Abstract
This chapter discusses how the Ontario school curriculum comes to grips with Canadian identity and how the concept has evolved over the years from one highly influenced by Canada’s colonial ties to a cultural identity that draws on the contributions from its diverse population from the indigenous groups to settler groups from the two “founding nations” as well as those who have emigrated from all around the globe. The effects of globalization on Canadians’ vision of themselves are also explored with relation to how school curriculum reflects Canada’s position in the world and how its citizens should position themselves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ariely, G. (2019). The nexus between globalization and ethnic identity. A view from below. Ethnicities, 19, 763–783. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968198351
Brooks, D. (2022, April 16–17). A new world takes shape. The New York Times. International Weekly. In the Toronto Star, weekend, pp. 1, 6.
Canadian National Anthem. (n.d.). https://worldpopulationreview.com
Constitutional Act. (1791). https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
Council of Europe. (2001). The Common European framework of reference languages. https://www.coc.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages
Cruikshank, J. E., et al. (1967). The rise of Western civilization. Longmans Canada.
Gouvernment du Québec. (n.d.). Quebec education program. Secondary school education. History of Québec and Canada. http://education.gouv.qu.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/education/jeunes/pfeq/PFEQ_histoire-quebec-canada_2017/EN.pdf
Government of Ontario. (2015). The Ontario curriculum grades 11 and 12, Canadian and World Studies: Economics, Geography, History, Law, Politics. http://www.edugov.on.ca
Government of Ontario. (2018). The Ontario curriculum grades 9 and 10, Canadian and World Studies: Geography, History, Civics (Politics). http://www.edu.gov.on.ca
Government of Ontario. (2020). High school graduation requirements. https://www.ontario.ca/page/government-ontario
Government of Quebec. (n.d.). Achievement Record. Ministère de l’Education. http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca
Guibernau, M. (2004). Anthony D. Smith on nations and national identity: A critical assessment. Nations and Nationalism, 10(1/2), 125–141.
Infographic. (2022). What Canadians think about bilingualism and the Official Languages Act. https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca.statistics
Kwiziq. CEFR French. (n.d.). The CEFR Test. https://www.french.kwiziq.com/cefr-french-test
Language statistics. (2022). Statcan.gc.ca. Re: support of Canadians for bilingualism.
Little, D., & Figueras, N. (Eds.). (2022). Reflecting on the common European framework of reference-languages and its companion volume. Multilingual Matters.
Magnet, J. E. (1998). Language rights theory in Canadian perspective. In T. Ricento & B. Burnaby (Eds.), Language and politics in the United States and Canada. Myths and realities (pp. 185–205). Lawrence Erlbaum.
McNaught, K., & Cook, R. (1967). Canada and the United States. A modern study. Clark Irwin Publication.
Ontario Statistics. (2021/22). The State of French Second Language in Ontario. https://on.cpf.ca-2021/02
Richards, D., & Cruikshank, J. E. (1955). The Modern Age. 1760–1955. Longmans Canada.
Seixas, P. (2008). “Scaling up” the benchmarks of historical thinking. Report from the UBC Centre for the Study of Historical Thinking. https://historicalthinking.ca
Seixas, P., & Morton, T. (2013). The big six historical thinking concepts. Nelson Education.
Statistics Canada. (2019). Canada at a Glance, 2019. https://www159.statcan.gc.ca
Statistics Canada. (2022). What Canadians think about bilinualism and “The Official Languages Act” (2021). https://www.clo-ocal.gc.ca/statistic/infographic, modified 2022-2-24.
Tait, G. E. (1953). Breastplate and buckskin. Ryerson Press.
Tsuda, Y. (1997). The hegemony of English and strategies for linguistic pluralism: Proposing the ecology of language paradigm. In L. Smith & M. Formen (Eds.), World Englishes 2000. Selected essays (pp. 21–31). College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature. University of Hawaii and East-West Center.
Turcotte, M. (2019). Results from the 2016 Census: English-French bilingualism among Canadian children and youth. 2221. www.50.statcan.gc.ca
Vachon, A, & Matheson, J. (2020). The national flag of Canada. https://www.thecanadianencycopedia.ca
Zajda, J., & Majhanovich, S. (2021). Cultural identity in the global era. In Globalisation, cultural identity and nation-building (Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research 23) (pp. 1–16). Springer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Majhanovich, S. (2022). The Evolution of Canadian Identity as Reflected Through the Ontario Secondary School Curriculum. In: Zajda, J., Davidovitch, N., Majhanovich, S. (eds) Discourses of Globalisation, Multiculturalism and Cultural Identity. Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92608-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92608-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-92607-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-92608-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)