RACIALIZATION AND K-12 BEHAVIOUR PROGRAMS IN SASKATCHEWAN SCHOOLS: A CRITICAL RACE PHOTO STUDY

This thesis examined how race, ability, and behaviour intersect within K–12 behaviour programs in Saskatchewan. Although behaviour programs are often framed as neutral supports for students who struggle in mainstream classrooms, emerging research suggests that such programs disproportionately refer students who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour (BIPOC) many of whom are also navigating disabilities or exceptional learning needs. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), this study analyzed how systemic structures, institutional practices, and educator perspectives contribute to the racialization and pathologization of students in these settings. For my study I employed a qualitative PhotoVoice methodology with five educators working in behaviour schools and behaviour programs across Saskatchewan. Participants photographed their educational environments and engaged in semi-structured interviews to explore how race, disability, and behaviour were understood, negotiated, and experienced in their daily practice. Thematic analysis of the photo-elicited interviews revealed how dominant narratives about trauma, disability, and behaviour shaped referrals, responses, and understandings of student need. At the same time, discussions of race and the racialized nature of schooling were largely absent, suggesting that the system is experienced as “not working” for certain students without a parallel recognition of how Whiteness and able-bodied norms structure whose behaviour is understood as problematic. Findings indicate that inequities within behaviour programs arise not only from systemic design, but also from everyday interpretations and interactions through which educators, often unknowingly, reproduce racialized and ableist logics. This study argues that meaningful change requires both structural transformation and the development of deeper racial and disability reflexivity within educator practice. The thesis concludes with implications for policy, professional learning, and program design that foreground anti-racist, anti-ableist approaches capable of supporting diverse learners without reproducing long-standing disparities.

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