Our Input Matters: Black Mothers’ Agency in the Formation and Implementation of Anti-Racist School Policies in Multicultural Toronto

This study seeks to explore the extent to which Black mothers have been included and involved in the development of education policies related to anti-blackness. The analytical arguments derived from the experiences of these mothers may offer insight into educational policy around anti-blackness, which could serve to inform various educational stakeholders.

• Sponsor
  Spencer Foundation Racial Equity Research Grants
  $71,588

• Principal investigator
  Tianna Dowie-Chin
  Assistant professor
  Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education

• Active since
  January 2023

Abstract

Parents are typically viewed as an essential part of the school and community; however, Black mothers are seldom positioned this way. As such, this study expands on a year-long research study that centered the onto-epistemologies of Black mothers as they envisioned an education for their children that moves beyond simply passing. While the initial study focused on Black mothers in the Southeastern region of the United States, this study focuses on Black mothers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as they negotiate and navigate educational policies that aim to address anti-blackness in schools.

This study recognizes the geopolitical differences that shape educational policy and lived experiences while also building on Black diasporic work. Resultantly, the proposed study seeks to explore the extent to which Black mothers have been included and involved in the development of education policies related to anti-blackness. From January 2023 to December 2024, this Spencer Grant would support research working with Black mothers in GTA as they navigate and negotiate educational policies that aim to address anti-blackness in their children’s schools. The analytical arguments derived from the experiences of these mothers may offer insight into educational policy around anti-blackness, which could serve to inform various educational stakeholders.