In November 2010 the Ombudsman and Child and Youth Advocate of New Brunswick released their 3rd Annual State of our Children and Youth Address: The Right to Identity, Culture and Language: A Child's Path to Development.
Article 28 refers New Brunswickers to question why so many of NB First Nations children are deprived of the opportunity to "access primary, secondary and post-secondary educational services in conditions to true equality" (p.42). After some investigation, a growing body of researchers find Native students are facing invisible barriers within the admissions process to post-secondary education. These barriers include, housing logistics, a lot of red tape, limited travel, and the overwhelming sense of being “stuck at the door” (Brigham, 2008, p. 2). Levin’s (2009) research identifies a gap in Native education for non –Native and Native students. By 2006, nearly 40% of Native people in Canada had not completed secondary school compared to just over 20% of the total population. However, within the last decade the proportion of Native people who are high school graduates has grown from 54% to 66% (Levin, 2009).
Sustainable societal plans of actions must be put in place, to improve post-secondary access and outcomes, as First Nation graduates will seek to complete college diplomas and identify opportunities to enter the work force – only to be faced with hidden and visible academic entrance barriers.
So, as we watch how quickly education is changing in NB, we must prepare all students.
Also, listen to Denise Williams, youth initiative officer for the First Nations Education Steering Committee, discuss how ICT can strengthen First Nations education and curriculum:
No comments:
Post a Comment