Supporting First Nations and Métis Post-Secondary Students’ Academic Persistence: Insights from a Canadian First Nations-affiliated Institution

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Higher Education
• Main Authors: Kristoff, Tania, Cottrell, Michael
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education 2021
• Subjects: culturally response support; First Nations and Métis post-secondary students; indigenization; academic persistence; First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions; soutien adapté à la culture; étudiant.e.s postsecondaires Autotochtones et Métis; autochtonisation; persévérance scolaire; établissements postsecondaires affiliés aux Premières Nations; First Nations; Premières Nations
• Online Access: https://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/188993; https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.vi0.188993

Post-secondary institutions have a critical role to play in addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action through indigenization strategies (TRC, 2015) but, to date, it has proven challenging. In this study, the research lens was expanded to focus on First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions, since these come closest to providing authentic approaches to indigenization. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how social support affects the academic persistence of First Nations and Métis students at a First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institution. The findings revealed that administrative and pedagogical practices, consistent with Indigenous ontologies, enabled students to respond to challenges stemming from the generational effects of colonization, and promoted individual and familial advancement, cultural growth and identity formation, community development, and Indigenous sovereignty. It is concluded that mainstream institutions can benefit from the findings as First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions provide valuable understandings of potential transformations toward indigenization. Les établissements postsecondaires jouent un rôle déterminant pour répondre aux appels à l’action de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation (CVR) par des stratégies d’autochtonisation (CVR, 2015), mais jusqu’ici, l’effort s’est avéré difficile. Dans la présente étude, nous braquons notre objectif sur les établissements postsecondaires affiliés aux Premières Nations, car ceux-ci se rapprochent le plus d’une démarche authentique d’autochtonisation. Notre étude de cas examine la manière dont le soutien social influence la persévérance des étudiant.e.s autochtones et métis.ses dans un établissement postsecondaire affilié aux Premières Nations. Les résultats démontrent que des pratiques administratives et pédagogiques conformes aux ontologies autochtones permettent de relever les défis générationnels associés à la colonisation et de promouvoir le progrès ...