On June 1, members of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) signed an Accord on Indigenous Education. This accord was developed to create a respectful and inclusive education curriculum that reflects the needs of Aboriginal people. Jo-ann Archibald, associate dean for Indigenous Education in the Faculty of Education at UBC, was one of the co-chairs who led the developmental and writing process for the Accord and sat down with UBC Public Affairs to talk to about it.
What is the Accord on Indigenous Education?
We wanted to ensure that indigenous culture, knowledge, histories and language have
a more central place in education, from Kindergarten through Grade 12 and into post-secondary. This means increasing the number of Aboriginal teachers in the classrooms, Aboriginal researchers at universities and offering educational programs relevant to Aboriginal people. There also needs to be a better understanding of Indigenous histories and culture from an Aboriginal perspective. The majority of the responsibility falls on the Faculties of Education because we prepare educators at all levels including early childhood, K -12, community education and post-secondary.
Why is this important?
This is the first time that an accord has brought together Faculties of Education across Canada to deal with Indigenous education at both local university and national levels. Improving Indigenous education will take cooperative and sustained effort from universities, Aboriginal communities and organizations, and governments. By creating opportunities for collaboration and developing goals, principles and strategies, we will effect change and make significant improvements to Indigenous education.
What is UBC doing?
Our Faculty is a leader in Aboriginal education. But, we believe that we can do more to improve Indigenous education. For example, our teacher education program will have a required Aboriginal education course that will prepare students to teach Aboriginal learners and to include Aboriginal content in their instruction. We are hiring more Indigenous faculty members to address key areas of education such as curriculum, languages, culture and health, and Indigenous counseling. We’re developing a strategic plan for the faculty with the crosscutting theme of Indigenous education, which contains some of the strategies from the Indigenous accord.
How will the accord work across the country?
Faculties across the country have already achieved some of the goals laid out by the accord, so we know it’s do-able. Now the deans will develop an implementation plan, discuss future cooperative efforts and continue to share their successful and challenging experiences.
