Say my name: name-based racial microaggressions in Ontario’s K-12 school system

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Date
2022Author
Sohal, Gurjyot Kaur
Subject
Names and identityRacial microaggressions
Culturally responsive pedagogy
Student well-being
Multicultural education
Critical race theory
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Names have long been connected with an individual’s perception of themselves and their
identities. Studies have shown that negative experiences with one’s name can impact a student’s
sense of self and belonging, and their overall well-being. Students in Ontario with culturally
diverse, or unique names are at a greater risk of experiencing racial microaggressions relating to
their names. These experiences can contribute to the marginalization of diverse student
populations such as South Asian Canadian students. Previous research has demonstrated this
correlation in various minority populations, but there exists a gap in current literature, with
limited research conducted on the South Asian Canadian experience. The voices of
Canadian-born South Asians have not been adequately heard despite the growing South Asian
population throughout the province. This portfolio was designed to consider these voices, as well
as include three elements (or tasks) which all argue that there exists a current need to overhaul
existing attendance protocols in Ontario K-12 classrooms. The resulting proposal is for the
integration of a name pronunciation tool into existing learning management systems, such as
Power Schools, and Desire2Learn.