Global knowledge for local equity: Comparative curriculum mapping for social justice in Canadian education

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

In an era of global migration and political-ecological crises, Canadian K-12 classrooms are increasingly becoming the sites of profound linguistic and cultural diversity (Statistics Canada, 2022). This context calls for a transformative commitment to curricular justice (Priestley, 2025), moving beyond celebratory multiculturalism to ensure all students have their funds of knowledge recognized, access to a rich curriculum, and a voice in educational decision-making (Riddle et al., 2023). This panel addresses Canada’s immigrant-inclusion paradox, where the celebration of diversity coexists with the marginalization of non-Western knowledge, by presenting encouraging results from several projects recently completed in Ontario (Canada) and proposing the next steps in a research program centred on comparative curriculum mapping for social justice.


Presentation 1 provides insights from the ESCAPE project and describes how international comparative curriculum mapping helped to increase educational inclusion of immigrant and refugee students in participating schools. Researchers analysed curriculum design, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices with the focus on STEM curricula (Grades 6–9) across 17 countries. After analysing curricula from students’ countries of origin, Canadian teachers were invited to co-design lesson plans that incorporated international curricular resources. Awareness of divergences in curriculum between Canadian schools and those of immigrant-sending nations helped educators create more inclusive educational environments. Additionally, workshops with parents helped them better understand Canadian education systems and see curricular similarities and differences.


Presentation 2 describes another project that followed ESCAPE’s multilingual approach but focused specifically on Persian-speaking immigrant parents from Iran and Afghanistan. Here researchers aimed to bridge the gap between immigrant parents' curricular beliefs rooted in teacher-centered pedagogy, reliance on textbooks, memorization, and homework and Ontario’s emphasis on inquiry-based pedagogy, experiential learning, project work and cross-curricular integration. Guided by Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research frameworks, the project resulted in the development of Persian-language Parent Guide Booklet and a series of workshops with immigrant parents. The guide was a result of co-creation between researchers and immigrant parents from Iran and Afghanistan, which positioned parents as active actors in their children’s education. The project demystified the Ontario curriculum for immigrant parents and invited them to co-design culturally and linguistically responsive resources.


Presentation 3 provides findings from a larger project that focused on the educational experiences of Canadian high school students with post-Soviet backgrounds. Researchers found that there is often a mismatch in curriculum orientations between immigrant parents who prefer academic rationalism with its focus on academic subjects and homework and Canadian teachers who follow social efficiency by preparing students for post-secondary pathways and the world of work. Students showed hybrid orientation, where they enjoyed more humanistic pedagogy but echoed their parents’ sentiment about the lack of academic rigor in the curriculum. Authors advocate for raising awareness of curriculum orientations to foster reciprocal learning between teachers and parents to the benefit of students’ education.


Presentation 4 builds on previous work described in the first three presentations and advocates for critical comparative curriculum mapping. This new methodology will not only compare international curricula to enhance the inclusion of immigrants and refugees in Canadian schools, but will transform Canadian education for all students by enriching it with global knowledge. It is rooted in critical social justice, post-colonial comparative education, funds of knowledge, and curricula counter-mapping frameworks. Critical comparative curriculum mapping highlights the assimilationist and silencing nature of the dominant curriculum and offers opportunities for teachers to bring students’ funds of knowledge into school spaces to co-create a truly multicultural curriculum for diverse Canadian schools.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Max Antony-Newman, University of Glasgow

Individual Presentations

• Empowering educational transformation through international comparative curriculum mapping: Insights from the ESCAPE Project - Mai Naji, OISE - University of Toronto; Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto

• Equity in action: A participatory study of Persian-speaking parent engagement in Ontario - Zahra Safdarian, University of Toronto

• Post-Soviet immigrant students in Ontario high schools: Curricular disjunctures and opportunities for reciprocal learning - Max Antony-Newman, University of Glasgow; Stephen A Bahry, OISE, University ofToronto; Sarfaroz Niyozov Niezov; Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Queen's University

• Comparative curriculum mapping for social justice in Canadian education: Next steps - Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto; Marina Antony-Newman, University College London, Institute of Education

Discussant

• Emmanuelle Le Pichon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education OISE, University of Toronto