A Qualitative study on the experiences of students attending Thunder Bay area rural, one-room schools in the early 20th century

Abstract

One-room country schools, which began appearing in the early 1900s in the District of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada, provided educational opportunities to the children of the first and second generation immigrant settlers to the area. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate, through the oral history interview process, the experiences of students who attended these one-room schools and to examine the socialization processes employed through this organized education system for integrating the children of immigrants into a specific representation of Canadian citizenship culture. The five participants in this study were, at the time of attendance at school, one landed immigrant, three first generation Canadian citizens and one second generation Canadian citizen.