Post-secondary education for Aboriginal Canadians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In a paper written for the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in July 2006, Michael Mendelson reports that while 15% of the total population completed university post-secondary education, only 4% of the Aboriginal population did the same. While nearly equal numbers of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people attempt university, considerably more non-Aboriginal people are successful in completing their chosen areas of study.^[1]

Contents 1 Factors Affecting Post-Secondary Attainment 2 Approaches to Improving Aboriginal Post-Secondary Attainment 2.1 Add-On Approach 2.2 Partnership Approach 2.3 First Nations Control Approach 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Factors Affecting Post-Secondary Attainment

There are a variety of factors that contribute to this low achievement rate for Aboriginal peoples in post-secondary education, including such things as inadequate funding, poor preparation, and the perceived non-requirement of education for life and work on the reserves. ^[2] Additionally, nearly 30% of Aboriginal people surveyed indicated that not feeling welcome on campus was a barrier to post-secondary attainment.

The teaching and learning system used in post-secondary institutions throughout Canada has not changed significantly since the first university was founded in New Brunswick in 1785. Although the cultural and ethnic makeup of student populations has changed, becoming more and more multicultural over time, universities themselves have not adjusted to recognize or accommodate these changing demographics. This is particularly true for the increasing numbers of Aboriginal students attempting to attend and complete post-secondary education.

Certainly the increasing number of Aboriginal students attending universities is a recent phenomenon. “Only since the 1970s has specific attention been paid to the needs of Aboriginal peoples in higher education. Not so long ago, it was a non-issue for few were allowed to go beyond eighth grade without being threatened to lose their Indian status”.^[3] In the last twenty to thirty years, however, Aboriginal people are at least attempting post-secondary education in greater and greater numbers. However, the percentage of these students who actually complete a degree program is very small, and the percentage of Aboriginal people who go on to graduate and post-graduate work is even lower. According to Statistics Canada, in 2001 only 11,165 people with Registered Indian status held a bachelor’s degree, 1,420 held a Master’s degree, and only 170 had earned a Doctorate.^[4]

For Aboriginal people, coming from a culture that values a communitarian rather than an individualistic paradigm, the sense of welcome that is exhibited by a university is a significant factor in the level of success that will be attained. As both Verna Kirkness and the Millennium research indicate, there is very little welcoming done by universities for newly arriving students from First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities. All students are expected to abandon their culture, traditions, and normal ways of life at the front gate, and to assimilate into the status quo of the particular institute which they are attending. For any young person, this is a very difficult thing to do and the statistics of students who drop out during their first year are significant. This is especially so for Aboriginal students. For many, going to university is the first time they have been away from their home communities for any significant length of time. Familial and community supports are often hundreds of miles away and contact can be difficult to maintain. Often the lure of the city for newly arrived students can be overwhelming and some students are lost to the negative influences of gangs, drugs, and other issues that seem to offer the missing connection to community that the students need.

For others, a lack of educational supports in an alien and unfamiliar environment proves to be too much and the students drop out and return to the relative comfort and safety of their home communities. Unfortunately, this experience leaves a significant negative impression on young people, and they are then reluctant to try again in the future. Additionally, they may share their negative experiences with their peers, who will also be reluctant to attempt post-secondary education.

As well, there is the consideration of what Aboriginal students intend to do once they have completed post-secondary studies. For many, returning to work in their home communities requires that they be able to function in a team oriented environment, and work with elders and other community members to improve the quality of life of their own people. This is a significant need that is not necessarily being met by current university programs.

All of this is not to say, however, that there are no programs for Aboriginal students or that there have not been improvements to the supports provided to Aboriginal people seeking to attend a post-secondary institution. All of the universities in Manitoba have developed access programs that are designed to assist Aboriginal students to be successful in their chosen fields of study. Off campus, local, and distance education programs are being developed to ensure that students receive the courses and supports they need to complete their studies and become effective contributors in their home communities.

[edit] Approaches to Improving Aboriginal Post-Secondary Attainment

According to Richardson and Blanchet-Cohen, there are a number of ways to ensure Aboriginal students receive the type of education they require, in the format that works best for their needs. Richardson and Blanchet-Cohen specifically identify and discuss three approaches to improving Aboriginal post-secondary attainment; add on, partnership, and First Nations control approaches.

[edit] Add-On Approach

The add-on approach is the most commonly used approach currently to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives into curricula at both the public school and post-secondary levels. This approach suggests that Aboriginal students will feel their needs are being met because Aboriginal ideas and easily integrated methods, such as sharing circles, can be incorporated into everyday work without a great deal of extra effort for the teacher.

An example of this would be the Access programs that exist at most Manitoba universities. These programs provide support and assistance to Aboriginal students attending classes. For instance, the Access Program at the University of Manitoba “provides a support network designed to increase student success. Major focuses are academic and personal supports. These include an extensive orientation to university expectations, a staff taught credit course on study skills and exam preparation, individualized academic advising and personal counselling. Financial support may be available”.^[5]

[edit] Partnership Approach

The partnership model brings together a non-Aboriginal institution with an Aboriginal community to define and establish the education requirements of the community. “This approach is often driven by a philosophical belief in the principles of grassroots community development: helping people to help themselves by asking what they need and offering the tools to meet these needs”.^[6] While the overall intent of a partnership program is for the Aboriginal community to eventually become self-sufficient in meeting their own needs, there can be hesitation and distrust in the intentions of the partnering institution related to issues of assimilation. However, when a partnership is developed, the supports for Aboriginal learners can be very significant. Partnership programs are advocated by Verna Kirkness and Ray Barnhardt in their paper on First Nations and higher education. When successful partnerships are developed, students and their support networks develop the four Rs – respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility.^[7]

One example is transition programs that allow Aboriginal students to attend their first year of university at a more intimate location, rather than going to the main campus of the university. There, they work and develop as a cohort group, learning together and supporting each other along the way. Professors from the university come out to teach classes and students get to know them in a more intimate environment than would normally happen in introductory courses at the main campus. This small group environment helps the students develop the respect they need, both for the institution and for themselves as learners. They learn that their needs have relevance and that their cultural backgrounds and history also have relevance, not only to themselves but to the country as a whole. This sharing of the educational experience between Aboriginal learners and the primary post-secondary institution shows that reciprocity exists between disparate groups and that this sharing is necessary to build success. Students learn that they are ultimately responsible for their own success, but that they have the support and help they need to ensure that success is attained. Transition programs represent a microcosm of other support or access type programs that exist in universities throughout the Province of Manitoba and in other areas of the country. However, because of the newness of this type of program, its impact on retention and graduation rates has yet to be determined. Nonetheless, the people who are involved are committed to ensuring that the students remain in school and complete their chosen fields of study, in order to become contributing members of their communities in areas such as health care, education, and justice.

[edit] First Nations Control Approach

The third approach is that of First Nations control. This radical approach advocates for the complete disintegration of the current education system in which Aboriginal people are involved. “It is a withdrawal of support from the dominant system in favour of monocultural First Nations educational programming, where the content and delivery of curricula lie with the First Nations community. The desired outcome of ‘First Nations control’ is cultural re-integration and ‘collective self-actualization' for First Nation people”.^[8] This approach, as discussed by Verna Kirkness in her article, “Our People's Education: Cut the Shackles; Cut the Crap; Cut the Mustard” ^[9] looks at a return to traditional knowledge and language as the foundation of a First Nations education system. The principal idea is that First Nations people need to be in charge of their own education system, including content and delivery methods, in order to overcome the effects of colonialism and assimilation.

While the implementation of First Nations controlled educational institutions is fairly recent, it is certainly hoped that the results obtained by these organizations will be positive and effective in terms of developing future Aboriginal leaders who have both a significant educational background, and a significant cultural background, to be able to help their communities to develop independently and effectively for the future.

Another development in support of education achievement for Aboriginal people is the University College of the North. Started in 2005, the university “is an institution devoted to community and northern development and reflects the Aboriginal reality and cultural diversity of northern Manitoba”.^[10] This northern university provides a wide range of diploma, degree, and certificate courses that are of interest to and have specific application for northern communities and residents. According to President and Vice-Chancellor, Denise Henning, “UCN is committed to placing the needs of Aboriginal and Northern students first, striving for academic excellence and engaging with northern communities and northern economic development”.^[11] This is the first institute of its kind in Manitoba that considers the unique needs and requirements of its surrounding community and works with that community to provide the services and supports that will ensure success for its students.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Aboriginal peoples in Canada
• Adult Education
• Lifelong Learning
• Brandon University
• University of Manitoba
• University of Winnipeg

[edit] External links

• University of Manitoba Access Program
• University of ManitobaHomepage
• Brandon University Homepage
• University of Winnipeg Homepage
• Aboriginal Canada Portal
• Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
• Aboriginal Circle of Educators