Reforming for Racial Justice - A Narrative Synthesis and Critique of the Literature on District Reform in Ontario Over 25 Years

Oct 15, 2026

Ontario school districts struggle to respond to racism in schooling and society. Using a narrative synthesis and systematic literature review, the study maps and characterizes district-reform literature in Ontario over the past 25 years. Systematic searches across major online databases and targeted journal/author searches yield 95 coded documents. Grounded in Critical Race Theory and informed by anti-racist U.S. reforms, the authors identify four approaches and comment on their use in district operations and policies, proposing a possible fifth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and Rationale

Systemic Context in Ontario

Research Gap on District-Level Anti-Racist Reform

Study Approach and Scope

Conceptualization of Districts

Methods: Narrative Synthesis and Systematic Review

Historical and Policy Context

Governance Changes and Anti-Racism Commitments

Reforming for Racial Justice: A Narrative Synthesis and Critique of the Literature on District Reform in Ontario Over 25 Years Vidya Shah1, Gisele Cuglievan-Mindreau2, & Joseph Flessa2 1York University, 2 University of Toronto Abstract Ontario school districts are struggling to respond to racism in schooling and society. How has the literature on school district reform in Ontario addressed these ongoing and growing concerns? Through a narrative synthesis and a systematic literature review, we map and characterize the existing literature on school district reform in Ontario in the past 25 years. By combining systematic searches in main online databases with key journal and author search, we analyzed and coded a total of 95 documents. Framed through Critical Race Theory (CRT) and in conversation with recent studies on anti-racist district reforms in the United States, we conceptualize four approaches to district reform literature in Ontario: The Politics of Race Evasion, the Politics of Illusory Equity, the Politics of Representation and Recognition, and the Politics of Anti-Racist Resistance. The authors conclude with a commentary on the use of these conceptualizations in district operations and policies, as well as directions for future research. They also propose a potential fifth approach to district reform, The Politics of Regeneration. Keywords: school district reform, Critical Race Theory, narrative synthesis, systematic literature review, Ontario As some provinces across Canada eliminate and amalgamate locally elected school boards (Gerbrandt, 2021; Glaze, 2018; Laroche, 2018), and others decide whether to follow suit (The Agenda, 2021), we turn our focus to the role and relevance of school boards in Ontario. Education in Ontario operates in a highly centralized, neoliberal context (Shah, 2018a), with limited central accountability for equitable, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive reform. However, since 2015, three of the largest school boards have been placed under supervision by the Ontario Ministry of Education because of a loss of public confidence and for failing to dismantle anti-Black racism and other forms of racism in the school boards. Student trustees have spoken out about racism they have experienced in Ontario school boards, such as the example in Hamilton District School Board (Taekema, 2020). Several parent and community groups have led social media campaigns highlighting board corruption and experiences of racism directed at them and their children (Paradkhar, 2020) and many have turned to the Ontario Human Rights Commission for support (Nasser, 2021). Despite numerous challenges with school governance, school district operations, and the ongoing examples of racism, the very site of collective parent and community action to disrupt racism in schooling, has been at the district level. Some school districts are looking for answers, and some districts are engaging in important anti-racist work, however, as this narrative synthesis demonstrates, there is very limited research that explores or documents how school districts enact anti-racist reforms in Ontario. We begin with the premise that school districts matter if they can be sites of critical democracy, struggle, accountability, and negotiation for more just educational futures. We make this claim against a backdrop of colonization and cultural genocide that founded this nation (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2012), knowing that schooling in Canada, and globally, has been a site of extreme dehumanization and harm, and continues to be harmful for Indigenous populations and historically oppressed populations. Given ongoing examples of racism and the increasing calls for racial justice, how prepared are districts to address the complexities of power, identity, and difference among students, staff, families, and communities? While this question can be answered in multiple ways, from interviews with district leaders, to participator

FAQs

What does the study examine about Ontario school districts?

It examines how the literature on school district reform in Ontario has addressed ongoing, growing concerns about racism in schooling and society.

How did the authors conduct the review?

They used a narrative synthesis and a systematic literature review, combining searches in major online databases with key journal and author searches, then analyzed and coded 95 documents.

What theoretical lens and organizational framework does the paper use?

The analysis is framed through Critical Race Theory and conceptualizes four approaches to district reform literature in Ontario, followed by commentary on implications for district operations and policies.

Oct 15, 2026

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