CSSE-SCÉÉ - ACDE-ACDÉ - Building Systemic Change for Equity: Implementing EDID policies in higher education contexts
Heather Cayouette (Universities Canada)
Sheryl MacMath (UFV)
Barrington Walker (Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences)
At present, most Canadian institutions connected with higher education have published highly visible statements on their commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization (EDID). Notwithstanding, Dr. Carl James, Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora at York University and ACDE’s 2021 Sherman Lecturer, posits that “…changes will not come about simply through verbal rhetoric, targeted hiring, or training sessions where individuals engage in self-reflection on their attitudes, values, and behaviours, but through critical examination of institutional policies, programs, and practices that result in the removal of systemic barriers which have operated over the years to maintain the inequitable situation being addressed.” (James, 2021).
This moderated panel session sponsored by the Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) asks individuals and, by extension, the institutions within their spheres of influence, to grapple with the actions and accountability stemming from institutional EDID policies by examining how far we have come and how far we still have to go.