Complex Poverty and Urban School Systems: Critically Informed Perspectives on the Superintendency

• In Event: External Support Structures: Promoting, Strengthening, and Sustaining Reform Efforts

Abstract

Complex Indigenous and racialized poverty exists in Canada. Silver (2014, 2016) and others have demonstrated, poverty can lead to poor educational outcomes. This study examined the understandings and actions of four superintendents related to complex Indigenous and racialized poverty.
The superintendency is incredibly complex and extremely political, and we can learn from the stories of those who have made a difference, no matter how small or contextualized. We can learn how superintendents can contribute to the creation of educational environments in which people challenge, develop, and, in the words of Foster (1986), “liberate human souls” (p. 18).
Using a qualitative approach informed by critical theory, this study explored how the superintendents understood issues related to complex, racialized poverty.

Author

• Duane M. Brothers, University of Manitoba