Post-Secondary Student Services and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Exploring how Non-Indigenous Student Services Leaders Can Respond to the Calls to Action
Date
2020-05-14
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Abstract
In June 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), a federal commission chaired by Senator Murray Sinclair, issued a final report that includes 94 calls to action (TRC, 2015d). The report also identifies the moral obligation of educators and educational leaders to facilitate systemic change. There is a direct correlation between several of these recommendations and calls to action and the work of post-secondary student services practitioners. However, most student services practitioners in Canada have been raised in Western colonial systems of education that have excluded Indigenous Knowledges and offered limited understanding of the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada. Therefore, many non-Indigenous student services practitioners have a knowledge gap that may impede their interest and ability to engage in reconciliatory work. This research paper explores how non-Indigenous student services practitioners can be guided to respond to the call for reconciliation and Indigenization of post-secondary education that has been made in the TRC’s final report. Research took place on the lands of the Lekwungen, Xwsepsum, and W̱SÁNEĆ families and involved participants from the three public post-secondary institutions within these regions. The research methodology integrated qualitative participatory research methods with Indigenous methodology and methods. A total of 14 participants were engaged in the study, including seven Elders, six student services practitioners, and one faculty member. The study resulted in the identification of six findings that offer direction and support for student services practitioners to engage in reconciliatory work: learn the history and reality of colonization in Canada; build relationships with local Indigenous communities; view Indigenous students holistically; examine and reduce barriers to Indigenous student retention; become consciously aware of the complexity of reconciliation; support the development of cultural allies. These findings identify a need for significant training and education of non-Indigenous student services practitioners about the impact and legacy of colonization on Indigenous people. In order to effectively respond to the calls to action, non-Indigenous student services practitioners develop an understanding of, and respect for, the histories, diverse cultures, and knowledges of Indigenous people. They also need to consider the lived experiences of the non-Indigenous students that they serve.
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Indigenization, Decolonization, Student Services
Citation
McLeod, K. J. (2020). Post-Secondary Student Services and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Exploring how Non-Indigenous Student Services Leaders Can Respond to the Calls to Action. (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.