How Does Inclusive Education Suit Aboriginal Students Needs in the Classroom

By: Brittany LeonardFor: Lillian Morton EDTE 430: Issues in Aboriginal EducationDate: 2 April 2014

PurposeWhat do I want to learn? Understand? Consider?What did I learn?What do I understand at this point?

What do I want to learn? Understand? Consider? I am interested in understanding models of teaching that create a learning

environment that is adequate and comfortable for aboriginal learners. I am aware that there is no one quick-fix solution to the ongoing issues in Aboriginal education, but believe that doing something in attempt to mend the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners is much better than ignoring the issues. It is also important to me that the strategies I find are either relatable to my current philosophy of teaching or have enough meaning that they would change my philosophy of teaching to include them.

After reading “A Missing Link: Between Traditional Aboriginal Education and the Western System of Education” by Lynda A. Curwen Doige, I was struck by the parallels she describes about the needs of Aboriginal learners for a spiritual connectedness within learning and the focus of inclusive education models.

By exploring a variety of inclusion models, I will have a better understanding of methods of creating an inclusive classroom. I will also reflect on which of these models are similar to those recommended by Aboriginal communities and would be beneficial to Aboriginal learners as well as non-Aboriginal learners.

What did I learn? I decided to focus on three models of inclusion to begin

my research. These included The Virtues Project, Tribes Learning Community, and The Circle of Courage.

During my journey I came across many other similar models and extended my goal to include resiliency-building strategies. Each resource I found introduced new programs I had not heard of that I was interested in inquiring further into.

I will focus my presentation on the three main models I started my research with and will briefly summarize the projects I found that were similar in nature.

The goal of The Virtues Project is to give a positive focus for children and adolescents to make a difference with.

The project calls on virtues because they are elements that are universally recognized by all cultures, as opposed to values whose importance changes from person to person and from one culture to another.

To implement the project, the handbook recommends to follow First Nations’ Four Medicines: The power to see the virtues in each student. The power to hear students. The power to speak of the virtues. And the power to act with virtues, role-modeling them for students.

By using the virtues to acknowledge good behaviour, guide behaviour in a preventative manor, and to correct misbehaviour, students will begin to become conscious of their words and actions and can build up their own ability to acknowledge, guide, and correct their own behaviour.

Uses proven methodology, and contains resources to establish each virtue.

The next page includes the Virtues and the Strategies included in the project.

The Virtues ProjectWhat did I learn?

The Virtues ProjectThe Five Strategies of the Virtues Project Speak the Language

of the Virtues Recognize Teachable

Moments Set Clear Boundaries Honor the Spirit Offer the Art of

Spiritual Companioning

The Virtues Assertiveness, Caring, Cleanliness,

Commitment, Compassion, Confidence, Consideration, Cooperation, Courage, Courtesy, Creativity, Detachment, Determination, Diligence, Enthusiasm, Excellence, Flexibility, Forgiveness, Friendliness, Generosity, Gentleness, Helpfulness, Honesty, Honor, Humility, Idealism, Integrity, Joyfulness, Justice, Kindness, Love, Loyalty, Moderation, Modesty, Orderliness, Patience, Peacefulness, Perseverance, Reliability, Respect, Responsibility, Self-discipline, Service, Tact, Thankfulness, Tolerance, Trust, Trustworthiness, Truthfulness, Understanding, Unity

What did I learn?

Tribe’s mission is: “to assure the healthy and whole development of every child so that each has the knowledge, skills, and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.” (Gibbs)

The name “Tribes” respectfully relates to tribes in First Nations culture. It encompasses a feeling of family or belonging to build on virtues important to both cultures of respect, responsibility, and relationship building.

Tribes has an abundant amount of strategies to be used in the classroom to build different social, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of human development. Many of these strategies can be interwoven with curriculum, ensuring that there is often an academic relevance while using tribes in the classroom.

Tribes underwent many changes throughout the past thirty-five years, developing the process based on the research on outcomes from the version before.

The next page contains the Tribes Agreements and Tribes Trail.

Tribes Learning CommunitiesWhat did I learn?

Tribes Learning Community

What did I learn?

The Circle of Courage integrates Aboriginal philosophies on child-rearing with current research in resiliency and self-worth.

The Circle contains the necessary pillars that must exist in a child’s life to be happy, healthy, and available to learn. These include a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity.

The proof of this model is not only in its implementation in schools and research to establish it, but is also in the history of connectedness that exists in Aboriginal communities that often lacks in Western society.

The next slide includes a description of each of the four quadrants of the circle, along with the research Western society is now finding that matches Aboriginal tradition.

Circle of CourageWhat did I learn?

Circle of CourageWhat did I learn?

DRUMBEAT – created to address poor peer relationships, low self-esteem, dislocation from school, and alienation, which are common factors in the lives of at-risk youth. This program uses drums to explore different themes of resiliency. The only information I could find supporting the effectiveness of this program was by the program coordinator and manager.

Restorative Justice programs – an alternative to zero-tolerance (suspensions and expulsions) to working to solve problems as a community, placing the student responsible for past, current, and future actions. A facilitator assists in a discussion among the people involved in an issue, ensuring they have the opportunity to express themselves, acknowledge the other person’s feelings, and offer a change that they themselves can make to prevent a similar incident from occurring. This approach has research showing positive results for this type of program.

Other modelsWhat did I learn?

• Listening to Students Circle – the students of a school sit in a circle inside of a circle of all of the staff. The staff are required to be silent with the exception of prompting questions to the students. The students express themselves on positive experiences in the school and what needs they have that are not being met, along with suggestions on how to improve the school. This is really successful as long as the school (staff and students) come up with solutions and implement them in an effective and timely manner.

• Re-Education – developed to help youth with emotional or behavioural disorders to focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. It was developed on the basis of research done by its creator and is used throughout the world to help youth with these issues in a positive manner.

What do I understand at this point? Beginning this inquiry, I understood the following points about Aboriginal

learners’ needs in education: A recognition of respect for other people and the world around us. Communication with others; dialogue and meaning behind learning; exploration of

ideas, thoughts, and feelings within self and with others. Concurrent learning of virtues, resiliency, character traits necessary to work with

others (e.g. belonging, hearing and being heard), and to build on ones self (e.g. self-esteem, persistence), in conjunction with curriculum taught within a school.

These are also the foundation of many of the inclusion models I’ve researched in the past few weeks. Successfully incorporating Aboriginal values and learning needs into the classroom is not as far-fetched or difficult as society has made it seem up until this point. The methods Aboriginals would like put in place in schools are already formulated and available. They are models that benefit all learners, and demonstrate that a separation need not be made between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners, though these methods do need to begin to be implemented in schools to ensure the success of all learners not just academically, but also in growing successful citizens of tomorrow.

Current impactSo what does this tell me about the world? Myself; personally and professionally?So what resonated or struck me about the learning?

So what does this tell me about the world? Myself; personally and professionally?

These models have taught me that inclusive education is something that fits the human mind and being. It is something that benefits every child worldwide and is based on the innate needs of every person. Each of these methods have similar roots, implementation, and results, that have been tested in many countries across the world.

Inclusivity is an extremely positive and useful tool to have in my pedagogical practices as it helps to develop the multiple intelligences and social/emotional skills of students. I will feel as though I am doing everything I can for a student if I know I am making every effort in using methods to accentuate students strengths in other ways than just through academics.

So what resonated or struck you about the learning? It truly shocked me that almost every one of the

models researched had its roots in First Nations methods and values. I find it ironic that while a hundred years ago Western society believed that Aboriginal people were savage and needed to be civilized, today this society applauds their values and traditions and they are ingrained in upcoming methodologies of pedagogy.

Although I knew that Aboriginal Education focuses on community and inclusivity, I did not expect to find such prominent parallels between Aboriginal Education and current Inclusive Education methodologies.

Next stepsNow what impact will this have on me as a professional?Now what will I do with this?Now what is my next learning?

Now what impact will this have on me as a professional? This process has reminded me that focusing on the “other” can

take away from integrating people as a whole. I began this with the intension of finding out how inclusive education could fit into the needs of Aboriginal learners. In doing so I neglected the need of them and other learners to not be labeled into categories.

By the time it came to summarizing my findings, I figured out that “Indigenous education is inclusive education.” (Rolheiser) And that inclusive education is something that every child, adolescent, adult, or learner needs to have regardless of race, history, upbringing, or learning style.

It will impact not only the placements I will have in the next few years of the education program, but will also be extremely helpful when I move back to Toronto and am challenged with creating inclusive environments for a large variety of learners.

Now what will I do with this? This has given me a variety of tools and perspectives on

inclusive education that I never would have taken the opportunity to explore otherwise. I will definitely incorporate these models into my future classroom and will remember that learners are learners, no matter where they come from or what learning style they have.

The Virtues Project has given me the language required to create a safe and caring space. The Circle of Courage has given me a framework to create balance within the classroom environment. The Tribes Learning Community has given me activities and resources to work from inclusion to creating a community of learners.

Works Cited Bernard, Bonnie, and Sean Slade. “Listening to Students.” Handbook of Positive Psychology in

Schools. Ed. M. Furlong, R. Gilman, and S. Heubner. 352-369. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Brendtro, Larry K., Martin Brokenleg, and Steve Van Bockern. "The Circle Of Courage And Positive

Psychology." Reclaiming Children & Youth 14.3 (2005): 130-136. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Faulkner, Simon. "Drumming Up Courage." Reclaiming Children & Youth 21.3 (2012): 18-22.  Web.

19 Mar. 2014. Gibbs, Jeanne. “Reaching All by Creating Tribes Learning Communities.” Las Vegas: Creel Printing,

2006. Print. Hanson, Thomas., Jo Ann Izu, Anthony Petrosino, Bo Delong-Cotty, and Hong Zheng. “A Randomized

Experimental Evaluation of Tribes Learning Communities Prevention Program.” WestEd. (2011). Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

Kavelin Popov, Linda. “The Virtues Project Educator’s Guide.” Torrance: Jalmar Press, 2000. Print. “Re-ed.” Positive Education Program. Positive Education Program, 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Restoule, Jean-Paul. “Everything is Alive and Everyone is Related: Indigenous Inclusive Education.”

Inquiry into Practice: Reaching Every Student Through Inclusive Curriculum. Ed. Carol Rolheiser, Mark Evans, and Mira Gambhir, 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

Sumner, Michael D., Carol J. Silverman, and Mary Louise Frampton. “School-Based Restorative Justice as an Alternative to Zero-Tolerance Policies: Lessons from West Oakland.” University of California. (2010). Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

Warhuus, Lisa, and Leslie Poynor. “School Climate for Learning.” Alameda Country School Health Services Coalition. 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.