Representation Matters: Increasing the Numbers of Indigenous Applicants to the Teacher Education Program at Southern Comprehensive University
Historically, Indigenous students have underperformed in Ontario schools – a phenomenon that stems from the legacy of residential schooling that existed in Canada for over 100 years through Indian Act legislation. Despite nearly two decades of Indigenous Education interventions at the provincial level, Indigenous achievement levels in Ontario continue to lag well behind those of non-Indigenous peers. Although Ontario’s diverse student population calls for the development of a culturally representative teaching force, from my observations, the number of Indigenous teacher candidates at Southern Comprehensive University (SCU, a pseudonym) in Southwestern Ontario has been and continues to be disproportionately low, especially considering regional demographics. It is important to note that these low numbers exist despite there being an Indigenous Access program in SCU’s application process, which would indicate that Indigenous students may not even be applying. This Dissertation-in-Practice seeks to better understand why the Teacher Education program at SCU is not attracting Indigenous applicants, regardless of it being concurrently promoted for this very reason. The proposed implementation plan uses a transformative leadership approach targeting fourth-year students in the Indigenous Studies program at the institution to help address this issue. As part of the undergraduate coursework in decolonization, these students will employ the decolonial lens of red praxis to explore the reasons behind this lack of Indigenous representation in education programs and professions. This will be followed by optional information sessions on the teaching profession in Canada, culminating with mentoring and coaching potential teacher candidates in applying to the Teacher Education program at SCU.
Indigenous Education, Indigenous achievement, teacher education, Indigenous representation, decolonization, transformative leadership
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