Our current work: #blacklivesmatter + anti-racism in action
Founded in 1989, CREAN has published over 100 research reports on community-identified needs. Since February 2018, CREAN staff has consulted with students, staff, parents, and educators across the province on the issue of racism in public education. We've also collaborated with numerous community organizations across BC on this issue. Our findings over the past 2 years forms the basis of the Support Network for Indigenous Women & Women of Colour (SNIWWOC)’s letter writing campaign to Minister Fleming. We also acknowledge the contributions of the BC Community Alliance for their relentless advocacy on this issue.
We launched a research project to explore the experiences of racialized high school students in Victoria. We are currently recruiting advisory committee members, and data collection will begin in September 2020. If you want to get involved email: hello@creansociety.ca.
Click to send a letter to Minister Fleming today.
Read SNIWWOC’s petition.
Anti-racism in schools
Background
Schools provide important and essential services to Canadian youth. However, they can also be key institutions in the reproduction of structural racism, and can contribute to furthering racial disparities. For example, black students are much more likely to be suspended from preschool than white students. A recent study found that black boys as young as 10 are routinely perceived to be significantly older and less innocent, when compared to white boys of the same age. This distrust follows people of color throughout their lives.
Students are impacted by factors of income, gender and also race. The combinations of these identities undoubtedly shape how students experience access to education, work and other types of social mobility. The negative experiences that racialized students have in high school has long term consequences. The findings accumulated to date indicate that black students in Canada for instance, are, on the whole, less likely than students in the general population to graduate high school on time (Anisef et al., 2010; McAndrew, Ledent, and Ait-Said 2006).
There is a link between education and employment outcomes and participation in society. Poor graduation outcomes lead to poor outcomes in other areas such as employment, justice, health, and more. There is a gap in research that draws attention to the experiences of racialized students in the high school system in British Columbia. Research on this often originates from provinces like Ontario and Nova Scotia. In November 2017, the BC Community Alliance filed a Human Rights Complaint against the Vancouver School Board. This complaint is in response to what the Alliance calls inadequate action by the school board in response to a video uploaded by a Lord Byng Secondary Student. Locally in Victoria, there have been formal and informal complaints from racialized students and their parents directly to various schools in the city.
Findings from our community engagement forms the basis of a research project starting in Fall 2020. The project will include:
- Data Collection: The study will incorporate quantitative and qualitative methods. A survey will be used to collect data from students anonymously. We will also conduct peer interviews and host focus groups with parents, staff, and administrators.
- Community dissemination: A community forum will provide an opportunity for community members to discuss research findings, talk to the research team, and educators.
About CREAN
Founded in 1989, Coastal Research, Education, and Advocacy Network (formerly Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group) is a non-profit organization dedicated to research, education, and advocacy for vulnerable British Columbia residents. Our researchers prioritize inclusive research principles, with the following characteristics:
- Research that aims to contribute to social change, that helps to create a society, in which excluded groups belong, and which aims to improve the quality of their lives.
- Research based on issues important to a group, and which draws on their experience to inform the research process and outcomes
- Research which aims to recognize, foster and communicate the contributions of marginalized people
- Research which provides information which can be used by marginalized people to campaign for change.
Our research team are experts with years of experience working with diverse research participants including but not limited to youth, women, visible minorities (including immigrants, refugees), local First Nations communities, and street involved individuals.
CREAN publishes research on community-identified needs, partners with organizations to co-author research, and also provides research consulting services to the public and private sector. We have published and co-published over 100 research reports, and our team of researchers have individually authored/co-authored more than 10 peer-reviewed publications. Our research is cited worldwide.
In addition to speaking English, our research team is also fluent in French, Creole, Punjabi, and Spanish.