Revisioning curriculum in the age of transnational mobility: Towards a transnational and transcultural framework

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnder the new mobilities paradigm, migration is conceptualized as circulatory and transnational, moving us beyond the framework of methodological nationalism. Transnational mobility has called into question dominant notions of migrant acculturation or assimilation. Migrants no longer feel obligated to remain tied to or locatable in a “given”, unitary culture. Rather, they are becoming embedded within a shifting field of increasingly transcultural identities. While migrants are becoming more transnational and adopting fluid, transcultural identities, there is a lack of focus and engagement with transnationalism as well as transculturalism in the official Canadian public school curricula. As scholars contend, Canadian school curricula are still based on Eurocentric, homogenizing, nationalistic discourses that tend to normalize values, norms, and behaviours that are perceived as “different” from the dominant norm. In response to the limitations of Canadian official curricula, as noted by various scholars who have examined curriculum documents, this essay proposes a revision of Canadian curricula in the context of transnational mobility with the aim of developing an approach that would integrate transnational and transcultural perspectives into the existing system. The article thus proposes a transnational and transcultural framework as an alternative to build a more ethical and inclusive school curriculum in Canada.