What Does It Mean to Be Canadian? Building National Identity for Secondary Students Through History

Canada is becoming more and more diverse due to welcoming immigrants from all over the world. Redefining the meaning of being Canadian and constructing a new national identity endorsed by citizens of different cultural backgrounds is becoming an unavoidable issue in schools. This qualitative study explored how secondary History teachers are working to foster students’ concepts of Canadian identity in Toronto-area multicultural schools. Two senior secondary History teachers were interviewed. Both believe that effectively fostering a Canadian national identity in students is essential to History/Civics education. They also agree that both the bright and dark sides of Canadian history should be introduced in schools and teachers should equip students with the skills to critically understand their country’s past. Findings suggest that teaching practices and taught content in relation to Canadian identity may be becoming more and more inclusive and diverse in terms of both format and substance. Schools should make more effort to involve diverse parents and families into the process of national identity building