Education & the Politics of Difference: Select Canadian Perspectives

Despite decades of multicultural education policies, cultural minorities and the peoples of the First Nations continue to be marginalized in Canadian schools. In Education and the Politics of Difference, authors Ratna Ghosh and Ali A. Abdi expose the problematic constructions of difference in schooling contexts, where differences are either treated as surface issues that do not affect the lives of learners, or superficially celebrated in terms that do not question power relations in schools and society. This revised and expanded second edition engages the broad theories of multicultural and inclusive education, and provides case studies of Canadian multicultural education policies, such as the unique situation of Aboriginal education. With this discussion of how differences of race, class, gender, sexuality, and other differences are viewed — particularly in a post-9/11 world - this book extends the possibilities of a more open-minded global understanding and appreciation of difference.

The book closes with a discussion of the future of multicultural and inclusive education, envisioning a school system where difference is normalized and seen as a fundamental human trait essential for social and human well-being.