Educating Citizens for a Pluralistic Society.

Sears, Alan

Educating Citizens for a Pluralistic Society. Rosa Bruno-Jofre and Natalia Aponiuk, Eds. Calgary: Canadian Ethnic Studies/Etudes ethniques au Canada, 2001. 251 pp. $20.00 hc, $15.00 sc.

This is a diverse collection consisting of an introduction and eleven articles which the editors describe as the result of a single research project funded with a grant from Canadian Heritage. As the title suggests the collection explores issues related to citizenship education particularly as it relates to preparing citizens for the plurality of contemporary Canada. The contributors are all based on the Prairies (or were at the time of the project) and the editors contend "the articles are written from a national perspective, mainly using Manitoba as a point of reference" (p. 3). Indeed, a number of the articles are useful for understanding national policies and practices in citizenship, multicultural, and anti-racist education, but some are quite narrow in their focus and national application seems a stretch at times. In the introduction the editors admit that "Quebec issues are interwoven into the analysis, but are not discussed in any depth" (p. 3) and a reader looking for substantial discussion of Quebec 's particular approach to these questions, especially as related to policy development in the area of multiculturalism, would be well advised to look elsewhere. The book does, however, explore several related themes in a substantial way and will make a significant contribution to the literature on citizenship education in Canada. I will now turn to a brief examination of three of those themes.

One theme which runs throughout the book is the complexity and tension which are inherent in citizenship and citizenship education. Ken Osborne sets the tone in the second chapter pointing out that "citizenship is not only an essentially contested concept, it is also fundamentally political in the broad sense" (p. 17). He goes on to point out that "the theory and practice of citizenship education exist in a dialectical relationship with the exercise of hegemony" (p. 18). This theme of complexity and tension appears throughout the collection. In chapter six, for example, Romulo Magsino and his colleagues, in discussing developments stemming from the application of the Charter of Rights, point out that "language and language conflict is a defining characteristic of the Canadian identity" (p. 118). Similarly, Antonio Tavares finds that new initiatives in language education produced under the auspices of the Western Canadian Protocol appear to contain "competing and contradictory objectives which have been melded together" (p. 213). Education is plagued by a search for simple solutions and the in-depth exploration of complexity and tension is one of the strengths of this collection.

The importance of historical context is a second theme which is woven through the articles. Osborne's chapter is explicitly designed to provide a broad brush overview of the history of citizenship education in Canadian public schools. The following chapters augment this valuable work through more specific focus on the historical development of multicultural policies, programs in multicultural and antiracist education, and the history of second language policy development. Rosa Bruno-Jofre and Dick Henley, for example, trace the development of policy and in multiculturalism as well as multicultural and anti-racist education, particularly as they relate to the search for national recognition by Aboriginal and Quebecosi communities. Beryle Mae Jones narrows the focus even further by exploring how policy and practice in multiculturalism has evolved with respect to "visible minorities." A consistent theme in the history of education literature is the lament for the lack of knowledge of historical context in those who drive educational reform. This book provides a multifaceted look at the history of policy development and implementation the field of citizenship education in general and multicultural education in particular. It would be valuable reading for any who want to understand how we came to be where we are in those fields.

The third theme which permeates the collection is the impact of economic globalization. Virtually all of the authors deal with it to some degree and for many it is a central theme. From Eric W. Stockton as well as from Jon Young and Robert Graham, who examine the impact of global capitalism on curricula, teaching, and assessment in public schools, through Jamie-Lynn Magnusson and Beverly Bailey, who examine how it has shaped policy and practice in higher education, globalization is portrayed as driving a functionalist agenda which is generally hostile to any substantial and nuanced treatment of citizenship generally and difference particularly. At times the discourse shifts from argument to polemic and only Tavares acknowledges that reforms driven by globalization might bring at least some potential benefit. Even though the case is often over generalized, the book does raise important questions about the impact of economic forces on education and makes explicit some of the ways in which that impact is manifes ted.

As with most collections of this nature, the writing is, at times, uneven. Most of the pieces would work well with a broad audience of policy makers and practitioners in education but several are heavily laden with technical and theoretical language and therefore less suited for a general audience. As well, while the articles are generally strong in description and analysis of current and past practice, when they turn to prescription they are not nearly so well developed and thorough. Overall, however, the collection works well to illuminate some of the complex history of the development of policy and practice in citizenship education.