Hiring and Promotion Barriers for Asian Educators: A Canadian Case Study of the Bamboo Ceiling

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Equity-Oriented Practices in Schools and Districts (Table 8)

Abstract

This study amplifies the voices of Asian educators and their experiences undergoing hiring, advancement, and promotion (HAP) processes in a large district school board in Ontario, Canada, with a significant Asian population. Our data sources included survey results completed by 234 Asian educators (teachers and administrator), as well as focus group transcriptions with 61 teachers and 22 administrators in fall 2022. Grounded in Asian critical race theory, the thematic analysis demonstrated that Asian educators faced institutional barriers when applying for leadership roles such as being lead teachers, vice-principal, and/or principal. Three key factors emerged: (a) pressure to conform to whiteness to move up the ladder; (b) accent and name discrimination; and (c) colonial ideologies normalized and embedded in promotion procedures.

Authors

• Mary Reid, University of Toronto - OISE

• Ardavan Eizadirad, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Steven M. Reid, University of Toronto - OISE