'I have the worst fear of teachers': moments of inclusion and exclusion in family/school relationships among indigenous families in southern Ontario

Milne, Emily

'I have the worst fear of teachers': moments of inclusion and exclusion in family/school relationships among indigenous families in southern Ontario

Author

Milne, Emily

Date

2016

Keywords

social classes, education, indigenous peoples

Abstract (summary)

Student success is facilitated by strong bonds between families and schools, including a shared sense of purpose and mutual trust. However, for Indigenous peoples these relationships are often broken, undermined by the legacy of residential schooling and assimilative educational practices. Drawing on interviews with 50 Indigenous (mainly Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Métis) and non-Indigenous parents and educators, this paper examines the ways in which issues of class and race shape interactions between teachers and Indigenous parents. The interviews reveal that legacies of racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples in schooling affect family/school relations among middle-class (MC) and lower-class (LC) parents in different ways. MC parents intensify relations with the school while, in comparison, LC parents tend to disengage as a consequence of their negative schooling experiences.

Publication Information

Milne, E. (2016). 'I Have the Worst Fear of Teachers': Moments of Inclusion and Exclusion in Family/School Relationships among Indigenous Families in Southern Ontario. Canadian Review Of Sociology, 53(3), 270-289. doi:10.1111/cars.12109