AN ANALYSIS OF HOW THE ONTARIO SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM ADDRESSES ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE by Jonathan Avak Lambert A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Jonathan Avak Lambert (2018) An Analysis of How the Ontario Social Studies Curriculum Addresses Issues of Social Justice Jonathan Avak Lambert Master of Arts Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning University of Toronto 2018 Abstract While it is generally agreed that social studies is the integrated study of history, social sciences, and the humanities, there is significant debate about what to include and what to emphasize. With social justice increasingly on the Social Studies agenda, the most recent version of the Ontario Social Studies curriculum includes an increase in references to social justice and equity. Such curriculum, however, has yet to be thoroughly examined for how it addresses issues of social justice. As a result, informed by Critical Pedagogy, Critical Race Theory, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I examine the 2013 Ontario Social Studies curriculum for how it addresses social justice issues, such as the Indian Residential Schools, racism, gender, and disability.
Findings suggest that, despite its increasing use of vocabulary about social justice, the 2013 Ontario Social Studies curriculum remains dominated by forms of bias that whitewash history and social relations in Canada. ii Acknowledgements With utmost gratitude, I am thankful to many people and places that were influential during this thesis. First I thank Dr. Jim Cummins and Dr.
Antoinette Gagné for very generous support and guidance. Your thoughtfulness, questions, attention, and insight have broadened my horizons significantly and provided great assistance along the path of my thesis journey. Also thank you for your outstanding commitment in respect of all students and for your ongoing, inspiring dedication to social justice and equity at OISE and internationally. I also thank professors at OISE such as Dr.
Stephen Bahry, Dr. Clare Brett, Dr. Karyn Cooper, Dr. Alister Cumming, Dr.
Daphne Heywood, Dr. Rahat Naqvi, Dr. Katherine Rehner, Dr. Peter Trifonas, and Dr.
John Wallace for providing experiences and opportunities to extend my capabilities and understanding. In many ways, you are a significant part of this thesis, my current work, and my future. Furthermore, I thank staff at the University of Toronto such as Mr. Terry Louisy, Ms.
Sasmita Rajaratnam, Ms. Lisa Rupchand, and Ms. Lucy Stelatto for administrative support at the university. I also thank many classmates and colleagues at OISE, including Souham Alkazaal, Tasneem Anjum, Themistoklis Aravossitas, Bapujee Biswabandan, Kayla Brodie, Alison Brooks, Hye Yoon Cho, Salma Farooqi, Kate Higgins, Eveline Houtman, David Kim, In Chull Jang, Amir Kalan, Eun-Yong Kim, Jia Luo, Yecid Ortega, Gail Prasad, Dr.
Saskia Van Viegen Stille, Xinchen Wang, and Choongil Yoon, for sharing conversation, insight, challenges, and solidarity. In addition to thanking people at OISE, I am thankful to many friends, and I am thankful to my family. I thank my mother, Kim Elizabeth Lambert (née Moligian), who passed away during my work on this thesis, and I thank my father, Brian George Lambert, for your support iii during my post-graduate studies and throughout everything. I thank my partner and wife, Wang Shiying, for 15 wonderful years together and for many more in the future.
I also thank my son, who is turning four years old while I complete this thesis. I also thank students and teachers with whom I worked as a teacher from 2003 to 2015. Thank you students and staff at Chengdu University of Technology in Sichuan, Loza Ling Tibetan School in Chengdu, Hamilton Literacy Council in Ontario, Sichuan University for Nationalities in Kham and the Multi-Language Identity Text Project, Yushu Normal School in Jyegu and the English-Tibetan Training Program (ETP), Columbia International College in Ontario, Phuntsok Ling Monastery, Kangding Teachers College in Guza, Guangzhou University in Guangdong, and Hebei University in Baoding. My gratitude exceeds what is possible for me to describe.
谢谢, ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆྗེ། iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements. iii Table of Contents .v List of Figures. vii List of Appendices. viii Chapter 1: Introduction .1 Rationale and Purpose .3 Statement of the Problem.