Navigating the Politics of Identity-Based Data Collection

• In Event: Politics of Identity-Based Data: Evidence Supporting the Development of a Critical Quantitative Community Data Hub

Abstract

In the paper, "Navigating the Politics of Identity-Based Data Collection", the author writes about her experience as the former Head of Research at (Name) School Board in Ontario, Canada. Since 2018, Ontario has been led by the Conservative party, a party that has been marked by populism and has historically been reluctant to address systemic oppression (Mudde & Kaltwasser, 2017). The rise in populism over the past several years reflects growing conservative ideology and resistance to criticality movement (Kwak, 2020). For school boards attempting to adhere to anti-racism legislation and collect identity-data, those in opposition have created a challenging and adversarial environment for staff (Grice, 2022). For instance, some interest groups have begun organizing, contesting and obfuscating data collection efforts. Research staff have received abusive emails and calls. Media has been involved and political pressure placed on school board Trustees (Grice, 2022).

In terms of governance over data collection in Ontario, the Ministry of Education mandated data student-identity data collection across their 72 school board, however, each board was allowed to design their data collection tools and analyze their data independently, drawing on different questions and various methods of analysis and interpretation. As such, there was no mechanism nor parity to connect data across systems, assuring that boards could only draw on data in isolation and could not identify how systemic discrimination occurred across the province (Authors, 2020). Furthermore, in 2022, the Ministry of Education elected to provide financial incentives to boards who opted to have parents provide data on their child(ren)’s identity as opposed to enabling students to respond or self-identify in confidence. A move that risked jeopardizing accurate data collection of self-identity information, particularly around the issue of gender and sexual orientation.
To date, the province is still without a reliable and holistic data strategy allowing structural educational inequities to persist unchallenged (Milian et al., 2024). The author concludes that, as a result of growing conservatism, the Ministry of Education has been deeply underfunded and inadequately resourced, particularly in the area of data collection and the development of a data structure that could accommodate the 72 boards. Inconsistent messaging and funding created further ideological division and confusion among boards and families and risk undermining anti-racism and human rights legislation.

The author recommends that in order to resist performativity and to advance equity policy and research in K-12 Ontario education, school boards need to act proactively and resist waiting waiting for a governance solution. Visible and strong research collaborations between school boards can lead to a data strategy and help break down the current board silos (Marom, 2023). Ontario is in dire need of a reliable data infrastructure to allow for longitudinal, cross-sectional and cohort studies (Robson, 2021). Data hubs like the Data Hub (university name & link) demonstrate it is possible to work together to ethically collect, analyze and report on student identity data. Implications, applications and constraints about working collectively in a Data Hub will be discussed.

Author

• Brandy Doan-Goss, York University