Unmasking Power Dynamics: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Indigenous Education Policy in Ontario


Xinru FAN, Beijing Foreign Studies University

Policy matters for those interested in inequalities because it shapes who benefits, for what purposes and who pays. Ontario has released its formal policy frameworks guiding and supporting Indigenous education in 2007: Ontario First Nation, Metis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework. However, according to Wotherspoon, there exists a form of "democratic colonialism" in Canadian legislation, discourse and practice. This raises concerns about whether these policy frameworks inadvertently conceal unequal power dynamics. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the study moves beyond a narrow focus on language features and considers how language is used to construct and perpetuate the disadvantage faced by Indigenous people in Canada.

This paper will be presented at the following session: