| Summary: | Specialization: Indigenous Peoples Education Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Abstract: The overall aim of this qualitative study was to explore the process of lifelong learning. The purpose was to understand how the perspectives might be used to effectively support Aboriginal adult learners in their self-directed learning. Care was taken to ensure that this research held the deepest respect for Indigenous ontological, epistemological, methodological and axiological approaches. Protocols set by the University of Alberta, Research Ethics Board, and Anishinaabe knowledge seeking practices was carefully followed. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to select four First Nations communities and 15 Anishinaabe Elders who reside near central Canada. The interview guide served as a helpful method for evoking stories related to the lifelong learning experiences of the research participants. Grounded theory methods of focused coding, word-by-word, and line-by-line analysis of the data brought forth the five emergent themes of observational learning, experiential learning, disrupted bicultural learning, transformational bicultural learning, and contemporary bicultural learning. Second visits with each of the research participants afforded the opportunity for them to verify the final interpretational analysis of their lifelong learning experiences. Observational and experiential learning was an ongoing teaching and learning process. Children were privileged to observe what the Anishinaabe teachings and Anishinaabemowin (language) was all about through their daily interactions with those around them. Part of those observations had to do with the way in which the spiritual foundations embedded in the seven grandfather teachings of wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth were carried out. As children matured, they learned how to carry out the land-based activities that would ensure continued survival of their families and neighbors. It was about the process of doing.The Anishinaabeg had ...
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