Base de données de recherche des TNO

Régions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region, Qikiqtaaluk Region

étiquettes: social sciences, youth, educational resources, educational evaluation, residential schools, student curriculum

Objectif(s): To gauge whether the residential school teaching and learning unit in the new Grade 10 Northern Studies course enables NWT students to meaningfully engage with the difficult legacy of Indian Residential Schools, based on the experiences of the students. To answer the following questions: what are NWT students learning about residential schools through the pilot curriculum? How is this learning affecting their thinking and their behavior? Can secondary school education about residential schools improve intergroup relationships, tolerance of difference, and critical thinking about beliefs, behaviors and responsibilities?

Description du projet: The aim of this research is to gauge whether the residential school teaching and learning unit in the new Grade 10 Northern Studies course enables NWT students to meaningfully engage with the difficult legacy of Indian Residential Schools. Based on the experiences of the students, the principal researcher plans to make recommendations regarding the teaching and learning material to the NWT Departments of Education. The residential school unit aims to support students and their teachers in exploring the influence of the residential schools and through doing so, foster greater understanding of intergenerational harms in Northern communities, foster tolerance for people from diverse backgrounds, and encourage heightened engagement in the community healing process. The research questions are: what are NWT students learning about residential schools through the pilot curriculum? How is this learning affecting their thinking and their behavior? Can secondary school education about residential schools improve intergroup relationships, tolerance of difference, and critical thinking about beliefs, behaviors and responsibilities? The target population consists of teachers and students participating in the new Northern Studies 10 Course. The target population for the Northwest Territories can be further split into two groups: 1) Northwest Territories Northern Studies 10 teachers, and 2) Northwest Territories grade 10 Northern Studies students. In order to achieve the aim of my research, to gage whether the residential school teaching and learning unit in the new Grade 10 Northern Studies course enables NWT students to meaningfully engage with the difficult legacy of Indian Residential Schools, the principal researcher will need to collect information from the students and teachers involved. Based on the experiences of the students, the principal researcher plans to make recommendations regarding the teaching and learning material to the NWT Departments of Education, in order to do this, the principal researcher will interact with the student and teacher populations in all of the NWT's regions. Stage 1- Baseline Data – Survey Tools This study will collect baseline data from students and teachers via surveys prior to the new Residential schools unit being taught. All participant groups in this study will complete baseline data collection through survey tools. The survey tools that will be used are drawn from the work of Facing History and Ourselves in the USA. Facing History and Ourselves trains educators across the USA to engage students of diverse background. Facing History carried out a recent and comprehensive evaluation of its effectiveness: the Facing History and Ourselves National Professional Development and Evaluation Project (NPDEP). The NPDEP contained survey tools that are useful for the NWT curriculum pilot project: Relationship Questionnaire, Choices in Context and Civic Learning Survey. For the baseline data survey, the aim is to adopt a version of the GSID Relationship Questionnaire used in an evaluation of Facing History in 2001. The GSID Relationship Questionnaire is appropriate because, like Facing History, the NWT residential school unit aims to promote growth in psycho-social competencies (interpersonal understanding, interpersonal skills and personal meaning), moral reasoning and reductions in racism. For each question, the students will rate each of the four multiple-choice responses as poor, average, good or excellent, then choose the “best” response of the four. This will be combined with a scale measuring the extent of the students' knowledge about residential schools as a benchmark before the teaching unit content is presented. The Choices-in-Context Measure tool that will be used includes four stories involving social and ethical dilemmas students may face in school and a set of questions that elicit students’ reflections about potential strategies and justifications for choices in those situations. The final survey tool that will be considered is the Civic Learning Survey, which includes scales within five domains of civic learning, including civic efficacy, tolerance, opportunities for civic learning and participation in class, civic engagement, and civic responsibility. The Civic Self-Efficacy scale examines how effective students feel in understanding and/or engaging in civic matters. The survey will take about 45 min - 1 hour to fill out and will be conducted during class time. Stage 2 - Post Teaching Unit Data Collection - Focus Groups and Repeat of Survey Tools To assess student learning after the teaching unit has been completed, the principal researcher will repeat data collection using the survey tools used in stage 1. Teacher participant groups will have to fill out a survey indicating what parts of the unit were taught, in what order, and for how long, in addition to teacher observations of student learning. In addition to survey tools for both student and teacher participant groups, the principal researcher will also conduct focus groups, a recognized method in education evaluation research. The focus groups will be made up of students who participated in the curriculum pilot, and have consent from both school superintendents and their parents. The focus groups will include a school from each region in the NWT that participates in the Northern Studies course in the first semester of the 2012-2013 school year. The principal researcher aims to visit the schools for focus groups approximately 30-45 days after the completion of the residential school unit, to allow time for student reflection. During the focus groups, youth will be asked to identify key components of the curriculum that fostered a change in perspective, and greater understanding about the effects of residential schools. Focus groups will run between 1 -1.5 hours and occur at school during class time. Results of this study will comprise a report to the Government of the Northwest Territories Departments of Education to guide their future work on the Northern Studies course. The results will also be shared with district education councils, to the Northern Studies Advisory Committee, as well as to communities through presentation, report, executive summary and at future NWT teacher training sessions. The results will also be communicated to every participating school and community that is interested, as well as presented as the principal researchers’ thesis, in scholarly journals and meetings. In addition, the results will be disseminated in the north through the media, via news sources. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 16, 2012 to December 31, 2012.