Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

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Synthesis Report of the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre's Literature Reviews: Responsive Educational Systems

This report offers recommendations to support lifelong learning for Aboriginals through responsive systems. The report's author feels the majority of responsibility for past failures resides with the structural and systemic barriers that exist within educational systems and believes this is where change is most needed. Recommendations for responsive education systems include:

• Seek direction from landmark policies on First Nations, Métis and Inuit education such as: Indian Control of Indian Education, (1973); Tradition and Education: A Vision of Our Future, (1988); The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996).
• Seek direction from and gain from the experience of indigenous institutions on the successes of their initiatives.
• Develop policy that includes FNMI world view as a part of the conceptual framework, goals, indicators, and measures for all learners.
• Enable Elders and parents and community members to define or contribute to goal setting, problem solving and educational outcomes of the system.
• Include partners in building community, sharing the vision of human services supports that are linked to the school setting.
• Understand the learning spirit as a concept.
• Naturalize Indigenous epistemologies as foundational components in all parts of curricula.
• Provide students with culture and language programming.
• Include parents, community, and teachers in the formalization of standards for the recognition and accreditation of language teachers.
• Assist learners with transitioning within formal learning contexts and into the workplace.
• Act on the vision of the community, which may result in a change in system operations, administrative procedures and the development of new policy.
• Require individuals working within the system to have knowledge and understanding of FNMI world views and ways of knowing (histories, cultures, identities, and experience).
• Create an accountability framework that supports a holistic view of measurement and success and develop policy based on this holistic view.
• Explore alternative measures for effectively measuring holistic learning for social, cultural, spiritual, and physical well-being.
• Be aware of and accountable to the disparity gap in outcomes for FNMI learners.
• Effectively utilize data, assessment, and evaluation as tools to ensure continuous program and service improvement.
• Create a representative workforce.
• Demonstrate cultural competencies and address systemic barriers that exist within all systems.
• Initiate research that identifies promising practices and system gaps in FNMI education.
• Engage in partnerships to create opportunities for shared governance leading to high quality learning programs and supports for all learners.

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