As a secularist state, China has always been highly sensitive about religious traditions, particularly Islam. During the late 1990s and especially after the 9/11 terrorist events, the government rhetoric has been to equate the Islamic knowledge and identity with violent ethnic separatism, and more recently extremism and terrorism (Roberts, 2016,…

Examining schools through the theoretical lens of the New Institutionalism, this study uses semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to explore (1) how religious diversity is addressed by teachers in the public school system, and (2) the accommodations that are made for students of diverse faiths. Policies on religious accommodation receive tight…

This case study of a math and science teacher in a private religious school looks at the impact of a teacher's religious beliefs on her experience of engaging with ethical issues in her practice. A Freirean ethical framework is used to analyze her struggles with differences between her own personal religious convictions and those of the school in…

Discusses historical conflicts among cultures within Canada, particularly within the East Indian community. Discusses the multicultural policy recently adopted through alterations in Canada's immigration laws. Explores the historical development of politics in India's Punjab, and the consequences of this development on East Indians living in…

In this article, I discuss a Canadian public school controversy and Supreme Court of Canada decision involving competing stakeholder rights to freedom of religion, safety and equality. Policy considerations that allowed one group of stakeholders to express their constitutional rights raised concerns among other stakeholders. A policy vacuum and a…

Ontario requirements for religious exercises in publicly funded elementary and secondary schools are more like those of England and Scotland than like those of most other Canadian provinces. Ontario regulations insist on religious exercises at the opening of the school day, the exercises to consist of "the reading of the Scriptures or other…

The educational aim of this genealogical study of ribbon workers as popular educators is to expose activist and voluntary organisations, not only as generative sites of learning, but also as sites of habituated learning and stereotypical colour assumptions. This study urges popular educators and activists to reflect critically on the popular…

The 1984 legislation for public funding of Catholic schools in Ontario exposed two primary conflicting values held by different groups. An analysis of policy change in terms of value conflict, and an examination of the consequences for organizational structure and administrative practice are the themes of this paper. The context in which the…

Research suggests that adolescents as young as 13 years old reason about such abstract rights as freedom of speech and religion. It is unclear whether such reasoning develops earlier. Also unclear is the role of adults as agents in inculating in children the adults' views on such rights. A study examined 184 Canadian students in the first, third,…