Canadian Race Relations Foundation

This volume presents the findings of the two major paths of research undertaken by BLAC. The first section, based on the Participatory Action Research project, includes the contributions of various members of the Black community in Nova Scotia regarding eight major issues affecting the Black learner- systemic racism, teacher-student relations, curricular and pedagogical deficiencies, student motivation and support mechanisms, and parental and community issues. The report's second section comprises the results of BLAC's survey of the socio-demographic makeup of the Nova Scotian Black community. The presentation focuses on the economic and academic status of members of the community and their opinion on the quality of educational and other social services.

Education has often been seen as a major vehicle, if not the major vehicle, for transmitting a society's heritage and the accumulated knowledge of the past. But in the case of Canada, and the Nova Scotia school system, Black Nova Scotians do not seem to be part of that heritage. Black history and culture are not part of the core school curriculum...There is no visual cultural affirmation of African Canadians within the school system; from textbooks and teaching materials to teacher representation. (p. 41)