Browsing by Author "Wotherspoon, Terry"
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Item “Alignment-Plus”: alignment with schooling requirements and cultural-bridging among indigenous middle-class parents(2019) Milne, Emily; Wotherspoon, TerryEducation research demonstrates that positive and trusting family/school relationships support academic achievement but for many Indigenous parents in Canada legacies of residential schooling have made it difficult to develop strong bonds with schools and teachers. Drawing on interviews with 69 Indigenous parents and eight non-Indigenous parents of children who identify as Indigenous from two Canadian provinces, this study explores the intersection between family/school relationships and social class, and highlights distinct ways that middle-class Indigenous parents are involved in schooling. Shifting from a “deficit” approach to a “strength based” approach highlights existing resources and capacities among those who are comfortable and familiar with navigating the education system while also creating prospects to build on that capacity to empower others who are less familiar/comfortable.Item Cosmopolitanism and decolonization: contradictory perspectives on school reform to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples(2022) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyCanadian school jurisdictions have taken steps to accommodate objectives to advance cosmopolitan education reflecting principles such as global citizenship, compassion, tolerance, responsibility, and respect within school curricula and educational practice. At the same time, a parallel set of reconciliation-related educational reforms, aligned with the Calls to Action that accompanied the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report, have also gained urgency. Elements of reconciliation processes complement visions of cosmopolitanism, including objectives to foster dialogue and understanding between groups and advancements towards more holistic orientations to pedagogy and knowledge. However, conceptually and in practice, several tensions emerge, especially in a context in which educational priorities are contested. In this paper, we explore these connections and tensions with reference to findings from our research examining public perspectives on educational reforms to support reconciliation.Item “Errors were made:” public attitudes regarding reconciliation and education in Canada(2021) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyThe 2015 release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada accelerated the extensive range of educational activities across Canadian jurisdictions dedicated to updating curricula and supporting Indigenous students. How have these initiatives affected educational practices and more general understandings about Indigenous-settler relations? Drawing on data from a survey of public perspectives on education and reconciliation conducted in Alberta and Saskatchewan, this paper addresses the question: What are the current public attitudes regarding reconciliation overall and within Alberta and Saskatchewan schools? We explore these perspectives by highlighting two contrasting orientations – one in which reconciliation is accepted as a form of peaceful coexistence within existing settler colonial frameworks and another in which liberal discourses as well as more openly racist stances serve as a form of democratic colonization that further reinforce those frameworks.Item Exploring definitions of Indigenous student success(2022) Milne, Emily; Wotherspoon, TerryBringing together twenty-one articles written by experts, Social Inequality in Canada explores the many dimensions of social disadvantage and injustice that exist in this country today. Beginning with a thorough examination of structural inequality issues before moving on to address the wide-ranging impact that social inequality can have, the text presents students with a comprehensive overview of both the persistent patterns of inequality as well as the progress that has been made.Item Public perspectives on curriculum reform for truth and reconciliation in Canada(2023) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyThe implementation of school reforms to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples provides an opportunity to explore what Canadians think is important in framing their identities and values. This paper draws on data from a survey of public perspectives on education for reconciliation activities in two Canadian provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan. We consider the broader community context within which schools are located. By examining public perspectives, we are able to assess how curricular initiatives related to reconciliation are understood by community members, both as a priority in itself and in relation to other key curricular areas. Informed by critical race theory, our findings suggest that reconciliation is restricted to activities that do not involve extensive change to existing curricular and ideational frameworks. These perspectives exist alongside extensive opposition to reconciliation justified by claims that Indigenous experiences and perspectives are receiving undue attention relative to more pressing educational priorities. Our findings suggest that aims to transform dominant understandings about Canadian history and identity remain far from being fulfilled.Item Public schooling and contested public discourses concerning reconciliation(2020) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyThe 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report and accompanying Calls to Action have prompted educational reforms in school jurisdictions across Canada. Drawing on data from a survey of public perspectives in Alberta and Saskatchewan, this article explores how these reforms are understood by community members to highlight the significance of competing discourses conveyed through public perspectives on reconciliation processes. General support for the idea of reconciliation conceals the limited extent to which respondents are willing to engage with important realities of settler colonial societies, embedded within discourses that are more likely to defend than challenge the dominant frameworks within which Indigenous–settler relations have been constituted in the Canadian context.Item Schools as “really dangerous places” for Indigenous children and youth: schools, child welfare, and contemporary challenges to reconciliation(2020) Milne, Emily; Wotherspoon, TerryThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) final report called attention to the damage induced by government policies and practices and outlined a pathway toward reconciliation in which education and child welfare system reforms play a central role. Drawing from 61 interviews with teachers and parents of Indigenous children in Alberta, this paper addresses the question: what do intersections between schooling and child welfare systems contribute to prospects for meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada? Findings suggest that, despite formal commitments to acknowledge and address colonial legacies of residential schooling, obligations to fulfill state child welfare and educational objectives continue to situate schools, for many Indigenous families, as “dangerous places.”Item Student, parent, and teacher perspectives on reconciliation-related school reforms(2022) Milne, Emily; Wotherspoon, TerryCanadian schools have implemented initiatives in response to the Calls to Action that accompanied the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report. This paper aims to address two questions that speak directly to these calls. How have these initiatives been implemented in Canadian classrooms and affected educational practices? How do education stakeholders perceive and experience these initiatives? We present a study conducted in Alberta to explore these questions, drawing on data from interviews and focus groups conducted with 201 Indigenous youth and teachers and parents of Indigenous children. Findings suggest that schools are engaged in innovative activities to introduce knowledge about Indigenous cultures and experiences. Most participants believed, however, that more work is needed to support teachers’ ability to include Indigenous content in classrooms and to increase awareness about Indigenous peoples’ among non-Indigenous students to prevent discrimination. These tensions can undermine schools’ capacities to advance reconciliation.Item Success is different in our eyes’: reconciling definitions of educational success among Indigenous families and education systems in Alberta, Canada(2023) Milne, Emily; Wotherspoon, TerryNotions of ‘student success’ feature prominently in emerging educational discourses and policy orientations. Current policy frameworks focusing on equity, performance, and reconciliation claim to offer validation for perspectives of Indigenous peoples and other racialized communities, but they are simultaneously raising the stakes for individual responsibility and performance. This paper explores these developments by examining how Indigenous students and family members understand and experience educational success in relation to the notions of success advanced by school systems. We present a case study conducted in Alberta, Canada, drawing on data from ten focus groups with 77 Indigenous youth and parents of Indigenous children connected to one school division. Highlighting the ways that social and educational policy frameworks related to employability and performance exacerbate contradictions inherent in settler colonial societies, we reveal how school systems, despite claims to the contrary, continue to adopt practices that undermine the capacity for many Indigenous people to achieve their aspirations.Item What do Indigenous education policy frameworks reveal about commitments to reconciliation in Canadian school systems?(2020) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyThe national Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has challenged governments and school boards across Canada to acknowledge and address the damaging legacies of residential schooling while ensuring that all students gain an adequate understanding of relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. This article explores the dynamics and prospects for effective change associated with reforms in elementary and secondary education systems since the release of the Commission’s Calls to Action, focusing on the policy frameworks employed by provincial and territorial governments to guide these actions. The analysis examines critically the overt and hidden messages conveyed through discourses within policy documents and statements. The key questions we address include: What do current education policy frameworks and actions regarding Indigenous Peoples reveal about government approaches to education and settler–Indigenous relationships in Canada? To what extent is effective reconciliation possible, and how can it be accomplished in the context of institutional structures and discourses within a White settler colonial society? The findings reveal that substantial movement towards greater acknowledgement of Indigenous knowledge systems and incorporation of Indigenous content continues to be subordinated to or embedded within Western assumptions, norms, and standards.Item What do Indigenous education policy frameworks reveal about commitments to reconciliation in Canadian school systems?(2020) Wotherspoon, Terry; Milne, EmilyThe national Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has challenged governments and school boards across Canada to acknowledge and address the damaging legacies of residential schooling while ensuring that all students gain an adequate understanding of relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. This article explores the dynamics and prospects for effective change associated with reforms in elementary and secondary education systems since the release of the Commission’s Calls to Action, focusing on the policy frameworks employed by provincial and territorial governments to guide these actions. The analysis examines critically the overt and hidden messages conveyed through discourses within policy documents and statements. The key questions we address include: What do current education policy frameworks and actions regarding Indigenous Peoples reveal about government approaches to education and settler–Indigenous relationships in Canada? To what extent is effective reconciliation possible, and how can it be accomplished in the context of institutional structures and discourses within a White settler colonial society? The findings reveal that substantial movement towards greater acknowledgement of Indigenous knowledge systems and incorporation of Indigenous content continues to be subordinated to or embedded within Western assumptions, norms, and standards.