The New CAAT - (Dis)illusions of Freedom and the New College Charter in Ontario

Oct 15, 2026

The paper examines Ontario’s 2002 new college charter as the start of a purportedly freer era in higher education, linked to the Post-Secondary Choice and Excellence Act of 2000. It argues that decentralization of curriculum approval appears to increase local autonomy, yet funding steering, performance indicators, marketplace discourses, globalization, and performativity substantially temper “freedom.” Using Foucauldian theory and critical discourse analysis, it evaluates limits and opportunities for “freedom” within existing discourses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

ABSTRACT

In 2002 a new Ontario college charter signaled a new era for higher education

Discourses, power, and governmentality

Foucault, Governmentality and the Power of Discourses

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 38, No. 1, 2008, pages 105-121 [www.ingentaconnect.com/content/csshe/cjhe](www.ingentaconnect.com/content/csshe/cjhe) The New CAAT: (Dis)illusions of Freedom and the New College Charter in Ontario Anita Arvast Georgian College ABSTRACT In 2002 a new Ontario college charter signaled a new era for higher education in Ontario. The charter was presumed to usher in a new way of doing higher education, one that provided greater freedom for Ontario colleges and presumably greater access for communities to higher education. Coupled with the Post-Secondary Choice and Excellence Act of 2000, which provided colleges the opportunity to offer degrees, the colleges appeared well set for the freedom they sought. With the decentralization of approval for curriculum comes an appearance of greater autonomy and authority at the local level; however, with steering mechanisms of funding, performance indicators, and discourses of the marketplace, globalization and performativity permeating curriculum processes,“freedom” remains strongly tempered. This paper uses Foucauldian and critical discourse analysis as a means of considering power and higher education in Ontario, and the limitations and opportunities for “freedom” within our existing discourses. RÉSUMÉ En 2002, la Charte des collèges annonçait le début d’une ère nouvelle en matière d’éducation supérieure en Ontario. La Charte, disaiton, devait inaugurer un nouveau mode de fonctionnement dans le système collégial, mode qui assurerait à la fois plus de liberté aux collèges eux-mêmes et, espérait-on, un plus grand accès aux études postsecondaires pour les diverses communautés de la province. De 106 CJHE / RCES Volume 38, No. 1, 2008 pair avec la loi de 2000 favorisant le choix et l’excellence au niveau postsecondaire, qui offrait aux collèges la possibilité d’octroyer des baccalauréats appliqués, la Charte semblait fournir aux collèges toutela marge de manoeuvre dont ils avaient besoin. En même temps, ladécentralisation des mécanismes d’approbation de curriculum semblaitassurer une autonomie accrue au niveau de l’établissement individuel. Pourtant, cette autonomie est en réalité contrainte par les processus de ﬁnancement, les indicateurs de rendement, l’inﬂuence du marché, la mondialisation et la performativité qui agissent sur les processus de curriculum et ﬁnissent par limiter la notion de «liberté» . Le présent article utilise les théories de Foucault ainsi que les analyses de discours pour conduire à une étude du pouvoir et de son rapport avec l’éducationsupérieure en Ontario, ainsi que celle des limites et des occasions qui se présentent pour accroître les notions de «liberté» à l’intérieur de nos dialogues actuels. An illusion is something that deceives the senses or mind, often appearing to exist when it does not, or appearing to be one thing when it is in fact another. It is a misrepresentation, a fantasy, a trick. A disillusion destroys or undermines the mistaken belief. It disenchants, it deconstructs, it seeks honesty. In 2002 a new college charter signaled a new era for higher education in Ontario. The charter was presumed to usher in a new way of doing higher education, one that provided greater freedom for Ontario colleges and presumably greater access for communities to higher education. The new charter promised the free and equal participation of colleges in their decision-making processes and in their governance. But a critical discourse analysis provides insight into the illusion of freedom offered by this new document, especially when contrasted and conﬂated with other steering documents afﬁliated with higher education in Ontario. Foucault, Governmentality and the Power of Discourses If we approach discourse from a Foucauldian (Foucault 1978, 1991) perspective, we appreciate that dominant discourses are the very axes upon which power is dependent. Discour

FAQs

What does the Ontario 2002 college charter promise for higher education?

It signals a new era by promising greater freedom for Ontario colleges and greater access for communities, alongside expanded opportunities for colleges to offer degrees.

Why is “freedom” described as limited despite decentralization?

Although curriculum approval is decentralized, funding mechanisms, performance indicators, marketplace discourses, globalization, and performativity constrain local autonomy and temper “freedom.”

How does the paper analyze “freedom” and power?

It uses Foucauldian concepts and critical discourse analysis to study how dominant discourses structure what can be said and thought, producing “truth” and shaping higher education governance.

Oct 15, 2026

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