Canada West partners with IDEAS Research Lab to examine, address racism in sport
Season-long project to identify needs and gaps in CW policy, practices
CALGARY - Canada West is partnering with the IDEAS Research Lab to thoroughly examine its policy in an effort to prevent and respond to discriminative incidents in meaningful ways.
Over the next year, IDEAS Research Lab, led by Dr. Janelle Joseph, will closely analyze Canada West materials and cultures to determine what information is available and how people are influenced by policies.
Our research will fall largely into the following categories: social cohesion and community morale; mental health and wellbeing; unconscious bias and recruitment; education, academics, and training; finances, internships, and scholarships; racial demographics, diversity, and representation; and harm reduction and social justice transformation.
Dr. Joseph and colleagues will conduct focus groups with Canada West student-athletes, coaches and administrators to better understand experiences with racism and existing anti-racism interventions.
LINK: GET INVOLVED - SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE
The project will conclude with a report detailing the research findings, a policy brief outlining policy implications for both the conference and individual universities and several presentations to stakeholders, all with the goal of guiding the conference to stronger anti-racism policies and practices.
"Canada West is committed to listening then acting upon the recommendations formed by Dr. Joseph and the IDEAS Research Lab to make university sport more equitable, accessible and welcoming for every person involved in post-secondary athletics," said Rocky Olfert, Managing Director of Canada West.
"This kind of research has never been done before in Canada West. We are excited to amplify the stories of university sport stakeholders and fill in the picture of what is known about universities, about sport, and about racism and anti-racism in the Canadian context," said Dr. Joseph, PhD, RSC.
About the IDEAS Research Lab
The IDEAS Research Lab is an interdisciplinary team comprising graduate students and research assistants. We work on research, mentorship programs, embodiment groups, and trainings in the areas of equity, anti-racism, post-/de-coloniality, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) women’s health and wellness, and 2SLGBTQ inclusion related to sport. We are funded by local and national agencies. The lab’s researchers come from myriad backgrounds and bring their unique and rich social and cultural values to uphold the lab’s core priority: advancing social justice and otherwise thinking in physical cultures.