Abstracts
Abstract
Our study amplifies the voices of Asian educators undergoing career advancement in a large district school board with a significant Asian student population in Ontario, Canada. Our data sources included survey results from 234 Asian educators and focus group transcriptions from 83 Asian educators. Grounded in Asian critical race theory (“AsianCrit”), our findings show that Asian educators faced the “bamboo ceiling,” wherein institutional barriers and inequities in relation to their Asian identity limited their career advancement when applying for leadership roles. Through a thematic analysis, we found systemic barriers: (a) pressure to conform to whiteness to advance their careers, (b) accent and name discrimination, and (c) colonial ideologies that have been normalized and embedded in leadership selection processes. Our research addresses significant gaps in the literature on Asian Canadian educators’ experiences in career advancement and contributes to the important development of AsianCrit theory.
Keywords:
- Bamboo Ceiling,
- AsianCrit,
- Asian Educator,
- Career Advancement,
- Canadian Leadership
Résumé
Notre étude fait entendre la voix d’éducateurs asiatiques en évolution de carrière dans un grand conseil scolaire de district ayant une population étudiante asiatique importante en Ontario, au Canada. Nos données proviennent de résultats d’enquêtes menées auprès de 234 éducateurs asiatiques ainsi que de transcriptions de groupes de discussion rassemblant 83 éducateurs asiatiques. Fondés sur la théorie critique de la race asiatique (AsianCrit), nos résultats montrent qu’ils sont confrontés à un phénomène appelé le « plafond de bambou », c’est-à-dire que des barrières institutionnelles et des inégalités liées à leur identité asiatique limitent leur avancement professionnel lorsqu’ils postulent à des fonctions de leadeurs. Une analyse thématique a permis de découvrir des barrières systémiques : (a) des pressions pour se conformer à la « blanchité » afin de faire progresser leur carrière; (b) une discrimination par rapport au nom ou à l’accent; et (c) des idéologies coloniales normalisées et ancrées dans les processus de sélection des leadeurs. Notre recherche comble d’importantes lacunes dans la littérature concernant les expériences d’éducateurs canadiens d’origine asiatique en matière d’avancement professionnel et contribue à l’important développement de l’AsianCrit.
Mots-clés :
- plafond de bambou,
- théorie critique de la race,
- AsianCrit,
- éducateur asiatique,
- avancement professionnel,
- leadeurship canadien
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Appendices
Biographical notes
Dr. Mary Reid (she/her pronouns) is an Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto (UofT). Mary is a first-generation settler on Turtle Island of Hakka Chinese descent. In 2020, Mary founded OISE’s Asian Student Alliance because she saw a need to offer community and healing spaces for Asian students where they can authentically share their lived experiences with others who have similar backgrounds. Mary also served on UofT’s Anti-Asian Racism Working Group, which is committed to dismantling barriers and discrimination faced by Asian members across the institution. Her research and work promote a call to action for solidarity and unity against all forms of oppression by raising awareness on how and why oppression impacts different marginalized groups in unique ways. in 2022 Mary won OISE’s prestigious ‘Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership’ for her outstanding work in fostering equitable pedagogy.
Dr. Steven Reid (he/him/his pronouns) is a Lecturer at the Ontario Institute of Child Studies, University of Toronto, where he has been teaching since 2016. Dr. Reid is also the President and CEO of the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO). With over three decades of leadership experience, his career began as an educational assistant, then taking on roles as Teacher, Principal, and Central Coordinating Principal, Superintendent, and Associate Director. He has held senior roles with the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), including Chief Assessment Officer, and served as Director of Field Services for the Ontario Ministry of Education. In addition to his work in public education, Dr. Reid regularly contributes to educational research and publications. His work has been recognized with awards, including the 2022 President’s Award from the Council for Exceptional Children Ontario for his commitment to championing students with exceptionalities.
Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad (he/him/his pronouns, @DrEizadirad) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is also a community activist and Executive Director of the non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education (YAAACE) in the Jane and Finch community in Toronto. Dr. Eizadirad is the author of Decolonizing Educational Assessment: Ontario Elementary Students and the EQAO (2019) and co-editor of Enacting Anti-racism and Activist Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Canadian Perspectives (2023 with Drs. Zuhra Abawi & Andrew Campbell). He is also working on two forthcoming books for 2025: Activist Leadership for Inclusive Schools: Canadian Insights and a major international handbook approximately 57 chapters titled The International Handbook of Anti-Discriminatory Education. Dr. Eizadirad is also the founder and Director of EDIcation Consulting (www.EDIcation.org) offering equity, diversity, and inclusion training to organizations.
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