Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-15-2019 11:15 AM Teachers’ Professional Practice, Policy Enactment, And Indigenous Education In Ontario: A Case Study Natalie Currie-Patterson The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Coulter, Rebecca The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Natalie Currie-Patterson 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Indigenous Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Secondary Education Commons, and the Secondary Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Currie-Patterson, Natalie, "Teachers’ Professional Practice, Policy Enactment, And Indigenous Education In Ontario: A Case Study" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6079. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6079 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Abstract This qualitative case study investigates the research question: How do educators understand and enact government policies on Indigenous education in Ontario? The case study examines the content of The Ontario First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework, the foundational policy document for Indigenous education in Ontario released by the Ministry of Education in 2007, in conjunction with a series of associated Ministry publications, and explores the responses of secondary school teacher participants to these policy efforts. In doing so, the case study draws on the scholarly literature about decolonizing education, as well as work on anti-colonial, anti-oppressive and critical pedagogy and employs the conceptual frameworks of policy enactment and professional knowledge landscapes to make sense of policy documents and interview data. Recruitment for the study took place in a single region of a geographically large school board in Southwestern Ontario, yielding four educators who took part in a series of three individual interviews each. Three of the four participants also took part in a final focus group interview. Interview data was considered alongside data gathered via an analysis of Ontario Ministry of Education policy documents. Data analysis demonstrated that the Framework has proven to be largely unavailing in the day-to-day practice of teacher participants as teachers revealed a disconnect between policy content and their classroom practice. Also apparent were participant understandings of the gaps that exist between policy intent and policy action at the systemic level. Teachers saw these gaps as responsible for the non-enactment of the Framework and related policies in their daily practice. Based on the research findings, specific and actionable strategies are recommended to support the enactment of Indigenous education policy in Ontario classrooms and schools. (Keywords: Indigenous education; policy enactment; professional knowledge landscape; case study; Ontario education policy) ii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks to a number of people without whom I could not have completed this research. First, to my supervisor, Dr. Rebecca Coulter, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for the guidance you have provided me, the patience you have shown, and the support you have given. My research and scholarship have been the beneficiary of your strength and wisdom and for this I am so thankful. To my committee members, Dr. Claire Crooks and Dr. Jerry White, I want to express my sincere thanks for the feedback and assistance you have provided through this process. To the participants I express my gratitude for the time you dedicated to this research and the knowledge you shared. To my husband, Craig, I want to express both my love and emphatic thanks. I could not have done this without your support, your humour, and your encouragement. To my mother, Claudia, I want to thank you for the countless hours you put in to this dissertation work as you cared for my children, enabling me to pursue my dreams. To my daughters, Emily, Margaret, and Abigail, your presence in my life has motivated me to continue the pursuit of knowledge and research, your laughter has kept me grounded, and your love has kept me going. To my peers and colleagues, your impact can be felt throughout this dissertation as the conversations we have had and the times we have spent together have helped me grow as a scholar, a student, a researcher, and a teacher. To all of the wonderful scholars, teachers, activists, community members, education professionals, and graduate students I have had the opportunity to meet, to listen to, to talk with at conferences, symposiums, and beyond, I extend my gratitude for the work you do and the passion you share. Such experiences have proved invaluable in my own development as both a scholar and an educator. iii Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………...i Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………….ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………...vii List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………viii List of Appendices……………………………………………………………………………ix List of Acronyms..…………………………………………………………………………….x Chapter 1:Introduction to the Study……………...………………………………………..1 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………....2 Purpose and Significance of the Study………………………………………………………..3 Terminology…………………………………………………………………………………..8 How Did I Get Here? Acknowledging My Positionality…………………………………….10 Towards a Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………..13 Components of the theoretical framework…………………………………………..14 Conceptual framework: Policy enactment...…………………………………………15 Conceptual framework: Professional knowledge landscapes ……………………….18 Critical education scholarship ……………………………………………………….22 Anti-opressive education…………………………………………………………23 Critical pedagogy…………………………………………………………………23 Decolonizing education…………………………………………………………...25 Anti-colonial education………………..………………………………………….26 Questioning the purpose of education……………………………………………….27 Recognizing the potential of education……………………………………………...30 Connections: Pedagogy, practice, and research…………………………………………32 Dissertation Structure………………………………………………………………………..35 Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………………..37 Aboriginal Education in Canada……………………………………………………………..39 Indigenous Education in Ontario…………………………………………………………….44 iv Indigenous Education: Teachers, Teacher Practice, and Relationships……………………..49 Indigenous Education Literature as Guiding the Development of Research………………..67 Chapter 3: Methodology and Research Design……….………………………………….70 Research Design……………………………………………………………………………..70 A case study………………………………………………………………………………71 The research site and participant recruitment…………………………………………….73 Data collection and analysis……………………………………………………………..74 Document analysis: Exploring the context……………………………………………74 Interviews: Educators as participants…………………………………………………78 Data analysis……...…………………………………………………………………...81 Ethical Considerations……………………………………………………………………… 84 On conducting research with teachers: Critical friendship…………………………….. 84 On the complexities in the lived practice of ethical reseach……………………………88 Limitations of the Study……………………………………………………………………..91 Chapter 4: The Institutional Story……………………………………………………….. 93 Chapter Outline………………………………………………………………………………94 Terminology…………………………………………………………………………………96 The Framework and Associated Documents………………………………………………...97 The policy………………………………………………………………………………97 On self-identification…………………………………………………………………...99 Resources and curriculum……………………………………………………………..101 Progress reports……………………………………………………………………….103 On policy implementation……………………………………………………………..105 Communicating policy…………………………………………...……………………106 Analysing the Institutional Story…………………………………………………………...107 The Framework: Discourses…………………..……………………………………….108 Discourses arise…………………………………………………………………….109 Considering what is absent..………………………………………………………...113 Tracing the discourses………………………………………………………………118 v Chapter 5: Teacher Voices……………………………………………………………….125 Chapter Outline…………………………………………………………………………….126 The “Secret” Stories………………………………………………………………………..126 Education, and teaching, as political………………………………………………….133 Policy intent and policy action: Gaps emerge………………...………………………135 Isolation and "going it alone"…………………………………………………………137 Professional development and the professional knowledge landscape……………….139 "Cover" Stories, Teacher Knowledge, and the Framework………………………………..144 Critiquing the policy and policy action……………………………………………….146 Suggestions for improvement…………………………………………………………149 Chapter 6: Bringing the Stories Together……………………………………………….153 Chapter Outline……………………………………………….…………………………….153 Towards Synthesis: Exploring the Relationship Between the Institutional, Secret, and Cover Stories………………………………………………………………………………………154 The policy as a “first” and incomplete step…………………………...……………...154 Teacher voices………………………………………………………………...154 Relation to policy analysis and discussion…………………………………………157 Making it mandatory: content and professional development………………………..162 Prioritizing in a complex policy environment………………………………...……...167 On policy relations: