McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill

Secondary school readers’ autobiographies: Selecting a diverse corpus to foster a better understanding of others and oneself

Alexie Miquelon — 2026-02-09

The reader's autobiography is a literary genre that can be used in the classroom to enhance students’ subjective investment in their reading. As it invokes the notion of identity, it is also useful for promoting cultural diversity in literary works, providing students with opportunities to identify with their school reading material and to discover diverse life paths. We offer secondary school French teachers a collection of excerpts from readers’ autobiographies that is diverse in terms of cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, and social class, enabling them to provide their students an education in literary reading that reflects their diversity, in a spirit of equity and inclusion.

Book review of TAVARES, V., & SKREFSRUD, T. A. Critical and creative engagements with diversity in Nordic education. (2024).

Grace Skahan — 2026-03-09

Tavares, V., & Skrefsrud, T. A. Critical and creative engagements with diversity in Nordic education. (2024). 367 pp. $170.95 (hardback). (ISBN 9781666925852).

“She said that I was a pattern-breaker”: Career aspirations and challenges for students of a transnational background in teacher education in Denmark

Artëm Ingmar Benediktsson — 2026-02-09

This article explores the career aspirations and educational experiences of Danish-born students of a transnational background who are nearing completion of their studies to become professional teachers in compulsory schools in Denmark. The theoretical framework of the study is grounded in the tenets of critical multiculturalism and transnationalism. The findings obtained from individual qualitative interviews with seven students indicate their overall satisfaction with teacher educators and the learning environments within their campuses. However, the participants also reported experiencing varying degrees of unfair treatment, labelling, and prejudice. Despite having encountered different forms of discrimination, the participants have ambitious career aspirations, often manifested in their determination to challenge social injustice and bring positive change to the compulsory education system.

When researchers in teacher education and training other: Social justice and the “migrant student” in an EU–Finland project

Ella-Maria Lukala — 2026-03-25

This article investigates the positioning of the “migrant student” in an EU–Finland project which aims to prepare teachers for social justice “migrant education.” Since the project is produced in and for a neoliberal economic-political supranational institution, the authors seek to examine the potential contradictions between the frameworks of social justice and neoliberalism in documents produced by the project teams. The results show that the migrant student is othered and mostly positioned as different, disadvantaged, and problematic. The implications of othering are thus addressed, with recommendations made for ethical treatment of the other in research and education while urging, for example, funding institutions and individual scholars to recognize and address academic othering in the Nordics and beyond.

Educational practices adapted to the needs of newcomer students in French-language schools in Ontario

Pierre Pélissier — 2026-02-26

This article aims to understand how educational practices are adapted to the needs of newcomer students in French-language schools in Ontario. It refers to universal pedagogy and educational differentiation, as well as the concepts of educational practice and experience, and the Competence for Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice model (Larochelle-Audet et al., 2022). Semi-structured interviews were the main data collection strategy used in this case study. Based on a narrative analysis, the results highlight the support given to families at the time of admission, contact with peers when welcoming newcomers to the school, flexible educational practices that offer personalised support guidance and provide openness to diversity.

Who are we when not ruled by others? Engaging teachers in Northern and Nordic contexts in teaching using diverse children’s literature

Teresa Strong-Wilson — 2026-03-25

At a time when neoliberalism and neoconservatism would compel teachers to focus narrowly on their own contexts, we ask how crossnational conversations can break down boundaries and provide important insights for teaching to social justice. We initiate a conversation between Canada, as a Northern country, and the Nordic countries of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland on the subject of teaching using “diverse” literature. While one main question revolves around deciding what to call the literature (multicultural? diverse? counter-story? migrant? post-colonial?), a more fundamental one centres on how to critically introduce and respond to its presence in the classroom, especially given national identities formed through Northern / Nordic exceptionalism. Imagology represents one promising direction, as does pedagogy of discomfort.

“A system that is geared towards competition”: Identity-based pedagogies and student teachers’ beliefs about resisting neoliberal and neoconservative structures in the educational system

Lisa Marie Brinkmann — 2026-02-13

In this paper, we aim to analyze how identity-based pedagogies with a focus on diversity and inclusion aspects are related to student teachers’ beliefs about resisting neoliberal and neoconservative structures in the educational system. Data from eleven students was collected in an asynchronous session in a Spanish pedagogies course at university through an online discussion forum and analysed through content and discourse analysis. The results reveal that student teachers refer to different aspects of diversity for identity-based or interest-driven reasons. Beliefs about capital, equity, othering, and agency in resisting neoliberal and neoconservative structures in education are primarily expressed by individuals with personal experiences of poverty and racism.

Towards better accommodation for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing people: A case study in French as a Second Language in a Canadian university

Catherine Lamaison — 2026-02-13

This autoethnographic case study presents ethical and cultural considerations and accommodations to support the learning of D/deaf and hard-of-hearing people in oral language classes. Drawing on the two researchers’ shared experience as a professor and a student of French as a Second Language at an Ontario university from September 2019 to April 2022, this article offers pedagogical tips and practical advice to better accommodate D/deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the classroom and online.

Direct and indirect relevant knowledge: Strategies for handling diversity and unity in teacher education

Kåre Fuglseth — 2026-03-25

This article examines the Norwegian curriculum through neoconservative and neoliberal perspectives, arguing that it represents a confusing hybrid of the two. It proposes two ways to address such hybrids: first, by rethinking the role of knowledge for teaching, and second, by revisiting key Bildung concepts. These concepts shed light on fundamental pedagogical challenges concerning (a) the relationship between formal and material learning and (b) the formation of value categories, such as autonomy and responsibility. The article concludes by emphasizing a crucial distinction in teacher education when guiding future teachers: the difference between indirectly and directly relevant knowledge and skills. Without a clear understanding of relevance, teacher education risks failing in its core mission.

The effects of the Act Respecting the Laicity of the State (Bill 21) on future teachers and staff in education departments at Quebec universities

Maryse Potvin — 2026-02-27

This article presents the results of a survey of 972 respondents on the effects of Bill 21 on staff and students in Quebec's education faculties and departments during its first year of implementation. The survey shows negative and discriminatory treatment of future teachers during teaching internships, increased polarization and conflict in classroom interactions at the university level, and negative effects on students' well-being and academic and professional success. As well, discriminatory situations or repercussions related to Bill 21 disproportionately affect women, undergraduate students, immigrants, and members of religious minorities. More broadly, however, it affects all staff involved in teacher training programs at Quebec universities, who have had to adopt measures in response to Bill 21 to prevent discrimination.

Teacher education for an inclusive school system: Connecting policy and classroom practice

Edda Óskarsdóttir — 2026-03-25

This article examines how pre-service teachers are prepared to teach linguistically and culturally diverse learners. Document analysis examined the current policy framework in Iceland and provided an insight into how the policy is guiding praxis in teacher education. The findings reveal contrasting ideologies in education policies and measures in Iceland, as well as a missing link from theory to didactics in teacher education regarding teaching in diverse classrooms. To ensure equity in education, developing teacher knowledge and perspectives about diversity is crucial, as well as providing teachers with solid pedagogical tools. These enable them to practice inclusive pedagogy in multicultural and multilingual school environments where neoliberal and neoconservative voices have gained influence.

Editorial: Preparing teachers for diversity in the neoliberal and neoconservative “North” — Re-imagining teacher education

Thor-André Skrefsrud — 2026-03-25

Éditorial : préparer les personnes enseignantes à la diversité dans le « Nord » néolibéral et néoconservateur, réimaginer la formation des personnes enseignantes

Thor-André Skrefsrud — 2026-03-25