Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom

••
teachers regularly attend to the needs of
struggling students (e.g., by investigating
reasons for frequent absenteeism or a lack of
focus on education and mobilizing available
supports)
••
there are explicit strategies to support
Indigenous boys (with respect to gender
parity, male students have the tendency to
get left behind; the imbalance starts at a
young age)
••
Aboriginal students are no longer “pushed”
towards receiving a school leaving
certificate
••
knowledgeable high school counsellors
can confidently encourage Aboriginal
students to look beyond “completion”
courses that limit their post-secondary
pathways, knowing that there is good
in-school support for students to meet
expectations, even when the bar for
achievement is set high
••
schools are more experiential and learnercentred
••
classrooms are more co-operative, comfortable, and
inclusive places for Aboriginal students
••
there is more place-based learning time (e.g., field trips to
culturally/historically/ecologically important sites and to
Aboriginal community events)
••
Indigenous languages are heard/seen on school
announcements, on newsletters, on the school website, in
blogs, and at celebrations
••
traditional Aboriginal practices occur in schools (e.g.,
smudging, circle meetings)
••
there is an increase in how many times Aboriginal Elders are
coming into schools (something that can be readily tracked)
••
Intergenerational learning and sharing become common and
comfortable
Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom: Moving Forward
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