NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Gwich'in Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: aboriginal community, traditional knowledge, education, oral history, curriculum

Objective(s): To examine the traditional pedagogies of NWT Aboriginal Elders and NWT Aboriginal curricula that describe capable learners to see if they corroborate contemporary educational approaches proposed by educators and researchers as being most effective in creating capable learners and citizens who can navigate themselves in their schools, communities and the modern world.

Project Description: Through the Indigenous research methodology of story, the purpose of this qualitative research is to examine the traditional pedagogies of NWT Aboriginal Elders and NWT Aboriginal curricula that describe capable learners to see if they corroborate contemporary educational approaches proposed by educators and researchers as being most effective in creating capable learners and citizens who can navigate themselves in their schools, communities and the modern world. In terms of specificity, the following research questions are to be addressed: a) What is a capable person? From the perspective of NWT Elders? According to the standards of contemporary educational theory and research? b) What are some of the contemporary educational approaches that best teach a young person to grow to be a capable person in society? c) Why did these approaches resonate so much with the person? Why did they remind the person of the teachings from their own learning experiences with their family of Aboriginal Elders? d) What do Elders say about teaching a person to be a capable member of the community? e) How do the contemporary and Elders’ educational approaches compare? How might the traditional pedagogies inform the more modern approaches to effective teaching and learning? f) How might this combined knowledge benefit Aboriginal children in small community schools in the NWT? Through delving into these research questions regarding a capable person from the perspective of both NWT Elders and the standards of contemporary educational theory and research, the aim of this study is to compare the traditional pedagogies with the more modern approaches to teaching and learning. The theoretical framework of social emotional learning theory will be the lens through which to select the contemporary methodologies that will be examined, focusing on those that honour the traditional Aboriginal perspective of mind, body, emotions, and spirit dialogue inherent in all human beings. From this comparison, the final phase of the study will be to consider how the combined knowledge of the Elders and contemporary educational theory and research regarding learning towards becoming a “capable person” might benefit Aboriginal students in the small community schools. This research will follow a qualitative research design, which will be more conducive to a holistic worldview and oral traditions. It will add fluidity and flexibility to the research process and utilize the art of storytelling. In reviewing the various methodological genres, the researcher has decided on the method following the Indigenous research methodology of story with the guiding research questions as a base for semi-structured interviews. Since the research will involve Aboriginal Elders, storytelling will be a very natural part of sharing the rich oral traditions of passing on knowledge about the phenomenon at hand. The beauty of storytelling is that it allows storytellers to use their own voices and tell their own stories. The principal researcher will provide the structure for the interview with the data collection questions; however, the principal researcher will also ensure that she listens when the Elders speak, as their words honour traditions and values of the Aboriginal world. Since the principal researcher will know all of the Aboriginal Elders (as a result of being involved in the NWT education for over twenty-five years in the field of Aboriginal Education), the principal researcher will be able to develop interpersonal relationships with the participants. It is important that the relationship between the interviewer and interviewee extends understandings of the meanings assigned to the lived experiences. The researcher will be responsible for creating a climate in which the research participants will feel comfortable and will respond honestly and comprehensively. Through a dialogic interview style, the researcher will be able to achieve a more flexible process in which it is hoped that the participants will invest more than a passing interest in the research project, and begin to care about the subject and the research questions. It is the researcher’s intention to share a personal approach to this research that will be culturally sensitive, balanced, harmonious, circular, sacred, natural, holistic, and that will unfold with fluidity and grace for the researcher and the Elders who are in tune and guided by their traditional Aboriginal epistemology and axiology. The principal ivestigators research will involve interviewing NWT Elders. A request will be made to the Elders asking them if the researcher can have their permission to seek support for this research study from two relevant organizations as follows: i. The Chief of the First Nations Band Council, President of the Metis Nation or President of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation to which the Elder belongs, and ii. The Superintendent of Education in the divisional education council where the Elders has worked – presently or in the past five years. Depending on the Elders’ permission, the researcher will / or will not seek support from these two levels of authority. This extra step is to ensure that the guidelines from Chapter 9 of the TCPS2 have been adhered to. The results of the research may be used in future recommendations to the Minister of Education, Culture & Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories with possible contributions to the commitments highlighted in the new NWT Education Renewal and Innovation Framework: Directions for Change document that is scheduled to be tabled in the NWT Legislative Assembly in March 2014. This information will be included in the consent form and explained to the Elders who participate in the study. Upon completion of the research, the principal investigator will contact the Elders through phone, or preferably in person, to provide them an opportunity to review the results of the study and provide them with an opportunity for feedback on the findings and/or results of the research. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from November 13, 2013 to December 31, 2013.