Aug. 1, 2022: Aboriginal World Views & Perspectives: When reading Restoule and Chaw-win-is’ “Old Ways Are the New Way Forward: How Indigenous Pedagogy Can Benefit Everyone.”(2017), I was curious about a statement made on page nine, which recommended that future policies to improve Indigenous student achievement consider the recommendations in the BC Government’s “Aboriginal World Views and Perspectives in the Classroom” (Restoule and Chaw-win-is, 2017. p9). As I had not heard of this document, I thought it would be good to review this document as a blog post. Especially as I consider the policy revisions for my final project, it seems like this would be a very relevant document to review.

“Aboriginal World Views and Perspectives in the Classroom – Moving Forward” was published by the Government of BC in 2015 after a series of consultation events in five school districts across the province with Indigenous representatives, educators, Elders, students, and community members. The impetus for these consultations was the recently released Truth & Reconciliation Report, along with interest in aligning with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and data from the Province’s own reporting which indicated that performance measures for Indigenous students such as provincial exams, Foundation Skills Assessments, completion rates and numbers of students receiving scholarships, while “modestly” improved from the past, were still “requiring further attention” (BC Gov, 2015. P3). The consultations were tasked with helping educators understand “what is meant by Aboriginal education and by Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives?” (BC Gov. 2015, p4) , as well as clarifying how “to provide appropriate and authentic teaching in line with the First Peoples Principles of Learning”(BC Gov. 2015. P4) This included questions about learning resources, guidance and support.

The voices of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people were recorded in the consultations, and there was a wide variety of responses, including sometimes contradictory opinions (BC Gov. 2015, p8). The report also cautions that these perspectives “are not intended to displace or undermine the voices of elected and/or hereditary Aboriginal leadership or to minimize the voice of FNESC, the organization created by First Nations leadership to speak on behalf of First Nations on education in BC.” (p8) Overall, two broad themes on Aboriginal education emerged from the consultations which included “strength-based, learner-centered practice, and “overcoming racism”(BC Gov. 2015. p12) There was broad discussion of the importance of “Aboriginal Learning for all Learners” including how to incorporate learning which is “holistic …[and focused] on connectedness and relationships to oneself, family, community, language, culture and the natural world.” (BC Gov. 2015. P15). It includes awareness of Indigenous history, a local “place based’ focus, engaging in the natural world, learner-centered practice celebrating cultural identity, community involvement and interconnection, traditional stories, traditional teachings from Elders and knowledge keepers, Indigenous language learning and cultural practices, and experiential learning. The report recommends teacher and administrative leadership in truth and reconciliation, programs like the “Elders in Residence” program (p41) aimed to increase community engagement, teacher training programs to teach local language and culture to teachers in every region, shifting pedagogy to a more “positive, learner centered approach” (P48), hiring local Indigenous staff, providing greater flexibility in programming and scheduling by removing obstacles for Indigenous learners, and creating a “welcoming learning environment that gives Aboriginal students the sense that they belong”(p56) which includes dedicated Aboriginal spaces in all schools.

The report also defines broad indicators of success, well beyond the current Ministry practices of looking at provincial assessment results and graduation rates, which will indicate in a more holistic and balanced way when Indigenous students are “being successful”. These include shifting attitudes of Canadians and especially school-based educators taking responsibility for Truth, Reconciliation and decolonization, increased Aboriginal leadership throughout society, improved health and employment outcomes for Indigenous people, reduced racism, healthy relationships between school-based educators and Indigenous communities, recognition of Aboriginal knowledge and teachings and spaces as part of education, healthy children feeling a sense of belonging, wellbeing and engagement in learning, supported to express themselves and learn in a continuous way at their own pace, with a strong sense of identity and pride, including thriving Indigenous languages being used and taught in schools.

Overall, this report seems very comprehensive, and addresses most of the main points of much of the research we have reviewed in this course to date. While it does include increased Aboriginal leadership as an indicator of success, it doesn’t specifically mention Aboriginal control of Aboriginal education, as strongly as other reports such as the AFN “First Nations Control of First Nations Education” report or the 1967 “Indian Control of Indian Education” paper. But in some ways this report goes further, because it calls for Indigenous control and influence over education for all people. The report lists a series of best practices for all students including “place-based education”, “experiential education”, “learner centered”, “strength based” education, and nature or environmental education which are all currently being promoted and implemented throughout BC education. In my area of focus, which is Special Education or Inclusive Education, these are all important pedagogies which are supportive of diverse learners. Learner-centered, strength-based, and relationship-based pedagogy is the essence of my practice as a Case Manager and Inclusive Education Teacher. I have the great fortune to be given time to meet individually with students and families to talk extensively about student strengths and identify ways to support their stretches. I get to build relationships with students over time, being a support person for families over 3-4 years, which is more difficult for many of my secondary school colleagues who get students for one term, before they move on to different courses and teachers. A huge part of my position is identifying obstacles for students and finding creative solutions to get around them. Often, I will support students to get credit for individual passions through a course called “Independent Directed Studies”, which can really relate to almost any personal interest, including Indigenous learning outside of school. Still, the July 1, 2022 announcement by the BC Government that students can now get graduation credit specifically for learning Indigenous culture and language learning is a hopeful development which lines up with these recommendations. (BC Gov, 2022.) Overall, I see positive shifts in my school in the last few years which related to the recommendations in this report. Our district has an anti-racism committee, and just completed an “equity-scan’ to provide better insight into the conditions in our schools, and to begin to consciously create anti-racist practices and thinking. We have an Indigenous District Principal of Aboriginal Education, who oversees our district Aboriginal Education Team. This team is an invaluable resource bringing teachings into classrooms, creating safe spaces for Indigenous students, and helping teachers learn protocols, and connect with Indigenous Elders and teachers. Several areas we could use improvements include creating an “Elder’s in Residence” program at every school, having increased Indigenous leadership at all levels, and creating opportunities for Indigenous language learning and language immersion at every school. I would like to see some formal mechanism in place to assess our success in a more broad sense, including broad measures of student wellbeing, rather than simply looking at FSA results, tests and graduation rates.

References:

Assembly of First Nations. (2010). First Nations Control of First Nations Education. Afn.ca https://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education/3._2010_july_afn_first_nations_control A_of_first_nations_education_final_eng.pdf

BC Government (2015.) Aboriginal World Views and Perspectives in the Classroom – Moving Forward. Province of BC – gov.bc.ca https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade- 12/indigenous-education/awp_moving_forward.pdf

BC Government News, (July 1, 2022). Cultural Learning Can Give Student’s Grad Credit. News.gov.bc.ca https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022ECC0054-001045

National Indian Brotherhood / Assembly of First Nations. (1972). Indian Control of Indian Education: Policy Paper. https://oneca.com/IndianControlofIndianEducation.pdf

Restoule, J.-P. & Chaw-win-is (2017). Old Ways are the New Way Forward:

How Indigenous Pedagogy Can Benefit Everyone. Ottawa: Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s IdeaLab.