Editorial: Imagining and Building a Culturally Inclusive Learning Community

With the rise of globalization, internationalization, and the interaction and exchange of individuals and organizations across their nations’ borders, there has been an increasing interest in issues related to equity, inclusion, and social justice. Yet strategies for achieving equitable environments that embrace ideals such as safety, diversity, inclusion, and social justice for everyone regardless of their diverse backgrounds (e.g., sexual orientation, ancestry, ability, income, race, and religion), remain elusive in the face of the diverse educational goals. What does this mean for educators? We devote this second volume of the Teaching and Learning Special Issue to this question, while recognizing that creating safe and equitable educational environments is a complex and challenging task, even for those educators who are committed to social justice work (Dei, 2003; McMahon & Armstrong, 2011; Ryan, 2012; Shields, 2004; Solomon, 2002; Theoharis, 2010). In order to create inclusive learning environments, educators need to develop a wide variety of skills, which includes acquiring and mobilizing knowledge, honouring students’ and parents’ voices, bridging cultural boundaries, developing networks and alliances, and accessing needed resources (Armstrong, Tuters, & Carrier, 2012; Ryan, 2012). To facilitate this process, Brock University, Western University, OISE/University of Toronto, and their local school boards in the Niagara, Peel, and Thames Valley districts, developed, organized, and facilitated a series of workshops and conferences in 2012. These events were supported by the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER), and the three participating universities, as well as community and school district partners. What follows in the next section is a description of the conference at Brock University, which first appeared in Volume 7, Issue 2 of this special edition.