ABSTRACT
Borrowing from educational anthropologist Patricia Phelan, I consider the notion of incongruent “multiple worlds” in the lives of marginalized young students as an explanation for persisting inequalities in Ontario schools. I argue that the collectivist disposition of marginalized youth-solidified by interlocking racial and class oppression to which they are subjected-clashes with the neoliberal, individualist values of mainstream schooling. Moreover, in schools, marginalized young people are subjected to neoliberal standards of “excellence” and disproportionately disciplined. The result is an alienating educational environment where marginalized youth are set apart as “other,” and the assets that they bring to the classroom are largely devalued. In the interest of promoting educational equity, I conclude that mainstream education must function as a third space that balances the need for individualist-oriented academic standards with an emphasis on fostering connections with students’ communities-influential spaces of empowerment and identity for many youth.
