Post-Soviet Education Experiences in Canada
Welcome to Post-Soviet Education Experiences in Canada
This website presents research-based information about the educational experiences of Canadian students, parents, and communities from post-Soviet backgrounds. At the center of this knowledge hub is a 3-year SSHRC-funded research project exploring the experiences of the high school children with post-Soviet backgrounds in the Greater Toronto Area. The research project strives to improve the education experiences of this under-researched, often misunderstood group of Canadian youth, their parents, and communities who come from the countries of the former Soviet Union. Beyond filling information gaps, clarifying assumptions, correcting existing biases, prejudices and misinformation, this site presents practical ideas for a range of stakeholders who are interested in understanding and improving the life and education of post-Soviet citizens of Canada.
Survey Participation
If you are a member of any of these groups, we would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to answer our survey questions.
You are a student in Canada with post-Soviet background.
You are a teacher in a school that has students with post-Soviet background.
You are an educator in a community centre serving post-Soviet pupils.
You are a parent/guardian with educational background from Soviet/post-Soviet context and your children are going to school Canada.
You are a school Principal or education worker (e.g. guidance councillor) in a school that has students with post-Soviet background.
Disclaimer
This research project is an exploratory, education-focused inquiry grounded in the principles of the need for impactful evidence-based policy research, academic freedom, intellectual integrity, and social and ethical responsibility towards participants (and policy impact). It seeks to understand and inform educational policies and practices in Canada by engaging with the lived experiences of Canadian immigrant communities now residing in the GTA/Ontario and who came from Eastern Europe, the Baltics, Caucasus and Central Asia—countries that regained or gained independence following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This project does not carry any political or ideological agenda. We are aware of the complex history of the Soviet Union, including the widespread experiences of oppression along national, linguistic, religious, class, and other lines. We are also aware of the contested nature and various uses of terms such as "post-Soviet". Our usage of this term is meant exclusively to describe countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
Importantly, our study’s principal focus is on these communities' Canadian educational experiences. However, given that attitudes towards Canadian education are influenced by participants' prior knowledge and experience, and the qualitative-constructivist paradigm of the study, our participants often explain by sharing their educational experiences before coming to Canada, including those from both pre-independence and independence periods.
We are committed to the responsible and respectful use of data and language in our analysis and reporting.