• Login
    View Item 
    •   Knowledge Commons Home
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations from 2009
    • View Item
    •   Knowledge Commons Home
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations from 2009
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Knowledge CommonsCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDisciplineAdvisorCommittee MemberThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDisciplineAdvisorCommittee Member

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    First Nations student engagement in secondary school: enhancing student success in a northern Eeyou community

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    PashagumskumS2014d-1b.pdf (34.30Mb)
    Date
    2015-08-05
    Author
    Pashagumskum, Sarah Jane
    Degree
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    Education
    Subject
    Engagement/disengagement factors for high school students in a northern Eeyou community
    First Nations student engagement
    Cultural relevancy in curriculum
    Relationships between peers
    Teaching approaches
    Teachers' understanding and sensitivity towards Cree culture & language
    Community involvement
    Enhancing student engagement
    Relationships between students and teachers
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    This study investigated engagement and disengagement factors for high school students in a northern Eeyou community using a mixed methods participatory approach. A quantitative survey, administered to a stratified sample of 60 students (representing 17% of the total population of 351), measured the presence of engagement factors previously identified in First Nations student engagement, drop-out, and school-leaving literature. Only descriptive statistics were used, as this part of the study was exploratory, determining the presence of these factors among the student population. Quantitative results showed a lack of cultural relevancy in the curriculum of the school, poor relationships between peers and between students and adults in the school, and a lack of perceived student empowerment. Qualitative methods were based in constructivist grounded theory and included interviews and focus groups with five students, seven school staff members, and eight members of the wider community. Qualitative data served to elaborate upon quantitative results and identified similarities and differences between Eeyou student engagement factors and mainstream student engagement factors. Qualitative results showed a lack of respectful and caring relationships in the school, areas for improvement in teaching approaches, problems with teachers’ understanding and sensitivity towards Cree culture and language, curriculum issues related to culture, a lack of community involvement, and a need to improve the school’s receptiveness to student needs and perspectives. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for enhancing student engagement by enhancing students’ abilities to attend school and remain in school within the school studied. These recommendations may also be relevant for enhancing First Nations on-reserve student engagement in general. Recommendations point to a need to increase the cultural content of the curriculum in authentic ways, increase students’ sense of belonging in the school, provide a rigorous education program, and support the creation of positive relationships between peers and between students and teachers in the school. These changes can be made through changes to classroom and school practices. It is also recommended that an instrument to assess onreserve high school student engagement be created, and that further research include both studies of the effects of in-school counseling and teacher absence on First Nations student engagement.
    URI
    http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/655
    Collections
    • Electronic Theses and Dissertations from 2009

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Intermediate students at-risk in mathematics : case studies of teachers and students 

      Zuke, Carly Rae (2011-04-18)
      Although there have been changes made to Ontario's mathematics curriculum within the last decade to ensure student success, a significant number of students in Ontario schools have been achieving at or below a level 1 and ...
    • Thumbnail

      Meeting the challenge of deaf and hard of hearing students transitioning to secondary school : parent and student perspectives / by Lisa Tropea. 

      Tropea, Lisa (2010)
      The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perspectives of parents of deaf and hard of hearing students who were ready to make the transition from elementary school to secondary school or who had recently ...
    • Thumbnail

      A Qualitative study on the experiences of students attending Thunder Bay area rural, one-room schools in the early 20th century 

      Isotalo, Jennifer (2009-06)
      One-room country schools, which began appearing in the early 1900s in the District of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada, provided educational opportunities to the children of the first and second generation immigrant ...

    Lakehead University Library
    Contact Us | Send Feedback

     

     


    Lakehead University Library
    Contact Us | Send Feedback