Examining Differing Notions of a Real Education Within Aboriginal Communities

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Abstract

On a recent visit to an on-reserve school I was told that “this is not a real school,” by several students. In this paper we unpack this conversational fragment to show how it is implicated in some of the most difficult challenges educators face in enhancing the lives of Aboriginal peoples and communities in contemporary times. Guided by a hermeneutic sensibility, we are interested in exploring the myriad possibilities and resulting implications of what it might mean for an on-reserve school to be deemed less than real. As part of this exploration we open up a space for what we believe are more creative forms of dialogue about the future of education for Aboriginal communities and peoples in Canada.

Authors

• Dustin Louie, University of Calgary

• David Michael Scott, University of Calgary