“She Can Bother Me, Because She Cares”: Inuit Students’ Views About Teaching and Their Learning

• In Event: Culturally Relevant Instruction in Indigenous Contexts: New Sites of Meaning

Abstract

Similar to most Indigenous peoples, the Inuit of Nunavut, Canada presently participate in a school system based on the dominant culture in southern Canada. Compared to previous research on factors influencing the school success of Aboriginal students, this research focused more on the voice of Aboriginal students themselves. This research explored two questions: (1) What do Nunavut Inuit students identify as success? and (2) What pedagogical and social interactions at the classroom level influence their learning? Three sources of student data were obtained from questionnaires, individual interviews, and group interviews. In sum, effective teachers legitimize the knowledge and practices of the community by endorsing it within the classroom, especially through stories and narratives directly from or about local people.

Authors

• Robert D. Renaud, University of Manitoba

• Brian Ellis Lewthwaite, James Cook University - Australia

• Barbara McMillan, University of Manitoba