Aboriginal-focus school considered
April 17, 2011
Vancouver Public is looking in to creating a school with an aboriginal focus. They have finished consultations, and have issued this report.
The State of Aboriginal Learning in Canada - A Holistic Approach to Measuring Success
In Canada, measurement approaches are typically built upon a partial understanding of Aboriginal learning, often choosing to concentrate on high-school completion rates (or the lack thereof). This Canadian Council on Learning report finds the problem with such approaches is that they overlook many aspects of learning that are integral to an Aboriginal perspective and important to Aboriginal learners and the communities they live in.
Education is the key to aboriginal (and Canadian) potential
by Shawn Atleo
Investments in First Nations youth: Consider them a sustainable economic stimulus plan
The issues facing First Nations today are so wide-ranging it can be difficult to know where to begin. The key is to move on those areas that set a strong foundation for growth. First Nations are united on an agenda for change.
We understand these are extraordinary economic times. Yet this makes it all the more important that we invest immediately in First Nations, especially in youth. If we do not, the gap between First Nations citizens and other Canadians will grow, as will unemployment, creating downward pressure on productivity coupled with upward pressure on social expenditures and programs. All Canadians will suffer and all Canadians will pay for it.
Shawn Atleo is National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
From Sunday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 9:01PM EST Last updated on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010 2:56AM EST. Extracted Feb. 21, 2010
Reclaiming the Spirit
This report is a summary of the Reclaiming the Learning Spirit: Learning from Our Experience roundtable, which took place at the Saskatoon Inn in Saskatoon, Sask. on March 12-14, 2008. The event was a collaboration between the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre (AbLKC) and the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (ALKC), which are initiatives funded by the Canadian Council on Learning. The idea of a co-sponsored event that aimed at improving the learning environment for adult Aboriginal learners was wholeheartedly embraced by both knowledge centres.
"A National Disgrace"
Sean Atleo talks about the highschool completion rate gap between on and off reserve schools in this article.
Community Story: A Cree Alternative Program
In 2008, the Edmonton Public School Board decided to create a Cree Extended Alternative Program, separate from the Cree Language and Culture (Awasis) initiative it launched in 1977. The story of why and how a second Cree program was instituted and the lessons learned in only two years of operation provide insights into the continuing challenge of addressing children’s educational and cultural needs.
Community Story: Abott School's Alternative Program (pdf)
The Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre
The Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre was created by the Canadian Council on Learning to provide a collaborative national forum that would support the development of effective solutions for the challenges faced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners. The website includes a wealth of research reports, case studies, and links related to Aboriginal Learning.
Assessing Students' Ways of Knowing
This text will give the reader some understanding of the complexities of standardized testing and performance assessment in education – particularly for aboriginal students. The book and its contributors invite readers to consider carefully, assessment for accountability, particularly the use of standardized tests, and the value of assessment for student learning. Many alternatives to standardized testing are provided.
Assessing Student Ways of Knowing
Performance Indicators
This Assembly of First Nations Secretariat briefing paper compares INAC's standard measures of success - school attendance, drop out rates and performance on standardized literacy and numercy tests - with alternative measures under development by First Nations communities. The author points to examples that focus on linguistic retention and cultural knowledge as primary measures of educational success.
School-Based Performance Indicators (pdf)
Redefining How Success is Measured
After an extensive nation-wide consultation, the Candian Council of Learning reports that although current learning indicators now widely used by governments and researchers are important measures, they fall short.
They must be broadened to measure more than simply years of schooling and performance on standardized tests. A more holistic approach to measurement that recognizes all aspects of lifelong learning is needed to measure the individual and collective well-being of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
Read Redefining How Success is Measured.
Tracking First Nations Students
The Saskatoon Separate School Board has announced it will begin tracking the progress of aboriginal students. This news has been welcomed by the Saskatoon Tribal Council as a step to ensure First Nations students aren't lost in the system.