Finding the Voice of the Early Author: The Impact of a Self-Authoring Program Among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Preschool Children and Families

• Main Author: Coulthard, Catherine Elizabeth
• Other Authors: Cummins, James, Applied Psychology and Human Development
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: 0518; First Nations; inuit
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/80874

This study examined the impacts of implementing a self-authored, dual language identity text program into an existing Aboriginal Head Start preschool program. First Nation, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) preschool children and families, and educators were co-researchers in the blended Indigenous influenced, participatory action research study which spanned a one-year school timeline and research phase. This study includes an autoethnographic account of a non-FNMI, or a settler author’s personal journey of consciousness and understandings related to surfacing issues of a non-FNMI person doing research with FNMI peoples. The study was underpinned by theoretical frameworks centred on valuing the interconnectedness of the familial and contextual environment of children. Moreover, this research embraces the notion that knowledge is socially constructed to create meaningful change. With this in mind, the study was framed to acknowledge the children’s participatory contributions to the study, guided by Indigenous knowledge and Collaborative Frameworks (2012), Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1968), the Academic Expertise, and Societal Power Relations Empowerment (Cummins, 2001), and Cummins’ and Early’s Literacy Engagement framework (Cummins Early, 2011). Through cyclical reflective practices, the co-researchers in this study found suggestive evidence of the positive impacts of the project for the children, their families, the staff, and the original author with regards to sense-of-self and cultural identity. This study can inform practice in early childhood education, specifically with respect to the provision of culturally relevant educational resources and programming for FNMI children. Ph.D.