Understanding reconciliation in the classroom : teachers' responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action

Since 2018, the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education has responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada Calls to Action by requiring Indigenous cultures, ways of knowing, and perspectives be included across all subjects and grades of the K-12 curriculum. However, most BC teachers are non-Indigenous, with limited professional development on Indigenous education. Through interviews, this case-study explored how seven non-Indigenous teachers, in the Greater Vancouver area, bring approaches to reconciliation and Indigenous education in their classrooms. The research questions guiding this study focus on how non-Indigenous teachers understand reconciliation, what lessons they design and implement in their classrooms that integrate Indigenous perspectives, and what they consider as successful lessons for addressing reconciliation. This research is guided by Indigenous Storywork principles (Archibald, 2008) of relationships-interrelatedness, respect, reciprocity, reverence, responsibility, wholism, and synergy, and to this I add relevance. I also draw upon my experiences with Mexica dance to offer a research approach and lens for understanding the world as well as giving meaning to this study. The findings of this dissertation are organized around four themes: 1) teachers perceive reconciliation as a process of building relationships overtime; 2) teachers’ pedagogical approaches to reconciliation are informed by understanding injustices and Indigenous pedagogies and ways of knowing; 3) Indigenous and reconciliation education requires changing mindsets and taking risks; and 4) teachers emphasize the importance of relationality at multiple levels. This study offers insights about the importance of building relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people as processes of reconciliation. Participating teachers’ understanding of reconciliation, as described through their teaching practices, either emphasized the injustices Indigenous people have and continue to experience or drew upon Indigenous teaching practices as acts of reconciliation. Teachers reported that successful and effective Indigenous and reconciliation education requires the need to move out of their comfort zones and change both their own and their students’ perspectives. Conclusions highlight how non-Indigenous teachers understand Indigenous and reconciliation education. This study also offers the Mexica dance as both method and metaphor for reconciliation education, emphasizing the ongoing need to build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across educational fields.