Running head: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 1 Creating Opportunities for Inclusive Education: A Story of Collaboration Involving the Kenanow Bachelor of Education Program and their Partners in Northern Manitoba “Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan Tilburg University, op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. Ph. Eijlander, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties aangewezen commissie in de aula van de Universiteit op 19 may 2015 om 10.15 uur door Alan Leslie Gardiner geboren op 3 dccember 1950 te Toronto, Ontario, Canada.” CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 2 Promotores: prof. dr. M. Gergen prof. dr. S. McNamee Overige leden van de Promotiecommissie: prof. dr. J. Rijsman prof. dr. M. Hoskins prof. dr. H. Wittockx CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 3 Abstract The Faculty of Education at University College of the North partners with school divisions and education authorities in northern Manitoba, Manitoba Education, other post-secondary institutions and community partners in order to provide inclusive educational opportunities for the children and youth of Northern Manitoba. These partnerships support students in their quest to achieve Kiskenimiswin, a Cree word for positive identity without which it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to experience Mino-Pimatisiwin or the good life. Through their collaboration, the Kenanow Bachelor of Education program and its partners are enhancing the capacity of prospective teachers, current teachers and administrators in the co-creation of inclusive schools. Through continuous dialogue and inquiry, these partners work together to create visions of preferred futures for their respective school community members. The stories of inclusive educational practices created by University College of the North and its partners are told by participants in those practices and through corresponding documentation. The stories of inclusive education recount experiences those members of school communities have had in helping to establish positive identities. Furthermore, there are narratives about school community members participating in schools and educational programs that have provided increased life possibilities including high school graduation, post-secondary education and employment. Increasingly, educators have been provided with opportunities to receive the preparation needed to function as effective teachers in inclusive educational environments. CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 4 Acknowledgements I wish to express my gratitude to my partner, Catherine (Haines) Gardiner, for her support and assistance with this project. I am appreciative of my thesis supervisor and advisor, Dr. Mary Gergen, for her guidance, encouragement and good humour during this project. I also need to acknowledge importance to this work of the Vital Outcomes Outcome Indicators for Community Engagement, Community University Research Alliance, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 5 Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………3 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..4 Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………….5 List of Appendices…………………………………………………………………...8 Chapter 1 Researcher and the Kenanow Bachelor of Education Program 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………..9 1.2 The Economy and the People………………………………………….10 1.3 Educational Partners and Collaborative Inquiries……………………..19 Chapter 2: The Northern Manitoba Context 2.1 Researcher Biography: Al Gardiner……………………………………33 2.2 Status of the Kenanow Bachelor of Education Program……………….40 Chapter 3: Review of the Literature 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………...49 3.2 Collaborative Action and Social Constructionism: Creating and Maintaining Inclusive Education in Schools……………………………..50 3.3 Democracy, Actualization of Social Rights and Social Mobility………...57 3.4 Collaboration and Positive Change: Social Justice in Costa Rica……….64 3.5 Kenanow Bachelor of Education Framework…………………………….67 3.6 Connecting Effective Practice and Research: Inclusive Education in Northern Manitoba……………………………………………………….101 Chapter 4: Methodology and Research Design 4.1 Collaborative Action, Inclusive Education, and CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 6 Transforming Schools: The Research Process…………………………105 4.2 Collaborative Inquiry with Schools, School Systems and Educational Partners…………………………………………………....105 4.3 Research Study Procedures……………………………………………..108 Chapter 5: Collaborative Actions for Change 5.1 Data Gathering…………………………………………………………..115 5.2 Results of Interviews and Appreciative Inquiry Summits at Kelsey Community School………………………………………………………116 5.3 Kenanow Bachelor of Education Program and Into the Wild……………..134 5.4 Teaching and Learning Together………………………………………...147 Chapter 6: Discussion of Results 6.1 Kelsey Community School and Mary Duncan School……………………155 6.2 Kenanow Bachelor of Education Program………………………………..162 6.3 Into the Wild……………………………………………………………………….166 6.4 Teaching and Learning for Inclusion………………………………………167 6.5 Educational Partnerships and the Implications for Inclusive Educational Practices………………………………………………………171 6.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….175 Chapter 7: Applications for Change with Schools 7.1 Teacher Education Program…………………………………………………178 7.2 Partners Serving the Community……………………………………………183 7.3 Leadership in Schools……………………………………………………….185 7.4 Inquiry in Education…………………………………………………………187 CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 7 7.5 Planning for School and District Improvement…………………………….188 Chapter 8: Conclusion 8.1 Summary of Findings……………………………………………………….192 8.2 The Social Constructionist Lens and Education…………………………….197 8.3 Limitations…………………………………………………………………..198 8.4 Opportunities for Further Study…………………………………………………….198 8.5 Final Reflections of the Researcher………………………………………….199 CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 8 List of Appendices Appendix A Consultation and Development Process of Bachelor of Education……………………………………….234 Appendix B Kenanow Bachelor of Education Courses…………………...237 Appendix C Research Ethics, Interview Questions and Researcher Timeline…………………………………………250 Appendix D Kelsey Community School and Mary Duncan School- Script for Appreciative Inquiry Summits…………………….254 Appendix E Kelsey Community School- PowerPoint for Appreciative Inquiry Summit………………..261 Appendix F Mary Duncan School- PowerPoint for Appreciative Inquiry Summit………………..261 Appendix G Kenanow Bachelor of Education Proposal…………………...262 Appendix H Research Themes……………………………………………..270 Appendix I VOICE- Success Indicators…………………………………...273 CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION 9 Chapter 1 The Northern Manitoba Context 1.1 Introduction Empowering education is thus a road from where we are to where we need to be. It crosses terrains of doubt and time. One end of the road leads away from inequality and miseducation, while the other lands us in a frontier of critical learning and democratic discourse. This is no easy road to travel… That transformation is a journey of hope, humour, setbacks, breakthroughs and creative life, on a long and winding road paved with dreams whose time is overdue (Ira Shor, 1992 in “Saskatchewan Learning, 2010, p. 11). As Shor suggests, it is now time to address social inequalities and dream of preferred futures for our children and youth. In terms of educational change, we should think about where we are on this journey and reflect on current efforts to reduce those inequalities in order that students may be able to actualize those dreams. Dialogue and collaboration seem to be key to the introduction and implementation of changed educational practices that will allow for the creation of educational systems that will better serve our communities. In this dissertation, I discuss the creation of the Kenanow Learning Model as the foundation for a bachelor of education program at University College of the North (UCN). Because the Elders of the Aboriginal community believe that all children and youth in our communities should be well served by their educational systems, they named the education program at UCN Kenanow, which means all of us in the Cree language. I begin by describing the communities from a historical perspective, including a focus on the social and economic issues that should be understood by northern educators as relevant to the change process for educational systems. Inclusive education practices and collaboration among educational partners in northern Manitoba are described. The educational partners in northern Manitoba and their educational initiatives are outlined and presented as collaborative inquiries. As the researcher, my background and my perspective about education in relation to the co-creation of inclusive educational opportunities are discussed. The development and current status of the Kenanow Bachelor of Education program as articulated in the program framework and outlined in chapter 2 are described in considerable detail. The literature review provides an opportunity to consider the appropriateness of University College of the North’s Kenanow Bachelor of Education program framework and the efforts of its educational partners in promoting inclusive educational practices in northern Manitoba classrooms. Approaching my topic through a social constructionist lens, I utilize appreciative interviews, Appreciative Inquiry summits, collaborative teams, document