Culturally Relevant or Diverse?Is it Either/Or?

A. Katharine Bartlett, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Education

University of New BrunswickAmy_Katharine.Bartlett@unb.ca

June 2014, CASEA/CCEAM

Locating Myself Nunavut Department of Education (2000-

2007) K-12 School in the Qikiqtani Region (2007-

2013) English Specialist Teacher Grade 5 Teacher Student Support Teacher EL2 Program Support Teacher Assistant Principal

“educational outcomes for Inuit are not closing quickly enough to keep pace with the opportunities now presenting themselves in northern economies, and worse, [the] underperformance of young people is exacerbating the serious social problems in Inuit communities” (National Committee on Inuit Education, 2011, p. 93)

“Our education system needs to be build within the context of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit [traditional knowledge, values, and beliefs]” (Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, 1999, p. 6)

“Begin the re-writing of the K-12 school curriculum, to emphasize cultural relevance and academic excellence” (Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, 1999, p. 7)

Culturally Relevant or Diverse?Is it Either / Or? Diversity

Nunavut Curriculum

Classroom Reality

Conclusion

Diversity Multicultural Education

Transformative Approach

Decision-Making Approach

Social Action Approach

Types of Diversity "human diversity, bio-diversity, diversity of opinions, religious diversity,

linguistic diversity, [and] cultural diversity” (Egbo, 2009, p. 2)

"character education, moral education, peace education, peer mediation and conflict resolution strategies, emotional intelligence instruction, service learning, antiviolence education, critical thinking instruction, and global education" (Williams-Carter, 1999, p. 6)

"social stratification based on economic status, degree of acculturation and ethnic/racial self-identify, experiential background, language and language patterns, geographical location, gender” (Trevino, 1992, p. 2-3)

"there also exists a need for an examination of other aspects of diversity which represent the varied physical and social worlds within which today's school-children live and learn” (Turner-Vorbeck, 2005, p. 6)

Curriculum or Approach Curriculum

Multicultural Education Applied

multiculturalism

Culturally diverse curriculum

(Williams-Carter, 1999; Egbo, 2009)

Approach Transformative

Decision-Making

Social Action(Perry-Sheldon, 1994)

Instructional Activities & Materials Instruction

Pacing Transitions Monitoring for

Comprehension Cooperative

Learning Differentiated

Instruction

Materials “realistic, factual,

balanced, and objective in order to eliminate stereotyping, tokenism, misconceptions, and oversimplification" (Trevino, 1992, p. 1)

Education Act (2008) "the public education system in Nunavut shall be

based on Inuit societal values and the principles and concepts of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit” Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) includes "all aspects of

traditional Inuit culture including values, worldview, language, social organization, knowledge, life skills, perceptions and expectations" (Department of Education, 2005a, p. 5)

“the curriculum shall promote fluency in the Inuit Language and an understanding of Nunavut, including knowledge of Inuit culture and of the society, economy and environmental characteristics of Nunavut”

Foundational Documents (2005) K-12 Program Organization

for Nunavut Schools

"grounded in Inuit culture, language, heritage, and traditions” (p. 20)

Inuuqatigiit will be the "foundational curriculum document" (p. 5)

students who are "able to actively participate and contribute as Nunavut takes on new roles in the global community" (p. 2).

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Education Framework

"education in Nunavut respects and plans for diversity" (p. 5)

"all students are entitled to a relevant education" (p. 5)

Inuuqatigiit (1996) “We want to celebrate the similarities of

all people, rather than the differences. We want to find these similarities by sharing our emotions and talking about what is import to each of us and by listening to others” (p. 3)

Current Nunavut Curriculum WNCP Frameworks

(Western and Northern Canadian Protocol)

Language Arts (1998)

Math (2006)

Social Studies (2002)

NWT Language Arts

(1989) Science (1986) Social Studies

(1993) Physical Education

(1975; 1978) Saskatchewan

Arts Education (2009)

WNCP Frameworks "respect and build upon a child's first language"

(Language Arts, 1998, p. 1) "a variety of teaching and assessment

strategies is required to build upon the diverse knowledge, cultures, communication styles, skills, attitudes, experiences and learning styles of students" (Mathematics, 2006, p. 3)

"inclusive of the multiple cultural perspectives of contemporary Canadian society" (Social Studies, 2002, p. 9)

NWT Curriculum Inuit-focused

Communications [Language Arts] (1989) Primary Science (1986)

Non-Inuit perspective Intermediate Science (1986)

Middle Ground Elementary Social Studies (1993) Physical Education (1978; 1978)

English Language Arts Grades 7-9 EL2, The Junior

Secondary Handbook for Nunavut Schools (2004) Classrooms should

be "inclusive communities that recognize [the] strengths and the value of every individual" (p. 2-7)

Module Topics (2001) Peace Education

(Peace It Together) Global Awareness and

Active Citizenship (Take Action)

Human Rights (Say Yes to Children)

Gender Equality and Politics (Turning Sixteen)

Is the Nunavut curriculum diverse? Yes and no.

The Education Act calls for an Inuit-focused curriculum, while existing and newly developed curriculum suggests there is room for diversity.

Classroom RealityIn the school I found no curriculum documents for art, music, science, or math, and several documents that had been adopted from southern provinces or created in Yellowknife. They were of limited use to me as a teacher.

Most of the curriculum was beyond my students’ abilities, seemed irrelevant to their lives, or was beyond my ability to teach since it dealt with traditional Inuit knowledge.

The documents served, at best, to guide some of my decisions, and at worst, in the complete absence of documents, I had to decide what, when, and how to teach.

I often felt unqualified, poorly prepared, and bereft of adequate resources (although without a viable curriculum to follow, I had immense freedom).

(Berger & Epp, 2005, p. 2)

Unprepared TeachersFew of our teachers, however, are professionally prepared to provide the supports required to deal with the diversity [in terms of ability] of their classrooms, and many of our schools are unable to provide the support that teachers need. We have a high turnover of educators, and new arrivals usually require much support in their first year.

(Department of Education, 2005b, p. 10)

Cultural Relevancy Is Needed

(Hainnu, 2010)

Diversity is Needed

Conclusion A Nunavut curriculum grounded in IQ

does not require the elimination of diversity. What is required is a curriculum that is both culturally relevant and diverse combing both Inuit and Qallunaat (non-Inuit) Qaujimajatuqangit.