The Role of Race and Class in Canadian Parental School Choice

• In Event: Taking Responsibility for Racial Justice in Educational Leadership Preparation: Antiracist Implications in Doctoral Student Work

Abstract

Purpose
The focus of this study was to understand the factors that affect high school choice for parents of French speaking children in a white suburban neighbourhood in Canada. Students that graduate grade 8 from a local French school, can choose from two predominantly white English high schools or the diverse French high school, within the city. French education can be perceived to be ideal for future opportunities, yet many families decide on the English options. Exploring how parents talk about their racialized choices with school selection highlights the role parents may play in maintaining white supremacy through speech or silence (Picower, 2009; Castagno, 2008). The purpose of this paper is to analyze parental perceptions that potentially connect to the unequal distribution of opportunity across race and class.

Theoretical Perspective
Intersectionality theory was used to frame this study because it helps to understand how race alongside class can lead to increased discrimination and injustice (Cho, Crenshaw & McCall, 2013). Race and class are two separate issues, but when combined, can be more harmful. Participants of this study when faced with sending their bilingual children to the French high school showed signs of deterrence due to the sources of oppression or economic and racial diversity.

Methods
The use of a focus group provided insight into the understanding of parental views and their perceptions of class and race regarding school choice. Racism is an uncomfortable issue for white people to discuss based on an internalized sense of superiority (DiAngelo, 2015). The unawareness of this or inability to admit it causes white people to avoid or become fragile in racially focused conversations (Vaught & Castagno, 2008).

Data Sources
Three parents, in their suburban community, participated in a focus group discussion on school choice for the duration of 1 hour. The conversation was recorded and transcribed to inform this study’s findings with identifiable themes. Archived literature was used to analyze and connect the findings to existing theories.

Results
A conscious effort was required to continue to bring the focus back to factors of race and class. Referencing the diversity of the French high school and its proximity to varying degrees of socio-economic status produced responses themed with avoidance or overt comfort. White fragility was at the forefront of interactions with the participants. The focus group discussion highlighted this concept and provided data from parents who have personal experience with the set of questions that were asked. This opened up an avenue for analysis into an internalized sense of superiority and a preference for whiteness in avoidance of equitable education and opportunity for all.

Scholarly Significance
Issues of inequality need to be addressed on a greater scale so that individuals become more comfortable addressing their own inner feelings. Race and class are constructs which play into all aspects of our socialization. This study brings light to the need for a shift from white discomfort to anti-racist behaviour and encourages scholarly discourse that can effectively contribute to inequity awareness and learning for all.

Author

• Rebecca Reaume, Wayne State University