The articles in this issue of Our Schools/Our Selves offer a snapshot of how the “parental rights” movement is unfolding distinctly within provincial borders and also point to the ways parental rights groups are working across provincial and national borders. Similar tactics are being used by provincial governments to legitimize “parental rights” and privilege the views of particular parents, and local governments, like school boards, are being impacted by groups claiming to speak for local parents.
This issue also examines the context in which the parental rights movement is gaining political traction, the impact of mis/disinformation and the role of religious rights and private values in public schools. This issue asks readers to consider the way mainstream media, sports podcasts, and discursive strategies more broadly, are being used to advance the narrative of “parental rights”; to legitimize and validate “parental rights” in public education; and to dismantle public education and undermine public values and the public good more broadly.
