Inclusive education

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UNICEF: How inclusive education works for children with disabilities in Rwanda

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Inclusive education is a form of teaching that uses physical accessibility, individual education plans, toys and teaching aids to support children with disabilities. Find out how it’s changing the shape of one boy’s future in Rwanda.

Africa/Rwanda/PrensaUNICEF/By Veronica Houser

Resumen: Cuando Olivier, de 11 años, era apenas un bebé, su padre se preocupó cuando notó que su hijo pequeño se estaba desarrollando a un ritmo más lento que sus seis hermanos y hermanas. «Ni siquiera podía orinar», dice Innocent Ntawimenya, el padre de Olivier. «Me pregunté, ¿podría incluso crecer?»Cuando  era un niño pequeño, Olivier tenía habilidades motoras débiles y no podía sostener ni siquiera objetos pequeños. A pesar de que estaba inscrito en la escuela de su ciudad en el sur de Ruanda, no se relacionó con otros niños y tenía muy pocos amigos. «Los otros niños solían llamar a Olivier nombres abusivos. Le dijeron que era estúpido «, dice Inocente con voz temblorosa. Para evitar la intimidación, Inocencio y su esposa comenzaron a acompañar a Olivier a donde quiera que fuera. Un maestro ayuda a los estudiantes en uno de los salones de Ruhango Catholique. El programa de educación inclusiva brinda capacitación a los maestros para que puedan incorporar herramientas para niños con discapacidades en sus lecciones diarias. Los maestros de Ruhango Catholique también están capacitados en la enseñanza «centrada en el alumno», donde los niños aprenden a través de actividades prácticas y trabajo en grupo, y mediante el autodescubrimiento. Esta forma de enseñanza permite a los niños como Olivier aprender de y con otros niños, así como a sus maestros. En la clase de hoy, los niños sostienen dos dedos con el pulgar entre ellos para indicar la letra «K» en el alfabeto de la Lengua de Señas inglesa. Mientras el maestro de Olivier se mueve por la sala haciendo preguntas, los estudiantes saltan emocionados, con las manos en el aire, gritando: «¡Maestro, por favor, a mí!»

When 11-year-old Olivier was a just a baby, his father became concerned when he noticed his young son was developing at a slower pace than his six brothers and sisters.

“He was not even able to urinate,” says Innocent Ntawimenya, Olivier’s father. “I asked myself, would he even be able to grow?”

As a young child, Olivier had weak motor skills and couldn’t hold even small objects. Although he was enrolled in school in their town in southern Rwanda, he didn’t engage with other children and had very few friends.

“The other children used to call Olivier abusive names. They told him he was stupid,” says Innocent with a trembling voice. To avoid the bullying, Innocent and his wife began to accompany Olivier wherever he went.


Innocent knew that Olivier needed a change. He and his wife decided to enrol him at G.S. Ruhango Catholique, a UNICEF-supported school that promotes inclusive education for children with disabilities. The school has been rehabilitated with ramps, wider pathways and door frames, and disability-friendly toilets. Students with learning impairments are taught in an integrated classroom alongside other students.Learning from each other

Teachers at Ruhango Catholique are also trained in ‘student-centred’ teaching, where children learn through hands-on activities and group work, and through self-discovery. This way of teaching empowers children like Olivier to learn from and with other children, as well as their teachers.

In today’s class, children hold up two fingers with their thumb between to indicate the letter ‘K’ in the English Sign Language alphabet. As Olivier’s teacher moves around the room asking questions, students jump excitedly, their hands in the air, shouting, “Teacher, please, me!”


Inclusive schools also involve parents through resource rooms, where they learn to make learning and teaching aids from locally available materials.Getting parents involved

“I like visiting my son’s school,” Innocent says. “I like spending time in the resource room with other parents, making things to help Olivier and other students learn.”  He uses the materials to reinforce Oliver’s education at home, so he can continue to develop outside the classroom.

Now in his second year of primary school, Olivier has shown vast improvement. Innocent smiles proudly, reporting that Olivier can now count to 1,000, and his motor skills have improved so much that he can even lift a 5-liter jerry can.

“He loves sports, especially football,” says Innocent. “He is now willing to play with others, and the other children no longer treat him badly.” He beams as Olivier comes to join him after his class, sitting on his lap while he embraces him.

Innocent looks down at his hands, speaking slowly and deliberately.

“I can see that Olivier will continue to progress throughout his life, and I am so grateful. I never thought such improvement could be achieved so quickly.”

The 2015 Study on Children with Disabilities and their Right to Education: Republic of Rwanda noted that there is no incentive for schools to accept children with disabilities, and there is a lack of awareness about the learning barriers they face. UNICEF Rwanda supports the Government to implement the national Inclusive Education Policy in all 30 districts, and to address sociocultural barriers which impede educational access, learning and completion for children with disabilities.

Fuente: https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/rwanda_102776.html

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Trans and Open: Education Is Key to Making This a Sign of the Times

Pluma Invitada

By Sarah Bartolome, Truthout

The recent elections were historic for the transgender community as Virginia’s Danica Roem is the first openly transgender person elected to a US state legislature. Andrea Jenkins, who won a seat on the Minneapolis City County, is the first openly trans person of color to ever hold public office in the United States.

Last year, Utah’s Misty Snow made history as one of the first openly transgender individuals to win a major-party nomination as the Democratic Senate candidate. Although her bid was unsuccessful, she is running for Congress, aiming for the 2018 primary.

The election of transgender citizens to public office is a huge win for the transgender community and marks another rise in visibility for trans-identified individuals in this country.

In addition to having trans voices represented in the political arena, openly trans individuals are also competing in the athletic arena. Nike spokesperson and duathlete in running and cycling, Chris Mosier, was the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a US national team in 2016. Harvard University swim team’s Schuyler Bailar, was the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 men’s team.

In popular culture, television shows such as «Transparent» (renewed at the end of the summer for a fifth season), «Orange is the New Black,» «Nashville» and «Modern Family» have brought transgender actors and characters onto the small screens.

At a recent meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio, Richard Paulson, Society president explained that advances in science would allow a trans woman to receive a donated, transplanted uterus and carry a child to term.

While transgender visibility is increasing, research by the National Center for Transgender Equality showcases the pervasive anti-transgender bias, verbal and physical assault and economic hardship experienced by many trans people in this country.

As a university educator, I understand that those of us in education stand at the front line, meeting our young people who may be navigating issues of gender identity. We are in a position to demonstrate to our trans-identified students that they are valued, accepted and protected members of our school communities. The challenges facing trans youth are significant and life threatening.

Trans-identified individuals have significantly higher rates of suicide attempts. While an estimated 4.6 percent of the general US population has reported a lifetime suicide attempt, a staggering 41 percent of trans or gender nonconforming individuals report attempting suicide, according to a recent report.

Anti-transgender violence is another significant threat and the Human Rights Campaign reported that in 2017 alone, at least 25 transgender people were murdered in the United States, the majority of whom were trans women of color.

Recently, two trans women of color were found dead, both victims of gunshot wounds. Stephanie Montez, murdered in Texas, and Candace Towns, murdered in Georgia, are the 24th and 25th known victims of fatal anti-trans violence this year. Both suffered the additional indignity of being misidentified by gender by police personnel and the media.

The estimated 150,000 transgender youth in the United States are also facing considerable challenges in US schools. Perhaps most troubling is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s report that schools are some of the most hostile environments for LGBT students. The report states that transgender and gender nonconforming students experience the highest rates of bullying, verbal and physical assault, as well as discriminatory practices.

Ash Whitaker, a male-identified transgender student in Kenosha, Wisconsin, suffered daily indignities as he was denied access to male restrooms at his high school and reportedly even presented with a green wristband to help staff ensure that he exclusively used a gender-neutral restroom in the school’s office.

Whitaker took the district to court, arguing that his rights were being violated under both the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and under Title IX. Whitaker won his lawsuit and the subsequent appeal, a historic win, as it was the first time that an appeals court interpreted these laws to protect transgender individuals. This ruling was despite the current administration’s roll-back of President Barack Obama-era guidance advising all schools that Title IX regulations protect transgender students.

The Williams Institute also noted that suicide attempts were reported by more than 50 percent of trans-identified students who were harassed or bullied in school contexts and by 78 percent of those sexually assaulted in school. For the estimated 150,000 trans-identified youth in this country, the hostile environment is a significant challenge contributing to the elevated suicide risk among trans people.

Education and training can contribute to the creation of a more inclusive society that does not condone such injustice based on gender identities. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

The transgender college students with whom I have interacted have described negative interactions with some professors, ranging from persistent misgendering and misnaming to denying them the ability to present their gender identity in course-related off-campus activities like student teaching.

In one especially disturbing case, a professor suggested a student «fade into the background, because some people are going to find this disgusting.»

These kinds of interactions may represent ignorance or lack of experience in working with trans youth, but also contribute to the hostile school climate plaguing the trans community.

School administrators and teachers must work to combat these disturbing trends. The moral imperative of supporting trans students is clear. This is a matter of life or death for the youth who deserve to be educated in a safe environment.

To be sure, some may not fully understand the issue of gender diversity and may struggle to find ways to support trans youth. The US public is split on the issue of public bathroom usage for transgender people. A 2016 Reuter’s poll found that 43 percent of respondents believed that transgender individuals should use the bathroom associated with their biological sex at birth.

Although transgender students make up a small percentage of school age children in this country, public schools are mandated by law to protect and serve all students. Some teachers may adopt the attitude that until they have a trans student, this issue does not concern them.

Yet, as trans youth find openly trans role models across a range of professional identities, the number of openly trans students enrolled in US public schools is likely to increase.

Rather than passively watch this public health crisis grow, teachers and administrators can be proactive in educating themselves about the issues facing trans youth and adopting inclusive school and classroom policies that provide opportunities for gender-diverse students to learn and thrive.

Recently organizations and coalitions for LGBT rights have issued guidance for school districts and teachers wishing to learn how to better support trans and gender nonconforming youth. «Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools» and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s «Model District Policy on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students» are two examples of best practices documents that provide educators and administrators with concrete guidance on how to best serve trans and gender nonconforming youth.

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals has issued a similar best practices document to help colleges and universities better support trans students on their campuses.

Gender Spectrum offers trainings on the topic of gender identity to schools and other organizations and Campus Pride offers its Safe Space Program trainings both in-person and online to help educators cultivate more inclusive classroom environments for all LGBT youth. The Trans Youth Equality Foundation also offers workshops on the needs of trans and gender nonconforming youth for student groups, educational institutions and other professional organizations.

Trans rights are human rights. As educators, we can model and inform all students the importance of understanding and valuing gender diversity. Even as we protect and honor trans students enrolled in education, we must also protect all trans people through education.

 

SARAH BARTOLOME

Sarah Bartolome is an assistant professor of Music Education at Northwestern University. She researches best practices in music education and the experiences of transgender musicians and is a Public Voices fellow through The OpEd Project.

Source:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/42631-trans-and-open-education-is-key-to-making-this-a-sign-of-the-times

 

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Namibian: Hardap schools struggle to implement inclusive education

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Namibian/October 24, 2017/By: Hilma Hashange/ Source: https://www.namibian.com.na

SCHOOLS in the Hardap region are struggling to implement the curriculum introduced into the education sector in 2012 to end the segregation and exclusion of individuals.

The curriculum is designed to end discrimination or segregation on the grounds of academic performance, gender, race, culture, religion, lifestyle, health conditions and disability. The ministry’s policy on inclusive education states that the curriculum is based on the understanding that all pupils have the right to be educated with peers, friends and family members, in their own neighbourhood or local community.

However, according to Veronika Axakhoes, principal of A A Denk Memorial School at Kalkrand in the Naukluft circuit, even though inclusive education entails that pupils should be taught inclusively without anyone being left out, some pupils are automatically left out because of the lack of learning support from the teachers.

“As long as a pupil is not taught on his or her level of ability in that subject, that learner is automatically left out of this inclusive teaching system,” she said.

Axakhoes further said pupils taught in a normal classroom and who experience learning difficulties find it hard to achieve the basic competencies in that lesson because the lesson is usually beyond the pupil’s basic understanding.

“If a pupil is, however, taught on his or her level no matter what level the teacher has to start from, the pupil will show some improvement and at least get some understanding and his or her mind will be opened up,” said Axakhoes.

She said for inclusive education to work, learning support is needed and that phonics should be the basics. “Reading should be integrated during lessons so that every pupil should at least know what phonics are because if you do not know phonics, you will not be able to read, and if you cannot read, there is no way you will be able to study and if you cannot study, you will fail. All these leads to pupils being transferred until they reach Grade 10 and it is from there that the problem escalates,” she added.

Axakhoes, who has 22 years experience in teaching, said she has also taught in other regions such as Erongo, Otjozondjupa and Omaheke where she conducted special learning sessions.

“I have noticed that the sessions we had with the pupils in those regions were fruitful because they are improving. When I started here at A A Denk Memorial School, the teachers were trying hard to provide learning support and from experience I advised them to have phonics cards for every lesson, clear pronunciation of words from the teachers and especially integrate reading in all subjects,” said Axakhoes.

She said she had informed the circuit inspector, Herbert Britz, about the concerns of pupils with learning difficulties and held several meetings with both the inspector and several education officers earlier this year.

She appealed to the ministry to separate pupils with learning difficulties so that they can be taught from the basic level of their understanding.

“We understand that the inclusive education policy does not allow for pupils to be separated but if government can allow that they be taught separately, then the system will have a huge impact on these pupils. Teachers, especially in lower primary, should also be given training on how to offer learning support to pupils with learning difficulties,” Axakhoes pleaded.

Echoing the principal’s sentiments, head girl of A A Denk Memorial school, Legine Garises pleaded on behalf of the pupils with learning difficulties at the school. She said although the inclusive education is well thought out on paper and does not discriminate or stereotype slow learners, the programme has its challenges.

“The fact that we are taught in one classroom with pupils who are average and above average achievers, teachers find it difficult to reach our level. Although we are not labelled as slow learners, it becomes evident within ourselves that we cannot do what the other pupils can do. Frustrations build up and our self-esteem suffers, which eventually results in a lot of pupils dropping out of school,” said the Grade 7 pupil.

Teachers at the school said one of the biggest problems they face is with reading. The teachers also said the pupils have difficulties with phonics, and said the learning support in a 40 minute lesson cannot cater for the different levels of learning abilities.

The teachers also pleaded with the parents and guardians to offer support to their children.

Confirming the difficulties by the schools in the Naukluft circuit, Britz said the issue is not a regional, but a national problem.

“We have discussed the issue at length at my office and had a brainstorming exercise on how to deal with it and identified a few challenges. We try to address this issue in our circuit by using experts to train teachers on how to offer learning support. It is difficult, however, because we cannot reach all the teachers in the circuit let alone the region,” he said.

He said although certain measures are in place, it is simply not enough because a lot of pupils develop a backlog that is not easy to erase.

“Learning support is something that should be an ongoing exercise, not only in primary schools but also in high schools,” said Britz, adding that the matter had been brought to the attention of the education regional director.

“The director is fully aware of the challenges. We, however, tried to address them but budget cuts are hampering our efforts. All schools address the issue against their own circumstances,” he said. Contacted for comment, acting education regional director Ernfrieda Stephanus said she is not aware of the concerns raised by Axakhoes on inclusive education as she is acting on behalf of regional director Mzingisi Gqwede, who is on sick leave.

Source:

https://www.namibian.com.na/60709/read/Hardap-schools-struggle-to-implement-inclusive-education

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Canada: Education report promising, but success depends on resources, says teachers’ union

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Resumen:

El jefe de la Asociación de Maestros de Terranova y Labrador dice que un reciente informe sobre el sistema educativo de la provincia refleja lo que ha estado escuchando de sus miembros, pero la verdadera sustancia será en cómo se implementan las recomendaciones. El primer ministro Dwight Ball publicó el  martes el Informe del Grupo de Trabajo sobre la mejora de los resultados educativos , diciendo que su gobierno planea comenzar a actuar sobre las 82 recomendaciones en 2018. La larga lista de cambios recomendados se centra en la educación inclusiva, los actuales programas de matemáticas y lectura, la salud mental de los estudiantes, el desarrollo profesional de los maestros y más. Jim Dinn, presidente del sindicato de maestros, dijo que el reporte aborda temas que han sido planteados por los maestros durante años, pero el verdadero desafío ahora será reunir a todas las personas adecuadas para cambiar las cosas para mejor. Lea el reporte completo aqui

The head of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Teachers’ Association says a recent report on the province’s education system reflects what he’s been hearing from his members, but the real substance will be in how the recommendations are implemented.

Premier Dwight Ball released the completed Task Force Report on Improving Educational Outcomes on Tuesday, saying his government plans to start acting on the 82 recommendations in 2018.

The long list of recommended changes centre around inclusive education, the current math and reading curriculums, student mental health, teacher professional development and more.

Jim Dinn, president of the teachers’ union, said the report addresses issues that have been raised by teachers for years, but the real challenge will now be bringing all the right people together to change things for the better.

The premier’s task force on education presented 82 recommendations that ranged from overhauling inclusive education to addressing student mental health and well being. (CBC)

«It’s a big challenge but it’s going to require all partners,» he told CBC Radio’s St. John’s Morning Show.

«It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a community and a province to make an education system work.»

Inclusive education

When it comes to the inclusive education component, the task force report recommended an overhaul of the approach which has often been criticized by teachers who say more resources are needed.

Dinn said the problem over the last few years isn’t that people necessarily disagreed with the actual philosophy behind inclusion, but there was a feeling that they were just not equipped to properly manage an inclusive classroom.

«In my four years as president I will tell you I have yet to meet a teacher that they oppose inclusive education. The frustration for them is the inability to help the students in their care,» he said.

‘If you increase the time in one subject area, it’s coming from somewhere else.’– Jim Dinn

«I’ve been in schools where they’ve been noted for their inclusive education practices. Go back the next year and they’ve had a lot of the resources gutted, and they’re struggling.»

It’s a bit overwhelming to cover all 82 recommendation in one interview, Dinn said, but the most important point he wants to stress is that ultimately the ability or inability to implement any of the task force’s ideas will come down to the workload and class sizes that teachers have to contend with.

Government can give teachers all the professional development they want, but if they have a large class of varied students and little support to deal with them all, then it’s going to be a challenge to deliver proper education — no matter how well thought out the policies of the education system are.

«You cannot talk about diverse needs or student behaviour in the classroom without looking at the composition of that classroom,» he said.

«You cannot talk about the fact of having small group settings without realizing that that’s going to mean you will have to increase the numebr of teachers in the system.»

Flexibility with teaching math

The task force report also heavily focused on the need for changes to the current math and reading curriculums in the province, including ending current standardized provincial assessments.

Classroom

Jim Dinn says addressing class sizes and composition is key to any improvement to educational outcomes. (Shutterstock/Syda Productions)

Dinn said requiring all students to use the exact same strategies for solving a math problem completely went against what teachers were told about inclusive education.

Instead, he said allowing educators more flexibility to teach and accept different ways of learning and how students show their work will benefit for everyone involved.

«It’s a system that’s based on diverse instruction, and differentiated instruction, yet we focus on that one marker, and one marker only,» he said.

«If you have a class that of students that are doing well in math, how many strategies do you need? They’ve obviously already mastered the skill.»

Dinn said he does have concerns about the recommendation to increase the amount of time spent on math by 20 per cent, and has questions about what courses will suffer to make up that extra time.

«If you increase the time in one subject area, it’s coming from somewhere else,» he said. «There are other subject areas that are important.»

Fuente: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/jim-dinn-nlta-report-education-1.4221955

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En Canada: Jo-Ann Archibald, Indigenous Education Leader, on ‘Indigenizing the Academy’

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América del Norte/Canada/thetyee.ca

Resumen: Jo-Ann Archibald se convirtió en uno de los pocos graduados indígenas del programa de educación para maestros de la Universidad de Columbia Británica. A partir de allí dedicó su carrera docente en escuela pública, y eventualmente en el sector universitario, desde donde trabajó para incluir en los planes de estudios del sistema educativo,  la cultura, la lengua y las maneras indígenas de saber . De igual manera ayudó a cambiar la forma en que la universidad más grande de la provincia involucró a las comunidades indígenas, apoyó a sus estudiantes y dio prioridad al contenido indígena en cada área temática. De igual manera ayudó a establecer una nueva metodología para la educación indígena y a crear cursos de educación para maestros y estudiantes de doctorado, por lo que elaboró una propuesta para nuevos maestros en conocimiento indígena, y un programa de doctorado en educación indígena. Sobre los cambios que considera que todavía son necesarios, señala que se necesita hacer mucho más en la preparación de los maestros de educación básica  para que estén mejor formados en cuanto  el impacto de la colonización, para entender cómo eso ha impactado a generaciones de indígenas y para pensar cómo podrían empezar a trabajar con las familias y comunidades indígenas, incluyendo más conocimiento indígena en su práctica. Por otra parte señala que si bien en los post-secundarios se han asumido realmente la Indigenización de la academia, y han asumido una gran parte de la formación para la reconciliación, necesitamos tener muchos más profesores indígenas.

Jo-Ann Archibald remembers her experience as a Sto:lo First Nations member in Chilliwack public schools in the 1950s to late 1960s as one that required straddling two completely different worlds. But the world of school rarely acknowledged Indigenous people or culture.

“When I got to high school, there was a little bit about ‘Indian people,’ but it was always negative,” said Archibald, who retired last month as an education professor from the University of British Columbia after 35 years.

“It was the ‘Indian problem,’ or it was history and it was the ‘fierce Indian people’ fighting the British or the French. So there was nothing ever to be proud of.”

Yet Archibald went on to become one of the few Indigenous graduates from the University of British Columbia’s teacher education program. She dedicated her teaching career in the public school system, and eventually at UBC, to including Indigenous culture, language and ways of knowing into the curriculum.

On developing Indigenous-led school courses:

My first job was in the North Vancouver School District, and they were interested in developing some curriculum [in 1972] that was related to Squamish people. So I was on the committee to start that. At that time it was a rather innovative approach, because there wasn’t that much happening [with Indigenous curriculum] in the public schools.

In 1976 [while teaching in Chilliwack], the Coqualeetza Cultural Centre started documenting a lot of their [Sto:lo] culture and language, because it had been oral up to this time. And that work became part of the [public and band] elementary school curriculum that was used in Chilliwack, and I would say in the province that was among the first [Indigenous-created curriculum] to really start as a comprehensive curriculum in the elementary grades. There were units in each grade level from Grades 1 to 7.

On her graduate studies experience:

There was nothing in the [Masters of Education] program that was Indigenous. It was all western, mainstream stuff. But I would always try and look at it from an Indigenous perspective, and always did my assignments on Indigenous topics.

It was about 1989-90 when I went into my PhD. I found ways to make my own learning meaningful. I chose to go into these programs knowing they wouldn’t have much Indigenous [content]. But I figured if I wanted to stay working at UBC, I needed to have the doctoral degree.

I think that helped motivate me as I continued working with UBC, to make institutional change. That’s been probably my consistent theme of what I do: try and change the university or the kindergarten to Grade 12 system to make the systems more responsive, respectful of Indigeneity.

On her involvement with NITEP — then the Native Indian Teacher Education Program, now known as UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program, for Indigenous students who want culturally relevant teacher training:

The opportunity arose to work with NITEP students [in 1981]. I really enjoyed my interactions with NITEP. I always wished that I had gone through that kind of teacher ed program, because it was Indigenous and there were Indigenous people, and you could be in your home community.

I became the director of NITEP [In 1985]. My goal was to keep on strengthening the Indigenous component, through the coursework, through expanding the field centres [satellite campuses near or in Indigenous communities], to just making sure that we could have community-based centres. That was the principle: whenever a new field centre was started, we always worked with the Indigenous communities [and elders] of the area.

I always felt that NITEP students — the majority were women with children — were very committed to improving their lives and their communities, and doing that as a teacher. So I always was amazed by what they were able to persist in, because they experienced what I did, but even more intense because many came from rural communities.

On the available supports for UBC Indigenous students in the 1980s & 1990s:

In 1987, Verna Kirkness started what was called the First Nations House of Learning. Eventually the First Nations House of Learning provided more student services, especially when the First Nations Longhouse was opened in 1993. But until that time, it was only NITEP [and UBC Faculty of Law’s Indigenous program].

In 1993 I became the director of the First Nations House of Learning. I still did a little with NITEP, but my energies were focused on the wider university at that time, and providing the student services in the longhouse.

On changes she helped introduce at UBC, first as director of First Nations House of Learning:

The grade point average for entry into faculties was very high, and when you looked at what happened to Indigenous students in high school, the graduation rates probably would have been in the 50 per cent range.

And some are older learners and they have work experience. We convened a committee of Indigenous faculty and the university admissions, and we set about establishing an Aboriginal admissions policy.

Another important aspect was work with the other deans, associate deans within the faculties on: ‘How can we increase not only the [Indigenous] students, but [Indigenous] courses or programs?’

Then as associate dean of Indigenous Education:

[In the mid 2000s], the faculty of education was in the process of revising its total teacher ed program. [A mandatory Indigenous] course was always talked about. There was interest among more faculty members to ensure we had the Indigenous course.

Also at the time, the BC Teachers’ College, the teacher accreditation body, were recommending a three-credit or equivalent Aboriginal ed course in each teacher ed program. That also helped reinforce why we needed Aboriginal ed, but I know we started the program at least a year before that accreditation change happened.

I was able to work [along with other faculty] to establish a peer support program for graduate students we called SAGE [Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement]: a province-wide network for any graduate student doing Indigenous research.

Then we started an annual Indigenous grad student conference, and that’s been going on for 15 years.

I helped to establish some new Indigenous methodology and education courses for masters and doctoral students, and put together a proposal for a new masters in Indigenous knowledge, and [a] doctoral program in Indigenous education, which I hope is still working its way through being approved.

I’ve helped contribute to increasing the number of Indigenous faculty members. Because that’s another area that I think has been lacking — very few Indigenous tenure-track faculty members. In education, we started out at four [Indigenous faculty members], and got to 10.

On what changes are still needed:

We need to do a lot more in K-12 with teachers to get them better prepared to know more about the impact of colonization, to understand how that has impacted generations of Indigenous people. And to think about how might they start to work with Indigenous families and communities, how might they include more Indigenous knowledge in their practice.

We have now 11 per cent of the K-12 population that are Indigenous, and it will increase. We need to do better as far as the graduation rate.

I believe the post-secondaries have really taken on Indigenizing the academy, and have taken up a lot of the reconciliation, wanting to talk more about how to address the [Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s] Calls to Action. We need to have many more Indigenous faculty members. We need to go through the whole system: K-12, undergraduate and graduate in order to have more faculty members.

At the same time, we have to keep educating non-Indigenous faculty members, so that they can be more responsive in how they teach. And they can do it knowing they have no Indigenous students in their courses: it’s for everybody. It’s part of who we are as Canadians.

Fuente: https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/08/02/Indigenizing-Academy/

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This portal is the result of the work of a team of volunteers for world education of inclusive quality. Your Donation will help us continue to do so.

To donate click on the following link that is on the main page of the portal.

We really appreciate what you can do for the OVE team.

Knowing Other Voices in Education:

It is a web portal of educational communication worldwide. OVE is conceived as a workshop-school where a group of volunteer teachers and volunteers from the five continents report, communicate and process information related to education as an emancipatory cultural process and as a human right.

Other voices in Education is an initiative independent of any government, national or international economic body, religious cult or political grouping. In OVE different perspectives converge on the educational fact that are expressed with freedom and responsibility.

Other Voices in Education is a communication effort of the International Observatory of Educational Reforms and Educational Policies (REPOD-OI) and the Global / Glocal Network for the Educational Quality that seeks to democratize information that teachers, ) And educational researchers interested in learning about the course of educational reforms and counter-reforms on a global scale. But fundamentally it is a space for teachers from all over the world to express their ideas, opinions and information associated with the educational fact seen in an integral way.

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