Category Archives: Module 4

Post #2 – First People’s Cultural Council

http://www.fpcc.ca/

The First Peoples’ Cultural Council is a First Nations-run Crown Corporation with a mandate to support the revitalization of Indigenous languages, arts, culture and heritage in British Columbia. We provide funding and resources to
communities, monitor the status of First Nations languages and develop
policy recommendations for First Nations leadership and government.

This website contains many linkable resources to language-related programs/groups running to help revitalize and preserve (for example, the Silent Speaker program to help people who know and understand their Indigenous language but cannot speak it), technological tools to help in language preservation and the current 2018 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages providing information on the status of language preservation programs.

Post #1 – Stories of the Night Sky

http://www.storiesofthenightsky.ca/stories.htm

During my research on language preservation my webquest touched on digital storytelling. I came across the Stories of the Night Sky website which brings together Indigenous youth and elders through technology. Here, Elders tell stories first-hand about Turtle Island using youth as the gatherers of today’s technology to make the stories both relevant and contemporary. The creators of the website want this to help understanding of cultural differences and how modern-day society has changed and molded our perceptions of the world in which we live. “We all share the night sky; we all have this in common”.

Post #20: Cultural safety

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfrIW9EUi4g

In this video Australian healthcare professionals outline the rationale behind and benefits of maintaining “cultural safety” when serving Indigenous peoples in a healthcare setting.

Cultural safety is a concept which first emerged out of New Zealand and has since become an important part of the literature in relation to Indigenous health and healthcare. Current research is focused on the efficacy of training non-Indigenous healthcare professionals in cultural safety. Results are currently inconclusive, but scholars seem unanimous in pursuing further research as cultural safety shows promise of being an effective tool to modifying communication and interactions between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people.

To me, it appears the concept is useful beyond both healthcare settings (e.g., Indigenous students in the Canadian education system) and for wider, inter-cultural relations (e.g., interactions between majority and minority people).

A deeper explanation/definition of cultural safety:

“Cultural safety is a concept that emerged in the late 1980s as a framework for the delivery of more appropriate health services for the Maori people in New Zealand. More recently it has become recognised that the concept is useful in all health care settings – not just those involving Indigenous peoples, eg. Maori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A commonly used definition of cultural safety is that of Williams (1999) who defined cultural safety as:

an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need. It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and experience of learning together (p.213).

Culturally safe practices include actions which recognize and respect the cultural identities of others, and safely meet their needs, expectations and rights. Alternatively, culturally unsafe practices are those that “diminish, demean or disempower the cultural identity and well-being of an individual” (Nursing Council of New Zealand 2002, p. 9).” (http://www.intstudentsup.org/diversity/cultural_safety/)

Post #19: Improving the outcomes of Indigenous students in Australia’s education systems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaqmGBhgm6k&t=354s

In this video Nakata identifies work being done in Australia’s education systems to increase Indigenous student enrollment and achievement through K-12 to tertiary and beyond. Nakata identifies specific programs and initiatives that have been successful, and how these have additionally been able to shift the statistical academic profile of Indigenous students from majority BA students to STEM focused fields.

In terms of the Canadian Indigenous educational context, we may be able to glean some new tactics to improving the situation here. Dr. Nakata also presents frameworks that may prove useful in researching and framing the context in Canada.

When researching healthcare in relation to Indigeneity, I came across the concept of “cultural interface,” a concept elaborated by Dr. Martin Nakata. Although I have proven unable to integrate his work into my research, I have a better appreciation for the complexities of Indigenous Knowledge Systems as a result of the work I have read by Nakata.

“Professor Nakata is a Torres Strait Islander who graduated with a Bachelor of Education with honours from James Cook University where he subsequently was awarded his PhD in 1998. He is Chair of Australian Indigenous Education,and Director of Nura Gili at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He is also a Board member of the Collections Councils of Australia Ltd. He has presented eighteen plenary and keynote addresses at national as well as international conferences in ten countries, and published over seventy articles on Indigenous Australians and education in various academic journals and books in Australia and abroad. He is a former member of the editorial board of The Australian Educational Researcher and current member of the editorial board of the Journal of Indigenous policy and Balayi” (http://www.maramatanga.co.nz/person/professor-martin-nakata)

Considering indigenous knowledges and mathematics curriculum

Gladys Sterenberg (2013) researched “one Aboriginal teacher’s approaches to integrating Indigenous knowledges and the mandated mathematics curriculum in a Blackfoot First Nation School” (p. 18). She emphasized the need for this approach as it fosters a positive experience for younger Aboriginal students in mathematics thus enhancing and encouraging their participation in postsecondary studies of mathematics (Sterenberg, 2013). Sterenberg (2013) showed how the teacher tried to ensure her approaches were not tokenistic ways but rather honoured Indigenous knowledges. The first approach “began from Western mathematics and attempted to attach an Aboriginal perspective” (Sterenberg, 2013, p. 29) while the second approach was designed with an elder from a learning of place with Indigenous knowledges then incorporating the Western mathematics. The teacher felt the latter approach was much more successful, authentic learning experience for her students whereas the first approach did not succeed. This study highlights the need for an educator to build strong relationships and to focus on learning from place.

Reference:

Sterenberg, G. (2013). Considering indigenous knowledges and mathematics curriculum.Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 13(1), 18-32. doi:10.1080/14926156.2013.758325

The development of a model of culturally responsive science and mathematics teaching

The development of a model of culturally responsive science and mathematics teaching by Cecilia M. Hernandez, Amand R. Morales and M. Gail Shroyer

I chose to read this paper as it pertained to Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) in mathematics and science. The purpose of the paper was to conduct a “qualitative theoretical study” (p. 803) of “preparation and assessment of teacher candidate for culturally responsive teaching” (p. 803). The paper was written in 2013 and the researchers did an excellent job of providing a comprehensive review of literature of CRE. The researchers determined the need for CRE was due to a large increase of Hispanic Latino/a students within the school system they studies. Even though the study focused on a different cultural group I felt the paper was worth reading as it research the subject matter I was interested in for CRE. The authors defined a CRE model to include 5 themes: (1) content integration: “the inclusion of content from many cultures” (p. 810), (2) facilitating of knowledge construction: “ critical, independent thinkers who are open to other ways of knowing (P. 810), (3) prejudice reduction: teacher’s ability to use contextual factors to approach to build a positive, safe classroom environment…(p. 810), (4) social justice: “a teacher’s willingness ‘to act as agents of change’” (p. 810), and (5) academic development: “teacher’s ability to ‘create opportunities in the classroom” that aid all students in developing as learners to achieve academic success…”(p. 810). What I found interesting about this article is it had the different definition of CRE compared to Nicol et al. (2013) but there were similar elements especially the strong emphasis on building relationships. The article noted the need to not only teach the curriculum subject matter but also to “understand the increasingly diverse students in the classroom” (p. 817). They concluded that their model was a practical tool which could be used in the science and math fields just as Nicol et al. Once again we are reminded that there is no single approach or set of steps to achieving CRE but a teacher’s willingness to put forth the effort to build relationships, learn the community’s culture and incorporate it into the curriculum and instruction.

References:

Hernandez, C. M., Morales, A. R., & Shroyer, M. G. (2013). The development of a model of culturally responsive science and mathematics teaching. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 8(4), 803-820. doi:10.1007/s11422-013-9544-1

Nicol, C., Archibald, J., & Baker, J. (2013). Designing a model of culturally responsive mathematics education: Place, relationships and storywork. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 25(1), 73-89. doi:10.1007/s13394-012-0062-3

Enhanced School District Report SD#73

This report also found on government of BC website provides information on Intellectual Development, Humand and Social Development, and Career Development for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. What I like about it it also provides statistics pertaining the school concerning total number of students, amount of Aboriginal student and Students with Special Needs. Within the section Intellectual Development FSA results from grade 4 are compared with results in grade 7 which is also interesting. Another interesting observation is in a couple survey questions Aboriginal students felt school was preparing them post-secondary and a job in the future whereas non-Aboriginal respondents did not feel as strongly in this area. I wonder why?

Enhanced-School-District-Report-for-SD073

This report is a quick read and on the government website you can find other school districts if you are interested. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reporting/systemperformance/

Aboriginal Report 2012/13 – 2016/17 How Are We Doing? SD73

Aboriginal Report 2012/13 – 2016/17 How Are We Doing? School District 73

In my previous post I examined Aboriginal achievement for the province of BC whereas this report specially looks at SD #73, which is my school district. Once again this report can be found on the government of BC’s website.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/reports/ab-hawd/2016/ab-hawd-school-district-073.pdf

For my final project I will examine the material much more critically. This is a brief overview for those who are interested. The report like the Provincial report provides background information such as number of students in the public school system who identify as Aboriginal, male and femal aboriginal students, behavioural disabilities, etc. Data examined is obtained from standardized test; the Foundational Skills Assessment (FSAs), and required examinations. Similar to the provincial report Aboriginal students are lagging behind non-Aboriginal students in reading comprehension, writing and numeracy for both grade 4 and 7, with numeracy being an area of concern. And once again what is concering is the percentage of Aboriginal students who responded saying they feel they were more likely to be bullied, teased or picked on in the School Satisfication Surveys for grades 3/4 and grades 7.

Aboriginal Report 2012/13 – 2016/17 How Are We Doing?

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/reports/ab-hawd/2016/ab-hawd-school-district-public.pdf

The report was created by the Provincial government of British Columbia. It provides background information such as number of students in the public school system who identify as Aboriginal, male and femal aboriginal students, behavioural disabilities, etc. Data examined is obtained from standardized test; the Foundational Skills Assessment (FSAs), and required examinations. I am focussing on elementary FSA results as I am an elementary teacher. Unfortunately, grade 4 Aboriginal students are lagging behind non-Aboriginal students within the Reading Comprehension, Writing and Numeracy. But the biggest discrepancy is in reading comprehension and numeracy. Whereas grade 7 students are lagging behind significantly (my opinion) in all areas.

The reason I am studying this reports is my final project is examining Culturally Responsive Education, and although I cannot research at this time whether FSA results would be higher if CRE was implemented I am going to advocate for it based on results from other research projects done in different jurisdications.

The document also reports on transitions, school completion rates and post secondary transitions as well as education experience of children in care.

The section which interested me was School Satisfication Survey results. Grade 3/4 and grade 7 students were asked 10 questions such as; Do you like school?, Do you feel safe?, etc (Please see the report for all of them). Aboriginal students answered lower in all areas than non-Aboriginal students but the one which effected me is Aboriginal students were felt they were more likely to be bullied, teased or picked on than non-Aboriginal students. I once again feel CRE can make a positive impact in these areas.

(Entry 5) Website: EdCan Network

Website: EdCan Network

This website provides educators with a variety of different teaching resources (both for professional development and for use within the classroom. Of particular interest to me were two articles: “How can we embed Truth and Reconciliation in every school?” by Dr. Pamela Toulouse, and “How teachers can integrate Truth and Reconciliation in their classrooms: Infographic: How to get started and who can help”, by André Rebeiz. The first article discusses the parts of Reconciliation that apply to the classroom and how teachers can implement activities relating to increasing student awareness of Indigenous issues; the article also provides a downloadable PDF fact sheet that can be posted on a bulletin board for quick reference.

The second article provides teachers with an infographic containing tips and tricks on how to immediately implement Truth and Reconciliation initiatives within the classroom. In addition, it also provides a list of excellent resources for use in Canadian classrooms. One of which is the Martin Family Initiative containing a link to the Promising Practices in Indigenous Education Website. This second website contains a wide variety of links to resources that specifically address key components of the TRC documents that need to be addressed within different areas of the educational system.

Links:
https://www.edcan.ca/articles/how-can-we-embed-trc/

https://www.edcan.ca/articles/how-teachers-can-integrate-truth-and-reconciliation-in-their-classrooms/

References
Rebeiz, André, & Network, E. (November 12, 2018). How teachers can integrate Truth and Reconciliation in their classrooms. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.edcan.ca/articles/how-teachers-can-integrate-truth-and-reconciliation-in-their-classrooms/

Toulouse, D. P. R. (June 20, 2017). How can we embed Truth and Reconciliation in every school? Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.edcan.ca/articles/how-can-we-embed-trc/