Social Justice by the Numbers: A Policy Historiography of Equity Education Policy in Ontario

• In Event: International Cases of Equity Policy Development

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to trace the historical development of equity education policy in Ontario by analyzing two equity policy texts and the processes of text production and enactment. Policy sociology in education takes into account globalization and its effects on education policy. The context of influence, policy text production, and practice need to be located within the imbrications of the global, national and local. Case study design guides the collection and analysis of data. Policy actors distinguish between the 1993 and 2009 policies. Equity education policy in Ontario during the early 1990s was dominated by a ‘politics of representation’ settlement, followed by an intensification of neoliberal restructuring, and subsequently a ‘social justice by the numbers’ settlement.

Authors

• Allison Segeren, The University of Western Ontario

• Goli Marzieh Rezai-Rashti, University of Western Ontario

• Wayne J. Martino, The University of Western Ontario