The State Versus Learners and Communities: Schooling in British Columbia, 1939–1945

• In Event: Roundtable Session 50
  In Roundtable Session: The Role of the State in International Education

Abstract

During World War II government considered Canadian schools optimal sites for instilling nationalistic sentiments in teachers and learners. No scholarly publications have tapped memories of former teachers to determine the extent to which Canadian schools actually undertook efforts to support the war. This paper challenges the notion that Canadian schools fervently engaged in nationalistic behavior to support the war. To supplement official perspectives found in government documents, I interviewed two-dozen teachers who taught in 40 schools throughout British Columbia. Despite policy-makers’ intentions, the extent to which teachers and students engaged with the war reflected the intersection of many factors: the values of students’ families; communities’ proximity to the Pacific coast; individual teachers’ judgment and their relationships with parents and children.

Authors

• Helen S. Raptis, University of Victoria

• Ashley Forseille, University of Victoria