For some Indigenous students, a high school education in a mainstream school can be a frustrating and ineffective experience.<\/p>\n
The system\u2019s lack of understanding of Indigenous cultures, practices and knowledge can cause Indigenous students to become disengaged as they deal with the emotional wounds of being misunderstood or ignored.<\/p>\n
To address these shortcomings, the Ontario government has come up with the Indigenous Education Strategy<\/a> that, among other measures, includes the importance of establishing the positive cultural identities of Indigenous learners.<\/p>\n Brock University Professor of Education Lorenzo Cherubini wants to hear from students enrolled in alternative programs. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has awarded him a Partnership Engage Grant to do so.<\/p>\n Cherubini is partnering with the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre to hold \u201cresearch conversations\u201d with students attending the Centre\u2019s Courage to Soar Alternative Secondary Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur research objectives are twofold: to investigate how Indigenous youth mediate their experiences in education, and to investigate how Indigenous youth understand socially and historically constructed power relations in the context of their education and in the broader community,\u201d says Cherubini.<\/p>\n He and his research team, consisting of elders and an Indigenous graduate student, will also investigate how Centre staff perceive Indigenous students\u2019 experiences in the program.<\/p>\n The research will focus on students\u2019 critical literacy skills, which go beyond merely the ability to read and write. Cherubini says these skills include the ability to understand, and question, dynamics that arise from historical and social inequalities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is a grassroots approach to education research,\u201d says Cherubini. \u201cIt\u2019s tailored to students\u2019 interests, their experiences and their perceptions of education.<\/p>\n \u201cIt considers the knowledge that learners bring to their education to create meaning in the curriculum,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Cherubini will be conducting research conversations, \u201ca culturally significant research method that honours students\u2019 voices,\u201d he says. Topics include the challenges and successes students encountered in the mainstream school they once attended and what they are experiencing now in the alternative program.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intent here is to recognize that as empowered youth with a real, strong voice, their narrative, their story matters,\u201d says Cherubini, adding that, as a researcher, he is \u201cworking and learning with them.\u201d<\/p>\n The students\u2019 feedback will be used to inform provincial policy on the education of Indigenous youth, particularly identifying those components of alternative education programs that can be integrated into mainstream secondary school education.<\/p>\n It will also help inform teachers\u2019 educational practices, says Cherubini.<\/p>\n Educational reforms have long been a concern in the area of Indigenous education. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action<\/a> report devotes a section to \u201cEducation for Reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n Section 62 calls on governments to include in kindergarten to Grade 12 school curriculum teaching on residential schools, treaties, and Indigenous Peoples\u2019 historical and contemporary contributions to Canada. It also calls for funding for Indigenous schools to \u201cutilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n