First Nations Education Policy in Canada : Progress or Gridlock?

How can First Nations schools in Canada offer a curriculum that is at once authentically and deeply Aboriginal while comparable in content, quality, and standards to provincial and territorial education? First Nations Education Policy in Canada is a critical analysis of policy developments affecting First Nations education since 1986 and a series of recommendations for future policy changes.

Jerry Paquette and Gérald Fallon challenge the fundamental assumptions about Aboriginal education that have led to a Balkanized and ineffective educational system able to serve few of the needs of students. To move forward, the authors have developed a conceptual framework with which to re-envision the social, political, and educational goals of a self-governing First Nations education system. Offering a sorely needed fresh perspective on an issue vital to the community, First Nations Education Policy in Canada is grounds for critical reflection not only on education but on the future of Aboriginal self-determination.

Jerry Paquette is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Western Ontario. Gérald Fallon is an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Administration at the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan and Director of Human Resources, School District #68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith).