Protecting embers to light the qulliit of Inuit learning in Nunavut communities

Abstract

On July 1, 2009 at a special ceremony in Iqaluit, 21 Inuit women graduated from Nunavut’s first graduate degree program, a Master of Education in Leadership and Learning offered by the University of Prince Edward Island in partnership with Nunavut Department of Education, St. Francis Xavier University, and Nunavut Arctic College. The authors of this article, Northwest Territories/Nunavut educators between 1982 and 1999, and university-based professors and researchers who have since been involved in the planning and delivery of the Nunavut M.Ed., trace the roots of the program to decolonising research in educational practices in the Baffin region between 1980 and 1999. They then outline the design and implementation of the program with particular emphasis on its challenges and the approaches necessary for its success.Le 1 juillet 2009, lors d’une cérémonie spéciale à Iqaluit, 21 femmes inuit ont reçu une maîtrise en éducation du leadership en apprentissage. Il s’agissait du premier programme de deuxième cycle offert au Nunavut par University of Prince Edward Island en partenariat avec le Ministère de l’Éducation du Nunavut, St. Francis Xavier University et le Nunavut Arctic College. Les auteurs de cet article ont enseigné aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest/Nunavut entre 1982 et 1999 puis ont participés à l’élaboration de ce programme de maîtrise en éducation comme professeurs et chercheurs.Ils tracent ici ses origines aux recherches sur la décolonisation des pratiques éducationnelles inuit dans la région de Baffin entre 1980 et 1999. Ils expliquent ensuite les buts et le déroulement du programme, en examinant de près les défis et approches pédagogiques mis en place pour y arriver

Inuit principals and the changing context of bilingual education in Nunavut

“…Culturally and linguistically sensitive principals make it much easier to implement bilingual education, yet changes are needed to support them and other Inuit educational leaders in their roles. Policy and programming can help by equipping and supporting Indigenous educational leaders at all stages of their careers, training, and practice (Frawley and Fasoli 2012;O'Donoghue 1998;O'Donoghue et al 2005;Tompkins et al 2009) and by prioritizing training and orientation for non-Inuit teachers and principals to step outside the hegemony of English and embrace and enact the language and culture of the community in which they are teaching (Battiste 2011;Berger 2009;Shohamy 2014).…”

Decolonizing cyberspace: Online support for the Nunavut MEd

“…In addition, content that drew from Indigenous experience in the North and elsewhere was used extensively. Finally, several courses integrated presentations by Elders, and two of these individuals, Mariano Aupilardjuk and Meeka Arnakaq, received honorary degrees from the University of PEI at the end of the program (Tompkins, McAuley, & Walton, 2009). Smith's "Indigenous Research Agenda" (1999, p. 117), with its emphasis on decolonizing, mobilization, and transformation through four "tides" (survival, recovery, development, and selfdetermination), provided an initial conceptual framework that situated the overall goals of the Nunavut MEd within the larger sociocultural, -political, -epistemological, and -ontological contexts.…”

“…A 2004 study (O'Donoghue et al, 2005) reaffirmed this finding and set in motion a chain of events that resulted in the creation of the Nunavut Master of Education (MEd) program, initially offered between 2006 and 2009 (Tompkins, McAuley, & Walton, 2009). The program was based on highly successful MEd outreach programs developed by the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) for small communities in northern Alberta.…”