February 22, 2005
Concordia University, Montreal
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The Urgent Need to Improve Aboriginal Education
John Ibbitson, Globe and Mail, November 24, 2004
The single greatest threat to Canada's long-term peace and prosperity will be the emergence in the next generation of a large, impoverished and angry aboriginal underclass.
Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's annual report, released yesterday, provides fresh evidence that this grim hypothesis is coming true.
Four years ago, the Auditor-General examined the lack of progress in narrowing the gap in high-school completion rates between aboriginal Canadians and the general population. At the time, the A-G's report estimated that, even if existing programs achieved their intended outcomes, it would take 27 years to close that gap. Today, after four years of allegedly increased effort, the gap has widened to 28 years.
According to the latest data, 69 per cent of adult Canadians have finished high school. But only 41 per cent of members of status Indian bands can make that claim. It is simply appalling that six out of 10 such students quit before Grade 12.
A third of the families on reserves are single-parent, and many of those parents are hostile toward the education system, having been maltreated by it when they were in school.
Reserves typically have fewer than 500 members, making it difficult to provide a school with teachers that can match provincial standards. In consequence, provincial governments often won't recognize graduation diplomas from reserve schools unless the student passes a provincial proficiency test.
With 40 per cent of the total aboriginal population under 19 (compared to 25 per cent for the general population), and with aboriginal birth rates far higher than the Canadian norm, the emerging danger of a large, ill-educated and resentful aboriginal underclass is clear and present.
And yet, although the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs spends more than $1.3-billion annually to educate 120,000 aboriginal children (that's $10,833 per student), results are mixed at best. Band governments are responsible for designing and administering local education programs, which is as it should be. Yet these governments often lack the capacity or the will to ensure that their schools meet provincial standards, and Indian and Northern Affairs is afraid to intervene and insist they do.
Why? Because, as Ms. Fraser stated in her press conference yesterday, many of the people in Indian and Northern Affairs think the department's job is simply to cut cheques.
The Auditor-General did point to successful programs in British Columbia and New Brunswick. Her report also notes that in one region (her staff declined to say where) an innovative program pays aboriginal parents to send their children to whatever school works best for them, on or off reserve.
Here's an idea: Indian and Northern Affairs should launch a pilot project, giving aboriginal parents $11,000 in vouchers to send their children to the public or private school of their choice, with the department monitoring the results. An informal version of such a program already exists on some reserves.
At the least, federal, provincial and aboriginal authorities need to co-ordinate responsibilities and set benchmarks for improving on-reserve schooling. Then everyone needs to work together to meet them. Including reserve schools in provincial testing programs would be a good start. There may be a necessary aboriginal component to reserve curriculums, but geometry is just geometry. If Grade 6 students on reserve can't meet provincial standards, then the schools' administrators have some explaining to do.
There is actually some tentative, preliminary evidence that the gap in high-school completion rates between the aboriginal and general population may be starting to narrow. Waiting 28 years to reach parity would be acceptable, if we knew we were actually doing what we needed to do to get there. And we simply have to get there. The alternative is a Canada with a burgeoning, uneducated aboriginal population languishing on reserves or migrating to cities, filled with incoherent anger at yet another generation of Canadians, including their own leadership, who failed them.
» Click here to access the Auditor General's report on Aboriginal Education.
» Investing in the Future - First Nations Education in Canada, Assembly of First Nations, 2002.
» Gathering Strength: Investing in Education Reform 2000-01 [PDF file]
» Aboriginal Off-Reserve Education: Time for Action. 2004, C.D. Howe Institute [PDF file]
» Indian Control of Education Policy Paper, Assembly of First Nations [PDF file]
» Aboriginal Lifelong Learning Government of Canada - Background Paper, English, Aboriginal Lifelong Learning Government of Canada - Background Paper, French, Education Branch, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada [PDF files]
Report Card on Aboriginal Education in British Columbia (2004)
Peter Cowley, Director of School Performance Studies, The Fraser Institute and Dr. Stephen T. Easton, SFU Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow, The Fraser Institute
British Columbia's education system is failing the province's Aboriginal students. The evidence shows that, when compared to the province's total student population, the performance of Aboriginal students at even the highest ranked schools in this Report Card is barely average. On every indicator of academic performance at both the elementary and secondary levels, the results are the same.
In the last four school years, British Columbia's Aboriginal students failed more than 40% of the province-wide reading tests that they wrote. On every one of the grade 4 and grade 7 test sittings their failure rate was more than double that of their non-Aboriginal classmates. The likelihood that Aboriginal children enrolling in grade 8 will successfully complete their studies and receive their diploma in the usual time is only slightly better than one in five. In contrast, the non-Aboriginal success rate is more than three times higher. Aboriginal students take, on average, less than one of the senior level provincially examinable courses whereas their non-Aboriginal counterparts take nearly three. It is these courses that prepare students for a wide variety of post-secondary education programs.
» Click here to download the complete publication [696kb PDF file]
Excerpt from the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)
Chapter 5: Recommendations Regarding K-12 Education
The Commission recommends that
3.5.1
Federal, provincial and territorial governments act promptly to acknowledge that education is a core area for the exercise of Aboriginal self-government.
3.5.2
Federal, provincial and territorial governments collaborate with Aboriginal governments, organizations or education authorities, as appropriate, to support the development of Aboriginally controlled education systems by
(a) introducing, adapting or ensuring the flexible application of legislation to
facilitate self-starting initiatives by Aboriginal nations and their communities
in the field of education;
(b) mandating voluntary organizations that are endorsed by substantial
numbers of Aboriginal people to act in the field of education in urban and
non-reserve areas where numbers warrant until such time as Aboriginal
governments are established; and
(c) providing funding commensurate with the responsibilities assumed by
Aboriginal nations and their communities, or voluntary organizations, given
the requirements of institutional and program development, costs of serving
small or dispersed communities, and special needs accruing from past
failures of education services.
3.5.3
Federal, provincial, and territorial governments co-operate to support an integrated early childhood education funding strategy that
(a) extends early childhood education services to all Aboriginal children
regardless of residence;
(b) encourages programs that foster the physical, social, intellectual and
spiritual development of children, reducing distinctions between child care,
prevention and education;
(c) maximizes Aboriginal control over service design and administration;
(d) offers one-stop accessible funding; and
(e) promotes parental involvement and choice in early childhood education
options.
3.5.4
Aboriginal, provincial and territorial governments act promptly to reach agreements for mutual recognition of programs provided by their respective educational institutions so as to facilitate the transfer of students between educational systems while protecting the integrity of cultural dimensions of Aboriginal education
3.5.5
Federal, provincial and territorial governments collaborate with Aboriginal governments, organizations and educators to develop or continue developing innovative curricula that reflect Aboriginal cultures and community realities, for delivery
(a) at all grade levels of elementary and secondary schools;
(b) in schools operating under Aboriginal control; and
(c) in schools under provincial or territorial jurisdiction.
3.5.6
Aboriginal language education be assigned priority in Aboriginal, provincial and territorial education systems to complement and support language preservation efforts in local communities through
(a) first- or second-language instruction or immersion programs where parents
desire it and numbers warrant;
(b) recognition of Aboriginal language competence for second-language
academic credit whether competence is acquired through classroom or out-
of-school instruction;
(c) involving elders and fluent Aboriginal speakers in programs to enhance
Aboriginal language acquisition and fluency;
(d) developing instructional materials; and
(e) encouraging and rewarding language teaching as a career path and
language research in lexical elaboration, structural analysis and cultural
contexts as professional and academic specializations.
3.5.7
Where Aboriginal children attend provincial and territorial schools, provincial and territorial governments take immediate steps to ensure that Aboriginal people are involved fully in the decision-making processes that affect the education of their children. Aboriginal control of education and parental involvement should be implemented through a variety of actions:
(a) legislation to guarantee Aboriginal representation on school boards where
population numbers warrant;
(b) recognition of Aboriginally controlled schools under the jurisdiction of
Aboriginal community of interest governments;
(c) establishment of Aboriginally governed schools affiliated with school
districts, if requested by Aboriginal people; and
(d) creation of Aboriginal advisory committees to school boards.
3.5.8
All schools serving Aboriginal children adopt policies that welcome the involvement of Aboriginal parents, elders and families in the life of the school, for example, by establishing advisory or parents committees, introducing teaching by elders in the classroom, and involving parents in school activities
3.5.9
Provincial and territorial ministries require school boards serving Aboriginal students to implement a comprehensive Aboriginal education strategy, developed with Aboriginal parents, elders and educators, including
(a) goals and objectives to be accomplished during the International Decade of
Indigenous Peoples;
(b) hiring of Aboriginal teachers at the elementary and secondary school level,
with negotiated target levels, to teach in all areas of school programs, not just Aboriginal programs;
(c) hiring of Aboriginal people in administrative and leadership positions;
(d) hiring of Aboriginal support workers, such as counsellors, community liaison
workers, psychologists and speech therapists;
(e) curriculum, in all subject areas, that includes the perspectives, traditions,
beliefs and world view of Aboriginal peoples;
(f) involvement of elders in teaching Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students;
(g) classes in Aboriginal languages, as determined by the Aboriginal
community;
(h) family and community involvement mechanisms;
(i) education programs that combat stereotypes, racism, prejudice and biases;
(j) accountability indicators tied to board or district funding; and
(k) public reports of results by the end of the International Decade of
Indigenous Peoples in the year 2004.
3.5.10
Aboriginally controlled, provincial, and territorial schools serving Aboriginal youth develop and implement comprehensive Aboriginal youth empowerment strategies with elements elaborated in collaboration with youth, including
(a) cultural education in classroom and informal settings;
(b) acknowledgement of spiritual, ethical and intuitive dimensions of learning;
(c) education to support critical analysis of Aboriginal experience;
(d) learning as a means of healing from the effects of trauma, abuse and
racism;
(e) academic skills development and support;
(f) sports and outdoor education;
(g) leadership development; and
(h) youth exchanges between Aboriginal nations, across Canada and
internationally.
3.5.11
High school programs be extended to communities, using cost-effective options agreed upon by parents and families, including
(a) complete school facilities for local high school delivery;
(b) regional high schools in Aboriginal communities;
(c) culturally appropriate, interactive distance education; and
(d) seasonal institutes.
3.5.12
Aboriginal authorities and all provincial and territorial ministries of education fund programs for Aboriginal youth who have left secondary school before graduation to enable them to resume their studies with appropriate curriculum, scheduling, academic and social support.
3.5.13
Federal, provincial and territorial governments encourage co-op initiatives by offering funding inducements to secondary schools that develop active co-op education programs for Aboriginal young people.
3.5.14
Federal, provincial and territorial governments expand financial support to post-secondary institutions for existing and new Aboriginal teacher education programs, contingent on
(a) evidence of Aboriginal support for the program;
(b) Aboriginal participation in the governance of the program;
(c) the incorporation of Aboriginal content and pedagogy into the program; and
(d) periodic evaluations that indicate that the quality of teacher education
conforms to standards of excellence expected by Aboriginal people.
3.5.15
Canadian governments, Aboriginal education authorities, post-secondary institutions and teacher education programs adopt multiple strategies to increase substantially the number of Aboriginal secondary school teachers, including
(a) promoting secondary school teaching careers for Aboriginal people;
(b) increasing access to professional training in secondary education, for
example, community-based delivery of courses and concurrent programs;
(c) offering financial incentives to students.
3.5.16
Federal, provincial and territorial governments provide support to increase the number of Aboriginal people trained as teachers by
(a) expanding the number of teacher education programs delivered directly in
communities; and
(b) ensuring that students in each province and territory have access to such
programs.
3.5.17
Teacher education programs, in collaboration with Aboriginal organizations and government agencies that sponsor professional and para-professional training, adopt a comprehensive approach to educator training, developing career paths from para-professional training to professional certification in education careers that
(a) prepare Aboriginal students for the variety of roles required to operate
Aboriginal education systems; and
(b) open opportunities for careers in provincial education systems.
3.5.18
Provinces and territories require that teacher education programs
(a) in pre-service training leading to certification include at least one
component on teaching Aboriginal subject matter to all students, both
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal;
(b) develop options for pre-service training and professional development of
teachers, focused on teaching Aboriginal students and addressing
Aboriginal education issues; and
(c) collaborate with Aboriginal organizations or community representatives in
developing Aboriginal-specific components of their programs.
3.5.28
Elders be reinstated to an active role in the education of Aboriginal children and youth in educational systems under Aboriginal control and in provincial and territorial schools.
3.5.29
Elders be treated as professionals and compensated for their education contribution at a rate and in a manner that shows respect for their expertise, unique knowledge and skills.
3.5.30
Provincial and territorial education ministries, boards of education and educators recognize the value of elders' knowledge to all peoples' understanding of the universe by
(a) giving academic credits for traditional Aboriginal arts and knowledge
whether acquired in the classroom or through non-formal means in cultural
activities, camps and apprenticeships; and
(b) collaborating with elders to determine how traditional Aboriginal knowledge
can be made accessible in the education of all students, whether Aboriginal
or non-Aboriginal, in institutions under Aboriginal, provincial, or territorial control.
3.5.31
Educational institutions facilitate opportunities for elders to exchange traditional knowledge with one another and to share traditional knowledge with students and scholars, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, in university settings.
3.5.34
An electronic clearinghouse be established to facilitate the free flow of information among Aboriginal communities, education and self-government workers and individuals, the planning and development of this clearinghouse to be carried forward by a working group
(a) established in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders;
(b) funded by the federal government and given a two-year mandate; and
(c) attentive to the need for Canada-wide and international communication as
well as exchange in Aboriginal languages within linguistic communities.
3.5.35
First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders establish a working group, funded by the federal government, with a two-year mandate to plan a statistical clearinghouse controlled by Aboriginal people to
(a) work in collaboration with Aboriginal governments and organizations to
establish and update statistical data bases; and
(b) promote common strategies across nations and communities for collecting
and analyzing data relevant to Aboriginal development goals.
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