communities reinforces “flattened, colonialism-blind [notions] of equality” (Lowan, 2015, p. 75; see also Hutchinson, 2017). Thus, the implementation of racial equity or anti-racism policy does not necessarily imply that racial equity has been achieved, or even adequately been addressed within schools in British Columbia. 2.4. Policy History: Currently Implemented Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policies in B.C. K-12 Public Education In January of 2023, prior to the implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, the British Columbia Ministry of Education and Childcare released the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan. This plan sought to “help address discrimination, dismantle racism and make B.C. a more equitable, inclusive, and welcoming province for everyone” (British Columbia Ministry of Education and Childcare [MEC], 2023, p. 5). It also notes that “systemic racism and settler colonialism” have shaped social systems in B.C. for generations (MEC, 2023, p. 5). The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan was constructed from 2019-2022. The provincial government hosted dialogue sessions with Indigenous organizations that are partnered with the Ministry of 39 Education and Childcare, as well as teachers, principals, staff, and students across a variety of districts in B.C. (MEC, 2023). One of the main components of this plan is to encourage school districts in B.C. to implement anti-racism strategic plans within their districts, with a requirement to report back to the Ministry of Education and Childcare on their progress. As a direct response to this plan, Surrey School District confirmed that they would design a five-year plan outlining how the district would formally address racial equity in education. As a consequence of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, new policies will be developed and must be closely examined to see how previously implemented policies influenced the development and implementation of this policy. As previously mentioned, prior to the announcement of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s construction, Surrey School District had already been working with R2E to conduct an environmental scan in the district to “identify gaps between its values and the lived school experiences of the community,” which directly informed a set of recommendations for the district in September of 2022 (Surrey Schools, 2023c, para. 7). Recommendations from this assessment included, “establishing a racial equity and educational justice policy and its [corresponding] implementation plan,” as well as anti-racist and culturally responsive staff training, community partnerships, and leadership strategies (Racing to Equity, 2022, p. 4). This plan also complements the Surrey School District’s Strategic Plan 2023-2028 and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan. The Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan also draws on Canadian multiculturalism policy known as the Multicultural Act of 1988, as well as its provincial equivalent the B.C. Multiculturalism Act of 1993, which outlines Canada’s commitment to promoting diversity and multiculturalism free from barriers and exclusion (Government of Canada, 2024). These policies originally intended to address the demands of communities to 40 speak and learn in diverse languages, particularly French-language speakers, as well as those that wanted increased understanding between racialized groups within a diversifying Canadian state. However, St. Denis (2011) outlines that these policies actually “[prevented] possibilities for anti-racism and anti-colonialism,” because multicultural understandings of racial equity were centered within Eurocentric understandings of rights (p. 308). While multiculturalism policy has the potential to function as a legal anchor for marginalized communities, the actual outcomes of these policies include intensifying divisions between groups, superficial acknowledgements of culture, and lack of movement towards equity due to opposing group interests (St. Denis, 2011; Hutchinson, 2017). Additionally, St. Denis (2011) states that multiculturalism policy has undermined Indigenous communities’ calls for recognition of their sovereignty because multiculturalism devalues the need to address Indigenous rights and is deeply dependent on “structures of colonial discourse” (p. 309). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan also draws on international equity policies such as UNDRIP which was adopted by the majority of the UN in 2007 and led to the legislation of the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in 2019 (Government of British Columbia, 2022; Hanson, n.d.).9 The policies state that the international community, as well as British Columbia, are committed to maintaining the rights of Indigenous peoples by acknowledging the responsibility of settlers in the process of colonizing Turtle Island and taking action to support reconciliation for Indigenous communities (Government of British Columbia, 2022). This is an important aspect of understanding the intended goals of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan because previously implemented multiculturalism legislation has been critiqued 9 It is important to note that Canada (along with Australia, New Zealand, and the United States) initially refused to sign the UNDRIP based on the understanding that the autonomy recognized for Indigenous peoples would undermine the sovereignty of their own states (Hanson, n.d.). Only in 2010 did Canada endorse UNDRIP and in June of 2021 officially adopt it (Hanson, n.d.). However, this does not necessarily mean that UNDRIP is meaningfully upheld in Canada. 41 for “[equating] Aboriginal people with racialized minorities and particularly racialized ethnic immigrants” (St. Denis, 2011, p. 311). A limitation of racial equity policy, including the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, that is inclusive of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities is that it draws on multiculturalism policies which “erase the specific and unique location of Aboriginal peoples as Indigenous to this land by equating them with multicultural and immigrant groups” (p. 311). In analyzing the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, I sought to understand if the limitations of multiculturalism policies are redressed within the construction of this plan by way of acknowledging the limitations of equity policy in order to better address anti-Indigenous specific racism. The literature discussed in this chapter provides a broad background of the historical, economic, social, and political discourse and phenomena that influenced how Surrey School District constructed and implemented their racial equity seeking policies. I have shown examples of how the international educational market and neoliberal capitalism affect the construction, implementation, and evaluation of educational equity policy by imposing Eurocentric understandings of human rights and the commodification of education systems and educational policy. I also provided a brief overview of the historical, social, and political conditions that shaped colonial educational experiences for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities in Canada. This literature allowed for further investigation of the ways the Racial Equity Strategic Plan describes, contextualizes, and problematizes racism within the Surrey School District. In the next chapter, I discuss the theoretical framework informing the research. 42 ਪਾਣੀ The breath of the river tangles my tongue as she drowns my lips in rippled blue babbles. Lost hums in my lungs dry to dust, for them I thirst as she roars through cool canal air. Hands cupped tightly press against my chest, I watch as she seeps out of spaces between my fingers. But one day, I’ll trickle down these old bends burning my current into the riverbed. I’ll learn to breathe under her water. 43 Figure 3: Giddha – Nathoke, Amritsar 44 Chapter 3: Discursive Framework 3.1. Overview of Discursive Framework For this research, I utilized George J. S. Dei’s and Alireza Asgharzadeh’s anti-colonial discursive framework as well as Marie Battiste’s theorization of cognitive imperialism to guide my research. I focused on how anti-racist educational policy production may be supported through the incorporation of the tenets of anti-colonialism and epistemological justice. I will provide an overview of anti-colonial discursive framework and anti-colonial theory and then describe how I utilized these lenses to investigate colonial power relations embedded in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan that may reproduce inequities in K-12 public education. I will discuss the connection and distinction between anti-colonialism and anti-racism to show how these practices may further support racial equity through the development of anti-racism policy. I will also examine Eurocentrism in education and demonstrate how an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism can be used to challenge Eurocentric hegemony within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The chapter will conclude with a description of the frameworks that informed this research. 3.2. Anti-Colonial Discursive Framework I employed an anti-colonial discursive framework in this study, which enabled me to investigate the relationships between various systems of unequal power relations along the lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status/citizenship, (dis)ability, language, and religion (in addition to others) (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Wright, 2014). The framework also allowed for a critical questioning of the “social relations and power issues embedded in the ways of organizing the production, interrogation, validation and dissemination of knowledge” in order to address how practices of cognitive imperialism reproduce settler colonial ideologies and 45 practices within Canadian education systems (Dei, 2006, pp. 3-4; see also Battiste, 2011; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001).10 Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) describe how epistemological oppression and cognitive imperialism result in the entrenchment of colonial hegemony into educational systems. This continually reinforces and reproduces systemic marginalization, devaluation, and assimilation of colonized peoples’ knowledge systems, cultures, customs, languages, relational connections, and epistemologies (Battiste, 2011). Dei (2006) states that anti-colonial discursive framework calls for the interrogation of knowledge production and legitimization by centering colonized peoples’ perspectives and scholarship to counter and resist Eurocentric and colonial epistemological oppression. Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) refer to the anti-colonial discursive framework as “an epistemology of the colonized” (p. 300). This is because it draws on the knowledge and perspectives of marginalized groups to articulate their experiences “in terms of their own geography, history, culture, language, and spirituality” (p. 302). Within this framework the “oral, visual, textual, political, and material resistance of colonized groups” is celebrated and highlighted within specific spatio-temporal locations (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 301). In this research, I wanted to understand what meaningful racial equity and anti-racism in public education would look like, through the perspectives offered by Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities in the Surrey School District. Thus, the use of an anti-colonial discursive framework, in this research, acts as a counter-discourse to Eurocentric understandings of settler colonialism, human rights and racial equity within educational systems in Canada. In the context of this research, colonialism is understood as a set of relations that maintain imperial political and institutional structures, which can be challenged through locally 10 In section 3.3. Eurocentrism, Cognitive Imperialism, and Racism in Canadian Education , I drew upon Marie Battiste’s (2011) theorization of cognitive imperialism in order to investigate if/how settler colonial power inequities are embedded within the conceptualization, addressal, and evaluation of racial equity and anti-racism within the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028. 46 produced Indigenous knowledges (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Wright, 2014). Colonialism is defined as the systems and practices “that seek to impose the will of one people on another and to use the resources of the imposed people for the benefit of the imposer” (Asante, 2006, as cited in York University, n.d.). Dei (2006) describes colonialism as the actions taken on various levels (individual, group, national) that establish “hierarchies and systems of power” over land and its Indigenous peoples (p. 5). Colonization is an active action or process of “political, physical and intellectual occupation of space by the (often forceful) displacement of Indigenous populations” which reinforces settler-colonialism (York University, n.d., para. 1). While these definitions do not encompass the full complexity of colonialism and colonization, I drew on them to guide the theoretical framing of this research. Tuck and Yang (2012) describe settler colonialism as distinct from other forms of colonialism as “settlers come with the intention of making a new home on the land, and homemaking that insists on settler sovereignty over all things in their new domain” (p. 5). Tuck and Yang (2012) importantly note that within settler colonialism “land is what is most valuable, contested, [and] required” (p. 5). Thus, settlers make Indigenous land their source of capital whilst violently disrupting Indigenous relationships to the land. This research was also grounded in the understanding that imperialism is a governing ideology of colonialism, wherein colonialism functions to occupy land, materials, and subjugate Indigenous peoples in order to serve imperialist systems and grow imperial wealth (Dei, 2006; Lin, 2019; Tuck & Yang, 2012; Smith, 2021). Imperialism can be described as a set of “political/institutional structures that sustain the relations of domination” (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 300) that not only subjugates Indigenous peoples but also Europeans, “in order to serve the greater imperial enterprise,” even within educational systems (Lin, 2019, p. 72; see also Smith, 2021). 47 Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) noted that an anti-colonial discursive framework works with an understanding of indigeneity that can be defined as a knowledge consciousness of peoples and community “arising locally in association with long-term occupancy of place” (p. 302) allowing for marginalized groups to be seen as “subjects of their own experiences and histories'' (p. 300). Wright (2014) further highlights that this framework can be used as a tool for resistance by colonized groups to “invoke accountability for the colonizer'' because the anti-colonial struggle includes decolonizing the colonizer (Kempf, 2009, p. 86). Therefore, the framework provided me tool to highlight the experiences of groups that have been historically marginalized and delegitimized through the Canadian education system, while also taking accountability and responsibility to address calls for radical transformations to Eurocentric schooling systems that exist on Turtle Island. Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) argue that by using a discursive framework, rather than a theoretical framework, research can offer “comprehensive understandings of the complexities of society” in opposition to grand, meta-theories that can function to generalize the experiences of marginalized groups (p. 299). An anti-colonial discursive framework therefore “takes into full account the fact that academic and political questions are continually changing to reflect social realities'' and that these realities are experienced in various ways depending on people’s spatio-temporal locations (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 299). By avoiding the rigidity and inflexibility of theoretical frameworks, I focused on the actual content of this research rather than the reproduction of academically ‘pure’ research, further supporting my approach to an anti-colonial research process (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). Using a ‘discursive’ framework I was able to guide my research of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan through a “more flexible, transparent, [and] fluid language that discourse and discursive” aim to provide (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). 48 The aim of anti-colonial discursive framework is to “subvert dominant thinking that reinscribes colonial and colonizing relations” that could potentially also be present within efforts of racial equity and anti-racism initiatives within the public schooling system in Canada (Dei, 2006; Stanley, 2020; Wright, 2014). Thus, the ability for an anti-colonial discursive framework to draw on various theoretical and practical foundations, as well as marginalized perspectives to inform understandings of social and political phenomena allowed for a flexibility in my research that other theoretical frameworks do not necessarily offer (Dei, 2006). By utilizing an anti-colonial discursive framework for my research, I was able to draw on theories, concepts and practices of anti-colonialism, decolonization, anti-racism, and cognitive imperialism to inform my research of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 3.2.1. Anti-Colonial Theory Background and Alternatives It is important that within my research I provide an overview of anti-colonial theory, and its related terms, to clarify whose work I am drawing on to inform my research of Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Within an anti-colonial discursive framework, anti-colonialism is “defined as an approach to theorizing the colonial and re-colonial relations and implications of imperial structures on the processes of knowledge production and validation, the understanding of indigeneity, and the pursuit of agency, resistance, and subjective politics” (Dei, 2006, p. 2). Anti-colonial discursive framework draws on understandings of decolonization to form an awareness of how colonial domination and oppression operate. This requires a reclamation of the past for/by colonized peoples who have been “previously excluded [from] the history of colonial and colonized nations” (p. 2). In this study, I distinguish between anti-colonial theory and decolonization in order to avoid reducing practices of decolonization to a theoretical or ‘metaphorical’ understanding in the research (Tuck & Yang, 2012). Shahjahan (2022) describes decolonization simply as the active 49 “undoing of colonialism” (p. 82). Additionally, Tuck and Yang (2012) describe that “decolonization is a necessarily unsettling process, especially along lines of solidarity,” within which decolonial processes and practices are distinct from (but related to) other human rights-based movements, such as anti-racism (p. 7). Further, decolonization is understood variously depending on the spatio-temporal locations of colonized communities (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Shahjahan, 2022; Tuck & Yang, 2012). Thus, decolonizing work must be done in collaboration with local communities and researchers, in order to decenter whiteness and shift settler colonial power hierarchies to work towards dismantling Eurocentric systems of oppression and domination. Dei (2019) describes the relationship between anti-colonialism and decolonization as follows: Decolonization is action-oriented. It is a purposeful and intentional act. It derives from an awareness of the violence and genocide perpetrated under colonialism…Anti-colonialism and decoloniality are intertwined logics. Our political and discursive practices for a change must be anti-colonial in outlook and orientation. This way the anti-colonial becomes a path to a decolonial future (p. vii-viii; Dei, 2006). From this understanding, anti-colonialism and decolonization are related, but they are also distinct in that anti-colonialism is described as a “decolonizing of the mind” (Dei, 2006; Dei, 2000, p. 11). Dei (2006) describes anti-colonialism as developing an awareness, conciousness, and resistance of the conditions of domination and oppression that sustain hierarchies and systems of power. Tuck and Yang (2012) assert that decolonization is “distinct from other civil and human rights-based social justice” movements (p. 2). Wherein, decolonization requires significant “purposeful and intentional” action towards centering Indigenous sovereignty and futurity (Dei, 2019, p. vii; see also Dei, 2006; Tuck & Yang 2012). 50 My discursive approach to researching the Racial Equity Strategic Plan can be understood as drawing upon anti-colonialism to frame my research perspective and questions.11 However, my approach to anti-colonial discursive framework is limited because this framework calls for research to be done with local communities’ knowledges, experiences, and histories in order to offer understandings of colonial practices and community resistances through the unique perspectives of Indigenous peoples and local Indigenous communities. Given that my main objective in this research was to analyze a policy document, I was limited in my opportunities for collaboration. Although this research draws on the perspectives of marginalized communities and their localized histories, it does not involve direct connections and collaboration with the communities which is often an important part of decolonizing research. 3.2.2. Exploring Anti-Colonialism and How It Is Informed by Anti-Racism Anti-colonial discursive framework shares connections with anti-racism theory (Dei, 1999, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). Anti-racism theory acknowledges and celebrates the notion of difference whilst criticizing how it is used to create hierarchies of power that are used to economically, politically, and socially marginalize people (Dei, 1999). Dei (1996b) defines anti-racism as a “critical discourse of race and racism in society and of the continuing racializing of social groups for differential and unequal treatment” (p. 25). Further, Dei (1996b) states that “anti-racism explicitly names the issues of race and social difference as issues of power and equity” (p. 25). Anti-colonial discursive framework connects to this understanding of anti-racism to deeply ground understandings of hierarchies of power and the creation of difference, within projects of colonialism and the process of colonization (Dei, 1996b, 1999). Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) state that “race, racism, and xenophobia lie at the heart of all colonialist and imperialist 11 I discuss further the limitations of this work within Chapter 7.5. Comment on the Strengths and Limitations of This Research. 51 enterprises” and that race and racism have and are being used to justify the subordination of the colonized (p. 309). The anti-colonial discursive framework challenges Eurocentrism and work together alongside anti-racism theory to support anti-racism practice. Within the anti-colonial discursive framework, the idea of race is a social construction and a social fact with real-life consequences even though the bio-genetically determined notion of race is now completely discredited. Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) observe that the social construction of race has paved the way for the colonial project and its objectives to commit despicable acts such as “enslavement, genocide, linguicide, and deculturation” which have all taken place under the presumed superiority of one race over another (p. 309). The “fabrication of whiteness” and racial supremacy that encompasses this understanding has by extension allowed for the perpetuation of white supremacy and Eurocentrism within Canadian society and in Canadian K-12 public schools (Dei, 2006). Anti-colonial discursive framework encourages interrogation of the ways in which various systems of power are interlocked, and how this allows for the reproduction and maintenance of systems of oppression and dominance (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). Dei and Asgharzadeh (2001) state that anti-colonial discursive framework “compels one not to ignore the interdependence and interrelatedness of sites like race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, (dis)ability, and all other categories that serve as potential areas of oppression” such as immigration status, language, and religion (among others) (p. 317). At the same time, it views race as an independent category that “continues to be one of the more salient sites for exploitation and oppression” (p. 308), due to “racist ideologies [having] been used to justify the colonization and subjugation” of peoples and land (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 309; see also Max, 2005). The anti-colonial discursive framework also understands power and discourse as not 52 being entirely held by the colonizer. Rather it “[acknowledges] the power of local social practice and action in surviving colonial and colonized encounters” (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 300). Further, anti-colonial discursive framework recognizes that settler colonialism and racial hierarchization in Canada has developed alongside capitalism (Issar, 2021: St. Denis, 2000).12 St. Denis (2007) observes that “the introduction of a capitalist economy, Christianity, and Western forms of patriarchy [have] long changed Aboriginal family and community structures” including educational practices (p. 1072). Deckers (2020) added that racism is a core ideological tool that is used to justify the unequal division of labour and reward in the workforce that allows colonialism to function. Settler colonial practices of racialization, racism, and Indigenous dispossession are linked to structures such as white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism. Finally, Stanley (2020) argued that as specific racist actions are challenged and fall out of use, the foundational systems of racial oppression remain in operation which “often re-asserts the original form of dominance,” in new ways (p. 36). To effectively address racism in British Columbia's K-12 public schools, educational racial equality or anti-racism policy must address the root cause of racism to prevent oppression and racism from being reproduced in schools (Clark, 2011; Stanley, 2020). For example, if anti-racism policy claims to be addressing anti-Indigenous racism, but the policy also lacks specific and intentional addressal of how settler colonialism continues to dispossess Indigenous peoples from Indigenous lands then anti-racism policy will not meaningfully address anti-Indigenous racism within Canadian public school systems (Tuck & Yang, 2012). Therefore, anti-racism policy must prioritize Indigenous self-determination to meaningfully address anti-Indigenous racism within education systems. Similarly, if anti-racism policy claims to be addressing anti-Black racism, but the policy lacks specific and intentional addressal of mythological representations of Canada as a place where 12 I have previously discussed this connection in detail in Chapter 2: Literature Review. 53 histories of enslavement and segregation did not exist, then anti-racism policy will not meaningfully address anti-Black racism in education systems (McLaren, 2004). Thus, racial equity and anti-racism initiatives must clearly address and actively challenge practices of settler colonialism within Canadian K-12 education that implement and maintain Eurocentric hegemony and capitalist exploitation of land and people (Issar, 2021, St. Denis, 2007; Tuck & Yang, 2012). In this study I argue that Canadian settler colonialism and its relationship to capitalism, white supremacy, and imperialism must be clearly addressed and meaningfully challenged by educational equity policy. This includes the recognition that racialized settlers, such as myself, acknowledge our participation, albeit under various circumstances, in ongoing settler colonialism (Tuck & Yang, 2012). At the forefront of racial equity and anti-racism initiatives must be action towards the recognition of treaty rights and the ability for Indigenous communities to self-govern, since the denial of Indigenous self-determination is in itself an act of individual and institutional racism and colonialism (Max, 2005). In summary, anti-colonial discursive framework asks researchers to consider the connections between racism and colonialism. This allows for this research to investigate the root causes of racism in order to understand if and to what extent the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan holistically and meaningfully addresses racial equity and anti-racism through this policy’s implementation. The process of colonialism “uses racism as a tool” (Max, 2005, p. 80) to justify its existence, and “race, racism, and xenophobic lie at the heart of all colonialist and imperialist enterprises” including education (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 309). Dei (2006) emphasizes that “education is racialized” (p. 9) as seen through the experiences of those that are excluded from educational access, as well as when we look at “whose [knowledge] and what knowledge and [experiences] are validated and delegitimized” within education in Canada (p. 9). In the next section, I will discuss cognitive imperialism and epistemic justice. An 54 important part of anti-colonial discursive framework is understanding how “the expansion of capitalism has aided coloniality…[and] enabled the spread of Western epistemologies and Western education systems,” leading to the delegitimization and devaluation of non-Eurocentric ways of knowing (Deckers, 2020, p. 56). Thus, educational sovereignty and the valuation of Indigenous ways of knowing is central to the meaningful addressal of anti-Indigenous racism (St. Denis, 2007). 3.3. Eurocentrism, Cognitive Imperialism, and Racism in Canadian Education In this section I draw on Marie Battiste’s (2011) conceptualization of Eurocentrism and cognitive imperialism to structure my analysis of how values of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy may be embedded within educational racial equity policy. Eurocentrism is understood as “the superiority of Europeans over non-Europeans'' due to perceived intellectual, spiritual, rational, and ethical factors (p. xviii). Eurocentric research and knowledge claims to be universal, which allows it to be projected onto, as well as subordinate, localized knowledge systems (Battiste, 2011). The colonial national narratives allow for Eurocentrism to be reinforced throughout Canadian educational, legal, and social systems which “[induce] a collective amnesia that alienates Indigenous peoples'' from their knowledges, community, land, and spirituality (Battiste, 2011, p. xxi; see also Battiste, 2000; Mackey, 2000). Eurocentric discourse has “silenced and subordinated Indigenous peoples, as well as many others in society,” by its intentional embeddedness into assimilative systems of education within a Canadian context (Battiste, 2011, p. xviii). This system of essentialization extends to Black and other racialized communities in Canada who are socialized into maintaining colonial hegemony through their participation in K-12 public education (Mackey, 2000; Chan, 2007). 55 I draw on Battiste’s (2017) conceptualization of cognitive imperialism to examine how colonial systems of public education in Canada utilize Eurocentrism to structure educational curriculum and pedagogy to control and devalue the knowledge systems of marginalized groups. Battiste (1986) describes cognitive imperialism as the generation, legitimation, production, and diffusion of knowledge that values epistemologies that are connected to those who hold colonial power, while other groups' knowledge systems are devalued and marginalized (Battiste, 2017). Battiste (2017) further notes that “cognitive imperialism relies on colonial dominance as a foundation of thought, language, values, and frames of reference as reflected in the language of instruction, curricula, discourses, texts, and methods” of education (p. 161). Additionally, cognitive imperialism is related to Eurocentrism in that “cognitive imperialism is a form of manipulation used in Eurocentric educational systems” that has been built on damaging assumptions of racial hierarchy and impositions of imperialist knowledge within Canadian K-12 public education (Battiste, 2017, p. 161). Other scholars have noted that Canadian education systems have been constructed to intentionally reproduce British colonial, Christian, class-based society, in order to maintain colonial “social-order” and prioritizes Eurocentric worldviews (Barman, 2012; Brown, 2015). Abdi (2020) affirms that mental and cultural colonization through colonial education systems have had destructive effects on students’ ontologies and self-valuation towards that of the oppressor. As such, Indigenous, Black, and racialized students are “faced with Eurocentric knowledge that marginalize[s] their own ways of knowing and being,” which leads to discomfort while having to navigate an “inter-between space of competing knowledges” (Clement, 2019, p. 277). Battiste (2011) states that Eurocentric education systems instated by settlers alienates Indigenous youth from their knowledge, languages, and Elders, resulting in disconnection from their land, spiritual connections, and worldviews. Additionally, Abdi (2020) states Eurocentric 56 educational systems have “[served] as the most important factor” in the ontological decentering and devaluing of African languages, knowledges, and identities (p. 204). Thus, Indigenous, Black, and racialized students are taught, socialized, and expected to adopt western epistemologies “in order to be viewed as legitimate,” which is defined as cognitive imperialism (Clement, 2019, p. 278; see also Battiste, 1986). These examples underscore how the persistent validation of Eurocentrism within educational systems in Canada not only perpetuates the marginalization of Indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups, but also reinforces these structures of oppression that continue to devalue diverse ways of knowing and approaching education. 3.4. Framing The Research Through Anti-Colonial Discursive Framework and Cognitive Imperialism I now discuss how anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism guided my analysis of ways colonial power relations embedded in racial equity and anti-racism educational policy may exacerbate and exploit various categories of inequity in order to maintain settler colonialism and Eurocentric hegemony within K-12 public education in Canada. Anti-colonial discursive framework enabled me to address objectives of this research, which pay particular attention to understanding how racial equity is conceptualized, how racism is proposed to be addressed, and the extent to which these proposals address the root cause of racism within the Surrey School District. Whereas cognitive imperialism allowed me to address the research objectives of investigating the contexts in which Eurocentrism may be reproduced or challenged within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The anti-colonial discursive framework attempts to critically gaze upon inequity due to hierarchical power relations within social systems broadly. This research specifically focused on 57 public education systems in Canada. The public education system needs to be critically re-examined to account for how racial equity policy attempts to address cognitive imperialism, if at all (Battiste, 2017; Kubota, 2020; Dei, 2006). While anti-colonial discursive framework scrutinizes the Eurocentricity of knowledge production, validation, and dissemination, Battiste’s (2017) cognitive imperialism theorization focuses this investigation onto North American education systems as spaces of “cognitive whitewashing” and “cultural imperialism” (p. 162). The anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism offered me a variety of tools to approach my analysis of the Surrey School District Racial Equity Strategic Plan from the perspective of meaningfully addressing racism within K-12 public education. These frameworks are interrelated and strengthen each other because anti-colonial discursive framework requires anti-racism initiatives to challenge Eurocentricity within knowledge production and educational practices so that multiple knowledge forms and representations of people may exist within educational systems. In chapter four, I outline how my research utilized anti-colonial QCA as a methodological framework, through the lens of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism, to identify how the Surrey School District claims to challenge racism and support racial equity in the district for students and staff through the implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 58 Nani’s Memory of the Partition She was 17, supposed to be married. She fell ill on the journey from Pakistan. Do you know what a gada is? That’s how we walked over. With everyone’s belongings, we walked miles. Muslims towards Pakistan, us towards India. When there were problems, we had to stop. Once, we ran out of food and supplies. Pakistani people fed us in exchange for gold. We stayed for three months by the canal. The canal separated Pakistan and India, it was a big one. The white people dug it. It was filled with dead bodies. The armies killed people, threw them into the canal. The canals were filled with people’s bodies. Women were killed, thrown in the canal. The canals were filled with our daughters' bodies. Our family was held together by your grandpa’s older sister. Your grandpa’s older sister, she was 17, supposed to be married. But in the water, lay violence and disease. When she got typhoid, there were no medications. Still we made the journey. She passed away in our village. In our village, your great-grandma fetched water from the well. There she found a Muslim girl crying, her family had been killed. Your great-grandma told her of her daughter's death, she offered her home. With the dowry they’d saved, they married the girl. She moved to Kolkata afterwards. We’ve tried finding her, but haven’t seen her since. We haven’t seen our sister since she was 17. 59 Figure 4: The Knowing That Rests in Her Hands – Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran 60 Chapter 4: Methodological Framework 4.1. Anti-Colonial Qualitative Content Analysis This study used a qualitative content analysis methodological approach to investigate how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan describes and challenges racial inequity and racism against Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in the Surrey School District. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) is a methodological approach often used specifically for public policy awareness, advocacy, and research for policy (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). The objective of QCA is to capture the key meanings, themes, and contents of text in order to understand the organization, process and construction of the text being researched (Drisko & Maschi, 2015; Lin, 2019; White & Marsh, 2006). Qualitative content analysis is applied through systematic and rule-driven codifying of identifiable themes, ideas, and patterns within text (Drisko & Maschi, 2015; Heck, 2004; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; Lin, 2019). This methodology addresses both overt and covert themes and core ideas found in text while allowing for the subjective interpretation of the data. This approach enabled me to further explain the meanings of the main themes found within the Surrey School District Racial Equity Strategic Plan and describe how these meanings are conveyed. Qualitative content analysis can also be used to expand and enlarge the original data set, which is useful for this research as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is a relatively short document. The approach also allowed for flexibility to adapt the research design to address themes that were not foreshadowed but nevertheless are consistently present within the chosen dataset (Lin, 2019; White & Marsh, 2006). I utilized QCA because it allowed me to focus the research emphasis on the Racial Equity Strategic Plan text, as well as its historical, economic, social, and political contexts. The ability of QCA to adapt to the researchers’ own questions and goals is what allows for anti-colonial methodologies to inform research design. As informed by Gloria Lin’s (2019) use of anti- 61 colonial and decolonial approaches of QCA, anti-colonial QCA in this study allowed for contexts of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy to be the focus of my analysis within this research. Particularly, this QCA employed an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism to investigate the colonial hegemony that exists in the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan and how this may reinforce racial inequity within the district. My analysis of the text categorizes the main themes that arise from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan through the lens of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. I discuss the findings through these frameworks to include a description of what is covertly implied within the text and what information may be left out or omitted as informed by the literature review and discursive/theoretical frameworks. Further, QCA provides a strong foundation to disseminate research findings beyond academic communities and to instead reach the general public (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). Drisko and Maschi (2015) describe that QCA can be used to “significantly raise public awareness, including that of public administration, policymakers, and advocacy groups,” through usage of publicly available evidence to educate and advocate for social and political initiatives (p. 141). Findings of QCA research can be used to inform the application of improvements for policy and practice, including in education. This will allow me to share the findings of this research with educators, Surrey School District leaders, policymakers, advocacy groups, and stakeholders of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan to promote evidence-based policy making in the Surrey School District as structured by an anti-colonial QCA. 4.2. Steps to Complete a Deductive Anti-Colonial Qualitative Content Analysis As informed by Drisko & Maschi (2015) and Lin (2019), I utilized a deductive coding approach in this research. This requires that research begin “with an orienting theory or 62 evaluation questions that allows the deductive development of at least some of the codes used in the study,” through review of prior research and theory (Drisko & Maschi, 2015, p.106). By implementing a deductive coding approach, I framed my research questions and initial coding categories through the orientation of an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. This way, I critically examined capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, as well as the systems of whiteness and white supremacy within B.C. K-12 racial equity policy. I was also able to amend my coding frame based on new/unforeseen themes after the formative coding step (Schreier, 2012). The steps that I used to conduct my anti-colonial QCA are listed below: 1. Selecting texts to be used as part of the analysis data set. I chose to analyze the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 as my data set, with the addition of the B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare’s K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan as a supporting data set. 2. Deciding on theory and/or evaluation questions to guide analysis. In this research, I decided to use an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism as my guiding theories. 3. Informed by my theoretical framework and literature review, I derived some main and sub-categories of analysis. 4. Formulating coding definitions, frame, and rules according to the main theoretical framework (anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism, in my study). 5. Coding part of the data set with the deductive categories. 6. Evaluating/modifying the coding frame where required, based on the partial coding of the data set in step 5. 7. Coding the full set of data with finalized main categories and sub-categories. 8. Presenting and interpreting the findings. 63 In the following sections, I provide a detailed overview of the data set selection process, the formulation of research questions and sub-questions, the deductively derived main/subcategories of analysis, my initial coding definitions and rules, and any modifications made to the data set or coding frame prior to coding the full data set (Steps 1 to 6). In the subsequent chapter, I provide a detailed overview of coding the full data set and presentation of my findings. 4.3. Steps 1 and 2: Data Selection Process and Deductively Derived Research Questions My initial coding process used the Surrey School District Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan as the data set to derive the main categories and the subcategories of analysis that will be used to code and analyze the full data set. This research was limited to an analysis of publicly available documents only. All of the data that I interpreted was derived from publicly available texts from the Surrey School District and B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare. As such, the usage of these texts does not impact copyright issues. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan document clearly states that while the plan is informed by the foundational principles of B.C.’s, Canada’s and international human rights legislation, it specifically “builds upon the guiding principles and framework of the British Columbia Ministry of Education and Child Care K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan” (Surrey Schools, 2023a). The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan is also a strategic plan, similar to the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, which has been implemented by the B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare. The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan is frequently drawn-on by the Racial Equity Strategic Plan as a broader policy implemented by the province that must be adhered to within each school district. After deducting the initial main categories of analysis from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, I found 64 that the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan was highly relevant to these derived categories13, thus supporting this research of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. In my finalized data set, I added the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan because it provides further context, elaborates on, and supports this research of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. I coded the K-12 Anti-Racism Plan and the Racial Equity Strategic Plan using the same coding frame because the main themes presented in both texts were highly similar. My coding process relied on iterative sampling, which is commonly used for QCA research (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). Iterative sampling is a flexible approach to sampling wherein data collection and data analysis co-occur. Drisko & Maschi (2015) describe iterative sampling as a “process through which researchers review and revise their initial sampling plan based on the result of preliminary data collection and data analysis” (p. 101). Iterative sampling allows for newly discovered, disconfirming, or elaborating evidence to be taken into account within the coding frame in order to ensure that gaps in the sampling plan are addressed (Drisko & Maschi, 2015; Schreier, 2012). Within the steps that I have outlined to complete an anti-colonial QCA, the coding frame may be modified until step 6, prior to coding the full data set (Schreier, 2012). By implementing a deductive coding approach, I framed the research questions and initial coding categories through the orientation of an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. My deductively informed research questions are listed below: How does Surrey School District describe, problematize, and challenge racial inequity and racism against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and staff within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 and its related sources? Sub-questions: 13 In section 4.4. Step 3: Deductively Derived Initial Main/Subcategories of Analysis, I provide a list of the initial deductively derived main categories. 65 a. How is racial equity conceptualized, addressed, and evaluated within this policy? b. What historical, economic, social, and political discourses and phenomena inform the prioritization of racial equity within the Surrey School District, and how does this affect policy production, implementation, and dissemination? c. How (if at all) is Eurocentrism and cognitive imperialism addressed and/or reinforced within this policy and its related sources with regards to racial equity? Anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism informed the construction of my initial research questions and the coding frame. An anti-colonial approach to QCA allowed me to focus the research through the specific contexts of the guiding frameworks described above, while maintaining flexibility within the research design (Heck, 2004; Schreier, 2014). 4.4. Step 3: Deductively Derived Initial Main/Subcategories of Analysis Drisko and Maschi (2015) describe that in order to develop new knowledge and fully address the research questions that frame a QCA study, the researcher must implement wide-ranging and in-depth coding of the data set. Coding is used to “identify and describe key meanings within the texts” that either reduce/summarize the data or expand on and enlarge key themes (p. 102). For this research, my coding approach involved providing a description of the key themes and content within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and further expanding on these key themes through the lens of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism after conducting coding of the full data set. By taking a deductive approach to anti-colonial QCA, my work began with the frameworks of an anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism as my guiding lenses. After reading the strategic plans in the data selection/immersion step and drawing on the perspectives outlined in my literature review and discursive/theoretical framework, I designated 66 the main and subcategories of analysis from which I predicted initial codes to orient my analysis. The focus of my content analysis and main/subcategory derivation was on themes present in the text, rather than specific repeated words or phrases. Drisko and Maschi (2015) call this the “coding immersion step” that functions to provide an overview of themes that may arise during the coding step. The immersion step allows the researcher to “become informed about the content in context [of the outlined study], begin to notice key content and omissions of what might be expected content or perspectives, and begin to identify connections within the data and preliminary categories” (p. 102). Within this immersion step, I designated some of the main categories listed below, in no specific order: 1. Responding to racism 2. Diversity, equity, and belonging 3. Education and professional development 4. Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources 5. Racial equity policy construction and amendments 6. Collaboration with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities 7. Data collection, research, and reporting 8. Anti-Indigenous racism 9. Anti-Black racism 10. Defining key terms (other) 4.5. Step 4: Formulation of Initial Coding Definitions, Frames, and Rules Using the deductively derived main categories, I formulated subcategories, coding definitions, frames, and rules which were used to code part of the data set (Delve, 2023; Delve, 2024; Drisko & Maschi, 2015; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; Medelyan, n.d.). The main components 67 of the coding frame included the deductively derived “main coding categories” and the “coding sub-categories” to organize coding definitions, rules, and examples within the text. The “code” column refers to the abbreviation of the coding subcategory that I used for coding the data, wherein the first three letters of the code refer to the main category and the last three letters refer to the subcategory. For example, “TER:RAC” designates that the code falls into the main category defining key terms (other) and subcategory racism and related terms. The “coding definition” column provides a description of the texts that fit within each code. The “when to use” column refers to the parameters within which I applied sections of text to a specific code. The “example in data” column provided one direct quote from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan that acted as an exemplar for text that would fit within that coding sub-category. At this stage of the research, all of the coding categories, definitions, and examples were summarized representations of the key themes presented within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan document. Within an anti-colonial QCA, the research questions require that all of the information within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan be considered for analysis as it is presented within the text itself in order to understand how racial equity and anti-racism are represented and addressed by the strategic plan. Within the analysis and interpretation stage, I utilized the guiding frameworks of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism to focus my analysis on why and how these key themes arose, as well as what key themes may have been omitted from the text as outlined within my literature review. Using these coding categories, definitions, and rules, I coded part of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan in order to highlight any amendments, additions or reductions that needed to be made to the coding frame prior to coding the full data set. At the next step, the coding frame can be amended in lieu of the emergence of unpredicted key themes that should be discussed within the research findings (Drisko & Maschi, 2015; Schreier, 2012). 68 4.6. Step 5 and 6: Coding Part of Data Set and Modifying the Coding Frame Based on the partial coding of the initial deductively derived categories, I amended the coding frame to merge the “responding to racism” and “diversity, equity, and belonging” categories into one main category, as there was overlap between these coding frames, rules, and definitions. Instead, I designated the slight differences between these two themes as subcategories within the larger responding to racism category. Below I provide a list (in no specific order) of the main and subcategories of analysis that I finalized after the initial coding process and amendments completed: 1. Responding to racism a. Addressing interpersonal, internalized, systemic, and structural racism (specific) b. Proposals addressing the creation of safe work and learning spaces (general) c. Collective responsibility d. Celebrations of culture 2. Education and professional development a. Awareness of people’s diverse experiences and backgrounds (students) b. Workshops and on-going education and professional development (staff) 3. Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources a. Curricular outcomes b. Instructional design and assessment c. Diverse resources 4. Policy construction, amendment, and enforcement a. Revising implemented policies b. Creating new racial equity and anti-racism policy c. Enforcing existing human rights policy 69 5. Collaboration with Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities a. Listening circles and feedback groups b. Strengthen communication between the district and communities 6. Data collection, research, and reporting a. Surveys and data collection 7. Anti-Indigenous racism a. Defining anti-Indigenous racism b. References to Canadian settler colonialism c. Truth and Reconciliation d. First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) 8. Anti-Black racism a. Defining anti-Black racism b. Addressing anti-Black racism 9. Defining key terms (other) a. Racism and related terms b. Defining racism for groups other than specifically Indigenous or Black people c. Racial equity, anti-racism, and related terms d. Colonialism, decolonization, and related terms e. Human rights and related terms Below is an example from the finalized codebook I used to organize my analysis of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 70 Table 1 Sample from Codebook Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Education and professional development Workshops/ on-going education and professional development (staff) EPD:STA Text that is specifying that staff are provided opportunities to learn about practices that foster diversity, equity, and belonging. Specifically, it is text that describes workshops and professional development opportunities that will be offered to staff. Apply to text that refers to the learning opportunities that are developed as a result of centering racial equity, anti-racism, cultural appreciation, etc., targeted towards staff learning. Do not apply to text that refers to school celebrations or learning that is targeted towards student learning. “To increase the capacity of staff to understand and incorporate racial equity and anti-racism principles, viewpoints, cultural awareness, and culturally responsive and affirming pedagogy in schools and all district sites” (p. 13). Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources Curricular outcomes CPR:CUR Text that describes how B.C. Curriculum’s learning outcomes support principles of inclusivity, diversity, belonging, racial equity and anti-racism. As well as any amendments that may be made to further support these principles. Apply to text that refers to making amendments to the B.C. Curriculum’s learning outcomes. Do not apply to text that refers to amendments of student learning outside of what is mandated by the curriculum (i.e. celebrations). Do not apply to text that refers to Indigenous-specific curricular amendments. “To increase awareness of how core competencies curriculum promotes and affirms cultural identity and understandings” (p. 13). 71 In this chapter, I shared the process I followed to deductively derive my main research questions, coding categories and subcategories, and codebook. I also outlined all of the amendments I made to my coding frames, definitions, and rules based on the formative coding step, which includes changes to the main categories and additionally coding the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan as an extension of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan data set. In the next chapter, I used the finalized coding frame to code the full data set and present the findings of each main category. I present the findings of themes that are most relevant to the guiding frameworks of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. 72 49.262504, -123.102125 The tang of citrusy santra fades as I follow the brisk bends of our rolling emerald river down to where the soil meets the sea. Under the eyes of the sun and stars the golden temple glimmers lighting mighty petals of marigold that’ll carry me across the world. Faith fueled sails migrate to where orcas dance beneath deep blue swells—here I’m left with only salt on my tongue. Carved paddles cut waves to lay relief in my palms of sweet blueberries and warmth of wool threaded strand-by-strand to weave us together. I hope for a day that I may share a citrusy santra from home with my cousins across the sea. 73 Figure 5: Meeting Our Home – Kot Jograj, Gurdaspur 74 Chapter 5: Presentation of Main Findings 5.1. Overview of Main Findings As part of my data analysis approach as explained in chapter four, I began by coding the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan using the finalized codebook (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). I reorganized the main categories to summarize the key findings of the coded data in order to convey the relevance of each category of findings in addressing the outlined research questions. To present the findings of this research, I used the main coding categories as section headings and summarized the findings within the subcategories for each. Within each category, key findings are illustrated using quotes from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan that provide evidence of what key themes are present in the plans and how they are contextualized (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). I have organized the coding category findings in order of relevance, with the categories most pertinent to my research presented first, followed by subsequent topics that, while less central, remain significant to the overall discussion. The findings point to: (i) ways the Racial Equity Strategic Plan focuses on addressing interpersonal racism rather than systemic/institutional racism; (ii) the failure of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan to examine the root causes of racism or the overarching systems of oppression that reinforce racism including capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, or white supremacy; (iii) the lack of clarity regarding the implementation of proposed initiatives to promote racial equity; (iv) and the ambiguity on evaluation and accountability in the implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. As it stands, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan might function more effectively to improve the Surrey School District’s public and political image than to promote racial equity and anti-racism. In this chapter, I will provide a detailed discussion and further elaborate on these findings through the lens of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism which I will use to analyze and interpret the key findings, 75 as well as other themes that are relevant to addressing the research objectives (Drisko & Maschi, 2015, p. 110). 5.2. Anti-Indigenous racism The Racial Equity Strategic Plan notes that it pays particular attention to addressing anti-Indigenous racism within the Surrey School District. However, in comparison to other categories of coded data, the references made towards challenging anti-Indigenous racism within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan are important but limited and vague. The first subcategory I have outlined describes data that provides definitions of anti-Indigenous racism. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan defines anti-Indigenous racism as follows: Anti-Indigenous racism is the ongoing race-based discrimination, negative stereotyping, and injustice experienced by Indigenous Peoples within Canada. It includes ideas and practices that establish, maintain and perpetuate power imbalances, systemic barriers, and inequitable outcomes that stem from the legacy of colonial policies and practices in Canada. Systemic anti-Indigenous racism is evident in discriminatory federal policies such as the Indian Act and the residential school system. It is also manifest in the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in provincial criminal justice and child welfare systems, as well as inequitable outcomes in education, wellbeing, and health (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 29). Further, indigeneity is described as “[being] tied to land and place” wherein Indigenous peoples are recognized as being connected to and belonging on this land (p. 32). The second subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, references to Canadian settler colonialism, outlines any text that describes how racism may be experienced by Indigenous peoples in relation to ongoing practices of colonization within the education system, 76 and its enduring social, political, economic, and cultural effects. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan makes a singular, but relevant, reference to this subcategory, wherein it is stated that the Surrey School District shall use a “trauma-informed approach to understanding and responding to conflict that recognizes Indigenous families lived and living experiences with colonization and systemic, interpersonal, internalized, and structural racism” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 29).14 The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, elaborates on this position, wherein it is stated that “systemic racism and settler colonialism have shaped our province for generations,” and this continues to hurt Indigenous, Black, and racialized people in B.C. (MEC, 2023, p. 5). The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan states that it is necessary for the B.C. K-12 education system to commit to acknowledging and understanding this discrimination, as it has affected Indigenous, Black and racialized communities historically and endures today (MEC, 2023). The third subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, Truth and Reconciliation, included data that refers to supporting principles of Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples within the Surrey School District. For example, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan states that, the Surrey School District “is committed to acknowledging historical and ongoing injustices to Indigenous Peoples across Canada and to honouring and acting on Truth and Reconciliation” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 2). However, as an example, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan makes no specific note of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, or how these calls to action will be upheld and supported by the Surrey School District. Additionally, both the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan begin with land acknowledgements towards the First Nations communities that have traditionally lived on the land that is now unjustly occupied by settler communities. However, 14 In section 5.4. Responding to racism, I make further note of the use of terminology such as “trauma -informed” approaches to addressing racism and how these terms are not clearly defined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 77 there is no mention made of supporting Indigenous sovereignty, specifically for education, or movements such as Land Back.15 The fourth subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL), included data that refers to the commitment of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan to “[include] and [lift] up the wisdom of local Indigenous cultures, languages and identities and making the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) evident and highlighted in classrooms, learning spaces, and workspaces” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 14). This included increasing teacher’s curricula and pedagogical understanding of the FPPL for childcare and education; increasing collaboration with Indigenous educators; and improving teacher ability to “apply the First People’s Principles of Learning (FPPL) authentically and consistently in classrooms and learning environments” (p. 26). It was unclear whether these initiatives would be part of the proposed changes to teachers’ professional development opportunities, or whether these changes would be part of pre-service teacher education programs. Additionally, it was unclear who would inform FPPL initiatives and the extent to which Indigenous peoples would be consulted and actively part of this education process. As well, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan has proposed commitments to include FPPL into the B.C. K-12 curriculum, but it does not specify what topics, grades or subjects will have their curriculum reformed, as well as who would inform these curricular changes. 15 Vowel (2016) notes that “there is no Indigenous system of education in Canada,” wherein reserve, band, charter, and even schools that provide “Indigenous content” are wholly Canadian institutions (p. p. 276). With regards to education, Land Back refers to the fact that all educational institutions in Canada (K-12 and post-secondary) are located on stolen Indigenous lands, thus are “actively in support of the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous lands” (Daigle, 2019, p. 703). Corntassel (2021) describes Land Back as a movement that seeks to return to consent-based jurisdiction and rematriation of self-determining authority back to Indigenous territories. Corntassel (2021) notes that “broadly speaking, we can think of Land Back as the regeneration of Indigenou s laws on Indigenous lands and waters” (p. 4). Land Back necessarily extends to Indigenous peoples as a “call to liberate stolen lands and waters from current colonial encroachments legal fictions” (Corntassel, 2021, p. 4). 78 5.3. Anti-Black racism The Racial Equity Strategic Plan also indicates that it pays particular attention to addressing anti-Black racism within the Surrey School District. However, the references made towards challenging anti-Black racism within the district are scanty and generalized in terms of details. The first subcategory I outlined describes data that provided definitions of anti-Black racism. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan defines anti-Black racism as noted below: Anti-Black racism is prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination that is directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and its legacy. Anti-Black racism is deeply entrenched in Canadian institutions, policies and practices, to the extent that anti-Black racism is either functionally normalized or rendered invisible to the larger White society. Anti-Black racism is manifest in the current social, economic, and political marginalization of African Canadians, which includes unequal opportunities, lower socio-economic status, higher unemployment, significant poverty rates and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 29).16 The second subcategory of the data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, addressing anti-Black racism, included all data that referred to how the Surrey School District proposes to address anti-Black racism within the district. For example, the district proposed to “use a trauma-informed approach to understanding and responding to conflict that recognizes Black families lived and living experiences with systemic, interpersonal, internalized, and structural racism” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 21). Specifically, the district plans to create a district Racial Equity, 16 Although the Racial Equity Strategic Plan defines enslavement and its enduring consequences as a 'legacy,' I disagree with this characterization, as it can be harmful. I also use the language of ‘enslavement’ rather than ‘slavery,’ because the term ‘enslavement’ recognizes the humanity of the enslaved person, whereas the term ‘slavery’ or ‘slave’ objectifies and dehumanizes the person (Rinehart, 2022). 79 Diversity, and Belonging Calendar that includes Black History/Excellence Month, support guest speakers to teach students about anti-Black racism, amend curriculum to better include Black History within Canadian History, and address the problematic and “prevalent use of the N-word in schools and… affirm how dangerous, inappropriate and unacceptable it is to speak, hear, and/or write the N-word in any form in schools” (p. 21). It is important to note that within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan there is no mention of how racism is experienced by Black folk in relation to Canadian histories of chattel enslavement and its enduring social, political, economic effects, including in education, other than in the singular definition of anti-Black racism noted above. There is also no mention of the addressal of racial streaming or hyper surveillance of Black students within the education system, nor how it may be addressed, despite mentioning that Black students face “unequal opportunities” as a consequence of anti-Black racism institutionalized within the Surrey School District (Maynard, 2017; Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 29). 5.4. Responding to racism This category of data included the bulk of the data collected from this research and summarized how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan proposes to respond to racism within the Surrey School District. The first subcategory, actions addressing interpersonal, internalized, systemic, and structural racism (specific), outlined specific practices and procedures that aimed to address racism within the Surrey School District for students and staff. For example, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan outlines that it is important to “create clear, bias free pathways and instructions to confront and report discrimination to supervisors and managers, as well as to Human Resources” in an attempt to provide greater access to safe reporting of incidents of racism for staff (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 13). Another example includes, “[co-creating] with 80 Human Resources a guide to best practices for equitable, diverse, and belonging hiring processes, incorporating unconscious bias training for hiring committees,” and extending this information to all Surrey School administrative departments (p. 15). However, no details are provided about how exactly reporting or hiring practices would be improved. Although this data referred to specific responses of challenging racism within the district, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan makes repetitive references to generally employing “trauma-informed” and “culturally responsive” approaches of responding to racism for staff and students, but does not clarify what exactly this means, how it meaningfully challenges racism, or what sources they are drawing on to inform this approach of addressing racism. Additionally, supporting students' mental health was a main component of addressing racial equity and anti-racism within Surrey School District. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan describes that it will, “encourage students to use the PSST online reporting tool as a safe and anonymous way of reporting racism” and encourage students to use the Kids Help Phone line or connect with counselors to seek mental health support, as outlined in the Ministry of Education and Childcare Mental Health in Schools Strategy (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 20). However, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clarify or justify how supporting students' mental health further supports racial equity initiatives. The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan does clarify this connection by describing that the “effects of racism on mental health are well documented and have been consistently linked with higher instances for stress, poor health outcomes, and suicidal thoughts and attempts in youth” (MEC, 2023, p. 6). Thus, the B.C. Education Ministry proposed mental health care as a response to racism within K-12 public education because the presence of caring school staff and supportive counselors has been associated with “more positive outcomes among those who had experienced racism,” thereby supporting the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (MEC, 2023, p. 6). This will be examined further in Chapter 6. 81 The second subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, proposals addressing the creation of safe work and learning spaces (general), outlines generalized dedications towards creating equitable and diverse learning spaces for students. For example, while the commitment to “collectively strengthen work and learning environments that are culturally responsive, to celebrate diversity of community, and strive to ensure belonging for everyone,” is important and emphasized throughout the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 5), it was unclear how this noble goal would be realized and also how the Surrey School District will challenge racism or promote anti-racism within the K-12 school system. As it is, this commitment comes across more as a means of conveying the overarching intention of implementing the Racial Equity Strategic Plan within the Surrey School District. The third subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, collective responsibility, makes note of who will be responsible for implementing the initiatives outlined by the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, as assigned by the Racial Equity Department and the Surrey School District. The plan states that, “this work is a collective responsibility, shared by every department, program, school and staff member,” and requires collaboration between all of these stakeholders. However, it does not specify that staff and students are required to act in accordance to this strategic plan and its resulting policies, rather they are “[invited] to join” the Racial Equity Department in embracing this strategy (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 4). It is important to note that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clearly outline who the “responsible” parties are accountable to for implementing initiatives outlined within the plan. The fourth subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, celebrations of culture, described the special days, weeks, months, or events allocated to celebrate specific cultural events or other marginalized community representation within schools. These events are aimed to function as learning opportunities outside of provincially mandated curricula. The 82 Racial Equity Strategic Plan states that schools should provide time and space for cultural events to support staff and students learning of equity and diversity. For example, the plan specifically proposes that schools should “support ‘diversity week’ or ‘multicultural day’ opportunities” in order to reinforce the importance of caring, compassion, and empathy for diversity in schools (p. 16). As well, it encourages that schools are provided with guest speakers “for students in elementary and secondary schools on various topics of racial equity, with special emphasis on including Anti-Indigenous Racism and Anti-Black Racism,” learning opportunities (p. 16). In alignment with the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan also proposes to “create a district Racial Equity, Diversity, and Belonging Calendar with important cultural dates, in addition to recognizing the importance of Truth and Reconciliation Day, Black History/Excellence Month, and cultural months that occur throughout the school year” (p. 16). 5.5. Policy construction, amendment, and enforcement This category summarized all of the data that referred to the construction, revision or enforcement of racial equity, anti-racism, human rights, or other educational policies based on the guidelines of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. As outlined in subcategory, creating new racial equity policy, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan describes the creation of an overarching racial equity and anti-racism plan that addresses all Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities. It indicated that Surrey School District should “establish a Racial Equity Policy that affirms that Surrey School District’s commitment to providing a racially equitable, diverse, respectful, and safe environment free of racism, discrimination, and oppression for all students and employees” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 14). As well, that this policy should “[affirm] Surrey School District’s commitment to ensuring that all its policies and procedures align with the BC Human Rights Commission values and expectations of equity” (p. 22). The process of 83 constructing a racial equity policy in the district is described to be a result of consultation with IBPOC community, staff, and Student Voice programs (Racing to Equity, 2022). The plan also outlines that new guidelines and procedures will be created to respond to incidents of racism in ways that are “culturally safe” and “trauma-informed” in all departments, but most importantly in Human Resources (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 21). Counter to implementing a broad-based racial equity policy in Surrey School District, it is made clear in the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan that “anti-racism cannot be addressed in siloes,” meaning that overarching racial equity policy may not fully challenge racism and support anti-racism in the district (MEC. 2023, p. 9; Zine, 2001). The discrepancy and the limitations of such a policy being described between the two strategic plans is not clearly addressed within the data. The second subcategory described revising existing policies within the district to be re-oriented towards anti-discrimination and racial equity, as outlined in subcategory, revising implemented policies. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan states that the Surrey School District commits to “reviewing existing policies and procedures in collaboration with the Policy Review Committee to identify gaps and other areas of improvement” with regards to anti-oppression and racial equity initiatives (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 11). The plan states that the Surrey Schools Human Resources Department will actively create equitable employment procedures as a result of this strategic plan. As outlined in the third subcategory, enforcing existing human rights policy, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan draws on and affirms existing provincial, national, and international human rights legislation including, but not limited to, the “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (BC), B.C. Human Rights and other Canadian Human Rights legislation, 84 the B.C. K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, and the B.C. Anti-Racism Data Act” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 7). 5.6. Education and professional development The Racial Equity Strategic Plan prioritizes educational initiatives for students and staff to learn about fostering empathy and respect towards diverse populations. The subcategory workshops and on-going education and professional development (staff), outlines initiatives for staff, including training and workshops to support educational initiatives towards “racial equity and anti-racist principles, viewpoints, cultural awareness, and culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy” (Surrey Schools 2023a). These workshops are targeted towards staff in order to address “generational shifts in cultural awareness,” thus attempting to shift educators' practices towards more effectively reflecting principles of equity (p. 13). However, it is unclear what exactly these “generational shifts” entail and how they would be addressed through professional development workshops. The themes of the proposed workshops include topics related to challenging racism in schools, stereotypes and microaggressions, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, and affirming diverse identities. The intention of these workshops and professional development opportunities are to allow “educators [to] critically examine their own biases, beliefs, values, and practices to facilitate change” towards equity within the Surrey School District (p. 27). Workshops will also focus on providing teachers skills and tools to respond to interpersonal incidents of racism. It is unclear whether these workshops and professional development opportunities will be mandatory for all staff or taken on an individual interest basis, as well as who would lead and implement these educational opportunities. Further, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not address the limitations of one-time training workshop’s to meaningfully and effectively translate learning into educators’ professional practice (Darling- 85 Hammond et al., 2009, as cited in Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Kempf & Watts, 2024). The “traditional episodic and fragmented approach to PD does not afford the time necessary for learning that is ‘rigorous’ and ‘cumulative’” required to address systemic racism, colonialism and white supremacy (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017, p. 15; see also Kempf & Watts, 2024). These professional development and educational opportunities for staff are also proposed in the form of updating an onboarding information module for newly hired staff entitled Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, and Employment Equity, which is said to include topics of racial equity (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 24). These initiatives also extend to pre-service teachers and HR staff in charge of hiring procedures. Lastly, it is stated that principle vice-principals, and anti-racism leads will provide opportunities and resources for teachers to learn about racial equity and anti-racism at school-by-school basis. The subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, awareness of people’s diverse experiences and backgrounds (students), outlined how the educational initiatives towards racial equity and anti-racism learning are focused on nurturing attitudes of “empathy, respect, and a deep understanding of the unique experiences and backgrounds” for students within the district (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 4). This learning is aimed to take place as initiatives within classrooms, as well as school-wide events such as presentations, celebrations, and student clubs. Within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, these initiatives are vaguely described with repetition of the idea that students should develop empathy and compassion for others through classroom and school-wide learning opportunities. The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan elaborates on these student learning initiatives with more complexity and nuance than in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. This is exemplified through the discussion of why this education is important for younger generations through the 86 acknowledgement of racist Canadian educational histories and their ongoing impacts. The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan states that: …not all British Columbians have been given the skills, knowledge, or opportunities to identify patterns of discrimination and racism in their communities. Educating students about B.C.’s and Canada’s full history is a crucial first step in helping more people understand the power dynamics that continue to impact Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour. Only then are they equipped to identify and address overt and subtle racism where and when they see it. When we share this knowledge with the youngest generations and support them to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for responding to racism and discrimination, we are creating a generation of future leaders with the confidence to build a more equitable province for everyone (MEC, 2023, p. 3). Thus, education for students and professional development opportunities for staff are an integral aspect of action described within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. However, it is not discussed how the impact of professional development opportunities will be sustained or evaluated in terms of their effectiveness to address racism within the Surrey School District. 5.7. Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources The Racial Equity Strategic Plan includes amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and classroom resources as a main outcome of the plan. The first subcategory, curricular outcomes, outlines the intention of including changes to the B.C. K-12 curriculum so that core competencies within the curriculum would include the “[promotion] and [affirmation] of cultural identity and understandings” in order to provide classroom learning time that is focused towards learning and reflection on principles of equity, diversity, belonging. It is important to note that 87 curricular changes must be accompanied by adequate staff education in order to support teachers' understanding and communication of such topics, which is also outlined in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (Pidgeon, 2022). The plan does not specifically say that curricular changes will be made to all grades and subjects available for students. Nor does that plan state that curricular changes will be focused on racial equity or anti-racism, rather it refers to implementing “equity, diversity, and belonging” into curricular outcomes. One curricular subject that is stated to include these changes include the “Big Ideas” outline for Social Studies (K-12), which is proposed to now include “Anti-Hate Education” which will focus on “identifying intersections in historical knowledge and understandings in curricular content (K-12) related to identity, cultures, and civilizations and provide negative correlations to lived and living experiences of racialized groups” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 27). The second subject specifically stated to include curricular changes is Physical and Health Education, such that there should be greater focus towards the relatedness of racism and poor mental health conditions for students. The second subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, instructional design and assessment, outlined how the plan also focuses on shifting teachers' pedagogical strategies towards “[increasing] awareness and focus on culturally responsive pedagogy and curricular competencies in instructional design, assessment, and social emotional learning” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 27). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clearly describe what “culturally responsive pedagogy” entails or how teachers' pedagogical practices should specifically change to foster racial equity or anti-racism.17 Further, the plan proposes a specific strategy of “[increasing] the number of teachers accessing, learning, networking and receiving 17 I discuss this further in section 5.9. Defining key terms (other). 88 support from Helping Teachers” for further information on culturally responsive pedagogical practices (p. 27). The third subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, diverse resources, included discussion of diversifying classroom and library resources for learning in order to “increase culturally responsive” and identity-affirming digital and print resources for staff and students (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 13). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan states that the intention of this action is to: Increase [the] number of educators selecting diverse resources that take into consideration the interests of their students, intercultural learning, account for different points of view, represent the diversity of the Canadian population and recognize racialized group’s contribution to our society. Increase number of diverse resources where students see and hear themselves represented in the curriculum and the various texts they engage with (p. 28). It is stated that the Surrey School District will work with the “Priority Practices Department,” which supports staff and student learning, to develop “structures and tools where educators can explore and utilize engaging, accessible, appropriate and relevant digital and non-digital resources that are aligned with BC’s curriculum” (p. 28). Thus, amendments to curriculum, pedagogy and learning resources are a main component of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. 5.8. Collaboration with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities There are two main strategies that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan outlined in order to support collaboration between the Surrey School District and Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities. The first subcategory, listening circles and feedback groups, describes the creation of a Racial Equity Working Group that will act as a “partnership between staff and 89 departments in Surrey Schools and community partners and will network to guide and provide feedback on the Strategic Plan Priorities” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 10). This will include participation “from district leadership, principals and vice principals, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community partners in Surrey Schools” in order to provide the district feedback on racial equity priorities, strategies, and actions (p. 10). It is important to note that this collaboration aims to engage Indigenous, Black, and racialized staff, students, and community members' voices in racial equity initiatives and the creation of a racial equity policy. This collaboration with community members to further racial equity initiatives is separate from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s initiatives to improve relationships with community members generally. The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan states that collaboration is necessary to “listen and learn from Indigenous and racialized partners and communities to work collaboratively towards an education system that is free from racism and systemic barriers and promotes equity for all students” (MEC, 2023, p. 5). The second subcategory of data from the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, strengthen communication between the district and communities, includes strengthening the communication of important information and resources between the district and Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities. It is stated that the Surrey School District aims to “provide clear, accessible and timely communication and information from schools and the school district to all members of our school communities” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 12). Specifically, the district will provide print and digital information in multiple languages and provide clearer instructions to families on how to access communication from the district. This is meant to further engage community members in school processes and increase “student, staff and family participation and learning in schools, related to cultural learning and racial equity” (p. 17). 90 5.9. Defining key terms (other) A glossary section is presented at the end of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The terms that were defined in this section generally fit into five sub-categories; racism and related terms; defining racism for groups other than specifically Indigenous or Black people; racial equity, anti-racism, and related terms; colonialism, decolonization, and related terms; human rights, and related terms. For example, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan defines racism as: The belief that one group, as defined by the colour of their skin or their perceived common ancestry is inherently superior to others. It can be openly displayed in jokes, slurs, or hate speech, or can be more hidden in unconscious biases. Racism is deeply rooted in attitudes, values, and stereotypical beliefs. In some cases, these beliefs become deeply embedded in systems and institutions that have evolved over time (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 32). Whereas one definition of racial equity is explained as: Racial equity is the systemic fair treatment of all people. It results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone. Racial equity is a process (such as meaningfully engaging with Indigenous, Black, and racialized clients regarding policies, directives, practices and procedures that affect them) and an outcome (such as equitable treatment of Indigenous, Black, and racialized clients in a program or service)” (p. 30). Although referred to throughout the plan, and equated with racial equity, the term “anti-racism” is not defined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Nor is the difference between racial equity and anti-racism clarified. All definitions within the glossary section were drawn from the BC Human Rights Commission or Ontario Human Rights Commission. In some cases, multiple definitions of the same term were provided with slightly varying explanations. For example, “systemic racism” 91 was defined multiple times in different ways. The Ontario Human Rights Commission defines systemic racism as, “ organizational culture, policies, directives, practices or procedures that exclude, displace or marginalize some racialized groups or create unfair barriers for them to access valuable benefits and opportunities” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 33). Whereas, the BC Human Rights Commission defines systemic racism as, “Consists of patterns of behaviors, policies, or practices that create and maintain the power of certain racial groups over others or reinforce the disadvantage of certain racial groups” (p. 34). Additionally, not all terminology/concepts used throughout the plan were defined. For example, terms such as “culturally responsive” or “trauma-informed” were used many times throughout the plan but not defined in the text or glossary. Alternatively, terms such as “racial disparity,” “racial disproportionality,” and “human dignity” (among others) were included in the glossary but not mentioned elsewhere in the strategic plan. Within the glossary, the strategic plan also defined terminology used to describe anti-oppression for specific groups, such as “Anti-Islamophobia,” “Anti-Asian Hate,” and “Anti-Semitism.” However, the strategic plan did not specifically describe how racism may be challenged for these specific groups or how the plan acknowledges and addresses intersecting identities of staff and students within the district. It also did not explain why “Anti-Indigenous Racism” and “Anti-Black” racism were a particular focus of the plan and all other communities are only generally addressed. Although the Racial Equity Strategic Plan say that it includes a particular focus on Anti-Indigenous racism, the glossary was the only place that discussed colonialism and decolonization, and only to the extent of defining these terms. It is not clearly described why these terms are relevant in the context of this strategic plan, especially with consideration to acknowledging on-going practices of settler colonialism within the Surrey School District and K-12 public schooling in general in Canada. 92 5.10. Data collection, research, and reporting The Racial Equity Strategic Plan made note of the importance of surveys for data collection, research, and reporting of findings as an approach to addressing racism within the Surrey School District. The strategic plan states that these initiatives will strengthen demographic data stewardship in order to provide the district information to “identify barriers that may exist, and opportunities and gaps to further racial equity, diversity, and belonging initiatives” for families in the Surrey School District (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 18). This category also specifically draws on the B.C. Anti-Racism Data Act as a foundational policy, which aims to “develop processes for data collection of ethnic and cultural identity (demographic data) of students in [schools] with the intent of understanding representation of diverse groups in schools” (p. 18). This initiative is aims to aid the Surrey School District in creating programs and protocols that more effectively address racism and discrimination within the district. 5.11. Summary of the Chapter In this chapter, I summarized the key findings within each coding category as outlined within the finalized coding frame. In Chapter 6, I will elaborate on these through the lens of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism, in order to interpret these key findings and address the outlined research questions. 93 Borders the line he drew severed our rivers but the imagined wall doesn’t stop water from flowing across to meet you and I 94 Figure 6: Laying Foundations – Khalsa College, Amritsar 95 Chapter 6: Discussion 6.1. Critical Reform of Educational Spaces in Canada The implementation of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is an important step towards addressing and challenging racism and inequity within the Surrey School District. Racism is historically entrenched and endures within public schooling in Canada and must be addressed as a priority issue. Racial equity policy at institutional, provincial, federal, and international levels offers marginalized communities’ a legal anchor to draw on in cases where they may need to seek action against racism. However, racial equity and anti-racism policies are still influenced by a variety of non-social institutions such as economic, political, and other spheres that may function to reorient a policy’s goals and reduce its effectiveness to meaningfully address racism. Equity policy that is implemented into structurally racist, colonial, and Eurocentric institutions will be inherently limited by the enduring systems of oppression that are rooted in educational institutions in Canada (Battiste, 2000; St. Denis, 2007; Tuck & Yang, 2001). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan and other equity policies in K-12 education are also heavily influenced by international neoliberal educational policy (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). This results in educational policy that reproduces neoliberal capitalist educational practices and attainment standards for students which further enforce inequity in education (Brown, 2015; Daigle, 2019; Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Even though policies such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan are well-intended, in Canadian contexts they may prioritize the perpetuation of racism, white supremacy, settler colonialism and Eurocentricity within K-12 public education (Ahmed, 2012). Andreotti, Stein, Ahenakew, and Hunt (2015) categorize policies such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan as “soft reform” within the context of decolonization (p. 32). The authors observe that soft educational reform offers critiques of violence caused by racism, capitalism, colonialism, and heteropatriarchy as issues of “inclusion” and “equity,” but they do not address 96 significant structural reform of educational institutions. The implementation of policies such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan are a necessary part of challenging historically implemented racist and Eurocentric educational policies. However, Andreotti et al. (2015) argue that these policies can be, “tokenistic, incomplete, insufficient, and/or inadequate” in meaningfully addressing broader systems of oppression that reproduce and reinforce racism (p. 33). For example, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan addresses overt racism, but it does not actively seek to directly challenge the influences and outcomes of neoliberal capitalism, settler colonialism, or white supremacy as they exist within the Surrey School District or K-12 public education systems in Canada. Systemic change is needed to move education systems towards non-performative anti-racism practice which requires dedication and time over multiple generations (Ahmed, 2012). Thus, short-term policies such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan may function more effectively to improve the public and political perception of a school district, rather than meaningfully challenge institutional racial inequity and racism within a school district (Ahmed, 2012). Scholars have emphasized that educational reform must actively challenge and dismantle existing systems of oppression such as capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy within educational systems and policy in order to support racial equity and anti-racism within the K-12 public education system (Andreotti et al., 2015; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2015). Likewise, findings from this study show that education systems in Canada, including the Surrey School District, should offer greater focus on incorporating strategies of educational reform that strongly commit to centering and empowering marginalized groups, as well as challenging Eurocentrism and cognitive imperialism within K-12 public education. To focus on institutional reform would allow for more opportunity to meaningfully address the root cause racism (Andreotti et al., 2015; Battiste, 2000). In the next section, I will draw on the findings 97 from this research to identify specific areas of strength and limitations in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, as well as describe how they may meaningfully address racism and broader systems of oppression within the Surrey School District. 6.2. Conceptualization and Addressal of Racism within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan Within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, racism is described as “the belief that one group, as defined by the color of their skin or their perceived common ancestry, is inherently superior to others” (Surrey Schools, 2023a, p. 33). Additionally, racism operates at various levels including interpersonal/individual, systemic, or institutional. The findings of this research suggest that the definition of racism outlined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not fully translate into the proposed methods by which racism will be addressed in the district. The Surrey School District’s propositions of preventing and responding to racism are mostly targeted towards addressing overt incidents of racism at the interpersonal level. For example, a proposed response to incidents of racism is to strengthen mental health support for students and staff. Research has shown that mental health support is a key component of supporting students and staff after incidents of racism occur (MEC, 2023). However, supporting individuals' mental health does not address systemic or institutional racism, rather it responds to interpersonal incidents of racism after they occur. While systemic and institutional racism are mentioned as a part of racism definitions, the proposed actions within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, for the most part, do not include critical structural reform of the Surrey School District. Moreover, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not mention, question or challenge the systems of whiteness and white supremacy in relation to the definition of racism that is presented within the plan, even though the plan states that it aims to implement anti-racist policy and practice into the Surrey School 98 District which directly requires systemic action against white supremacy (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). Based on the research findings, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan can be organized into two main categories of addressing racism: (i) initiatives of preventing incidents of racism; (ii) proposed responses to incidents of racism. 6.2.1. Initiatives of Preventing Incidents of Racism In the first category, curriculum reform and teacher education are presented as initiatives aimed at preventing incidents of racism within the Surrey School District. Curriculum reform and teacher education are initiatives that align with propositions from Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities (Daigle, 2019; Ekpe & Toutant, 2022; TRC, 2015). However, within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan these initiatives are vaguely described. While curriculum reform is mentioned, it is unclear what topics, perspectives, and knowledges will be incorporated into the curriculum, by or in consultation with whom, or for which grades and subject areas (MEC, 2023). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan briefly mentions curricular reform within Social Studies and Physical Health Education disciplines, but meaningful curricular reform that aligns with community calls would require that change is implemented in all grades and across all subject areas (Battiste & Henderson, 2018; TRC, 2015). One example of an area of curricula reform that is overlooked within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan includes the protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples to learn Indigenous languages as credit courses, as outlined in the Calls to Action (TRC, 2015). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan do not mention the protection of language rights or opportunities to offer Indigenous language credit courses within schools, even though it is mentioned that these plans affirm their commitment towards Truth and Reconciliation. This is a major component of reconciliation and rights for Indigenous students as outlined by Indigenous communities in Canada and is wholly 99 neglected in the curriculum reform initiatives outlined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, 2019; TRC, 2015). Additionally, curricular reform on its own may not necessarily be the most effective approach towards racial equity and anti-racism practice. For example, Battiste (2017) sheds light on the reality that educational equity policy and curriculum reform towards anti-racism, “have ushered in some policies of cultural inclusion,” but largely continue to fragment, marginalize, and deliver curriculum from a Eurocentric perspective (p. 163). Battiste (2011) states that this is partially because European settler societies, such as Canada, reform curriculum to include Indigenous education but continue to either disregard Indigenous knowledges or cop-opt them when they are of benefit to settlers. Similarly, Marker (2019) discusses how educational systems in Canada function paradoxically in relation to the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges in academia, because they “invite Indigenous expression, but resist the undoing of hierarchies that maintain hegemonic equilibrium” (p. 502). Thus, “Indigenous knowledges remain to a large degree illegitimate18 in the academy,” and in K-12 public education, because they do not conform to the Eurocentric and colonial ways of knowing that have been prioritized within Canadian education systems (Clement, 2019, p. 278). This results in the alienation of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous learners from Canadian educational systems. These examples show that even well-intended curricular reform within Eurocentric systems of education may continually fail to address educational equity for Indigenous peoples if structural systems of inequity such as cognitive imperialism and colonialism are not challenged (Battiste, 2000; St. Denis, 2007). Pidgeon (2022) also states that truth, reconciliation, decolonization, and equity work must go beyond “simply adding more curriculum or programs” (p. 15). Instead, Pidgeon 18 Vincent Clement (2019) argues that despite efforts to decolonize academia, Indigenous knowledges are expected to conform to “western epistemologies, concepts, categorizations, worldviews, and mainstream disciplinary codes,” which contradicts decolonial efforts (p. 278). 100 (2022) argues for working towards deeper and systemic educational transformation with Indigenous peoples. Aladejebi (2015) states that the “erasure of African Canadian Culture from the school curriculum [has] had adverse effects on Black students,” in the form of racial streaming, exclusion, teacher bias, high dropout rates, and the absence of Black representation in K-12 public schooling in Canada. Additionally, Dei (2022) states that Eurocentric and colonial educational systems enact violence upon Black and Indigenous people through the devaluation of Black and Indigenous scholarship and knowledge. Specifically, anti-Blackness is used to further “colonial projects and logics of White supremacy,” within Eurocentric educational curricula and pedagogical practice in order to maintain neoliberal capitalism and colonial hegemony in schools (Aladejebi, 2015; Dei, 2022, p. 69). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clearly outline if the proposed curriculum reform will foster the addressal of hegemonic whiteness and white supremacy in order to make space for and validate Black scholarship, knowledge, and education (Dei, 2022; Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). Thus, Dei (2022) asserts that an “anticolonial response to anti-Blackness must seek to destroy hegemonic Whiteness,” which requires the acknowledgement and addressal of systemic whiteness and white supremacy within education. These examples from Battiste (2011) and Aladejebi (2015) provide evidence that even well-intended curricular reform within Eurocentric systems of education may continually to fail to address educational racial equity for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people if structural systems of inequity such as cognitive imperialism and colonialism are not challenged (Battiste, 2000; St. Denis, 2007). This argument also extends to the implementation of diversity days, weeks, and events. Diversity events have the potential to foster a sense of belonging within the school community and are important opportunities for learning amongst the school community. However, they can 101 be criticized for functioning as tokenistic or “checking-the-box” approaches to racial equity or anti-racism education (Daigle, 2019; Jimmy & Andreotti, 2021; Tuck & Yang, 2012). St. Denis (2007) emphasizes that initiatives focusing on celebration and inclusion focus more on addressing the symptoms of racism rather than the root cause of racism. This means that diversity events attempt to foster empathy and understanding but do not function to remove the structures that produce racism in the first place. St. Denis (2007) argues that “instead of doing anti-racist education that explores why and how race matters, educators can end up doing cross-cultural awareness training” that often “others” marginalized groups through diversity celebrations (p. 1086). Diversity days, weeks, and events often are also limited in their ability to acknowledge and address the fact that students do not wear their identities only on specific days of the year. Daigle (2019) provides an example of how reconciliation and decolonization efforts specifically have often been reduced by white settlers to “spectacular performances of apologies, land acknowledgements, and multicultural celebrations of Indigenous culture and art” instead of actively supporting Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty. Truth, Reconciliation, and decolonization efforts by educational institutions must center acknowledging and actively addressing the on-going dispossession of Indigenous people from Indigenous lands and settler colonialism, as well as the role that settler educators, administrators, and political actors, and the public education system play in this (Tuck & Yang, 2012). Diversity days, events, and celebrations are one of the main ways that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan has proposed to prevent racism within the district, but it is clear that these initiatives are limited in their ability to meaningfully address racism if they are not coupled with substantial systemic reform (Kaur, 2022; Lowman & Barker, 2015; St. Denis, 2011). Additionally, if they are implemented without genuine respect for and in consultation with marginalized communities’ celebrations of diversity 102 can function as cultural appropriation and “spectacles” of equity and reconciliation (Daigle, 2019, p. 706). Instead, St. Denis (2007) suggests that educators must “learn more about racism and how its effects, especially the ideology of and belief in the superiority of whiteness” and how this shapes relationships between peoples within Canada (p. 1085). This learning must be rigorous, ongoing, and must begin by interrogating one’s own complicity (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Dei, 2022). Further, racial equity and anti-racism initiatives must acknowledge that simply celebrating or learning about culture will not “disrupt the ideologies of racial superiority and inferiority” (St. Denis, 2007, p. 1086). Meaningful anti-racism practice requires that educators and school communities go beyond learning, listening, and celebrating diversity, and move towards implementing intentional action that systemically challenges dismantles white supremacy within education (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022; Kempf & Watts, 2024). It is essential that racial equity policy and practice address and structurally challenge capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, as well as systemic whiteness and white supremacy in order to meaningfully address racism within K-12 public schooling. 6.2.2. Proposed Responses to Incidents of Racism The second main category of addressing racism within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan includes the propositions of how the Surrey School District will reform their responses to overt incidences of racism. Most notably, the district proposes to improve their hiring practices and reporting procedures but provides no detail as to what such improvements would entail. The Surrey School District would need to provide clarity as to how Indigenous, Black, and racialized administrators, educators, and staff could be hired and better retained. Additionally, it is crucial that Indigenous, Black, and racialized educators are represented in administrative and teaching positions as these teachers experience intersectional spaces of oppression and know how to 103 create inclusive, anti-racist, and decolonial spaces of education for students (Aladejebi, 2021; Ellis, 2022; Daigle, 2019). Along the same lines, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not share any information on who would be charged with the responsibility of implementing racial equity and anti-racism initiatives. A major critique of this lack of accountability is that the onus and responsibility of engaging in anti-racism and decolonizing work is often placed primarily upon Indigenous, Black, and racialized staff (Daigle, 2019; Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). The implementation and uptake of initiatives outlined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan should be mandatory for staff and students. Further, Ekpe and Toutant (2022) assert that anti-racist practice requires white educators and activists to “[act] in unity with people of color in the social justice and anti-racism movements” beyond passive listening and learning (p. 85). Within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, the district states that opportunities for reporting will be made more accessible to staff and students, and that reporting procedures will be “trauma-informed” and “culturally responsive.”19 As well, cataloguing incidences of racism and streamlining this information for administrators is an important aspect of understanding where issues lie within the system. This initiative is also aligned with B.C.’s Anti-Racism Data Act, wherein the opportunities for reporting incidences of racism allows institutions to collect important data regarding racism. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan also outlines data collection and surveys as a major component of addressing racism within the Surrey School District but provides no detail as to what the surveys would include/measure, who they would be distributed to, who they would be made by, where/how the collected data would be utilized , or how this data would be used to challenge racism within the Surrey School District. 19 In 6.4. Historical, Economic, Political, and Social Influences on the Understanding of Racial Equity and Anti -Racism, I describe the role that these terms play within racial equity and anti-racism policy. 104 Additionally, the quantification of racism as a measure of racial equity or anti-racism is in itself a Eurocentric approach to evaluating equity initiatives as it reduces complex issues into simplified data points (Daigle, 2019; Datta, 2018; Sablan, 2019). It is also important to note that not all incidences of racism can even be quantified. Sablan (2019) argues that traditional quantitative methodologies in education and educational policy research “may fail to adequately engage issues of race” because predominantly used quantitative methodologies are colonial (p. 196). Further, Eurocentric statistical analysis has historically been utilized to reinforce the racialization and exclusion of communities as part of eugenics movements and supporting racist colonial policies (Zuberi, 2003). Thus, mainstream Eurocentric quantitative and statistical methodologies do not necessarily accurately portray the experiences of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities because they are reductive and frame the complexity of peoples lived experiences and the importance of place within a colonial lens (Anderson & Walter, 2013). For example, the consequences of historically implemented racist educational policies, in addition to other intersecting areas of marginalization such as economic status, citizenship/immigration status, and language (as well as others), have resulted in the continual racial streaming of students into vocational programming within educational systems in Canada (Aladejebi, 2015; Maynard, 2017). Finally, it is unclear how a student should submit a report on experiences of racism that are systemic and generationally entrenched within the education system, such as racial streaming. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan also does not include proposals of how collected data would be evaluated and utilized. Furthermore, for students the Protecting Surrey Schools Together (PSST) reporting tool is anonymous and there is also no clear indication as to how reported incidents of racism for students would be adequately addressed by administrators and educators if they are anonymously reported. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan must clearly 105 indicate how data will be collected on incidents and experiences of racism from staff and students, and how this data would be used to improve racial equity or anti-racism initiatives within the Surrey School District, if at all. Overall, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not include important details and clarity of how the proposed initiatives are informed or how they will be approached. Further, no proposed initiatives significantly move beyond addressing interpersonal racism, towards transformative systemic change. Additionally, there is no proposal included to respond to or redress repercussions of historically implemented racist school policy and their enduring institutional consequences on Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities. 6.3. Indigenous and Black Communities’ Calls for Racial Equity and Anti-Racism The Racial Equity Strategic Plan offers particular focus towards addressing anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism within the Surrey School District. This is a critical component of educational equity policy in B.C. and Canada because the provincial and federal governments have historically legislated educational policy that promoted segregation, exclusion, and genocide against Indigenous and Black students, through policies such as the Indian Act of 1876 and the School Act of 1850. These policies continue to have detrimental, violent and intergenerational impacts on Indigenous and Black communities within K-12 public education and must be clearly and intentionally redressed by the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Although anti-Indigenous racism and anti-Black racism are said to be given particular focus in this plan, they are both scarcely mentioned or intentionally addressed. For example, the only instance in which anti-Black racism is addressed within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is through the incorporation of Black History into curriculum and the creation of a diversity 106 calendar that includes Black History Month.20 These initiatives greatly overlook the implementation of anti-Black education policy within B.C. and Canada and its enduring impact on Black students in the Surrey School District by placing the systemic oppression of Black communities’ into a location of the past. Simply celebrating diversity and culture does not address how Canada has used school systems and education to develop a mythical “Canadian” identity that functions to maintain white supremacy, particularly through perpetuation of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black colonialism, racism, and exclusion (Mackey, 2000; Maynard, 2017; Tupper, 2020). Knight (2012) states that “even today black parents struggle against more subtle racism in academic curricula and the assessment of student ability,” and that resistance against this is continually influenced by the work of Black parents in the mid-nineteenth century (pp. 235-236). Additionally, Maynard (2017) states that “a large number of African Canadian students are receiving an education that is separate and unequal” to this day (p. 208). Maynard (2017) reminds us that “slavery, followed by centuries of segregation in the school system in many provinces,” has resulted in continual racist exclusion and discrimination against Black students in public schools (p. 213). Furthermore, education has historically and continually been used as a tool to reinforce white supremacy in Canada (Tuck & Yang, 2012). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not openly acknowledge the harm that the School Act of 1850 caused to Black students and their families. As mentioned earlier, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan also does not directly 20 In the previous section, 6.2.1. Initiatives of Preventing Incidents of Racism, I described the limitations of curriculum reform and diversity celebrations as racial equity and anti-racism practice. 107 challenge cognitive imperialism by actively centering Black knowledge in curriculum and pedagogical practice for students within the Surrey School District. Racial streaming is an example of the consequences of historical, racist educational policy implemented in B.C. and must also be addressed (Aladejebi, 2015). Maynard (2017) argues that streaming happens due to stereotypes and low expectations held by teachers, resulting in students being streamed into lower track educational programs. The public education system and Eurocentric curriculum in B.C. and Canada have historically been used as a tool of white supremacy and settler colonialism, which continues to “segregate” Black students today through streaming practices based on race (p. 214). The enduring impacts of historical racist and Eurocentric public schooling policy has resulted in continued equity gaps between Black and white students in Canada. This continual impact of historical educational policy and practice on educational systems is left out of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s propositions for addressing anti-Black racism, even though this is a major way that Black students experience systemic racism and colonial oppression within the Canadian K-12 public educational systems today. Another important facet of anti-Black racism that is not addressed within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is how public schooling outcomes result in the “disproportionate criminalization of Black youth” and are a “major source of the racial achievement gap and educational reproduction of inequality” for Black students (Maynard, 2017, p. 221). Maynard (2017) states that there are “unique dimensions to the experiences of Black youth who experience schools as carceral places characterized by neglect, heightened surveillance and arbitrary and often extreme punishment for any perceived disobedience” (Issar, 2021; Lowman & Barker, 2015; Maynard, 2017). The dehumanization of Black youth, across all genders, sexual identities, and abilities, “is visible in the hostility, surveillance, punishment and neglect in the fabric of the education system” (Maynard, 2017, p. 212). Maynard (2017) notes the “school to 108 prison pipeline” as the link between the disproportionate criminalization of Black youth particularly through school suspensions and expulsions that result in a major educational achievement gap and the reproduction of racial inequity for Black youth within public educational spaces. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not acknowledge or address racial streaming or the disproportionate criminalization and surveillance of Black students within its outlined initiatives. Furthermore, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not mention settler colonialism as a root of racism, particularly anti-Indigenous racism. Colonialism is briefly mentioned within the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, but there is no further acknowledgement or addressal of how the school system is still Eurocentric and reinforces settler colonialism, as well as how this affects the school community, especially Indigenous students. Pidgeon (2022) emphasizes that educational policy is a critical component of challenging anti-Indigenous racism and supporting decolonization, because “policy has been a tool of colonization” (p. 26). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan offers generalized remarks towards supporting Truth and Reconciliation efforts within schools, but there is a lack of specificity as to what these actions would look like for Indigenous communities. For example, there are many Calls to Action that are specific to education that have not been addressed throughout the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and could actively challenge anti-Indigenous racism within K-12 public schools and support anti-racism and decolonial practice, as outlined by Indigenous communities. Additionally, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clearly state that there is an educational attainment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Consequently, there are no specific measures outlined to address this attainment gap. While funding for Indigenous education is the responsibility of the federal government, educational attainment for Indigenous students is the responsibility of the B.C. provincial government, Education Ministry, and the Surrey School District. 109 Pidgeon (2022) also argues that decolonizing or anti-racism education “without clear articulation of practices and policies that address land and ongoing impacts of colonization” may not actually function in ways that empower Indigenous peoples within educational systems (p. 18). The Calls to Action ask the government and educational institutions to respect and uphold treaty law (TRC, 2015). Pidgeon (2022) importantly notes that “under international treaty law, Canada is obligated to respect the First Nations’ right of self-determination,” even within education (p. 22). Pidgeon (2022) refers to the National Indian Brotherhood’s (now the Assembly of First Nations) vision of “Indigenous control and ownership over an Indigenous education system…informed by Indigenous customs, practices, and ways of knowing” by and for Indigenous peoples beyond K-12 schooling (p. 22). While the Racial Equity Strategic Plan offers a land acknowledgement, there are no actions outlined that support Land Back, Indigenous self-determination, or recognize and honour Indigenous sovereignty over education as stipulated in UNDRIP and the Declaration of Rights on Indigenous Peoples Act (B.C.) (British Columbia, 2014; United Nations, 2007). This must especially be considered for the SEMYOME - Semiahmoo, q̓ic̓əy̓-Katzie, and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓-Kwantlen First Nations communities whose stolen lands situate the Surrey School District. While reforming educational equity policy and implementing anti-racism or racial equity policy into currently existing educational systems is a necessary step towards racial equity and anti-racism, it cannot fully support racial equity or anti-racism practice for Indigenous peoples because current systems of public education in B.C. and Canada are foundationally Eurocentric and reinforce capitalism, settler colonialism, and white supremacy (Aladejebi, 2015; Battiste, 2017; St. Denis, 2007). Therefore, educational equity is impossible in education systems in Canada for Indigenous peoples until the system is reformed to support equity for Indigenous 110 peoples through supporting Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and respect for treaties and Indigenous peoples’ treaty rights. The overall understanding I am offered by the Racial Equity Strategic Plan with regards to addressing anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism is that although terminology such as “equity,” “institutional racism,” “reconciliation,” and “decolonization” are used often, the actions towards these concepts are not concretely exemplified. Based on my policy analysis research, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan provides ambiguous propositions of improving the district’s collaboration with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized community members. Even within the proposed initiatives of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, there is a continual lack of two-way communication to community calls for systemic educational reform that have been strongly advocated for historically and continually. As a researcher, my access to this advocacy is limited to publicly and academically accessible literature, but even in my brief review it is clear that Indigenous and Black communities’ needs are continually being overshadowed by “checking-the-box” approaches towards racial equity and anti-racism practice (Jimmy & Andreotti, 2021; TRC, 2015). Additionally, if there is no accountability of the district’s consultation with Indigenous, Black, and racialized community members, then consultation can result in the legitimization of equity policy without authentication that the consultation feedback was actually utilized in a meaningful way to construct policy (Ahmed, 2012). Anti-racism necessitates that the Surrey School District focus on collaborative efforts that are grounded in transformative systemic change, rather than taking on the role of a passive ally which focuses more on listening to and learning from marginalized people’s perspectives and experiences (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). In this sense, the passive role that allyship, or listening, takes on in this context is rooted in whiteness and maintains white supremacy (Ekpe & Toutant, 111 2022). To move beyond allyship towards anti-racist collaboration would require intentional and active undoing of white supremacy and towards “commitment in real power-sharing” with Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities within educational institutions (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022, p. 75). 6.3.1. Outcomes of Implementing Generalized Racial Equity Policy within Education Educational equity policy can be constructed to target a broad-range of communities with various categories of difference or just one specific dimension, such as race (Zine, 2001). This aspect of educational policy production is contested because there are benefits and drawbacks to constructing either type of policy. Specific policies, such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, risk excluding certain individuals or can lack addressal of intersecting inequities. Consequently, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan fails to adequately address intersectionality, which is a necessity of anti-racism practice. Interestingly, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan provides a definition of intersectionality, but it wholly neglects the implementation of this understanding within the proposed initiatives. For example, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status/citizenship, (dis)ability, and religion are all overlooked as intersecting dimensions of difference within proposed solutions towards racial equity (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). Racial equity and anti-racism specific policies can also essentialize diverse groups of people into one dimension of difference. The findings of this research show that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan essentializes all Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people which can result in policy falling short of addressing racism meaningfully for the specific needs of diverse racialized communities, their distinct relationships to the land, and their complex relationships to Canada (Zine, 2001). For example, policy that broadly addresses all Indigenous peoples with regards to racial equity has the potential to reduce Indigenous identities to pan-Indigenity, rather 112 than recognizing the diversity within Indigenous communities, their specific community needs, or honoring of their specific Treaty Rights and sovereignty (Battiste, 2011; Vowel, 2016; Zine, 2001). Additionally, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan lumps all racialized communities into a singular “other” category, which directly opposes the requirement of anti-colonial and anti-racist practice to meet the needs of local communities (Dei, 2022; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). Interestingly, this critique of racial equity policy was even made within the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, wherein it is stated that “anti-racism cannot be addressed in siloes,” yet the provincial and district levels still chose to write the racial equity policy so that it functions in this way (MEC, 2023, p. 9). Consequently, the diverse South/Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Middle Eastern communities that make up a large portion of the population of the Surrey School District are wholly overlooked in the initiatives outlined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan (Ellis, 2022; Surrey Schools, n.d.). This further emphasizes the point that racial equity and anti-racism policy is inherently limited in its ability to meaningfully address racism within K-12 public school districts because a generalized policy in itself cannot be constructed as a one-stop solution to address complex, intergenerational, and systemic issues. While it is understandable and important that the plan pays particular attention to addressing anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, the racialized communities that make up the a large portion of the Surrey School District’s population would also need their district to implement strategies to challenge and respond to incidents of racism to meet their specific needs (Ellis, 2022).21 For example, policies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, Japanese 21 Within the scope of my MA thesis, I was unable to provide comprehensive historical, economic, social, and political context of how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan describes, problematizes, and challenges racial inequity and racism for each of the many diverse communities that Surrey Schools hosts (Surrey Schools, n.d.). Similar to the critiques offered of racial equity policy in this research, my research also falls short in offering a detailed analysis of how racism could be holistically and meaningfully addressed for racialized communities that make up a large portion of the Surrey School District’s population. I address this limitation of my research further in 7.5. Comments on the Strengths and Limitations of this Research. 113 internment from 1942 to 1949, and the Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908 resulted in violent social, economic, political discrimination, and racism against many racialized communities that endures today. Currently, racialized students face heightened discrimination and racism due to increasing anti-immigrant sentiment that is rooted in the historical exploitation of racialized labour in Canada (Bryant & Appleby, 2024; Ellis, 2022; Hatton, 2025; Kempf & Watts, 2024; Ranauta, 2020; Stanley, 2016). This racism is founded in settler colonial objectives that racialize groups of people in order to benefit the construction of Canada as a white Eurocentric country, especially within educational systems (Ellis, 2022; Mackey, 2000; Tupper, 2020). Specifically, while Asian communities make up a large portion of the students within the Surrey School District, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan overlooks non-education specific policies that have resulted in historic and continual discrimination against these communities in B.C. and Canada. Similarly, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan defines terminology such as “Anti-Islamophobia,” “Anti-Asian Hate,” and “Anti-Semitism,” but it does not provide historical or current context as to why these forms of racism exist within K-12 public schooling in B.C. and Canada, how it is perpetuated, or how the policy initiatives challenge these forms of racism (Ellis, 2022). Considering that diverse racialized communities make up a large portion of the population within the Surrey School District, it is unclear why racial equity initiatives in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan chose to implement generalized racial equity initiatives towards all of these communities (Surrey Schools, n.d.). Finally, Kempf and Watts (2024) state that “the combined efforts of colonial statecraft, racecraft … and international capitalism have produced, maintained and reproduced essentialized theories and beliefs about race,” which function to maintain and reinforce white supremacy and Eurocentrism within Canadian education systems and policy (p. 3). The essentialization of race 114 and its influences on understandings of identity, systemic whiteness, and racial positionality has resulted in the fracturing and fragmentation of critical solidarities between racialized communites in support of maintaining settler colonial logics and imperialist objectives in Canada (Kaur, 2022). Moradacci (2024) defines critical solidarity as a joint commitment and participation between diverse peoples towards challenging systemic injustices by highlighting their mutually shared goals through the nurturing of reflective and active respect for others. Similarly, Kaur (2022) describes how marginalized, racialized, and colonized communities can center such shared goals by understanding their common histories of resisting dominating colonial and imperial systems. This collective action has the potential to foster collaborative and community-centered rejection and dismantling of Canadian settler colonial identity and hegemony. The process of cultivating critical solidarities between diverse racialized and colonized groups requires the mobilization of decolonial knowledge and practice for learning, unlearning, and detachment from the settler colonial and white supremacist systems that reinforce divisions between these very communities. For example, Kaur (2022) describes the opportunity to foster critical solidarity and radical reimagining of racialized settlers’ roles towards challenging Eurocentrism and settler colonial futurity on Turtle Island through abiding by and honouring treaty law and Indigenous communities’ sovereignty. As such, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not clearly outline strategies that foster critical solidarity between racialized communities which would aim to challenge imposition of white supremacy and settler colonialism through K-12 public education in Canada (Dei, 2022; Shah & Carr, 2024; Tuck & Yang, 2012). 115 6.4. Historical, Economic, Political, and Social Influences on the Understanding of Racial Equity and Anti-Racism There are three themes that characterize globalization and the internationalization of education, including “unrestrained global competition; potential restrictions on democracy; and possible distortions of the social purposes of education toward a too-close relationship to the economy,” resulting in collective community values shifting towards values of capital gains and global competition (St. Denis, 2000, p. 8; see also Lipman, 2011). These economic and political influences especially affect Western countries' education systems, including Canada (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Even well-intentioned racial equity and anti-racism policy can have covert, ulterior purposes towards furthering international neoliberal educational values and structuring education to serve global capitalism rather than effectively addressing racism and inequity (Lipman, 2011; Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). The Racial Equity Strategic Plan, whether directly or indirectly, is also influenced by neoliberally focused international educational policy. Anderson and Donchik (2016) state that today, “educators are competing with a new neoliberal knowledge regime promoted by wealthy philanthropists, corporate-funded think tanks, private ‘edubusinesses’ and their lobbyists,” when creating educational policy (p. 323). This international neoliberal policy network creates wide-reaching values that focus on replacing educational policies that meaningfully support marginalized communities’ rights and freedoms with those that support free-market capitalism, commonly adopted by Western educational systems (Anderson & Donchik, 2016, p. 323; see also Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Hart (2019) describes that educational equity and social justice policies focus on evaluating equity on the basis of students access to capital and outcomes related to capital, such as job opportunities after graduation (Ismail, 2015). While attainment is an important indicator of 116 movement towards equity, these indicators only hone in on one facet of equity, namely economic equity (Hart, 2019; Ismail, 2015). Thus, educational equity and social justice are measured in aspects of economics through capital indicators, without focus on social equity in newly implemented educational equity policy. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not provide specific descriptions of how racism, racial equity, or anti-racism will be evaluated as a result of implementation of the plan and its resulting racial equity policies. However, indicators for evaluating racial equity are broadly influenced by “common sense” neoliberal and Eurocentric understandings of racial equity as defined through international equity and educational policies (Ahmed, 2012; Anderson & Donchik, 2016; Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). The influences of collective neoliberal values and international human rights policies are exemplified through the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s use of the terms “racial equity” and “anti-racism” together and/or interchangeably to describe proposed actions of the plan even though it is not clear why these terms were chosen, or what differences are envisions between each term. It is also unclear why the term “racial equity” is prioritized in the title of this document, whereas the B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare, and other provincial policies, prioritize “anti-racism” in titles such as in the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan. The term “racial equity” may have been used to soften the language within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan to appeal to a larger audience in school district and avoid issues that may be deemed politically controversial within the greater political climate of B.C., especially as anti-EDI rhetoric is becoming more prevalent in society (Bryant & Appleby, 2024; Moman & Burns, 2024). Further, assuming these terms can be used interchangeably, the usage of the term “anti-racism” may more directly admit that racism exists within the Surrey School District which starkly contrasts with Canadian mythological narratives of equity and multiculturalism within Canada (Lowman & Barker, 2015). Perhaps the usage of “racial equity” in the title of this strategic plan, resulting policy, and district department 117 offer a softer and indirect challenge to existing conditions of racism and inequity within the district. Within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan there is also no specific explanation as to what “trauma-informed” or “culturally responsive” responses to racism entail, and yet these terms are the foundational approach described towards racial equity and anti-racism. Additionally, Daigle (2019) importantly notes that: Reconciliatory rhetoric, mandates, and programs shaped by trauma and healing ethos are a continuation of these neoliberal colonial humanitarian interventions, whereby the complexities of Indigenous polities across space continue to be erased as Indigeneity remains framed within pathologizing and trauma-based narratives. (p. 708). Thus, concepts such as “trauma-informed” and “culturally responsive” act as buzz words, influenced by neoliberal educational agenda’s and cause active harm by pathologizing and victimizing Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities as a result of settler colonialism and Eurocentric educational systems (Daigle, 2019). Additionally, it is unclear how generalized “trauma-informed” or “culturally responsive” solutions could be implemented that fit the diverse needs of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities. This initiative then becomes another example of how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan may function better to improve the perception of the Surrey School District in public and political spheres, as it co-opts neoliberally determined “common-sense” language, but lacks the clarity as to how this may actually work towards racial equity or anti-racism practice (Ahmed, 2012). A number of scholars, Shahjahan (2005), Lowman and Barker (2015), and St. Denis (2007), have remarked that even well-intentioned equity policies constructed on Eurocentric rights-based paradigms of equity support tokenistic understandings of inclusion and diversity in the academy. This is because the way that rights and equity are defined and challenged are 118 foundationally Eurocentric and racist, and perpetuate systems of settler colonialism in Canada. Lowman and Barker (2015) describe that understandings of “multiculturalism, anti-racism, and equality have been repeatedly co-opted to serve the settler colonial agenda” through the reinforcement and reproduction of Eurocentric notions of human rights, including in Canadian educational policy (p. 73). Current colonial equity policies in Canada, including the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, utilize provincial, national, and international human rights policies that often reinforce limited Eurocentric notions of rights and equity to validate their concerns of inequity in education (Shahjahan, 2005). Shahjahan (2005) critiques Eurocentric rights-based paradigms of equity as simply offering marginalized scholars’ inclusion and equality of participation, rather than genuinely understanding and treating this scholarship and knowledge as adding to, transforming, and improving educational systems. Shahjahan (2005) suggests that a move towards a resource-based paradigm would allow for educational equity policy to move beyond seeking tokenistic Eurocentric notions of rights, to instead having epistemological and racial equity being viewed as “adding something to the life of the academy, rather than just being an insignificant add on” (p. 234). Similarly, Abdi (2020) states that mental and cultural colonization or cognitive imperialism should be challenged by affirming the rich and powerful educational philosophies that have been devalued and marginalized by Eurocentric and colonial education systems. This approach intentionally creates space for the validation of non-Eurocentric epistemologies as well as challenges cognitive imperialism and Eurocentric understandings of rights and equity within educational policy making (Shahjahan, 2005, p. 234; see also Battiste, 1986, 2011; St. Denis, 2000, 2007). Public education and governmental systems in B.C., including the Surrey School District, could benefit from moving away from using Eurocentric understandings of equity, rights, and racism within provincial, federal, and international human rights policies, as well as evaluations of equity that 119 are focused only on economic equity, towards a counter-hegemonic resource-based educational equity policy. 120 Self-Portrait I am the roots of the river branching through earth to replace concrete canals I am my mothers mosaic threaded through scraps of prismatic painted chiffon I am the breath cool water rolling over rippled rivers my hum becomes a roar I am fractured footsteps captured in the soft light of cloudy faded eyes I am waves of marigold petals cutting through swells of salt across the sea I am the unsuspected flood crumbling brittle border whose soil binds you and I 121 Figure 7: My Reflections – Amer Fort, Jaipur 122 Chapter 7: Conclusion 7.1. Conclusion Regarding the Goals of the Thesis My main research question asked how the Surrey School District describes, problematizes, and challenges racial inequity and racism within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The findings of this research show that in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, racism is described through Eurocentric understandings of human rights and inequity as defined by previously implemented provincial, federal, and international human rights and educational policies (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010; St. Denis, 2007, 2011). This leads to the framing of racism as a pathologizing and victimizing issue, rather than an issue of the consequences of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy (Daigle, 2019; Shahjahan, 2005). Thus, the initiatives outlined in the Racial Equity Strategic Plan that seek to challenge racial inequity and racism are largely tokenistic because they do not address the root causes of racism, such as settler colonialism, cognitive imperialism, neoliberal capitalism, and white supremacy (Battiste, 2017; Daigle, 2019; Shahjahan, 2005; Tuck & Yang, 2012). Further, racism is not challenged in its full intersectional complexity, such as through dimensions of difference including gender, sexual orientation, immigration status/citizenship, (dis)ability, language, and religion (in addition to others) (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). Finally, the essentialization of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities does not reflect the criticality of community-specific and localized knowledge in meaningfully addressing racism (Daigle, 2019; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Zine, 2001). The sub-questions that framed this research investigated the historical, economic, social, and political discourses and phenomena that inform the prioritization of racial equity within the Surrey School District, and how this affects the production, implementation, and dissemination of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The research shows that the advocacy of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities through events and movements such as Land Back, Black Lives 123 Matter, the TRC’s Calls to Action, and advocacy against rising anti-EDI sentiment, brought the need for racial equity and anti-racism action to the attention of the mainstream media (Bryant & Appleby, 2024; Carleton, 2021; Connors & McCoy, 2022). Despite the genuine advocacy of many Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan may more effectively function to improve the public and political perception of the Surrey School District as equitable, rather than functioning to meaningfully support racial equity and anti-racism for students and staff (Ahmed, 2012). The commodification of Western education through neoliberal capitalism and the influences of international educational organizations promotes competition amongst education providers, for which social justice advocacy may be co-opted to increase an educational system’s competitiveness and participation in capitalism, rather than to meaningfully support racial equity and anti-racism (Brown, 2015; Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Further, the evaluation of racial (in)equity and racism in neoliberally influenced educational systems focuses on addressing “equity in terms of participation and capitalism,” rather than “[addressing] the broader historical and political contexts that produce disadvantage in the first place” (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, pp. 156-157; see also Glass, 2013; Hart, 2019; Ismail, 2015). Capitalism itself is inextricably linked to the perpetuation and reinforcement of racism, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy within Canadian contexts, through the exploitation of racialized labour to seize Indigenous lands for the purpose of resource extraction and control over land in support of colonial and imperial goals (Issar, 2021; Ranauta, 2020; Tuck & Yang, 2012). Consequently, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s production, implementation, and dissemination is guided primarily by discourses and phenomena that do not meaningfully prioritize racial equity and anti-racism within the Surrey School District. The final research question investigated how (if at all) Eurocentrism and cognitive imperialism are addressed and/or reinforced within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The 124 findings of this policy analysis show that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not acknowledge or offer actionable systemic redressal strategies for the detrimental and violent consequences of Eurocentric educational policies and practices within Canadian K-12 public education systems. The Eurocentric foundations of K-12 public schooling in B.C. and Canada has intentionally functioned to delegitimize and devalue Indigenous, Black, and racialized scholarship, knowledge, and worldviews (Aladejebi, 2015; Battiste, 2017; St. Denis, 2007). This rootedness of Eurocentricity within public education in Canada has resulted in the historic and continual discrimination, assimilation, and epistemic violence against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and educators in K-12 public educational systems and beyond (Aladejebi, 2015; Dei, 2022; El-Sherif & Sinke, 2022; Shahjahan, 2005; St. Denis, 2007). Historically, educational policy has been used as a tool to separate, exclude, and commit violence and genocide through education systems in Canada (Chan, 2007; Ellis, 2022; Justice, 2023). The acknowledgement and addressal of the continuing consequences of these Eurocentric policies on Indigenous, Black, and racialized students is neglected within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. While the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does point towards curricular reform and teacher education to indirectly reduce discrimination and racism that is rooted in Eurocentricity and cognitive imperialism, there are no initiatives offered within the plan that radically transform the Eurocentric structures of education that reaffirm and reproduce racist ideology and practice, settler futurity, white supremacy, and epistemic violence against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students and educators (Andreotti et al., 2015; Battiste, 2017; Daigle, 2019; Dei, 2022; Ellis, 2022; Tuck & Yang, 2019). Anti-colonialism and anti-racism require a deep understanding of how knowledge is produced, disseminated, and legitimized, and educational racial equity and anti-racism policy must actively work towards dismantling cognitive imperialism and Eurocentricity in K-12 education by genuinely making space for and validating Indigenous, 125 Black, and racialized scholarship, knowledge, and worldviews (Battiste, 2017; Dei, 2022; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Ellis, 2022; Marker, 2019; Pidgeon, 2022). It is crucial to emphasize that the purpose of this research is not to minimize the hard work that policy-makers, educators, students, and Indigenous, Black, and other racialized community members have put into constructing and implementing the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. I would like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts and dedication of educators, staff, students, and community members that are meaningfully contributing to anti-racist and decolonial efforts within the Surrey School District. The implementation of policies such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan are critical to providing necessary legal and political leverage for staff and students to ensure that overt incidences of racism within the Surrey School District are appropriately addressed. However, this research concludes that the implementation of racial equity and anti-racism policies into historically and structurally racist and Eurocentric education systems will limit the policy’s ability to meaningfully act as a solution alone towards addressing racism. In this way, racial equity and anti-racism policy can act as metaphorical initiatives towards racial equity and anti-racism practice (Tuck & Yang, 2012). As long as policy reform is implemented into settler colonial educational structures and historically racist systems, racism will continue to be reproduced and reinforced towards Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities. The implementation of a single racial equity or anti-racism policy, even if well-intended, may not function to create holistic, meaningful, and transformative reform towards the redressal and reform of structural/institutional racism (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022; Jimmy & Andreotti, 2021). The goal of this thesis is to reiterate to policy-makers, educators, and students that critical structural reform of the education system is required to meaningfully address the root causes of racism within education, such as capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy (Battiste & Henderson, 2018). 126 All education policies, including the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, must begin by acknowledging Canada’s harmful socio-historical realities, as well as challenging and replacing Eurocentric educational practices and goals with equitable, decolonizing educational practices and change as defined by Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities (Battiste, 2017; Battiste & Henderson, 2018). Battiste (2011) states that in order “to achieve a system that meets the needs of diverse peoples in diverse locations with differential resources and different histories” it will require more than just a few months of discussions with students, parents, teachers, and community (p. 165). This requires that the voices of those who are affected by colonization, racism, and systemic oppression are centered within the construction of racial equity and anti-racism policies in order to challenge hegemony within education systems and educational policy making. The work that the Surrey School District and the B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare have put into constructing and implementing the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is necessary and important work. However, this research reiterates that the implementation of racial equity and anti-racism policy within K-12 public schooling cannot be the end of this work, but rather this work requires a great deal of time, genuine dedication, and complex reform (Jimmy and Andreotti, 2021). As stated within the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan, racism cannot be addressed in siloes (MEC, 2023). Even with the spaces of strength and limitations outlined in this research, racial equity and anti-racism policy will always be limited without action that critically and radically transforms educational spaces. This research asks policy-makers, educators, students, and the broader-school communities to actively challenge educational structures that perpetuate racism and inequity, and urge them to acknowledge and work towards systematically dismantling and redressing these systems (Battiste & Henderson, 2018; St. Denis, 2007). 127 7.2. Research Significance and Contributions Most racial equity policy research focuses on neoliberal understandings of equity in education such as, “equity in terms of participation in capitalism, instead of seeking to “address the broader historical and political contexts that produce[d] disadvantage in the first place” (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010, p. 156-157). However, policy research that only focuses on economic outcomes cannot create holistic equity or fix non-economic social problems (Ismail, 2015). By analyzing racial equity policy through an anti-colonial lens, my research investigates overlooked aspects of how capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness and white supremacy have become deeply entrenched in Canadian public education systems, including in educational “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” policies. As well as how these values have the potential to reinforce and reproduce racism within K-12 public education systems. Future policy research on the Racial Equity Strategic Plan and its subsequent racial equity and anti-racism policies must evaluate policy beyond hegemonic neoliberal and Eurocentric indicators of educational equity. The outcome of this study is significant in understanding how anti-racism and equity policy research has the potential to support the inclusion and validation of the knowledge and identities of those who have been historically delegitimized by colonial education systems in Canada. Further, this research offers discussion on areas of strength and limitation within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan as understood through the lenses of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. There is opportunity for this research to contribute to discussions by policy-makers, teachers, administrators, and students surrounding anti-racist educational practices, particularly in British Columbia’s K-12 public school system. I hope that my research will shed light on spaces of improvement within Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 in order to support transformative, anti-colonial, socio-political action for students and the broader school community through policy implementation. 128 7.3. Conclusion Regarding the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s Addressal of Racism within K-12 Public Education Based on the findings of this policy analysis research, it is my recommendation that the Surrey School District and B.C. Ministry of Education and Childcare allow for the construction and implementation of racial equity and anti-racism policy that pays particular attention to addressing the historical and continuing root causes of colonialism and racism in order to meaningfully address racism within the Surrey School District for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized students (Clark, 2011; St. Denis, 2007). This work must centrally acknowledge and challenge how systems of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, and white supremacy are foundational to Canadian educational structures and reinforce violent intergenerational harms against Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities (Dei, 2022). Anti-racism practice requires that the Surrey School District engage in significant and transformative power-sharing with Indigenous, Black, and racialized community members in order to inform their initiatives towards racial equity and anti-racism within K-12 public education (Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). This would allow for racial equity and anti-racism policy to meaningfully center Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities’ voices in order to outline and action initiatives that address community-specific needs. As well, the Surrey School District should clearly outline how they will approach collaboration with marginalized communities in order to foster opportunities of critical solidarity between these diverse communities and support their advocacy towards anti-racism and decolonization (Dei, 2022; Kaur, 2022). To keep the district accountable to communities’ consultation and collaborative efforts, the feedback provided for the district should be accessible as publicly available reports to provide clarity about who was consulted, when, what feedback was provided, and to what extent their feedback was utilized (Ahmed, 2012). Further, the Surrey School District and Government 129 of British Columbia need to acknowledge that previously implemented policies that targeted racialized communities continue to perpetuate racism against these communities today which fuels anti-EDI rhetoric and racism against marginalized communities in Canada, even within the education system (Bryant & Appleby, 2024; Hatton, 2025). These influences need to be clearly and specifically acknowledged and challenged within initiatives outlined within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. The Racial Equity Strategic Plan should also clearly define what equity looks like and provide details for how policy evaluations will be conducted. Educational equity policy must move beyond tokenistic, Eurocentric, and colonial understandings of equity to instead center community-specific initiatives in order to meaningfully address racism for the diverse needs of all Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities (Daigle, 2019; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; TRC, 2015; Tuck & Yang, 2012). For Indigenous students, staff, and communities, educational racial equity policy needs to center outcomes such as improvement of Indigenous students’ educational attainment, representation within school, and protection of language rights as a step towards addressing anti-Indigenous racism (TRC, 2015). If anti-Indigenous racism is to be addressed within racial equity policy, it must center on challenging and dismantling Eurocentric and settler colonial educational systems and actively support Indigenous community calls for Truth, decolonization, self-determination and sovereignty with education (Battiste, 2017; St. Denis, 2007; Tuck & Yang, 2012). It is particularly important that the Surrey School District engage in relationally accountable collaborations with the SEMYOME - Semiahmoo, q̓ic̓əy̓-Katzie, and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓-Kwantlen First Nations peoples and land that situate Surrey Schools. If anti-Black racism is to be addressed, the Surrey School District must implement policy, curriculum, and education system reforms that redress the continuing impact of segregation and 130 enslavement against Black people in Canada such as through racial streaming and the school-to-prision pipeline (Maynard, 2017; McLaren, 2004). Further, the Racial Equity Strategic Plan should clearly include specific plans to address Indigenous, Black, and racialized students' educational attainment gaps and inequitable access to post-secondary schools (Aladejebi, 2015; TRC, 2015). In summary, the lenses of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism have offered an understanding of how strategies of challenging racism that are not critical of the intersectional influences of capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, systemic whiteness, and white supremacy may actually function to reproduce or reinforce racism rather than reduce it within K-12 public education systems. The findings of this research suggest that the Racial Equity Strategic Plan does not meaningfully or systemically challenge racism within the Surrey School District through the proposed initiatives within the plan. Further, the actions outlined within the proposed initiatives do not align with meaningful anti-racism and decolonial practice. Educational equity policy, such as the Racial Equity Strategic Plan, must acknowledge and address hegemonic essentialism as well as the historical and continuing root causes of colonialism and racism through critical structural reform of the education system, rather than focusing all efforts towards addressing the “symptoms” of systems of oppression or overt interpersonal racism (St. Denis, 2007). 7.4. Continuing Research, Advocacy, and Possible Applications of Research Findings It is my intention to present the findings of this research to the Racial Equity Department of the Surrey School District in order to communicate spaces of strength and limitation within the Racial Equity Strategic Plan prior to the implementation of racial equity and anti-racism specific policy as a result of the strategic plans implementation. Additionally, I hope to build on 131 the outcomes of this research project through pursuit of other future research that has greater opportunity to employ anti-oppressive methodologies inspired by Indigenous, Black, and racialized scholars (Carlson, 2016). Such a project could utilize community-based participatory action research or critical narrative research methodologies to research how the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan 2023-2028 is impacting students through a policy evaluation study (Carlson, 2016; Datta, 2018; Marker, 2018; McNiff, 2007; Tandon & Srinivasan, 2023). This larger research project would “attend to subjectivity and emotion, promote participation and self-determination of research participants and communities, engage accountable relationships, give and share reciprocally, share control and ownership, and collaboratively contribute to social change” (Carlson, 2016, p. 4). I hope to address the findings and limitations of this project within a larger, more relationally accountable project that centers the voices of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Surrey School District. 7.5. Comments on the Limitations of This Research One limitation of this study is that this research analysis is limited to the policy origins, policy adoption and policy implementation stages, rather than the policy impact stage of the “policy cycle” (Fallon, 2015). This means that this research assesses the core beliefs that shape policy construction, interactions between various policy actors, and how colonial forms of power are operationalized to influence policy text production (Fallon, 2015). It is not within the scope of this research to attempt to evaluate the impacts of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan’s implementation on students and the broader school community. Additionally, this research has limitations on its reliability and validity due to its reliance on a single coder (Drisko & Maschi, 2015). As a single coder, the analysis of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan is limited to my own understandings and interpretations of the collected data 132 through the lenses of anti-colonial discursive framework and cognitive imperialism. If other researchers were to use alternative theoretical frameworks to analyze the research data, alternative conclusions and interpretations of the coded data may arise. As well, in order for research to be anti-colonial, it must center and empower Indigenous peoples’ agency and ability to “articulate their condition in terms of their own geography, history, culture, language and spirituality” (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001, p. 302). I acknowledge that my project does not meet this requirement, whereby my methodology only provides space for my own understanding and analysis of the Surrey School District’s Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Additionally, this is a bordered analysis of how racial equity and anti-racism affects Indigenous communities in B.C., whereas Indigenous communities and their experiences with colonial education do not stop at the borders I have outlined in this research (Marker, 2015). Additionally, this study has limitation because it lacks a detailed addressal of the historical, social, and political contexts that influence how racism is described, problematized, and challenged for the many diverse communities that Surrey School District hosts. Anti-colonial discursive framework and anti-racist practice require community-specific research and initiatives that center marginalized knowledge and voices (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Ellis, 2022). Categorizing and essentializing all “racialized communities” and addressing diverse communities as such throughout this thesis reduces the complexities of the lived and living experiences of these communities into a singular “other” category (Daigle, 2019; Zine, 2001). While it is important to look specifically at the contexts of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism within this educational policy analysis, meaningful anti-colonial and anti-racist research practice requires collaborative work alongside the diverse racialized communities that live in Surrey, BC. Thus, my research is limited by the lack of intersectional analysis for the specific contexts of each of these communities, most prominently South/Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Middle 133 Eastern communities (Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001; Surrey Schools, n.d.). Beyond the theoretical perspectives that guide this research, my analysis lacks discussion of further dimensions of difference that intersect with anti-racism such as race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status/citizenship, (dis)ability, language, and religion (in addition to others) (Dei, 2006; Dei & Asgharzadeh, 2001). This limitation is partially attributed to the constraints of the structure of an MA thesis. More than this, the broadness of anti-colonial discursive framework as it is utilized to this limited research project is a flaw in my research design because my work does not allocate enough space towards addressing these critical intersections and spaces of convergence. As a Punjabi-settler, I experience a complex relationship to settler colonialism in Canada. Although I am using guiding frameworks that function to center Indigenous and anti-racist perspectives, my understanding of colonialism does not fully articulate the experiences of all Indigenous, Black and racialized students and staff within the Surrey School District (Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020). However, I continued to pursue this research with the hope that this research will benefit Indigenous, Black, and many racialized and marginalized. Despite these limitations, I have drew on my own communities' understandings and experiences with colonialism and imperialism in India to inform my approach to this work. Additionally, it was critical for me to deeply listen to and learn from Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities’ experiences to do my best in understanding how colonialism continues to function in Canada, specifically in the K-12 public education system. Dei (2022) describes the role of critical friends where in solidarity work, “they are prepared to accept critiques of their own practice and complicity in oppressions even as they fight the struggle” (p. 75). As a Punjabi- settler, I engage in and benefit from the same institutions that cause the problems that my research outlines (Kaur, 2022; Ranauta, 2020). Critical friendship first requires me to recognize and unlearn the colonial and white supremacist 134 attitudes that have been imposed on me by having grown up in Canada, in addition to recognizing and dismantling the complexities of the privileges and oppression I face as a Punjabi-Sikh settler on Turtle Island (Kaur, 2022; Ekpe & Toutant, 2022). Through the creative work woven throughout this thesis, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the research findings through the lens of my personal and community experience of and involvement in colonialism and imperialism in Punjab and on Turtle Island. While this thesis offered space for epistemic decolonization and anti-colonialism through creative reflection, the study as a whole is only a small part of the anti-colonial and anti-racist work that I have and will continue to pursue (Daigle, 2019; Dei, 2022; Tuck & Yang, 2012). My approach towards anti-colonialism in this thesis is incomplete. However, in the same spirit as the recommendations I have offered in the conclusion of this thesis, this is not the end of my anti-colonial and anti-racist pursuits. 135 A Letter to My Community ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ Sarbat Da Bhala Justice is sewn into the crown that covers our heads without fear without hate under nurturing eyes who remind us we are one and our work rooted in relentless optimism must begin where our toes touch the soil. 136 References Abdi, A. A. (2020). Reconstructing African philosophies of education: Historical and contemporary analysis. In J. Abidogun & T. 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University of Minnesota Press. 153 Appendices Appendix A: Finalized Coding Frame Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Responding to racism Actions addressing interpersonal, internalized, systemic, and structural racism (specific) RAC:SYS Text that refers to responding to racism by describing specific incidences of racism that may be overt or covert or providing specific actionable tasks to address incidences of racism within the district. Apply to text that refers to actionable tasks that address various forms of racisms. Includes actionable tasks that require trauma-informed or culturally responsive approaches to addressing racism, that are not part of phrases that are designated to other categories (i.e. health support as a strategy to promote anti-oppression). Also includes terms such as “culturally safe,” “culturally informed.” Do not apply to definitions of racisms. “Create information, resources and guiding principles on the complaint and conflict resolution process illustrating how staff can safely report complaints of discrimination and all forms of racism, including incidents of microaggressions, to Human Resources” (p. 22). 154 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Responding to racism Proposals addressing the creation of safe work and learning spaces (general) RAC: EDI Text that describes generalized dedications towards creating workspaces for staff and learning spaces for students that are culturally safe environments that recognize and support equity, diversity, belonging, racial equity, anti-racism, etc. Apply to text that refers to generalized/vague commitments amending staff and students practices promoting “diversity,” “equity,” “belonging,” “inclusion,” or “racial equity,” but does not provide any specific task or action that will foster this change. Do not apply to text that describes amendments to practice that foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive work and learning spaces with a specific action or task that will promote these spaces (i.e. Celebrations, diverse resources). “Inclusivity” etc. “To ensure and promote school communities and workplaces that are culturally informed, responsive and relevant, respectful to all people, create belonging for all with special regard for the lived and living experiences of Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups” (p. 12). Responding to racism Collective Responsibility RAC:RES Text that describes who is responsible/accountable for implementing changes regarding Racial Equity, EDI, and anti-racism principles Apply to text that refers to “responsibility” or “collective responsibility.” “This work is a collective responsibility, shared by every department, program, school and staff member” (p. 4). 155 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Responding to racism Celebrations of culture RAC: CEL Text that describes special days, weeks, months or events to celebrate diversity, culture, or other marginalized representations within schools. Apply to text that refers to special events that recognize diversity within the school community in or outside of the classroom. Events can be staff or student led. Do not apply to text that refers to cultural learning that is specified within the curriculum to be part of classroom learning. Do not apply to text that refers to students or staff developing an awareness of diversity. The focus for this code is on the event itself, rather than the learning developed as a result of it. “Create a district Racial Equity, Diversity, and Belonging Calendar with important cultural dates” (p. 16). 156 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Education and professional development Awareness of people's diverse experiences and backgrounds (students) EPD:STU Text that is specifying that students should be provided opportunities to learn about practices that foster diversity, equity, and belonging. Specifically, it is text that describes students learning empathy and understanding towards people’s diverse backgrounds. Apply to text that refers to the learning opportunities that are developed because of centering racial equity, anti-racism, cultural appreciation, etc., targeted towards student learning. Do not apply to text that refers to the event, celebrations, curriculum changes, itself. Rather, this code is focused on the knowledge that is gained from actionable tasks. “Students recognize and cultivate a growth mindset and recognize and show compassion and empathy for others” (p. 25). Education and professional development Workshops/on-going education and professional development (staff) EPD:STA Text that is specifying that staff are provided opportunities to learn about practices that foster diversity, equity, and belonging. Specifically, it is text that describes workshops and professional development opportunities that will be offered to staff. Apply to text that refers to the learning opportunities that are developed as a result of centering racial equity, anti-racism, cultural appreciation, etc., targeted towards staff learning. Do not apply to text that refers to school celebrations or learning that is targeted towards student learning. “To increase the capacity of staff to understand and incorporate racial equity and anti-racism principles, viewpoints, cultural awareness, and culturally responsive and affirming pedagogy in schools and all district sites” (p. 13). 157 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources Curricular outcomes CPR:CUR Text that describes how B.C. Curriculum’s learning outcomes support principles of inclusivity, diversity, belonging, racial equity and anti-racism. As well as any amendments that may be made to further support these principles. Apply to text that refers to making amendments to the B.C. Curriculum’s learning outcomes. Do not apply to text that refers to amendments of student learning outside of what is mandated by the curriculum (i.e. celebrations). Do not apply to text that refers to Indigenous-specific curricular amendments. “To increase awareness of how core competencies curriculum promotes and affirms cultural identity and understandings” (p. 13). Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources Instructional design and assessment CPR:INS Text that describes how pedagogical strategies support principles of inclusivity, diversity, belonging, racial equity and anti-racism. As well as any amendments that teachers may make to their pedagogical practices to further support these principles. Apply to text that refers to amending teachers and educators instructional/pedagogical practices, including lesson planning and assessments. Do not apply to text that refers to amendments in curriculum or teaching resources. Do not apply to text that refers to Indigenous-specific pedagogical amendments. “To increase awareness and focus on culturally responsive pedagogy and curricular competencies in instructional design, assessment and social emotional learning” (p. 13). 158 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Amendments to curriculum, pedagogy, and resources Diverse resources CPR:RES Text that describes how increasing diversity in resources available to teachers and students can support principles of inclusivity, diversity, belonging, racial equity and anti-racism in classroom learning. Apply to text that refers to replacing/making additions to physical/digital teaching resources that staff, students, or community members can access for learning. Text must refer to changing the resource itself (i.e. textbooks, book, digital resources, videos, etc.). Do not apply to text that refers to amendments of the curriculum, instructional design, or assessment strategies. Do not apply to text that refers to Indigenous-specific resource amendments/diversification. “To increase culturally responsive, affirming and diverse resources for learning, both digital and print, to support educators and students” (p. 13). 159 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Policy construction, amendments, and enforcement Revising implemented policies REP:REV Text describing how currently implemented educational policies must be revised to center equity, anti-oppression, anti-discrimination, etc. Apply to text that refers to amending existing policies within the Surrey School District to make them more racially equitable. Policies do not necessarily need to be racial equity policies, but they need to be implemented by the Surrey School District. Do not apply to references of other provincially, federally, or internationally implemented human rights, education, or racial equity policies. “...by reviewing existing policies and procedures in collaboration with the Policy Review committee to identify caps and other areas of improvement” (p. 12). Policy construction, amendments, and enforcement Creating new racial equity and anti-racism policy REP:NEW Text describing how the Racial Equity Strategic Plan will lead to a new racial equity, anti-racism policy, or other policies/procedures being constructed and implemented within the district to address racism against staff, students and communities. Apply to text that refers to the creation of a new racial equity, anti-racism policy, or other policies, or the process of this, for the Surrey School District. Do not apply to text that refers to already provincially, federally, or internationally implemented policies or implemented policies within the district. “To strengthen and centre policy and governance with principles of anti-discrimination, anti-oppression, racial equity, anti-racism, and human rights by creating a new Racial Equity District Policy” (p. 12). 160 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Policy construction, amendments, and enforcement Enforcing existing human rights policy REP:ENF Text that describes how this strategic plan draws on previously implemented human rights and educational policies to guide the implementation of this plan, as well as potential revisions to existing policies and the creation of new policies. Apply to text that refers to enforcing already implemented provincial, federal or international human rights, racial equity, anti-racism, or education policies. This includes references to “see” or further refer to existing policies as extensions of the Racial Equity Strategic Plan. Do not apply to text that refers to making amendments to existing policies or creating a new racial equity or anti-racism policy. “...in alignment with the Ministry of Education and Child Care Mental Health in Schools Strategy and the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan” (p. 12). 161 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Collaboration with Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities Listening circles and feedback groups COL:CIR Text that refers to district staff or teachers offering students, other staff or community members the opportunity to provide feedback on racial equity and anti-racism issues, whether in an organized/elected group or listening circles. Apply to text that refers to providing space for generalized feedback and collaboration with communities, staff and students regarding racial equity needs, initiatives, amendments, etc., including in specially designated groups including the “Racial Equity Working Group” or “Student Voice Programs”. Do not apply to text that specifically refers to using this feedback as a part of data collection, research, and reporting/ evaluation of racial equity/anti-racism in the district. “...as well as risk assessment procedures, including restorative circles, when working with racialized youth, staff, and families” (p. 20). 162 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Collaboration with Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities Strengthen communication between the district and communities COL:COM Text that describes how the district should/will improve communicative efforts to increase inclusivity of information communication to staff, students and communities. Apply to text that refers to amending dissemination of information (physically and digitally) from the district to communities. This includes discussions of how information is formatted, languages, method of dissemination, etc. Do not apply to text that refers to that content that is being communicated by the district to the community. Do not apply to text that refers to collaborative spaces or data collection from communities to the district. “To provide clear, accessible and timely communication and information from schools and the school district to all members of our school communities. Recognizing the diversity of Surrey Schools students, staff and families, it is important communication, print and digital information, and resources are available in multiple languages to assist with understanding and creating belonging for everyone” (p. 12). 163 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Data collection, research, and reporting Surveys and data collection DAT:SUR Text describing how data will be collected to document district demographics and conduct scholarly research to support racial equity and anti-racism initiatives within the district. Apply to text that specifically refers to using this feedback as a part of data collection, research, and reporting/evaluation of racial equity/anti-racism in the district. Do not apply to text that refers to providing space for generalized feedback and collaboration with communities, staff and students, including specially designated groups, regarding racial equity needs, initiatives, amendments, etc. “To create and strengthen demographic data stewardship initiatives in order to better understand and analyze the ethnicity and cultural diversity of our students and staff” (p. 18). 164 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Anti-Indigenous racism Defining anti-Indigenous racism AIR:DEF Text defining key terms related to divisions and hierarchization of people based on physical traits and imposed social, historical, geographic, political and economic consequences of these differentiations specifically towards Indigenous people. Apply to text that refers only to defining anti-Indigenous racism. Do not apply to text that describes specific instances or actions of racism. Do not apply to text that describes responses to anti-Indigenous racism. “Anti-Indigenous racism is the ongoing race-based discrimination, negative stereotyping, and injustice experienced by Indigenous Peoples within Canada. It includes ideas and practices that establish, maintain and perpetuate power imbalances, systemic barriers, and inequitable outcomes that stem from the legacy of colonial policies and practices in Canada” (p. 29). Anti-Indigenous racism References to Canadian settler colonialism AIR:RAC Text describing how racism may be experienced by Indigenous peoples in relation to experiences of colonialism and their enduring social, political, economic effects, including in education, as well as how this may be addressed Apply to text that refers to how racism is experienced by Indigenous staff, students, and communities due to the impacts of colonization/colonialism. As well as how this may be addressed. Do not apply to text that defines anti-Indigenous racism, racism, or colonization/colonialism. “...recognizes Indigenous families lived and living experiences with colonization and systemic, interpersonal, internalized, and structural racism” (p. 21). 165 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Anti-Indigenous racism Truth and Reconciliation AIR:TRC Text describing the responsibility of settlers and Surrey School District to speak truly about Canadian histories of Indigenous dispossession and ongoing colonial practices. Reconciliation refers to actions taken to decolonize colonial practices. Apply to texts that refer to addressing anti-Indigenous racism, “Truth and Reconciliation,” “truth-telling,” “94 calls to action,” “Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” etc. Do not apply to text that refers to amendments or implementations that simply reflect principles of “Truth and Reconciliation.” Rather, it should be directly referred to. “Surrey Schools is committed to acknowledging historical and ongoing injustices to Indigenous Peoples across Canada and honoring and acting on Truth and Reconciliation” (p. 2). 166 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Anti-Indigenous racism First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) AIR:FPP Text describing the application or dissemination of Indigenous knowledge and educational practices. Apply to texts that refer directly to “First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL)” or “Indigenous ways of knowing.” Include specific tasks or actions that are proposed to center Indigenous knowledge (i.e. inviting Elders to classrooms, Indigenous pedagogical practices, etc.). Apply to Indigenous pedagogical practice of “circle gathering,” but not “listening/restorative circles.” Do not apply to generalized curriculum, pedagogical or resources changes. “Educators continue to improve the ability to apply the First People’s Principles of Learning (FPPL) authentically and consistently in classrooms and learning environments” (p. 25). 167 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Anti-Black racism Defining anti-Black racism ABR:DEF Text defining key terms related to divisions and hierarchization of people based on physical traits and imposed social, historical, geographic, political and economic consequences of these differentiations specifically towards Black people. Apply to text that refers only to defining anti-Black racism. Do not apply to text that describes specific instances or actions of racism. Do not apply to text that describes responses to anti-Black racism. “Anti-Black racism is prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping, and discrimination that is directed at people of African descent and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and its legacy” (p. 29). Anti-Black racism Addressing anti-Black racism ABR:SGE Text describing how specifically anti-Black racism may be addressed Apply to text that refers to how racism is experienced by Black staff, students, and communities due to the impacts of enslavement. This includes specific instances or actions of racism, or more generalized discussion of anti-Black racism. Do not apply to text that defines anti-Black racism, racism, or enslavement. “Other examples of intergenerational trauma include ongoing legacies of slavery of people of African descent, as well as the impact of racial segregation, and the long histories and contemporary forms of racial oppression and violence directed at Black and racialized individuals and communities” (p. 32). 168 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Defining key terms (other) Racism and related terms TER:RAC Text defining key terms related to divisions and hierarchization of people based on physical traits and imposed social, historical, geographic, political and economic consequences of oppression based on this differentiation. Apply to text that refers to definitions of racisms. Do not apply to actionable tasks that address various forms of racisms. Includes, but is not limited to definitions of race, racialization, racism, racial bias, racial disparity, racial disproportionality, racial inequality, racial profiling, etc. “Racism is the belief that one group, as defined by the color of their skin or their perceived common ancestry, is inherently superior to others. It can be openly displayed in jokes, slurs, or hate speech, or can be more hidden in unconscious biases” (p. 33). 169 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Defining key terms (other) Defining racism for groups other than specifically Indigenous or Black people TER:ANT Text defining key terms related to the divisions and hierarchization of people based on physical traits and imposed social, historical, geographic, political and economic consequences of these differentiation for groups of people other than specifically Indigenous or Black people. As well as definitions that describe the challenging of these oppressions. Apply to text that refers to defining racisms such as, but not limited to, anti-Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, or anti-Semitism. Do not apply to actionable tasks that address them. Do not apply specifically to anti-Indigenous or anti-Black racism. “Islamophobia is racism, stereotypes, prejudice, fear, or acts of hostility directed towards individual Muslims or followers of Islam in general. In addition to individual acts of intolerance and racial profiling, Islamophobia can lead to viewing and treating Muslims as a greater security threat on an institutional, systemic, and societal level” (p. 29). 170 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Defining key terms (other) Racial equity, anti-racism, and related terms TER:REQ Text defining key terms related to challenging oppression caused by the divisions and hierarchization of people based on physical traits and imposed social, historical, geographic, political and economic consequences based on these differentiations Apply to text that refers to definitions of racial equity and/or anti-racism. Do not apply to actionable tasks that promote racial equity or anti-racism. Includes, but is not limited to racial equity and anti-racism. “Racial equity is the systemic fair treatment of all people. It results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone” (p. 33). Defining key terms (other) Colonialism, decolonization, and related terms TER:COL Text defining key terms related to defining Indigenous peoples, colonialism, the impacts of colonialism, and challenging consequences of colonialism within a racial equity lens. Apply to text that refers to defining colonialism, decolonization, indigeneity, etc. Do not apply to actionable tasks that address them. “Colonialism is the historical practice of European expansion into territories already inhabited by Indigenous peoples for the purposes of acquiring new lands and resources. This expansion is rooted in the violent suppression of Indigenous peoples’ governance, legal, social and cultural structures” (p. 30). 171 Coding Main Category Coding Subcategory Code Coding Definition When to use Example in Data Defining key terms (other) Human rights and related terms TER:HMR Text defining what equity, racial equity, and human rights is experienced within the perspective of Surrey School District and the resources the policy draws on. Apply to text that refers to defining human rights. Do not apply to actionable tasks that promote human rights. “Simply by existing in the world, you are entitled to certain basic rights, your human rights. Everyone is born with the right to equality, dignity, and respect, free from discrimination. These rights are protected in law but not always realized.
Thesis/Dissertation
eng
Educational Studies
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Graduate
Gill, Hartej
Opini, Bathseba
Investigating racial equity and anti-racism policy in K-12 public schooling in British Columbia : an anti-colonial discursive analysis of the Surrey School District's Racial Equity Strategic Plan
Text