Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
Focus: Intermediate teachers and students
Summary: This report describes experiential learning opportunities in high school for students interested in learning about the skilled trades. Examples of Indigenous-focused initiatives and the impacts on student outcome are described.
Source: RBC
Summary: Over the next decade, 750,000 Indigenous youth will move through the education system and into early careers. What will they need to thrive in the Canadian economy of the 2020s? Advanced technologies are transforming every sector in the country. From mining and forestry to retail and entertainment, the demand for digital skills is accelerating—and disrupting old jobs and ways. Traditionally, financial capital was seen as the main driver of economic development. Now we know, there’s a need for capital, technology and skills to all work together. Drawing on our ongoing effort to understand the skills challenges facing all young Canadians, this report will focus on the human capital and skills needed for Indigenous youth to thrive in a technology-rich economy.
Source: Conference Board of Canada
Summary: Value is more than just money or the exchange of goods through a market economy. Value rests in the connection between skills, knowledges, assets, strengths, and communities.
Northern livelihoods depend on these different sources of value for self-determination, as well as personal and community benefit. Policy-makers often overlook this, and instead heavily emphasize only economic capital and market-based opportunities.
Our research will generate recommendations on how existing Inuit skill sets, strengths, and knowledge can be better applied to existing and emerging economic opportunities.
Our goal is to identify insights that will help Northern economies grow, diversify, and offer opportunities for sustainable livelihoods in Inuit Nunangat.
Source: Yee, N. L., & Butler, D. L. (2020). Decolonizing Possibilities in Special Education Services. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue Canadienne De l’éducation, 43(4), 1071-1103. Retrieved from https://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/view/4403
Summary: Colonial contexts continue to shape the experiences of Indigenous students, especially in special education, even as educators work to respond to Indigenous perspectives. In this article we first apply a decolonizing critique to consider how colonialism affects special education programming, then survey Indigenous and decolonizing scholarship to (re)imagine how educators may start to address these concerns. Our analysis suggests that educators (1) engage in critical self-examination, (2) adopt holistic assessment strategies, (3) explore teaching practices emerging from decolonizing perspectives, and (4) examine and (re)imagine service delivery models. Educators may use these ideas as a springboard for exploring more contextualized decolonizing possibilities.
Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)
Focus: Senior secondary teachers
Summary: This report describes experiential learning opportunities in high school for students interested in learning about the skilled trades. There are three main ways students obtain hands-on learning experiences: trades exploration, trades and technology courses, and Youth Apprenticeship Programs. Schools, Indigenous education and training organizations, nonprofits, unions, industry associations and colleges offer specific programs for Indigenous youth. Examples of Indigenous-focused initiatives and the impacts on student outcomes are described. The report also summarizes interview and dialogue findings. CAF interviewed high school teachers, school board officials, and representatives from non-profit organizations, unions, industry associations and Indigenous education and training organizations. These individuals administer career exploration programs or teach trades courses and they provided insights about the barriers Indigenous youth experience when trying to pursue hands-on learning at high school or when transitioning to an apprenticeship after high school. They shared what has successfully worked for them when trying to implement experiential learning programs. They made recommendations based upon their experiences working directly with Indigenous youth. Indigenous high school and post-secondary students identified barriers and provided recommendations they felt would help Indigenous youth, like themselves, succeed in apprenticeships and skilled trades careers.
Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)
Summary: This report describes experiential learning opportunities in high school for students interested in learning about the skilled trades. There are three main ways students obtain hands-on learning experiences: trades exploration, trades and technology courses, and Youth Apprenticeship Programs. Schools, Indigenous education and training organizations, nonprofits, unions, industry associations, and colleges offer specific programs for Indigenous youth. Examples of Indigenous-focused initiatives and the impacts on student outcomes are described. The report also summarizes interview and dialogue findings. CAF interviewed high school teachers, school board officials and representatives from non-profit organizations, unions, industry associations and Indigenous education and training organizations. These individuals administer career exploration programs or teach trades courses and they provided insights about the barriers Indigenous youth experience when trying to pursue hands-on learning at high school or when transitioning to an apprenticeship after high school. They shared what has successfully worked for them when trying to implement experiential learning programs. They made recommendations based upon their experiences working directly with Indigenous youth. Indigenous high school and post-secondary students identified barriers and provided recommendations they felt would help Indigenous youth, like themselves, succeed in apprenticeships and skilled trades careers.
Source: Statistics Canada
Summary: The term ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Indigenous’ used on the Statistics Canada website refers to individuals identifying themselves as ‘First Nations people, Métis or Inuit’.
Source: CBC News
Summary:
The first residential schools opened in Canada in the 1870s. They were the product of churches and the government; a collective, calculated effort to eradicate Indigenous language and culture that the commission called a policy of cultural genocide.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed as a means of reckoning with the devastating legacy of forced assimilation and abuse left by the residential school system. From 2008 to 2014, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard stories from thousands of residential school survivors. In June 2015, the commission released a report based on those hearings. From that came the 94 Calls to Action: individual instructions to guide governments, communities and faith groups down the road to reconciliation.
Beyond 94 will now monitor that progress.
Source: Indigenous Education: National Centre for Collaboration
Summary: This searchable database (while not exhaustive) features a diverse array of documents and on-line resources about and for Indigenous education across Canada. NCCIE researchers have generated these lists based on what they could find in their respective regions. If you would like to recommend another resource to add to the library, please click here.
Source: Conference Board of Canada
Summary: Key Findings
• Closing the gaps in labour market participation and outcomes for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis People across Canada could add $11.2 billion to the Canadian economy annually. Labour market exclusion issues are most pronounced for Inuit in Inuit Nunangat, and closing the gaps could add $371.6 million to the economy in Inuit Nunangat annually.
• Northern economies are less diversified, and Indigenous workers are over-represented in jobs that are more vulnerable during economic downturns. The Indigenous employment gap is thus not just a skills challenge, but an economic development and diversification challenge.
• Indigenous People’s participation in the traditional economy remains strong and is strongest among Inuit. The traditional economy is an important component of the mixed economy in Inuit Nunangat and Inuit visions of livelihoods.
