The Effectiveness of Educational Policy for Bias-Free Teacher Hiring: Critical Insights to Enhance Diversity in the Canadian Teacher Workforce

Abstract

The Effectiveness of Educational Policy for Bias-Free Teacher Hiring: Critical Insights to Enhance Diversity in the Canadian Teacher Workforce is written by Zuhra Abawi, who is of Afghan-Scottish descent and has experience working in the Ontario education system in Canada as an early childhood educator, elementary school teacher, and college and university professor. Abawi makes a strong argument that although policies affiliated with teacher hiring are often associated with words such as equity and inclusion, they have not materialized into equitable practices and outcomes. The author explores why there continues to be a lack of racial diversity in the teacher workforce, focusing particularly on the administration level, and considers what individual and systemic factors contribute to this trend. While not poorly considered, a majority of the data and statistics examined are Ontario-based with an emphasis on race. A more comprehensive examination involving data from other geographical areas and from international contexts would strengthen the depth of analysis and arguments presented throughout the book. However, overall this book does provide a framework for educational administrators to move beyond performative language and engage in intentional actions to facilitate actualization of diversity in the teacher workforce in K–12 schools. These are timely and relevant issues nationally and globally. The book is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 1 is titled “Introduction: Situating Myself in my Work,” where Abawi provides context for why the book was written. The main key term, “bias-free teacher hiring,” is defined as referring to “a colour-blind approach to diversifying the teacher population by treating all applicants equally and thus focusing on their skills, knowledge, experience, and merit” (p. Abawi further situates the two guiding questions informing the study: