Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Question Scans

Question 6: What factors facilitate Aboriginal post-secondary success?

Overview

The objective of this question scan was to locate literature and policies devoted to the facilitation of Aboriginal post-secondary success. The Canadian Council on Learning employed a range of applicable search terms to four databases to identify and document the available relevant resources.

In total, 207 documents were identified in the initial search. A secondary review of these documents determined that 65 were suitable for final inclusion. Evidently, little empirical research identifies factors that facilitate Aboriginal success, and less still focuses directly on postsecondary students. Much literature hypothesises factors which may contribute to Aboriginal success: engaging, culturally relevant curricula; positive teacher expectations; strong support networks; anti-racism strategies; recognition of non-traditional relationships; and, increased financial assistance. However, little literature empirically examines how effectively various programs and methods actually contribute to Aboriginal student success.

Articles which do engage in empirical methodologies are generally from the United States, and examine factors that facilitate Aboriginal success on standardized tests. One Canadian empirical article (Duncan & Sokal, 2003) explores how various aspects of identity and mobility influence Aboriginal success.

The most comprehensive study pertaining to Aboriginal postsecondary success is a report produced by R. A. Malatest & Associates (2004) “Aboriginal Peoples and Post-Secondary Education: What Educators have Learned.” Combined with some of the qualitative Canadian literature it would provide a good starting point for further analysis, and a more comprehensive understanding of the issues specifically related to Canada.

This qualitative literature provides examples of particular programs that seem to be working well in various parts of Canada. Finally, a complete review would include the descriptive articles which document Aboriginal students’ perceptions of the factors that contribute to their success.

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