Abstract

Indigenous communities and students have been marginalized by colonial practices, disproportionally referred to special education programs, and encounter systematic prejudice and discrimination in education systems that lack respect for their ways of knowing and being. To disrupt hierarchical practices and structures that enact a hidden curriculum of privilege and racism, reconciliation and educational and system transformation need to work in tandem. Drawing on critical case study guided by Indigenous Storywork principles, we are researching how Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) can support educators and Indigenous community partners’ collaboration to decentre colonizing education practices. Analysis of preliminary data offers a window into the potential and complexity of engaging in decolonizing work that asks educators to unpack their role in reconciliation efforts and unlearn much of what they believed to be ethical practice. Findings include: participants awakening to structural inequities and racism; white/settler participants engaging with difficult knowledge; educators emphasizing their need for external resources to decolonize their practice; and a delicate balance between educators feeling challenged, feeling hopeful, and recognizing the distance yet to be travelled. This study demonstrates that collaboration with Indigenous community partners within education change networks (ECNs) holds potential to support pedagogical transformation and ultimately redefine student success.

摘要

土著社区和学生被殖民做法边缘化，不成比例地提到特殊教育计划，并在教育系统中遭遇系统性的偏见和歧视，缺乏对他们的认识和存在方式的尊重。为了破坏制定特权和种族主义的隐藏课程的等级制度和结构，和解与教育和系统转型需要协同工作。借鉴由土著故事工作原则指导的关键案例研究，我们正在研究专业学习网络 (PLN) 如何支持教育工作者和土著社区合作伙伴合作以分散殖民化教育实践。对初步数据的分析为了解参与非殖民化工作的潜力和复杂性提供了一个窗口，该工作要求教育工作者解开他们在和解努力中的角色，并忘记他们认为的大部分道德实践。调查结果包括：参与者意识到结构性不平等和种族主义；从事困难知识的白人/定居者参与者；教育工作者强调他们需要外部资源来非殖民化他们的实践；以及教育工作者感到挑战、充满希望和认识到尚未走过的距离之间的微妙平衡。这项研究表明，与教育变革网络 (ECN) 内的土著社区合作伙伴合作具有支持教学转型并最终重新定义学生成功的潜力。