INDIGENIZING TEACHER EDUCATION: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

Abstract

This action research report focuses on a new elective course entitled “Indigenizing Education: Education for/about Aboriginal Peoples” that was developed and taught by two teacher educators—one Euro-Canadian and the other Métis. The purpose of the course was to increase understanding of Indigenous peoples and of the impact of colonization on Aboriginal communities. The course had an experiential orientation: participation by an Aboriginal Elder, educators working in Aboriginal settings, and educators who incorporate Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy into mainstream classrooms. Action research was conducted to determine the degree to which the course achieved its purpose with a view to enhancing future iterations of this course and contributing to teacher educator knowledge about effective teacher education approaches to including Aboriginal content and ways of knowing in teacher education. In particular, the authors were interested in the degree to which teacher candidates were responsive to Indigenous elements in the curriculum and teaching. Given the Aboriginal focus of this research, the Medicine Wheel is employed as an Indigenous framework for presenting and analyzing the findings.