Integrate or Assimilate? - How the Policy Discourse of Manitoba’s School Partnerships Enforces Hegemonic Understandings of Parental Involvement on Recently-Resettled Refugees

Oct 15, 2026

The policy guidance provided by provincial education ministries on parental involvement, including for recently-resettled refugees, is analyzed through a critical policy analysis of Manitoba Education’s 2005 School Partnerships: A Guide for Parents, Schools, and Communities. Although intended to support children’s academic success, the dominant Westernized view of formal education shapes the prescribed roles of educators and parents. This discourse defines acceptable “Canadian” parental behaviour and normalizes a hegemonic ideology of parenting that marginalizes recently-resettled refugees while they attempt to integrate into Canadian society.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Refugee resettlement and schooling challenges

Integration as academic and social success

Schools, parental involvement, and integration risks

Integrate or Assimilate?: How the Policy Discourse of Manitoba’s School Partnerships: A Guide for Parents, Schools, and Communities Enforces Hegemonic Understandings of Parental Involvement on Recently-Resettled Refugees Jerome Cranstona & Stephanie Crookba University of Regina, bUniversity of Manitoba Abstract Among the challenges that many recently-resettled refugee parents face is the possibility that their children may fail academically in their new home country. Ostensibly, in order to decrease this possibility, provincial education ministries offer policy guidance regarding expectations related to parental involvement with school to all parents, including recently-resettled refugees. In spite of the intentions that drive such counsel, the dominant, Westernized perception of formal education dictates the roles and functions of educators and parents. This perception monopolizes judgments about what is considered to be acceptable “Canadian” parental behaviour as it pertains to the involvement of recently-resettled refugees in their child’s education. Using a critical policy analysis approach to examine Manitoba Education’s (2005) School Partnerships: A Guide for Parents, Schools, and Communities, this article illustrates the ways in which the dominant parental involvement discourses that are encoded in one educational policy normalize and reify a hegemonic ideology of parenting that marginalizes recently-resettled refugees as they attempt to integrate into Canadian society. Résumé Parmi les défis auxquels font face de nombreux parents réfugiés récemment réinstallés, il y a le risque d’échec scolaire de leurs enfants dans leur nouveau pays d’origine. En apparence, afin de réduire cette possibilité, les ministères provinciaux de l’éducation offrent à tous les parents, y compris les réfugiésrécemment réinstallés, une orientation politique concernant les attentes en matière de participation des parents à l’école. Malgré les intentions qui motivent ces avocats, la perception occidentale et dominantede l’éducation formelle dicte les rôles et les fonctions des éducateurs et des parents. Cette perception monopolise les jugements sur ce qui est considéré comme un comportement parental «canadien» acceptable en ce qui concerne la participation des réfugiés récemment réinstallés à l’éducation de leurs enfants. Utilisant une approche critique d’analyse des politiques pour examiner les partenariats scolaires d’ Éducation et Formation Manitoba (2005) School Partnerships: A Guide for Parents, Schools, and Communities, cet article illustre la manière dont les discours sur la participation parentale dominante, codés dans une politique éducative, normalisent et réifient une vision hégémonique. idéologie de la parentalité qui marginalise les réfugiés récemment réinstallés qui tentent de s’intégrer à la société canadienne. Keywords: critical policy analysis, recently-resettled refugees, parental involvement Introduction According to a 2017 report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the worldwide number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons exceeded 65 million by December 2016. In Canada, a 2017 report released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) highlighted the fact that, from January 2015 through July 2017, 84,000 refugees were resettled to Canada. Of these recently-resettled refugees, about 43 percent were 17 years of age or younger (IRCC, 2017). Ostensibly, close to half of the recently-resettled refugees were school-aged. In keeping with these statistics, the then Federal Citizenship and Immigration Minister, the Honourable John McCallum stated in 2016 that,“The government was surprised by the number of Syrian refugee children they admitted in the last year. The large number of children poses challenges for schools as does finding appropriate housing”(Glowacki, 2016). In short, Canada was not prepared for so many refugees to be children, and the tran

FAQs

What policy issue does the article examine regarding refugee families?

It examines how Manitoba’s school partnerships policy discourse frames parental involvement expectations for recently-resettled refugees and influences what counts as “acceptable” Canadian parental behaviour.

Why does the article link parental involvement to refugee students’ outcomes?

It argues that without parental involvement, refugee children face risks of social and academic failure, and that relationships between school personnel and parents are key to school-related and broader community success.

How does the policy guidance affect integration into Canadian society?

The analysis concludes that dominant parental-involvement discourses normalize a hegemonic parenting ideology, marginalizing recently-resettled refugees as they try to integrate.

Oct 15, 2026

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