
Toronto: A new global city of learning
Author(s) -
Daniel Hamlin,
Scott Davies
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
london review of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.326
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1474-8479
pISSN - 1474-8460
DOI - 10.18546/lre.14.2.13
Subject(s) - global city , immigration , equity (law) , economic growth , sociology , multiculturalism , political science , development economics , economic geography , geography , economics , pedagogy , law
Toronto, Canada, is emblematic of a new stratum of global cities. Unlike many world capitals, the city has gained stature only over the past half century, having successfully post-industrialized into a new economy and become a major world centre for immigration. Paradoxically, education has emerged as both a major driver of change and a divider of social wellbeing in the city. To interpret this paradox, we discuss: (1) how Toronto is a node in a global education policy network, particularly as an exporter of equity-oriented reforms; (2) how the city's own school system reflects ongoing tensions between forward-looking ideals and its own historical legacies; and (3) how goals of integration are being challenged by new pressures for educational differentiation, which are themselves driven by competing conceptions of multiculturalism and movements for school choice.