A Reexamination of Ontario's Science Curriculum: Toward a More Inclusive Multicultural Science Education?

Abstract

The rapid diversification of communities in Ontario has necessitated the provincial government to reevaluate public school curriculums and policies to make schools more inclusive and reflective of its diverse population. This article critically analyzes the content of the latest revised science curricula for Grades 1 to 10 and assesses the degree to which multiculturalism, including antiracism, principles found in provincial equity and inclusive policies are implemented. Though small progress has been made to support multicultural science education in the current compulsory science curricula, very little changes were observed in curriculum expectations, knowledge that students are required to acquire.Résumé: La diversification rapide des communautés en Ontario a obligé le gouvernement provincial a revoir les curriculums desécoles publiques età adopter des politiques pour que lesécoles soient plus inclusives et reflètent mieux la diversité de la population. Cet article fait une analyse critique des contenus de la plus récente révision des curriculums scientifiques de la premièreà la dixième année scolaires, etévaluent jusqu'à quel point le multiculturalisme, y compris l'antiracisme, les principes d'équité et les politiques d'inclusion provinciales sont effectivement mises en application. Bien que de modestes progrès aientété réalisés pour promouvoir l'enseignement multiculturel dans les curriculums scientifiques actuels, on observe très peu de changements dans les attentes liées aux curriculums, c'est-à-dire pour ce qui a trait aux connaissances que lesétudiants doivent avoir acquises dans le cadre de leurs programmes.

Responding to diversity: a review of recent education policy and language curriculum reform in Ontario

“…Only if the curriculum provides appropriate guidance to teachers, including explicit examples and efficient resources that depict the diversity of Ontario's classrooms, will all students benefit from the exposure to diverse texts and narratives for elementary literacy development. Effective curriculum reform that embodies the principles of multicultural education would effectively reverse what many studies have already argued: many students lack interest in the knowledge and skills that privilege their white Western peers because the curriculum does not reflect their experiences or identities (Giroux, 1981;Muj & Hamdan, 2013;Mujawamariya, Hujleh, & Lima-Kerckhoff, 2014). The 2006 OLC confirmed this argument in its own introduction, arguing that "students learn best when they can identify themselves and their own experiences in the material they read and study at school" (OLC, 2006, p. 5).…”

“…Furthermore, schools with a high proportion of students enrolled in the English as a Second Language program (ESL) are consistently ranked lowest in test scores within the province (Volante, 2007). Curriculum reform that embodies the principles of multicultural education would effectively reverse what many studies have already argued: many students lack interest in the knowledge and skills privileged by the elite because the curriculum does not relate to or connect with their lives or identities (Giroux, 1981;Muj & Hamdan, 2013;Mujawamariya, Hujleh, & Lima-Kerckhoff, 2014). These studies also confirm that members of racial and cultural minority groups are among those most marginalized from the learning process, and that this marginalization stems from a sense of alienation produced by the curriculum content itself (Muj & Hamdan, 2013).…”

Responding to diversity: a review of recent education policy and language curriculum reform in Ontario

“…This is most clear in the Introduction of the OLC ( 2006), when the authors argue, supporting my own claim, that "if [students] see themselves and others in the text they read and the oral and media works they engage in, they are able to feel that the works are genuinely for and about them, and they come to appreciate the nature and value of a diverse, multicultural society" (p. 4). Furthermore, the very basis of the language curriculum is argued to be founded "on the understanding that students learn best when they can identify themselves and their own experiences in the material they read and study at school" (OLC, 2006, p. 5) (2009), like a number of other studies have shown, developed policies from the provincial level have only had minor impacts on the educational practices that take place in the school-level, particularly in regard to curriculum reform, and implementation (Segeren & Kutsyuruba, 2012;Muj & Hamdan, 2013;Mujawamariya, Hujleh, & Lima-Kerckhoff, 2014).…”

Éléments rétrospectifs et perspectives pour la didactique des sciences et la didactique du curriculum

“…Autre exemple, canadien cette fois-ci : la diversiication des communautés en Ontario a conduit le gouvernement provincial à revoir les curriculums, pour que ceux-ci soient plus inclusifs et relètent mieux la diversité de la population. Mais dans les faits, les curriculums scientiiques prennent peu en compte cette injonction d'attention au multicultura-lisme, y compris la vigilance à une prévention antiraciste (Mujawamariya et al, 2014).…”