Interim+Report

CCT333 Interim Report

We have shifted our focus from a solution-based approach that is founded in technology to a problem-based approach that is founded in systemic issues, with regards to education in the Native community. Our research has indicated that the main problems within the realm of education among these communities lies within the framework of their education system. A continuous streak of bleak statistics and observations illustrates the core issues.

According to the 1996, 2001, and 2006 census, 60% of aboriginals between the ages of 20 - 24 who live on reserves have not completed high school, or an equivalent program (Mendelson, 2008). This stems from a variety of problems including a lack of a structural educational system for aboriginals. Most on reserve schools are managed by individual first nations which only have authority over one or two schools. This is an outdated model that provides no coordination of curriculum. The absence of an educational system makes it difficult, if not impossible to provide infrastructure.

When first considering a “solution” to the problem of education within various Native communities, it is important to first consider measures that have been implemented thus far. For example, an agreement in Nova Scotia has allowed seven of the ten Mi’kmaq communities to control and manage the elementary and secondary schools found on reserve. Some of these institutions have developed extensive immersion programs with graduation rates that exceed the national average for band-operated schools. Thirty-eight teachers have been trained at St. Francis Xavier University (Reforming First Nations Education, 13).

Professor Daniel Kipp, a Native professor has argued that the intrusion of Western culture has led to an overdependency on colonial structures and institutions. This has contributed to the loss of Native culture and language, resulting in a loss of quality of life among these communities ( Nee-Benham, 61). He asserts that,

We have to overlook society’s rules to only speak one language. Young children that learn in immersion schools without the presence of English have enormously high language acquisition skills. If we can introduce language to children at a profound and intense level, particularly when the child is between the ages of three through six, we can get these children to the point where the acquisition of English, or any language, is simple to them. (Nee-Benham, 68)

The significance of these measures is the direct connection to their outcomes. These schools, under the Nova Scotia agreement regarding Native education, have experienced stable enrollment, with a culturally relevant education. Since June 2007, over 420 students have graduated from grade 12, from the Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey community. This comprises of a graduation rate of over 70%. (Reforming First Nations Education, 13). Examples of systemic reform attempts such as these suggest that the solution to the Native education problem can be founded in a systematic approach that allows First Nations communities to ‘help themselves.’ Our research consistently purports that by granting these communities autonomy, they can help revitalize their dying culture, simultaneously improving the education attainment gap that exists between these communities and the rest of Canada.

The school activities that are currently implemented in schools for First Nations are Western-oriented. They are not sensitive towards the customs and traditions of the Natives. Formal education has separated students from their community as interests from school administration and people from the First Nations. (James). According to a paper published in 2007 by the Canadian Council on Learning, the success rate of students significantly increases when they are taught in a context that is culturally relevant to them (“Aboriginal Student Achievement”).

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) have voiced what the First Nations people want for their children. They feel the children should learn their own language and tradition, be able to function in both cultures on a global economy but still be a part of their heritage. (Anderson)

Sources Cited:

“Aboriginal Student Achievement and Positive Learning Outcomes in Canadian Schools: Promising Practices.” Government of Saskatchewan: Education. Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2007. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.

Anderson, David. "Aboriginal Teacher Education Issues for First Nations Communities." 2004. Web. 02 Mar., 2012.

Ed. Nee-Benham, Maenette and Joanne Elizabeth Cooper. “ Indigenous Educational Models for Contemporary Practice: In Our Mother’s Voice.” Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, (2000): 61-68. Print.

Mendelson, Michael. "Improving Education on Reserves: A First Nations Education Authority Act." Caledon Institute of Social Policy. Caledon Institute of Social Policy, July 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2012.

Ryan, James. "Restructing First Nations' Education: Trust, Respect and Governance." Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue D'Études Canadiennes 31.2 (1996): 115-32. Print.

“Reforming First Nations Education: From Crisis to Hope.” Reporting of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. The Honourable Gerry St. Germain, Chair. December 2011., Web. 01 Mar. 2012.