Policy in the Lives of Marginalized Girls: Mapping the Disjunctures
Year: 2009
Type: preprint
Abstract: Many aspects of Canadians’ lives are governed by statutes and regulations, from life- changing processes such as marriage and divorce to daily tasks such as parking our cars legally. The daily administration of these codified laws is complex and often calls for more detail than is provided for in the original statute. While some of this detail is provided by judicial interpretation of statutes, much more is accomplished through the making and interpretation of policies. Policies come from various levels of government, may be either written or unwritten, and may include manuals for government workers, forms, and computer systems. The interpretation and enforcement of policies is most often performed by lower-level decision- makers granted discretionary power.As researchers we often pay less attention to these in-house, policy-mandated decisions than we do to higher-profile legal decisions, particularly those handed down by superior courts. However, policy-mandated decisions, owing to their tendency to be understood as “normal” parts of the quotidian governance of life at school or in other institutions, have a very significant impact on the everyday lives of marginalized girls, and therefore deserve particular attention. In this chapter we argue that these decisions by lower-level, discretionary interpreters of policy have perhaps a greater impact on the day-to-day lives of marginalized girls than the original statute or interpretation of a law, and that owing to recent changes in administrative and human rights law, they are moving further beyond the reach of legal recourse. This creates a problematic gap in protections against discrimination and disempowerment experienced by marginalized girls. Using education law and policy in British Columbia as an exemplar, this chapter explores the possible barriers to ensuring accountability by these decision-makers.Part one of this chapter presents our intersectionality as our theoretical starting point, within the context of key issues concerning primary education identified by marginalised girls. In discussing these issues Part one provides an overview of the school policy-making machinery in British Columbia. Part Two examines specific forms of recourse for marginalized girls who have been effected by discretionary decisions made under the auspices of education policies, and concludes with recommendations.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Institution: University of Ottawa
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2281236282