Exemplary Canadian Urban High Schools: High School Teachers' Perspectives on and Engagement With Social Justice

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Thirteen
  In Roundtable Session: International Perspectives on Educational Resistance (Table 6)

Abstract

This study explores high school teachers’ perspectives on social justice and engagement in social justice initiatives in their schools. The study focuses on the urban Canadian context and involves teachers in three cities, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. There are 16 teacher participants from six schools, two in each city. The study takes a qualitative approach and employs semi-structured interviews. The interviews reveal differences between cities with respect to the emphasis teachers put in their understanding of social justice, as some issues are more prominent in particular cities, and that teacher’s identity and personal narratives matter when it comes to promoting and actively engaging in social justice initiatives. The study presents a Canadian social justice dimension to urban educational studies literature.

Author

• Manu Sharma, Thompson Rivers University
  Presenting Author