Multiculturalism in the Canadian context is one of the many things Canadians pride ourselves on but we only understand it at a superficial level. This paper will be breaking down multiculturalism in our society and how it functions in our education system.
Multiculturalism in Canada
One of the many distinct features in Canadian society is the fact that we are very inclusive because we are considered to be “multicultural”. We have areas in Toronto such as Little Italy, The Danforth, Little Jamaica etc.. where Torontonians and Canadians alike can visit these areas and experience others cultures, this a theme that expands across the nation. This idea of multiculturalism even finds its way into the education system where many schools have “multicultural day” and experience the different cultures. However, that is where it stops. Multiculturalism in our society is very superficial and ignores the complex relationships between different cultures and the Canadian one. When looking deeper into multiculturalism we can determine two things. One, that it is a fragment of capitalism, meaning that many retail stores and restaurants take this superficial “multicultural” idea and use it as a tool for profit, and we as consumers buy into the different cultures. Secondly, through being partially capitalistic it means that it is also colonialist at its core. The idea of multiculturalism throughout institutions most notably education, presents it as a form of inclusiveness, by protecting the different cultures and integrating it into Canadian society, however in colonialism that does not work because with its link to nationalism it does not allow for other ideologies to integrate themselves into the dominant one. This means there is a constant conflict between self identity and the dominant society identity wants us to be like the rest, while still trying to find a way to hold on to their old which is held through multiculturalism.
Multiculturalism in Education
As stated above, multiculturalism has been institutionalized and can be found in our education system in a very superficial way. Wonseok Choi illustrated how multicultural education should be implemented and is an important feature to the education system because it emphasizes inclusiveness. Multicultural education is considered to be an “education that values diversity and includes the perspectives of a variety of cultural groups on a regular basis” (Santrock, 2001, p.171 as cited in Choi & Chepyator-Thomson, 2011, p.14). The features of multicultural education also mean that there must be equal opportunities for all students and the reproduction of understanding difference, discrimination and complex social relations while eliminating stereotypes and myths about cultures. “Teachers should not only have knowledge of other cultures but also the desire to interact and communicate with students from diverse backgrounds and should possess necessary experiences and interests to teach” (Chepyator-Thomson, You, & Russell, 2000; Fleming, Mitchell, & Gorecki, 1999; Sparks, et al., 1996 as cited in Choi, 2011, p.14). The education system must implement teaching programs that aid students to understand themselves as well as the understandings of others. This form of teaching style is referred to as “Pluralism”.
Pluralism is based on the ideas of freedom, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity (Grant, et al., 2004 in Choi & Chepyator-Thompson, 2011, p.15). Under this concept ethnic identity and cultures are accepted and are included into society which is in contrast to the assimilation model. In a “multicultural society” such as the one Canada possesses, the pluralist model would be the one that truly gets to the understanding of multiculturalism in Canada because it allows us to educate others on differences and relationships between the cultures while creating an inclusive space of equity. Ultimately “The most important goal of multicultural education is to develop a curriculum that permits students to appreciate and participate in a variety of movements from global-local perspectives, thus allowing for opportunities for people to coexist in harmony even when they come from different ethnic, social and educational background” (Chepyator-Thomson et al., 2008, as cited in Choi & Chepyator-Thomson, 2011, p.18).
The pluralism model does not seem to be as prevalent in education throughout my experiences. Many teachers enjoy and have appreciation for other cultures but there are no plans in place for inclusion like there is for the assimilation model. Instead the assimilation model is mostly used in the education system. As stated before, the education system is a place where bodies are policed and the assimilation model is the basis of this policing. In this model students must conform to the rules of the school creating a uniform ideology of “do’s and don'ts”, which is essentially how society is set up where the “do’s and don’ts” conform to a dominant ideology. This also makes sure that different bodies understand their place and reinforces the dominant culture ideologies, which ultimately creates even more of a divide to those who feel unheard, unworthy, or do not conform to the same ideologies. This may be one of the many reasons that explains the correlation between dropout rates and those who were deemed inferior by the dominant culture.
In terms of multiculturalism and Canadian nationalism there is a similar type of tension. Pure multiculturalism would be to include and understand the other like the pluralism model, however nationalism which is comparable to assimilation model, has a one way of thinking through a dominant ideology and does not allow the inclusion of others, one must conform or be left out. This creates a struggle for identity which affects many aspects of life and on the smaller scale of education, in particularly physical education, can affect ones participation.
Multiculturalism and Physical Education
In relation to the teaching models to physical activity it seemed to me through my experience that the assimilation model was mostly used because sport is used to teach values, hard work, and ethics that is influenced by the dominant culture. Often uses of whitestream sport were taught such as hockey, baseball and European and American football and very rarely or if ever would the teacher touch on other sports from different cultures because of “popularity”. This is a cause of concern because in a multi-ethnic society such as Canada, and specifically Toronto, many students of various backgrounds and newcomers often don’t understand the sport and meanings behind them. Essentially they are removed from the whitestream and feel excluded from their class on a small scale and possibly Canadian society on a larger scale. Throughout my experience with physical activity in the education system instructors have failed the students in these aspects because the physical activity was based on performance and not based on their ability to meet the standards of the class, so the ones who understand and can perform skills in these sports can do well but those who can not tend to be further removed.
Taylor and Doherty had conducted a study on newcomers to Canada and studied their participation in sport. Their framework, as well as other studies who have done this, concerns the topics of Socio Economic Status, Culture, Subcultural identity, perceived discrimination, and acculturation as barriers to sport participation. “Sub-cultural identity, perceived benefits, discrimination and challenges were described by the focus groups participants as having an influence on the attitudes and experiences of culturally diverse youth towards sport and recreation participation” (Taylor & Doherty, 2005, p.235). Many of the students involved in this study expressed their opinions on the limitations in sport and it was mostly based on subcultural identity and acculturation.
On average, the students reported using their first language and English equally. However, they preferred their first language at home and preferred English slightly more than their first language in sport and recreation . There was no variation in language preference by gender. The number of years in Canada directly explained some variation in acculturation overall where the longer one has been in Canada, the greater his or her preference for English. (Taylor & Doherty, 2005, p.222)
This showed a correlation with subcultural identity where students had stronger identification with their own background rather than the Canadian culture. Along with this data the challenges these students faced because of lack of acculturation and higher identification to ones culture were that “The students suggested that language difficulties and unfamiliarity with activities were surmountable barriers to participation; however it is clear that these intimidate and inhibit some students from participating” (Taylor & Doherty, 2005, p.226), this ultimately supports exclusion. Along with other cultural or external reasons most students participated in activity only once a week and mostly with someone like themselves. This shows that the assimilation model is present in regard of physical education because many of the limitations that others feel in sport participation are the basis of acculturation and also shows that those who have been exposed to this model and acculturation longer tend to be less reluctant in sport participation as well as use of language and identification to a different culture. However, for the most part many feel excluded and out of place in the sport systems provided within Canada and the physical education system because of this model. The pluralist model would be a better reflection on true multiculturalism providing opportunities for many as well as the increased inclusion of others and the sharing of other cultures within the society.
It is apparent that teachers in the education system are very influential and for many students across Canada and the world often look up to their teachers as role models. With this much power comes responsibility and the instructors must realize the influence they have on many lives. By teaching the proper paradigm and influencing the up coming generations to follow the right path change can be made in all aspects of society.