Unequal City and Inequitable Choice: The Neoliberal State’s Development of School Choice and Marketization in the Publicly Funded Catholic School Board in Toronto, Canada

ABSTRACT

This study examines the extent to which school choice in the Toronto Catholic District School Board impacts equity and segregation. This examination is important because full public funding for the Board should adhere to the goals of public education, namely, equity and inclusion of all students. A critical policy geography perspective is applied to illuminate the dynamics of school choice as a neoliberal reform in the context of a global city where residential polarization and occupational bifurcation along racialized social class lines have intensified. Guided by critical space analysis, this research uses student enrollment data (Grades 9–12), Canadian Census data, school website information, and secondary literature. The findings suggest that school choice increases spatial inequity by giving those who are already socially and racially advantaged easier access to prestigious academic programs of choice. School segregation according to students’ economic backgrounds thereby increases. This study calls for implementing sociospatially conscious education policies that can undo rather than reinforce global city inequality.

Acknowledgments

A SSHRC Insight Development Grant supported this research. Jessica Waldinger, Emily Livingston, Meg Miller, and Jin Lee assisted me with the research at various stages of this multiyear project. Also, I received constructive feedback from participants in seminars at the University of Toronto and York University. I would like to thank three anonymous reviewers and the journal’s editors for their comments. Any and all errors are my own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ee-Seul Yoon

Ee-Seul Yoon is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. Through her interdisciplinary and innovative critical space analysis research, Dr Yoon examines the impact of neoliberal education reforms, including marketization and privatization, on schooling opportunities, experiences, and outcomes. She is also committed to advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in schools and beyond.