Teaching for Diversity - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

THE FLUID AND COMPLEX NATURE OF CANADIAN DIVERSITY

Ethnic and cultural diversity are long-standing features of Canadian society. Even before European settlers arrived, the territory that is today Canada included a diverse range of Aboriginal Peoples including Inuit and many autonomous groups that are now referred to as First Nations. From the beginning then, the territory of Canada has included peoples of many languages, cultures, and worldviews.

The French and British were the first groups from outside North America to set up long-term settlements here but they included people from a range of backgrounds. The British, for example, included English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish. Both British and French settlers often brought with them people from other parts of the world and others arrived on their own.

People of African descent have been in Canada from early days of European settlement. Slavery was legal in both New France and the British colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries and many free Loyalists of African descent arrived with a wave of refugees from the United Sates in 1783 and 1784. Significant Chinese immigration to the west coast of the territory now called Canada began with the gold rush in British Columbia in the mid 19th century. According to the 1870-71 census of Canada, German speakers made up a significant part of the non-Aboriginal population of Canada.

Framework for Diversity

Dr. Will Kymlicka has developed a framework to think about the complexity of ethnic and cultural diversity in Canada. He studied developments in Canadian public policy and law to identify different kinds of minority groups:

(1) National Minorities:

As a group, national minorities existed in the territory of Canada before the country was formed and had their own institutions of governance and social policy. Francophones in Québec are an example of a national minority. As a collective they existed in the territory of Canada before the country was formed and had their own institutions of governance and social policy. Canada was established as a federal state partly to allow them a measure of autonomy and self-government. Provinces were given control over important areas of social policy like education partly so Francophones could maintain and promote their distinct language and culture. Indigenous peoples are also national minorities. The Canadian constitution recognizes three separate groups of Aboriginal Peoples: Inuit, First Nations, and Métis. Section 35 of the constitution sets out the rights of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada and it begins with the statement: “The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.” For most Aboriginal people and groups treaties are of central importance in understanding their relationship with Canada.

(2) Polyethnic (Immigrant) Minorities:

The many peoples of Canada who are not from British, French, or Aboriginal backgrounds. Some of these people are fairly recent arrivals but, as pointed out above, others are descendants of migrants who came to Canada long ago – in some cases before it existed as a country. It was largely in recognition of this category of diversity that the Government of Canada developed a multiculturalism policy in 1972 that became formalized in the Multiculturalism Act in 1988.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES TO DIVERSITY EDUCATION IN CANADA

The idea of addressing ethnic diversity in the classroom has had a tumultuous history in Canada. A large part of this is because of the treatment of difference in schools and how the various approaches have impacted children (and their communities) from outside the majority culture. The following reviews four different approaches to diversity education through Canadian history. Note that these approaches often exist together with one or more dominating education at particular times throughout Canada’s history.