PME 811 (Post 5): Relevance in Indigenous Education

Have you ever thought that implementing Indigenous education into your classroom could be the key to implementing student-centered learning for your students? Have you ever thought that indigenous education could be the catalyst to their intellectual, cultural and future growth?

After watching the video, "Chris Garner’s ideas on transforming the teacher in Indigenous education", I am sold on the concept that indigenous education is the key to motivating students to attend school, graduate and attend post secondary studies to further their life goals.

Garner presents a "pedagogical approach towards closing the educational gap" in Australia which can also be applied to North American schools (Harberlah, 2017). In his research, Garner suggests that "what is lacking in Indigenous education in Australia is relevance; the link between the curriculum and student’s lives and expected roles in their home communities, as well as realistic job prospects" (Harbelah, 2017).

Having said this, I would agree with Garner when he suggests "that real-life relevance of the curriculum is what can motivate Indigenous students to study and graduate" and not only help students discover their potential but encourage their efforts as well (Harbelah, 2017). Take for example statistics that support his hypothesis on Indigenous retention and graduation rates from Marrara College in Australia that were collected over six years up to 2014:

" Accordingly, Indigenous Year-12 graduation rates increased at Marrara College from 2.2% in 2008 to to 96% in 2014. (compared to Northern Territories rates of 32% for Indigenous students versus 71% for Non-Indigenous students). In addition, the rate of Indigenous students in employment following graduation was raised to 98% (compared to the national average of 33% for Indigenous, and 71% non-Indigenous Australians) "(Harbelah, 2017).

What about Canada? According to Quality Education, " gaps in graduation rates - about 44% of First Nations on-reserve (age 18-24) have completed high school, compared to 88% for other Canadians"(Canada, 2018). What if we implemented relevance into indigenous education? We as educators could see the percentages rise just as high as those seen in Australia.

What are your thoughts?

You can watch Chris Garner's video here (It is 15min 51 seconds long):

https://youtu.be/bMfBeotD8gc

References:

Canada, I. S. (2018, January 25). Quality Education. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-services-canada/news/2018/01/quality_education.html

Garner, C. (2011, September 12). TEDxDarwin - Chris Garner - Transforming the Teacher in Indigenous Education. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfBeotD8gc&feature=youtu.be

Haberlah. (2017, August 10). Chris Garner’s ideas on transforming the teacher in Indigenous education. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://haberlah.edublogs.org/2017/08/10/chris-garners-ideas-for-transforming-the-teacher-in-indigenous-education/