Pihtikwe: Exploring Withness in Teacher Preparedness and Professional Development

Abstract

The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement in 2006 (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2018), the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2008, the Calls to Action document in 2015 (TRC, 2015b), and Alberta Education: Teacher (TQS), Leadership (LQS), and Superintendent Quality Standards (SLQS) (2018a, b, c) all highlight necessary changes in educational policy over time. With educational policy change there is a direct need for teacher professional practice to shift: changes to curriculum, pedagogy, and professional development coupled with the “unlearning” (Donald, personal communication, 2020) of approximately 50,000 certificated staff in Alberta schools (Alberta Education, 2018) is what is needed for significant impacts in education. The creation of the Teacher Quality Standard (TQS) (2018), and my experience as an Indigenous educator trying to unpack its complex requests, brings me to question what Alberta teachers will need in order to achieve confidence in applying foundational knowledge (as stated in the TQS). Further to teaching about First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, I am curious about the teacher experience of teaching and learning with Indigenous people. Using Indigenous Research Methodology I seek to answer the question: What personal and professional meaning do white Canadian educators gain from learning with Indigenous people?