Aboriginal Education in Canada: Gaps, Challenges & Reform

Introduction

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise hundreds of communities with a wide range of cultures, languages, and nation-based governance systems. In 2006, over one million people in Canada identified themselves as Aboriginal, representing approximately 3.8 percent of the total population. The Aboriginal population in Canada is growing at a substantial rate — nearly six times faster than the growth rate of the non-Aboriginal population (Asch 2007). For quite a long time, Aboriginal peoples in Canada have understood the role of education in building healthy, thriving communities. Despite significant cultural and historical differences, Aboriginal communities share a clear vision of education as a holistic and lifelong process (Nguyen 2011).

Currently, Aboriginal communities, organizations, and governments are increasingly making realistic decisions and developing policies that reflect a better understanding and awareness of Aboriginal perspectives on learning (Asch 2007). Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these decisions and policies still relies primarily on conventional measurement tools, which offer a limited and incomplete picture of the state of Aboriginal learning in Canada (Nguyen 2011).

Current measurement approaches mainly focus on disparities in educational attainment between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, particularly youth at the high school level, as measured by completion rates. These measures also place significant emphasis on other aspects of learning that are integral to Aboriginal perspectives on education (Asch 2007).

Reliable research indicates that effective early childhood education plays a significant role in preparing Aboriginal children to begin school and in providing a solid foundation for their development throughout their lifespan. Research also indicates that more than half of Aboriginal children regularly receive childcare — a lower proportion than among non-Aboriginal children, the majority of whom receive such care (Nguyen 2011). This disparity is a clear indication that non-Aboriginal children have greater access to early educational opportunities.

With regard to high school completion rates, Aboriginal people have a lower completion rate than non-Aboriginal people in Canada (Asch 2007). Research conducted in 2006 found that approximately 40 percent of Aboriginal people between the ages of 20 and 24 did not have a high school certificate, compared to just 13 percent of non-Aboriginal people in the same age group.

Learning in School

Poor socioeconomic conditions, combined with the absence of clearly defined federal or provincial responsibility, are significant contributors to the difficulties Aboriginal people face in accessing formal education. Efforts by Aboriginal leaders and educators to acquire the authority to educate Aboriginal children have contributed to federal and provincial legislation that formalizes local jurisdiction within Aboriginal communities (Antone 2003). Improving educational achievement for Aboriginal people is an ongoing challenge that has persisted for more than a century. Radical reform is necessary to provide equal learning opportunities for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada.

Schools play a significant role in improving the lives of children, families, and communities (Regan 2010). From nursery school through primary school to high school, schools equip children with skills that provide an effective foundation for lifelong learning. They impart knowledge, instill a desire to learn, transmit community values, and foster a sense of responsibility and citizenship (Antone 2003).

Aboriginal children in Canada attend various types of schools that vary from one region to another. Most Aboriginal children who live off-reserve attend schools under territorial or provincial jurisdiction, ranging from larger urban schools to small remote schools in rural areas (Regan 2010).

Research shows that the dropout rate among Aboriginal students in Canada is high relative to non-Aboriginal students. High school incompletion rates vary significantly across the country — for example, the incompletion rate for Aboriginal students is approximately 38 percent in Prince Edward Island, 47 percent in British Columbia, and 72 percent in Manitoba (Nguyen 2011). By contrast, the high school incompletion rate among non-Aboriginal students is comparatively negligible. This disparity reflects an unequal distribution of educational resources between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students (Antone 2003).

High school incompletion rates are influenced by factors such as student engagement, parental expectations and involvement, relevant curriculum, and the school environment. However, the poverty experienced by many Aboriginal communities is a substantial contributor to low educational attainment and high incompletion rates (Antone 2003).

Many schools across Canada participate in activities that foster and celebrate the role of formal education in students' lives. However, some schools engage less in such activities, believing they contribute little to academic outcomes (Regan 2010). The most common method used in Canada to measure student engagement is through examining absenteeism. Attendance data for Aboriginal students is difficult to obtain because multiple education systems enroll these students. Nevertheless, available statistics indicate that a significant proportion — approximately 3 percent — of Aboriginal children are absent from school for two or more weeks during the school year. Education system reports indicate that the highest Aboriginal absenteeism rates occur during the high school years, which is not the case for non-Aboriginal students. This contributes to the weaker academic performance of Aboriginal students relative to their non-Aboriginal peers (Regan 2010).

Beyond absenteeism, other factors contribute to the poorer academic performance of Aboriginal students (Nguyen 2011). Surveys have found that the main reasons Aboriginal students leave school include a desire to work and a feeling that school is too difficult or irrelevant. This suggests that Aboriginal people in Canada are disadvantaged not only by structural barriers but also by attitudes toward formal education that have been shaped by historical exclusion. Non-Aboriginal students, by contrast, tend to place greater value on education and view it as the key to success, which generally translates into greater post-school opportunities (Antone 2003).

Conclusion

Aboriginal people attend residential schools in Canada. However, memoirs and investigations by former students revealed that students in these residential schools were subjected to harsh physical, sexual, and psychological abuse by staff members (Hongyan 2012). These serious problems have been documented in connection with residential schools specifically, and they reflect a broader pattern of discrimination against Aboriginal people in Canada — particularly within the education sector. Before 1969, non-Aboriginal people controlled the residential school system. It was not until 1969 that Aboriginal people protested this practice, after which the Department of Indian Affairs took full control of residential schools. Even this change did not end the struggle for Aboriginal educational rights: in 1990, Aboriginal people protested vigorously against the Department of Indian Affairs' decision to close Blue Quills Indian School (Laboucane 2010).