Political and economic gamble: why two jurisdictions in Canada and Germany made the right decisions in welcoming Syrian newcomers, 2015-present

ABSTRACT

In this analysis, we overlay two lenses, politics and economics, onto the work of educators involved in welcoming and integrating newcomers into two School Boards in Ontario, Canada and in schools across the State of North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany. Although the settings are on two distant continents, for many newcomers, Canada and Germany are where they see preferable futures for themselves and their children. We will highlight both the similarities and differences in these two settings. While Canada and Germany provide a global and national context, we ask readers to pay close attention to local, subnational jurisdictions, arguing that local jurisdictions can be more flexible and adaptable to human needs. As such, we attribute high levels of educator autonomy in Germany and professional discretion and influences in Canada as successful practices. Both nations and specifically these local jurisdictions have staked their reputations as healthy democracies and economies in their educational policies and practices with respect to newcomers. While most of the world’s nations have closed their borders, and use sovereignty and economics to support their decisions, Ontario and North Rhine, Westphalia have chosen a different pathway. Will they, through the work and knowledge of educators, demonstrate that education matters locally and globally?

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We were also assisted in locating current literature on welcoming by a graduate student from Western University in Ontario, Canada, Ms. Raghad Ebied.

2. In 1943, Hannah Arendt wrote a short essay titled ‘We Refugees’ which began with the sentence ‘we don’t like to be called `refugees.’ We ourselves call each other 'newcomers' or `immigrants, (p. 110). Language and labels do matter.

3. Whenever we asked the educator-participants in these jurisdictions about the public statements made by their Prime Minister or Chancellor, the educators chose not to comment directly.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ira Bogotch

Ira Bogotch is a Professor of the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methods. His research interests include leadership for social justice, critical theories and methods, and, most recently, the diaspora of Syrian refugees.

Brenton Faubert

Brenton Faubert is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Educational Administration and Leadership. His research interests include educational finance, governance and policy. He is currently studying the influences of Ministerial Councils in federated countries and how they address educational issues nationally and locally.

Michael Pfeifer

Michael Pfeifer is a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Educational Sciences. He studies how empirical methods reveal the interactions across the levels of educational organizations.

Sarah Wieckert

Sarah Wieckert is a Visiting Lecturer in Applied Sciences. She studies classroom dynamics from a caring lens.

Cole Kervin

Cole Kervin is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry. He is studying visual literacies and art-making as sense-making.

Dustin Pappas

Dustin Pappas is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methods. He is studying the leadership needed for extra-curricular activities to supplement core curricular teaching and learning.