Black Student Experiences in English Quebec Schools : A DisCrit Composite Counter-Story of the Special Education Placement Process

The author notes that while systemic racism continues to be denied in dominant political discourse in Quebec, racialized citizens and immigrants are the targets of oppressive treatment in various institutions across the province, including schools. This situation is particularly salient for Black students who have reported various manifestations of anti-Black racism in educational institutions. These experiences in conjunction with their concerning socio-educational portrait and the predominant race and racism denial discourse incite a critical intersectional investigation of their school experiences. Specifically in light of their overrepresentation in special education, the author documents Black student experiences in Quebec English schools throughout the special education placement process and analyzes the systemic and structural barriers they encounter. A DisCrit theoretical framework guided the author’s inquiry, as it addresses the interrelationship of ableism and racism, and how they work in tandem to maintain systems of inequity. Similarly, a critical qualitative methodological approach was employed, using a counter-story method. Following the analysis of interviews with 21 school board members and 20 high school students, as well as their student files, the author’s main results showed that while school board personnel perceived most of their practices as inclusive, benevolent, and beneficial to students, the majority of the reported student experiences do not coincide. The author found that throughout the special education placement process, Black students were prevented from accessing information and fully participating in their own special education placement processes, as the majority were unaware of the codes and labels that had been attributed to them, and the support measures to which they were entitled. They were exposed to perceived unwelcoming and unsafe environments, academic neglect, as well as harsh forms of discipline. The author’s analysis of the results suggests that special education placement processes are tainted by anti-Black and ableist practices and policies that adultify, medicalized and criminalize the behaviors of Black children, while failing to fully uphold their educational rights.

PhD dissertation

Université de Montréal

Montreal

2021

xi-238p.

en