The Erosion of Democracy in Education: From Critique to Possibilities

Theresa F. Lewis is associate editor of the Canadian Book Review Annual.

As part of the premise for this anthology, Roger Simon states in the
foreword, “If we want people to be citizens not subjects ... we will
need to have young people think critically and be able to participate in
society so as to transform inequities that impede full participation in
democratic life.” What follows is a very readable collection of essays
written by 17 prominent Canadian scholars. These essays engage the
reader to contemplate, debate, and critique pertinent issues regarding
public education and democracy. They also expose fissures in basic
democratic ideals as the authors describe the various brands of
conservative educational reform agendas under scrutiny.

The first essay lays the foundation and provides an important history
lesson on the evolution of democracy and public education in Canada. The
next group of essays span a range of controversies precipitated by
all-encompassing educational reforms that have altered how public
education is funded, conceptualized, evaluated, and delivered. From the
Atlantic provinces to Western Canada, there are accounts and analyses of
the fallout from the last decade of funding cuts and mandated change.
The writing is frank, compassionate, and unyielding in its depiction of
how more and more Canadian children stand to be left outside the liberal
ideals of participation and entitlement.

An essay by Taylor, Dei, and Karumanchery examines the cumulative
impact of government, business, and public education converging on
educational space that now places global competitiveness before social
justice. Another set of essays looks at the costs of the accountability
frenzy that manipulates how students are taught and which sorting
measures are used to exclude large segments of the student population.
But the anthology is not just a timely analysis on the status of public
education and democracy in Canada. Some of the most persuasive writing
involves descriptions of possibility and transformation right within
hopeless contexts. The marginalized, economically disadvantaged, and
culturally disenfranchised are neither expendable nor the root cause of
what ails a disillusioned Canadian public about its education. Quite the
contrary argue the essayists; they believe that what is required in our
most challenged segments of society is a renewed commitment to social
justice, equity, and democracy.