Anti-Racism Initiatives in K-12 Schools in Canada
This report explores anti-racism initiatives in Canadian K-12 education, with an intentional focus on rural and Northern regions, with the objectives of understanding the experiences of racialized and newcomer students and identifying promising anti-racism strategies and practices. Drawing from academic, public, and policy sources, the report analyses how racism manifests and how anti-racism efforts are unfolding across four interrelated areas: provincial policies and curriculum, schools and school boards, teachers and the classroom, and communities. Key findings reveal that while some progress has been made at the provincial level, curricula across Canada often remain Eurocentric and fail to include Indigenous knowledge systems or address systemic racism meaningfully, with rural schools facing additional challenges, including staff turnover, lack of diversity, and limited resources. The most effective anti-racism efforts start at the grassroots level, with community engagement a key avenue for potential changes, particularly when education is embedded in local knowledge and lived experiences.
