Quick facts

• Year: 2025

• Country: Canada

• Institution: British Columbia Office of the Provincial Health Officer

• Learners: Public Health Staff

• Aims: The Unlearning Club was designed to create a space to learn, challenge and dismantle the oppressive structures of racism, white-supremacy and settler-colonialism that exist in the Canadian healthcare system.
  
  Through structured sessions, the intervention team (mixed indigenous and settler representatives) aimed to create an environment of ongoing learning, self-reflection and action that equipped participants with the skills to challenge the oppressive system.

Why was the education intervention developed?

In Canada and British Columbia, indigenous-specific racism is widespread within the public health sector.

It is argued that the current healthcare education system in Canada and British Columbia is built on intersecting systems of oppression, including white supremacy, settler-colonialism and racism.

These systems are embedded within the health education system as a hidden curriculum which upholds negative racial stereotypes, enabling racism to continue within the healthcare system.

The unlearning clubs provided an opportunity to emphasise that urgent action that dismantles these oppressive systems is necessary to create an equitable healthcare system.

What was involved in the education intervention?

The Unlearning Clubs took place over 17 months, with a two-hour session each month. 

Each session provided the opportunity for dialogue and self-directed unlearning on topics related to anti-white supremacy, anti-racism and indigenous rights.

The Unlearning Clubs were open to all staff but organised as closed cohorts of a leadership group (1), and racial affinity groups (2 white, 1 racialised), with 6-8 members in each.

This allowed participants to speak openly about their experiences and mitigate the harm of racialised people.  

The sessions began with an in-depth land acknowledgement to strengthen the rights of the people whose land the session was taking place and then they followed a three-part structure:

• LEARN: Naming racism and white supremacy

• UNDERSTAND: Asking how the processes are operating

• ACT: Organising and strategising to act  

The Unlearning Club sessions were modelled using the Circle protocol, a methodology that emerges from Indigenous styles of education.

The room, whether online or in person, is set up in a circle, and each participant is given the opportunity to speak clockwise.

The facilitator guides the discussion, and participants are free to pass.

The Circle ends with a reflective process.  

How was the education intervention evaluated?

Participants completed a structured online, anonymous, rapid reflection tool after each session; however, this was not mandatory.

In total, 67 Rapid Reflection responses were collected and analysed using thematic analysis.

In addition, the Unlearning Club host-members participated in a relational reflection at the end of the Club to capture unique insights.

These reflections were documented through collaborative note-taking and provided an opportunity for direct engagement with participants that could be adapted based on the researcher and participant context.

These reflections, in tandem with the Rapid Responses, were analysed through a re-iterative process.

What was the impact of the education intervention?

The Unlearning Clubs showed high levels of attendance and engagement, with 70% of the office staff participating.

A key reflection was the opportunity to build a sense of trust and collective consciousness for commitment to anti-racist initiatives.

The connections made in the sessions emboldened people to take on challenges together.

Further, as the Unlearning Clubs progressed, participants moved from learning to action, sharing detailed explanations of actions they were taking in their daily life within their work but also beyond with their families and communities.

Key learnings

• The structure of the Unlearning Clubs created a space for diversity and understanding as the closed cohort meant that people were able to build relationships and establish relational accountability over time.

Challenges

• The impact of the intervention was captured through reflections, and so does not assess the long-term impact on the Unlearning Clubs in individuals or their institutions.

Recommendations

• Institutions must transition from just acknowledging racism and move towards allocating time and finances to support the dismantling of oppressive structures within their institution.

• The Clubs were encouraged and modelled by senior leadership.

• It is important for organisations to put in place anti-racist interventions at the highest level and protect staff time to engage in the intervention.