Equity in action: A participatory study of Persian-speaking parent engagement in Ontario

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

Proposal

This presentation examines how Afghan and Iranian newcomer parents in Ontario interpret and negotiate profound curricular and pedagogical differences between their home countries’ educational systems and Ontario’s approach. Drawing on a qualitative, community-based study, the research highlights parents’ curriculum beliefs, their encounters with Ontario’s educational norms, and the role of culturally responsive tools in supporting adjustment and fostering curricular hybridity.

In Afghanistan and Iran, educational traditions emphasize teacher-centered pedagogy, where the teacher is the authoritative transmitter of knowledge, moral guide, and disciplinarian (Hemmati & Azizmalayeri, 2022). Instruction is largely textbook-driven, with national curricula ensuring uniformity (UNESCO, 2015). Student learning relies heavily on memorization and frequent homework, while academic progression significantly depends on summative assessment (Heyneman & Todoric-Bebic, 2021). Such systems reinforce parents’ expectations of rigour and discipline, and position education as a clear pathway to social mobility.

By contrast, Ontario’s curriculum promotes student-centered and inquiry-based pedagogy, emphasizing creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013; 2014). Teachers are seen as facilitators who encourage student autonomy and socio-emotional development (Milne & Aurini, 2017). Instead of standardized textbooks and rote memorization, Ontario emphasizes differentiated instruction and experiential learning, often relying on projects and cross-disciplinary integration, particularly in STEM (Author, 2024). Assessment practices prioritize formative and diagnostic evaluation, providing ongoing feedback to support learning (Black & Wiliam, 2009). Parents in this study expressed appreciation for Ontario’s inclusivity and creativity but voiced concern that reduced homework, fewer textbooks, and emphasis on formative assessment did not provide the rigour and clarity they associated with academic success.

The study is grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Developmental Work Research (DWR), frameworks that position contradictions as generative sites for transformation. Using interviews, focus groups, and workshops with parents of middle-school children, the project employed descriptive phenomenology to capture parents’ lived experiences while collaboratively co-developing solutions. Two mediating artifacts were central to the intervention: a Persian-language Parent Guide Booklet and a series of community-based workshops. The Parent Guide and workshops created translanguaging spaces and clarified the rationale behind inquiry-based learning, STEM integration, and formative assessment, reducing anxiety and enabling parents to scaffold their children’s learning at home.

Findings reveal that these tools helped parents demystify Ontario’s curriculum and recontextualize unfamiliar practices. This research demonstrates that when immigrant families are engaged as co-creators in the development of culturally and linguistically responsive resources, they can reinterpret unfamiliar curricular practices not as a lack of rigour but as a different educational logic. By situating Afghan and Iranian parents as curricular navigators and knowledge producers, the study challenges deficit-based narratives that frame immigrant families as disengaged (Author, 2019; Ladky & Peterson, 2008; Zhou, 2013).

This presentation contributes to ongoing conversations on language, power, and belonging by foregrounding the intersection of multiculturalism, translanguaging pedagogy, and parent engagement. It argues that equity requires recognizing immigrant parents’ diverse repertoires not as obstacles but as vital resources. For practitioners and policymakers, the findings underscore the need to design linguistically accessible resources, professional learning for educators on family engagement, and community-based initiatives that foster reciprocal dialogue.

Author

• Zahra Safdarian, University of Toronto