Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education
Date of this Version
2019
Citation
Published in Race Ethnicity and Education, 2019
doi 10.1080/13613324.2019.1604507
Abstract
This narrative inquiry is informed by a concern to increase the number of Indigenous teachers in Canadian classrooms. While the Indigenous population is younger and growing faster than the non-Indigenous population, educational attainment gap remains between the two groups of Canadians. The gap is widening at the university level. This study explores the experiences of two Indigenous teachers during and after teacher education in an Indigenous teacher education program and attempts to reframe teacher education to enhance the meaningful engagement of pre-service Indigenous teachers. We conducted interviews as conversations with the study participants as guided by open-ended unstructured research questions and employed relational ontology because we believe that ethical relationships are paramount in conversations with participants. Four major common themes emerged from the participants’ stories: decision to attend Indigenous teacher education program, Indigenous identity, positive learning environments, and the importance of Indigenous teachers in the schools. Implications for teacher education are presented.
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, Taylor & Francis Group. Used by permission.