The education system in Canada is a multi-faceted institution consisting of public, private, religious and independent forms of schooling. Each province adheres to their own education policies, that govern how education institutions can provide instruction on topics such as skills, trades, information & technology—as well as to support the development of children and adults to take on the challenges of life and in preparation for the future workforce.
Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial education systems facilitate learning, but also interpersonal interactions. The introduction of new ideas and knowledge occur alongside the association and inter-mingling of people of different cultures, backgrounds and identities. As much as we may view education institutions simply as places for learning, schools have also become the primary place for developing the skills for how to interact with others—and preparing students for the future workforce and skills to handle societal relationships. Ensuring that these environments foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity is an urgent priority.
To create a safe and inclusive environment for our youngest members of society up until adulthood, policies, programs, and campaigns are necessary to ensure schools are safe and inclusive places for all.
For the purpose of this policy brief, we will be analyzing the education system in Ontario. In the 2024-2025 school year, 2.1 million students were enrolled into 72 of Ontario’s school districts. These districts are organized into four school systems:
- English Public
- English Catholic
- French Public
- French Catholic
The majority of students receive their education in the two English school boards. In Ontario, private schools operate as businesses or non-profit entities and are not required to report data or findings. They do not fall under the umbrella of any of the four school board systems.
The presence of both a public secular board, along with a public religious board, is significant. Both are publicly funded by government and tax-payer dollars, even though the Catholic board includes Roman Catholic-based teachings in its curriculum. In recent years, Catholic schools have allowed for the admission of non-Catholic students, particularly in secondary schools, likely leading to a more heterogeneous student population than in previous years. Regardless of classification, schools and boards across the province can be more or less heterogeneous or homogeneous depending on location due to immigration patterns, or due to more individualized approach to school choice within and beyond catchment areas (based on, for example, religion or specialized educational programs).
Due to regional influences in the province, there may be greater racial diversity in some school boards than others. The reality is that some schools, and even school boards, could be almost entirely homogeneous in terms of race or other cultural identities. Northern Ontario is much more likely to have a higher proportion of Indigenous students in public schools compared to southern Ontario, which is more likely to have a higher proportion of students from other parts of the world due to immigration.
Census population data, along with migration patterns, can assist in predicting and responding to future student needs. Waiting until racial diversity becomes visible is often a sign safety and inclusion initiatives in schools are delayed, as student interaction is already happening.
An initiative spearheaded by Toronto District School Board captures direct accounts from students about their school experiences and identities.The board conducts a voluntary survey every five years to gather insight on where it can make improvements within schools. Its findings reported that 70 per cent of students identified being South Asian, East Asian or Black. Additionally, the survey found that 15 per cent of students grade 7-12 identified as part of the LBGTQ+ community. While students did report high levels of feeling safe at school, almost 50 per cent reported hiding parts of their identities at school.
In rural Ontario, 4.2 per cent of the rural population identified as racialized, an increase of over two per cent in the last 25 years. In the same vein, the Indigenous population experienced an increase of six per cent. Regardless of the size of the shift, change is occurring. Data also indicates that rural Ontario is expected to see strong population growth in the coming years. These current and future demographic shifts require work to ensure schools draw on best practices to set students up for success socially and academically.
Instances of bullying, discrimination and exclusion are longstanding issues that schools are working to overcome. A study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that 25 per cent of students reported being bullied at school, with most, at 20 per cent having experienced verbal bullying.
The government of Ontario defines bullying as a “form of unwanted repeated aggression,” or even an instance occurring just one time that makes a person feel afraid or uncomfortable. Discrimination, which is a more severe form of bullying, is defined as “an unfair action based on personal traits like race, age, or disability. It can be direct or indirect, and can be hidden.” Both instances can occur in peer-to-peer relationships between students, or within teacher to student relationships. A recent report by the Ontario Human Rights Commission highlights the ongoing system discrimination of Black students in Ontario’s education system. Students also reported ongoing instances of the use of racial slurs and/or harassment for their physical characteristics. This can lead to the creation of a “poisoned environment” where discriminatory behaviour persists and systemic exclusion arises.
The ability for students to thrive at school is impacted when they’re not in safe and inclusive environments. Whether it may be exclusion from a space, club or activity, or incidents of bullying and discrimination in the classroom or during breaks, all can affect a student’s ability to learn and retain information, impact graduation rates, and limit access to opportunities.
The Ontario Government has listed three main purposes of K-12 education:
- Ensure that all students develop the knowledge and skills they need to make informed education and career/life choices
- Provide classroom and school-wide opportunities for this learning
- Engage parents and the broader community in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, to support students in their learning
These goals cannot be achieved if students and teachers aren’t provided with the tools to foster positive relations between members of their school community. Moreover, as the world undergoes seismic economic and social shifts, a strong educational foundation is necessary to attain employment in the future.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) drafted a learning framework, putting forth a vision for education systems and guidelines for setting curriculums in order to respond to future global challenges, whether they are environmental, economic, or social.
In the future, students will need to be adaptable and have a wide range of knowledge and skills to prepare them for the future of work. Setting students up for such success, remains the primary goal of the Ontario education system. Whether students transition into the trades, higher education, or directly into the workforce after high school, a significant part of that preparation takes place at school. An education environment that can support the required learning and growth has to be one that allows all students to not just get through it, but to navigate it successfully. Their time and experience is as important as the information they receive.
Greater social heterogeneity means students increasingly come from different backgrounds. How do we prepare these students to accept one another and interact with each other respectively? What tools are at their disposal to be able to navigate interpersonal relationships, and recover from potential conflict or disagreement? How can we ensure just not physical safety, but also mental and emotional safety in the presence of others, and their teachers?
As an answer to these questions, the Ontario government created a guide for creating positive school environments, a helpful resource when thinking through ways to increase safety and inclusion. Actions such as promoting positive behaviour, incorporating equity and inclusion into the learning environment and supporting student success are just a few items on the list.
A focus on interpersonal relationships between students is paramount, whether that refers to using inclusive vocabulary, fostering positive interactions between one another, or how students resolve disagreements. While government policies are important, so are on-the-ground initiatives and campaigns that work to support behaviour change that engage the entire school. Resources and guidelines that provide ready-to-use examples to use in the moment, can empower entire school communities to address harmful language and behaviour when it occurs.
Harmony Movement, a Toronto-based non-profit which brings inclusion workshops to Ontario schools, is engaged in this work as part of a campaign called “Words Matter.” The campaign (which I support through my work as a consultant) supports school boards, educators and caregivers to make meaningful and tangible change in the lives of students, by addressing harmful words; and creating lasting, respectful, and inclusive spaces where everyone can thrive. The campaign supports the Government of Ontario’s three pillars for creating a positive school environment, and provides best practices for supporting individuals or communities who have been targeted or harmed.
Currently, the government of Ontario instructs schools to use progressive discipline when addressing inappropriate behaviour of students. This approach empowers principals to use a wide range of options to help students improve and learn from negative or harmful behaviour. This can include the use of suspensions and/or explosions in specific and even severe incidences, depending on the age of the student and what forms of interventions have taken prior. These measures can include conversations with the student about their behaviour, a review of expectations and counselling from a social worker.
To support schools to ensure that progressive discipline is done with a bias-free approach, the provincial government created an additional guide to help inform the use of interventions through an equity and human rights lens. Prior to the need to use progressive discipline, the guide lays a window of opportunity for students to make the right behavioural choice from the onset. Providing students with the right language and tools to empower them to speak up when bullying or discrimination occurs, provides an added layer of safety that supports the progressive discipline process. Additionally, it can decrease the need to use progressive discipline by equipping students to have more positive and less harmful interactions with each other from the moment an interaction occurs.
Having a standardized baseline of tools—as the Words Matter campaign provides—helps manage such behaviour, and also involves the entire school community. This can help to improve the mental well-being of students, foster greater collaboration and empower educators and staff—schools will be better able to create a community of open dialogue, empathy, and education.
Demographic and population changes are occurring in our regions and in schools. To ensure that schools can continue to support students and their future success, placing a greater emphasis on peer-to-peer relations is essential.
