Canada Indigenous Education
Introduction
The indigenous education system in Canada was important as it laid the foundation for the current contemporary education. For instance, it is through indigenous education in this region that people knew that there exists a cure for some diseases. In other words, indigenous education helped in laying the foundation for medicine, which is learned in various institutions of learning in the present day in Canada. Besides that, indigenous education helped man to learn about the various food types, though this was done in a traditional manner. Such kind of know-how has helped in developing the roots for food sciences such as nutrition and dietetics. Last but not least, indigenous education in Canada helped in boosting the overall literacy. People were able to improve their know-how of things in their surroundings. Therefore, the Canadian Indigenous education system served a critical role in making society what it is today.
Discussion, analysis and review
McGregor, H. E. (2017). One Classroom, Two Teachers? Historical Thinking and Indigenous Education in Canada. Critical Education, 8(14).
This article is important in highlighting the concept of indigenous education in Canada. In this source, it is highlighted that there is one classroom and two teachers. The implication of this is that the aboriginal form of education in Canada is one whereby both the teachers and the students learnt from each other. There was knowledge sharing between the students and the teachers, and this is based on the fact that there was no pre-developed content that was used as reference. This article is important to our topic of indigenous education in Canada as it highlights how learning was carried out. The main theme that is highlighted from this article is that learning is a process of sharing since there is no person who knows it all. This article provides a recommendation that the educators have to be more aware of their environment, and should be ready to learn from the students. A critical analysis of this theme, which is highlighted by one classroom two teachers shows that the teacher may lack some critical information that the student may have. This depends on the level of exposure that each party may have. For instance, a student may have come across a given concept on interacting with his or her elders back at home, which the teacher may not have come across or may not be aware of, thus enlightening the teacher.
Ball, J. (2004). As if Indigenous knowledge and communities mattered: Transformative education in First Nations communities in Canada. American Indian Quarterly, 454-479.
The importance of this article to the topic is that it highlights the various partnerships that are necessary for the delivery of indigenous education. The source stipulates the fact that community engagement was a critical element in indigenous education in Canada. This article clearly states that there were community-based education partnerships that helped in steering indigenous education to the next level. In this case, there was the involvement of community elders, who provided a link between the first nations and the post-secondary institutions. Consequently, it is noted that the use of community elders in the learning process has helped in creating conducive conditions for the development of the community, and this is by reinforcing the value of indigenous knowledge and increasing social cohesion. The theme that is highlighted in this source is that of the involvement of opinion leaders in shaping the curriculum. The community elders, who are also regarded as opinion leaders, are known to give important contributions to indigenous education and this is by building partnerships with more advanced educational systems. Given this case, it is, therefore, prudent to state that the Canadian’s Indigenous Education system was focused on taking an advanced approach, with the involved parties always aiming at improving it, and this is evident through their move to partner with post-secondary institutions and the first nations. It is actually through this partnership that saw the introduction of the various contemporary courses in higher institutions of learning such as medicine, which was initially meant to be taught in the aboriginal education, among other relevant courses.
Pulla, S. (2020). Mobile learning and Indigenous education in Canada: A synthesis of new ways of learning. In Indigenous Studies: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 175-199). IGI Global.
This article is important to the topic of indigenous education in Canada as it highlights the advances that have been made to make such form of education fit the contemporary world. In the current generation of increased technological innovation and inventions, the learning process has incorporated the use of mobile learning. In this case, the learners are able to get the content delivered to them through various mobile devices. This implies that learning can be done from anywhere. This, is, however, in line with the manner in which indigenous education was initially framed, whereby it was tailored in such a manner that the person with the knowledge did not have to deliver the content in a specific location. Knowledge sharing, in this case, was done everywhere. The theme of mobile learning is what has been adequately captured in this article. This highlighted theme has been evident in both the indigenous form of education and the contemporary form. However, the main difference is that the mobile learning, as embraced in the contemporary form of education, incorporates aspects such as distance learning, whereby people can gain knowledge without having to get a one-on-one direct interaction with the teacher, the only thing that is required is a mobile device and probably the internet. The case, is, however, different for the indigenous Canadian system of education where there was no technological device involved. What was mobile, in this case, is the mind of the person delivering the content.
Conclusion
Indigenous education in Canada significantly contributed to the rise of contemporary education in this nation. For instance, the community elders, who were critical parties in indigenous education, formed partnerships with higher institutions of learning to come up with meaningful education. Through this partnership, there was the introduction of technical courses such as medicine, which is said to find its roots from indigenous education. Apart from that, the approach in content delivery that was applied in indigenous education also played a significant role in enhancing contemporary education, with this being mobile learning. Last but not least, the attitude that was highlighted in indigenous education whereby there was no person who knew it all, also provided reasonable grounds for the education system in general. To this end, it can, therefore, be stated that indigenous education is the pillar of contemporary education as it helped in laying the foundation for it.