Send us your children : Toronto’s growing market of private schools for international secondary students and why it is concerning

The number of private secondary schools that cater to international students is increasing rapidly, especially in the Canadian city of Toronto. Previous studies about international students in public schools have uncovered several concerns, but little is known about these largely unregulated, for-profit private schools. We had created a dataset of all private secondary schools in Toronto (n = 370), and in the process noticed a high volume of schools explicitly targeting international students (n = 174). Thus, a qualitative document analysis of the websites of schools was conducted to explore this market further. Our final analysis uncovered 138 ‘schools of concern’ as identified by four dimensions (assumption of Western superiority; selling a ‘Canadian advantage’; false assurances of care; dubious quality). We argue that greater oversight of this sector is needed to ensure adequate quality and safety. The international secondary education sector provides financial benefits to public authorities, governments, and the larger society. As such, policymakers are responsible for ensuring that profits from the sector do not contravene Canadian values and goals.