Bridging the education gap for Indigenous students with student-teacher relationship
Subject
Abstract
This thesis explores the question of how we can keep our Indigenous students connected and engaged at school through strong teacher-student relationship. I have delved into the most recent and relevant qualitative research into what works to keep these students engaged and successful in school. The research reviewed asks Indigenous students, their families, and their teachers what teacher qualities and styles of teacher-student relationships keep and kept them wanting to be in school. I have identified the common themes and made them easily accessible to the Canadian K-12 educator in my thesis. As an elementary school teacher, for the past two school years I have taken my own teaching style and enhanced it with a focus on these particular teacher traits and relational qualities, and have found that indeed, my Indigenous students have become increasingly invested in their schooling experience. My own teaching experiences in this area, combined with an in-depth review of the relevant literature, serve to fuel my conclusions around how to ensure that our Indigenous students feel valued and engaged at school. It is hoped that Canadian teachers will work to adopt these simple practices and ways of being with their students so that we can markedly increase the school success of our Indigenous learners.