Racialized Childhoods and Segregated Schooling
How is separate schooling today similar or dissimilar to segregated schooling in Canadian history?
Barnes, Rosemary, et al. “Residential Schools: Impact on Aboriginal Students’ Academic and Cognitive Development. “Canadian Journal of School Psychology, vol. 21, no. 1-2, 01 Jan. 2006, pp. 18-32.
- This article dives into the long term effects that residential school students face. The conditions of residential schools including the racism, maltreatment, inadequate curriculum, staffing, instruction time and lack of parental influence are all factors in creating generations of indigenous people having delayed psychological development. Approaching this issue from a psychological epistemology allows it to demonstrate the key issues that surround indigenous peoples psychological development
Knight, Claudette. “Black Parents Speak: Education in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Canada West.” in Sara Burke and Patrice Milewski (Eds.), Schooling in Transition: Readings in the Canadian History of Education, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012: 225-237.
- This article discusses how through the mid 19th century the government was supportive of black access to public schooling; however, the local white prejudice was often the limiting factor. With the struggle for work, competing against Irish immigrants of whom were equally willing to work for exploitive pay, a majority struggled financially and were often poorly prepared for winter months. Many hoped black inferiority might be destroyed once blacks gained educational opportunities. Within the west, public education was altered by the elite of upper Canada. Egerton Ryerson dealt with many racial disputes, many of which he sided with the blacks rights to public education, however there were some cases in which he sided with the white elites. During this time black parents sought more educational opportunities for their children and along them there were white racists opposed to integrated schooling. This view point in comparison to today is similar, but on a smaller scale. There is still subtle racism within the schools today and black parents continue to show active concern for the education of their children as initiated in the 1840’s.
Matheson, K., Bombay, A., Haslam, S. A., & Anisman, H. (2016). Indigenous Identity Transformations: The Pivotal Role of Student-to-Student abuse in Indian Residential Schools. Transcultural Psychiatry, 53(5), 551-573.
- This article connects the feelings of shame brought on by severe neglect and abuse accompanied by the constant reminder from authorities that being Indian was shameful, to accumulated anger by the students. An emotion that they were unable to express towards anyone except their peers. Matheson is able to conclude that such intragroup aggression would fundamentally alter the social identity dynamics that might otherwise have protected the esteem and identity of indigenous children. This article is important in helping understand how the residential school environment was so traumatizing and the long-term effects it had on the students.