Since the mid-1980s, the Saskatchewan Department of Education has approved the instruction of Native Studies courses in provincial high schools. In hope of enhancing the instruction of these courses, this study focused on the perspectives of Non-Aboriginal teachers who were assigned to teach Native Studies. Through a questionnaire, personal interviews, and a focus group, nine Non-Aboriginal high-school teachers examined the following aspects of the courses: formal and informal training of instructors , goals of the courses, key content and pedagogical methodologies, major challenges, and recommendations for improving the delivery of the classes.<p>The literary context for the research was based upon three major areas: Non-Aboriginal teachers' perspectives on teaching Aboriginal students, preparing teachers to teach Native Studies, and preparing teachers to instruct Native Studies to Aboriginal students. Due to the 'single-group' nature of Native Studies curricula, considerable literature examination was focused on multicultural education models.<p> The research data of the study revealed that the majority of interviewees have minimal formal education experience with Aboriginal content or epistemology. In addition, most of the study participants indicated little, if any, informal cultural contact with Aboriginal peoples. Study participants generally acknowledged the limitations of their scant academic and experiential interaction with Aboriginal cultures, and recommended means of various education stakeholders improving the situation.<p>The study also exposed a variety of teacher perspectives about the goals of the courses. While there was unanimity regarding the efficacy of the courses, most teachers believed the goals of Native Studies varied depending on the cultural composition of the class. In addition, a couple of teachers inferred that a major objective of Native Studies courses is the promotion of an anti-establishment' political message. Some teachers also indicated a quandary regarding whether the course curricula required them to "teach Aboriginal culture, or teach about Aboriginal culture."<p>In terms of course content and teaching methodologies, there were numerous opinions on `what was important'. All the interviewees viewed history as a significant ingredient to a `good' Native Studies class, but some of the teachers expressed a reluctance to delve into such issues as Aboriginal spirituality, racism, and 'white-privilege'. There was also hesitation amongst many of the respondents to incorporate traditional Aboriginal epistemologies into course methodologies because they wanted to personalize instruction, not base it upon cultural generalizations.<p>In addition to the aforementioned issues and corresponding challenges associated with the background training for the courses, the goals of the courses, and the content and methodology of the courses, the study participants highlighted other concerns with the teaching of Native Studies: irrelevant curricula, lack of materials, poor course funding, student absenteeism, student perception that the courses are for 'non-academics', lack of flexible timetabling for experiential learning, and lack of staff knowledge and appreciation of Aboriginal cultures. All administrative levels of the education system were identified by the interviewees as influential in helping to mitigate the difficulties associated with the instruction of Native Studies.

Since the mid-1980s, the Saskatchewan Department of Education has approved the instruction of Native Studies courses in provincial high schools. In hope of enhancing the instruction of these courses, this study focused on the perspectives of Non-Aboriginal teachers who were assigned to teach Native Studies. Through a questionnaire, personal interviews, and a focus group, nine Non-Aboriginal high-school teachers examined the following aspects of the courses: formal and informal training of instructors , goals of the courses, key content and pedagogical methodologies, major challenges, and recommendations for improving the delivery of the classes.<p>The literary context for the research was based upon three major areas: Non-Aboriginal teachers' perspectives on teaching Aboriginal students, preparing teachers to teach Native Studies, and preparing teachers to instruct Native Studies to Aboriginal students. Due to the 'single-group' nature of Native Studies curricula, considerable literature examination was focused on multicultural education models.<p> The research data of the study revealed that the majority of interviewees have minimal formal education experience with Aboriginal content or epistemology. In addition, most of the study participants indicated little, if any, informal cultural contact with Aboriginal peoples. Study participants generally acknowledged the limitations of their scant academic and experiential interaction with Aboriginal cultures, and recommended means of various education stakeholders improving the situation.<p>The study also exposed a variety of teacher perspectives about the goals of the courses. While there was unanimity regarding the efficacy of the courses, most teachers believed the goals of Native Studies varied depending on the cultural composition of the class. In addition, a couple of teachers inferred that a major objective of Native Studies courses is the promotion of an anti-establishment' political message. Some teachers also indicated a quandary regarding whether the course curricula required them to "teach Aboriginal culture, or teach about Aboriginal culture."<p>In terms of course content and teaching methodologies, there were numerous opinions on `what was important'. All the interviewees viewed history as a significant ingredient to a `good' Native Studies class, but some of the teachers expressed a reluctance to delve into such issues as Aboriginal spirituality, racism, and 'white-privilege'. There was also hesitation amongst many of the respondents to incorporate traditional Aboriginal epistemologies into course methodologies because they wanted to personalize instruction, not base it upon cultural generalizations.<p>In addition to the aforementioned issues and corresponding challenges associated with the background training for the courses, the goals of the courses, and the content and methodology of the courses, the study participants highlighted other concerns with the teaching of Native Studies: irrelevant curricula, lack of materials, poor course funding, student absenteeism, student perception that the courses are for 'non-academics', lack of flexible timetabling for experiential learning, and lack of staff knowledge and appreciation of Aboriginal cultures. All administrative levels of the education system were identified by the interviewees as influential in helping to mitigate the difficulties associated with the instruction of Native Studies.

Orientador: Angel Humberto Corbera Mori / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Insituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T20:11:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ramos_GrazielaRochaReghini_M.pdf: 1220509 bytes, checksum: 1cf1efd0d1a57eeadf4bb98736b81eb0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Esta dissertação é um estudo realizado a partir da análise de alguns materiais de formação para professores indígenas de como o Ministério da Educação tem tratado a questão da educação escolar indígena bilíngue e diferenciada assegurada pela Constituição Federal de 1988. Para isso, é apresentada uma discussão de cunho histórico sobre a educação escolar indígena e são discutidas a necessidade do ensino bilíngue e a de se estabelecer ortografias para as línguas das diferentes etnias. Um levantamento dos direitos indígenas conquistados até a atualidade é realizado e alguns dos materiais de formação para professores indígenas produzidos pelo Ministério da Educação são apresentados e discutidos, com a intenção de debater até que ponto vêm sendo cumpridas as leis que beneficiam as comunidades indígenas e se vem sendo conquistada a tão visada autonomia indígena no Brasil. / Abstract: This dissertation is a study done through the analysis of the books published for aboriginal teachers of how the Ministry of Education in Brazil has dealt with the bilingual and differentiated school based education for aboriginal people. A historical discussion about aboriginals school based education has been done, followed by a research of the achieved rights until present days, as well as a discussion regarding the real necessity of bilingualism in aboriginal schools and of the settlement of orthographies for aboriginal languages. At last, the books published by the Ministry of Education for aboriginal teachers are analyzed, aiming the elucidation of how the laws which benefit aborigines are executed and if the desired autonomy has been achieved. / Mestrado / Linguistica / Mestre em Linguística

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Entre o estrangeiro-materno: vozes nos discursos de professores indígenas é o resultado de uma pesquisa pautada na investigação do conceito de língua materna e estrangeira em ambiente sociolinguisticamente complexo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar as representações das professoras indígenas em contato com diversas línguas, a fim de compreender as práticas discursivas que envolvem o constructo língua materna e estrangeira. Para tanto, o suporte teórico e metodológico que orientou todos os processos do trabalho foi a Teoria Social do Discurso, que atesta que o discurso é uma prática social que se materializa em três dimensões: o texto, as práticas sociais e as práticas discursivas. De acordo com essa teoria, o discurso não só representa as classes sociais, mas as constitui, colaborando tanto para a reprodução da sociedade como também para transformá-la. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi a entrevista, que é um tipo evento discursivo, onde os sentidos e os posicionamentos são constantemente negociados. As representações sobre língua materna giram em torno de três eixos: a família, a cultura e a ancestralidade, que sustentam práticas discursivas de teor essencialista e que propagam discursos como perda da língua, perda da cultura, desaparecimento do povo. Há ainda no falar das professoras indígenas ecos do discurso político, histórico, religioso, jurídico e pedagógico que foram propagados desde o período da colonização e que ainda permanecem na memória discursivas dos professores indígenas. Língua materna e língua estrangeira são constructos imbrincados, pois suas representações são relacionais, uma vez que são produtos da atitude linguística dos falantes que convivem entre línguas. / Between the foreign-native: voices inside indigenous teachers discourse is the outcome of a research based on investigation conception of native and foreign language in sociolinguistically complex environment. The work has the objective of analysing indigenous teachers representations in contact with several languages in order to understanding discursive practices that have involved the construct about native and foreign language. For both the theoretical and methodological support that directed all process of the work was Social Discourse theory attesting that the discourse is a social practice materialized in three dimensions: the text, the social practices and discursive practices. According to this theory, the discourse is not only social classes, but constitutes them also. It is collaborating as there production of society as to transform it.The instrument for data collected was the interview, which is a kind event discourse, where the senses and positions are constantly negotiated. Representations of language revolve around three axis:family, culture and ancestry, discursive practices that sustain and propagate content essential is tdiscourses as loss of language, loss of culture, disappearance of people. There are inside the indigenous teachers speech the echoes of political discourse, historical, religious, legal andpedagogical those had been propagated since the colonization period and still remain in memory discursive indigenous teachers. Native language and foreign language constructs are interlocked be cause their representations are relational, since they are products of linguistic attitude of speakers who live between languages.