Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Success in school continues to elude Indigenous students in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and many other countries. One response to this critical problem has been the ongoing calls to integrate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives into schools and classrooms. Such calls have produced studies on pertinent questions such as: the specific aspects of Indigenous cultural knowledge which teachers can integrate; the most effective ways of integrating such knowledge into schools and classrooms; and the critical elements of instruction that produce school success. Findings and theoretical abstractions from these studies are being used to inform various school and classroom initiatives as interventions to increase success for Indigenous students in Canada. The purpose of my ongoing research is to examine what takes place inside these interventions to understand the specific mechanisms by which outcomes for students are accomplished. For example, what happens at the cultural interface when teachers and school administrators (mainly non-Indigenous, largely uninformed about Indigenous cultures, knowledges, and issues, and with identities and histories vested in the existing social norms and school structures)attempt to integrate Indigenous perspectives into their classrooms? In twelve high schools in urban Western Canada, we are documenting the characteristics of each school, conducting school and classroom observations of practices in integration, and conducting focus groups and interviews with students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and Indigenous collaborators for their insights and views about integration.