Aanse: Researchers and Stakeholders Collaborating in Support of Transforming Urban Indigenous Students Experiences of Schooling

• In Event: Indigenizing K–12 Educational Environments: Relational Curriculum, Intergenerational Literacies, and Decolonizing Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

In this collaborative inquiry Indigenous Education Centre staff, researchers and teachers document positive impacts of a professional learning project aimed at improving outcomes for Indigenous students. Working alongside a group of 15 teachers in urban schools with high numbers of self-Identified Indigenous students we investigate how a teacher-driven approach to a professional learning project created space for teachers to comfortably engage with their fears about teaching Indigenous students. Teachers identified ways to effectively engage Indigenous knowledge to decolonize teaching and enhance learning. Participants shared their understanding of impactful approaches to Indigenous Education, explicitly focusing on questions of practice and beliefs. Findings reflect a need for pedagogies of truth that emphasize reciprocal relationships with a focus on enhancing cultural safety.

Authors

• Susan Dion, York University

• Antonino Giambrone, Toronto District School Board

• Tanya Senk, Toronto District School Board