Experience of Minoritized International Students in Ontario Elite Private Boarding Schools

• In Event: Dissertation workshop session
  In Special Session: Inequality and Education

Proposal

University and faculty advisor:
University of Toronto/OISE, Dr. John Portelli

Stage of Research:
I will begin my proposal writing in December 2018 and will either be at the end of proposal writing or beginning of ethics by April 2019.

Purpose of the research:
Despite the continuously increasing number of International Students (IS) entering and studying in Canadian institutions, scholars (Marginson, 2012; Lee & Opio, 2011; Lee & Rice, 2007; Khawaja & Stallman, 2011) collectively argue that IS are often vulnerable to exploitation and they experience various forms of racism, discrimination, isolation, and loneliness. This research plans to particularly focus on IS in Ontario private elite boarding schools. These IS are minoritized due to reasons such as race, ethnicity, language and citizenship in predominantly White and Westernized residential school environment despite the fact they come from families with high social status and wealthy financial background. Despite the increasing population, the literature on Minoritized International Students (MIS) experiences are still noticeably absent from academic research, practice, and policy formation in Ontario. Only a minor portion of research conducted on schooling in North America involves the perspectives of students, and many educators, through their racial biases, have developed low expectations, misconceptions, and false assumptions about MIS. Thus, the purpose of this research is to: (1) understand the undermined and unacknowledged experiences of MIS in Ontario elite private boarding schools to address the gap in current body of literature, and (2) examine the possibility of Culturally Responsible School Leadership (CRSL) as a strategy to address the needs of MIS.

Research Questions:
1. What are the educational and social experiences of Minoritized International Students (MIS) in elite private boarding schools and how are they effecting MIS’ academic achievement and wellbeing?
a. What barriers or challenges do MIS experience and what are the causes?
b. Is there a gap between MIS’ experiences and principals’ understanding of the students’ experiences?
2. To what extent, if any, do principals of elite private boarding schools employ and utilize Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) to shape the school experiences of Minoritized International Students?
a. What strategies do principals use to practice CRSL?
b. What impacts does CRSL have on MIS, teachers, school environment/culture, and the principals themselves?

Thesis Statement:
Minoritized International Students are experiencing racial microaggressions and discrimination in Ontario elite private boarding schools. due to the differences of skin color, language proficiency, and cultural beliefs and practices.

Theoretical framework/Experiences related to dissertation:
I was an international student myself who attended and graduated from an elite private boarding school in Ontario, and I have worked as an international student program coordinator employed by a private school. I plan to use anti-oppressive, anti-racism, and social justice leadership framework based on scholarly works of Gooden and Dantley (2012), Theoharis (2007), Gay (1994 & 2010), Gaztambide-Fernandez (2009 & 2010), Ladson-Billings (1998 & 2002) and Paris (2012).

Methodology:
I plan to conduct participatory-action research based on mixed-method research methodology, which combines qualitative semi-structured interviews with current/former students of private elite boarding school and current private elite boarding school principals , schools’ policy document analysis, and surveys.

Author

• Soo Kyung Min, OISE, University of Toronto