project leader - collections.banq.qc.ca

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ArcticNet Annual Research Compendium (2011-12)

University Education

2.6 Improving Access to University Education in the Canadian Arctic (University Education)

Project LeaderThierry Rodon (Université Laval)

Project Team

Network InvestigatorsFrances Abele (Carleton University); Frédéric Laugrand (Université Laval); Fiona Walton (University of Prince Edward Island)

Collaborators and Research AssociatesSheena Kennedy (Carleton University); Morley Hanson (Nunavut Sivuniksavut); Francis Lévesque (Université Laval)

Postdoctoral FellowsDarlene O’leary (University of Prince Edward Island)

PhD StudentsMarise Lachapelle (Université Laval)

MSc StudentsLucille Villasenor-Caron (Carleton University)

Northern HQPPam Gross, Teevi Mackay (Carleton University); Melissa Ruston (Concordia University); Naullaq Arnaquq, Nunia Qanatsiaq (Government of Nunavut); Lori Tagoona (Nunavut Sivuniksavut)

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ABSTRACT

Increased participation in post-secondary education is of primary concern for Inuit. The goal of this project is to provide evidence-based research on Inuit partici-pation in University education throughout Inuit Nu-nangat and to promote a national discussion amongst provider of university program in Inuit Nunangat, Northern institutions and Inuit organizations in order to develop a more coordinated effort in program de-livery, curriculum development. More specifi cally this research has three objectives: 1) Make an inventory and evaluation of past and present university initiatives in Inuit Nunangat or for Inuit in term of curriculum, delivery methods and success, 2) Evaluate the Inuit Peoples needs and experiences with post-secondary programs or courses in order to better understand edu-cational paths and university successes from the point of view of the Inuit 3) Develop different scenarios to improve access to university education for Inuit and Northerners in Inuit Nunangat. The data is being col-lected through surveys, in-depth interviews and work-shops. This research provides evidence-based data on the Inuit students’ university experience: Inuit partici-pation in university programs; defi nition of university and educative success from a point of view of Inuit that will help university program providers deliver programs better adapted to the needs of Inuit students; monitoring of Inuit student success according to this defi nition; inventory and evaluation of the university program delivered in Inuit Nunangat and for Inuit stu-dents; and development of scenarios to improve ac-cess to University program for Inuit students.

KEY MESSAGES

The research activities conducted to date show that the Inuit students are striving for more choices: choices in universities, programs and courses and choice in alter-nating work and school and thus, studying at their own pace.

Many challenges were identifi ed:

• In the North, lack of housing and lack of choice in postsecondary programs;

• In the South, loneliness, problems of adaptation, problems with funding.

The Inuit students have identifi ed the following solu-tions:

• In general: better funding programs and more eq-uity between regions;

• In the North: better Housing to allow to have its own space for studying, more choices in the type of program offered in the North;

• In the South: student support in the southern uni-versities; better guidance for choosing the pro-grams; many student had no idea of what the program involved; coordination of student to avoid sending students alone in a program. Inuit students cohorts could be organized through, for example, a website with a list of student willing to take a program in the South;

• The importance of role model and mentorship was stressed by participants.

OBJECTIVES

1. Make an inventory and evaluation of past and pre-sent university initiatives in Inuit Nunangat or for Inuit in term of curriculum, delivery methods and success,

2. Evaluate the Inuit Peoples needs and experiences with postsecondary programs or courses in order to better understand educational paths and univer-sity successes from the point of view of the Inuit;

3. Develop different scenarios to improve access to university education for Inuit and Northerners in Inuit Nunangat.

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INTRODUCTION

Given the multiple and interconnected challenges with-in the Arctic, the absence of an accessible university level postsecondary institution in Inuit Nunangat is dis-quieting. The mandate during the fi rst two years of the project has been to provide evidenced-based research on Inuit participation in university education in Canada and to promote a national discussion amongst provider of university program for the Inuit. While, since 1981, the Inuit population has made noticeable gains in enrol-ment and completion at the high school, College and trade level (ITK and Research and Analysis Directorate 2006), access to university is still very limited in spite of a series of initiatives lead by a variety of Southern universities. As a result, the number of Inuit who have completed a post-secondary degree remain quite low (from 1.6 in 1981 to 2.7 in 2006). Recently, the Gov-ernment of Nunavut and Inuit Tapirriit Kanatami have adopted strategies to increase post-secondary success (Government of Nunavut 2011, National Committee on Inuit Education 2011).

This lack of progress can be explained by many inter-related factors:

• the absence of a university in the North. Canada is the only Arctic country that does not have a uni-versity north of 60 (Poelzer 2009);

• the quality of high school education in Inuit re-gions (Hicks 2005);

• the relevance of curriculum (Poelzer 2009). In-deed, Inuit culture should be acknowledged in educational programs to dispel the colonial herit-age left by the imposition of western education in the residential school (Berger 2001, Hicks 2005). For this reason, the adaptation of curriculum to Northern needs is a critical issue (Silta Associates 2007).

Other factors like the lack of confi dence encountered amongst some Inuit as a result of years of colonization have also had an impact on university success as de-fi ned in the South (Rodon 2008).

A few southern universities have strived to provide ac-cess, through specialized programs and/or supports for Northern students, to degree studies at the post-second-ary level. These initiatives have never been coordinated however, have proven expensive, and have therefore been diffi cult to sustain. Furthermore, they offer only specifi c fi elds of study (mostly Education and Health and one experience in Public Policy and one in Law), and are only available in limited locations (mostly in the main regional center), and are often not permanent because of their expense (funding constraints or fi scal budget) or instability of partnerships. In general, at the postsecondary level, transition programs to universities do not exist. Moreover, there is very little monitoring or research from all Inuit jurisdictions regarding suc-cess of Inuit at the postsecondary level (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami 2008).

This research project is working to bridge this knowl-edge gap by gathering evidenced-based data on Inuit participation in University education throughout Cana-da. During the fi rst two years of the project, workshops, interviews and surveys have enabled us to listen careful-ly to the experiences of Inuit students. It is important to better understand the educational path of Inuit students and to understand their specifi city from a sociological and cultural perspective. As a way of supplementing the information, and addressing the interaction between students living in, or from, the Canadian Arctic, and the programs they enrolled in, we have also focussed on en-abling a national discussion amongst providers of uni-versity programs for Inuit. This discussion will allow a coordinated effort among the variety of post-secondary information, and meaningful discussion about student challenges and barriers to success.

ACTIVITIES

Activities took place between April 2011 and January 2012. They were conducted in Kuujjuaq, Quebec City, Ottawa, Charlottetown, and Montreal.

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1. Recording inuit students’ post-secondary experiences

1.1) Databases of Inuit students’ university experience (SPSS and Dedoose):

Several activities have been organized to gather data concerning the post-secondary experience of Inuit students in Nunavut and Nunavik. Sheena Kennedy, a Carleton Ph.D student, has updated the survey data in the SPSS database, a report on this data has been pro-duced and will be distributed to the partners and will be used for the production of a scientifi c paper. Marise Lachapelle, a Université Laval Ph.D. student, has been maintaining a qualitative database on Dedoose. This da-tabase is composed of the interviews and focus group material. A preliminary codifi cation has been complet-ed and this data will be used for the production of a scientifi c paper.

On March 23rd, 2011, Marise Lachapelle organized a focus group with three former KSB post-secondary stu-dents who had dropped-out of school. Olivia Ikey and Larry May of the Saputiit Youth Association helped set-ting up the focus group. In June, the data have been en-tered in the database.

From July 8th to July 31st, Marise Lachapelle did a fi eldwork in Kuujjuaq where she hired and trained Melissa Ruston (an Inuk student at Concordia) to make qualitative researches and interviews. A survey was dis-tributed to gather data for the database of Inuit students’ university experience at KSB (Kativik School Board), KRG (Kativik Regional Government) and Makivik Corporation. Two surveys have been fi lled and the re-sults have been sent to the research team. More survey will be fi lled during the winter session pending a formal approval from Kativik School Board.

1.2) Video-recorded interviews:

Marise Lachapelle worked with Pierre Laberge of Wap-ikoni Mobile, Michel Pruneau of Intégration et Explo-ration – Inuits at the Cégep Marie-Victorin as well as Paul Khatchadourian of the Kativik School Board to

record videos of Inuit post-secondary experiences. The students were trained to make the videos themselves where they share their post-secondary experiences. These videos will be posted on the website (see below for more details on the website). Carleton University graduate student Erin Strachan has also been working on a video project about Inuit student experiences, with a group of Inuit students from Carleton University

1.3) UPEI University Access Project:

Supervised by Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Dr. Dar-lene O’Leary and Professor Fiona Walton, this part of the project led to the preparation of a literature review, a focus group with Nunavut M.Ed. students (July), com-pletion of in-depth interviews with one M.Ed. graduate and one member of the present M.Ed. cohort (July), as well as a meta-analysis of the data gathered including the documentary video and report, Lighting the Qul-liq: The First Master of Education Program in Nuna-vut (Walton et al. 2009). In December 2011, Darlene O’Leary drafted an article to be submitted for publica-tion: “Building Inuit Graduate Educational Leadership and Graduate University Access: Contributions of the Nunavut Master of Education”.

2. Inventory and analysis of post-secondary education programs (a report on university program delivery in the eastern arctic providing guidelines and recommendations)

Supervised by Dr. Frances Abele of Carleton and as-sisted by Carleton Ph.D. student Sheena Kennedy, this project consists of making an inventory and analyzing the history and current extent of programs to provide post-secondary education in Nunavut. All efforts have been made to fi nd the earliest programs (probably dat-ing from the 1960s) and to document these, and also to include programs that may have existed only briefl y. In April 2011, the team assembled existing information and created an annotated bibliography of secondary sources including both academic and grey literature. They then established a research partnership with a vis-iting doctoral student, Darcy Leigh, from University of Edinburgh to research current Nunavut-based post-

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secondary programs, including the Akitsiraq Law Pro-gram. Leigh conducted an interview with the president of Nunavut Arctic College. She sourced and reviewed documents from the Nunavut Arctic College Library for the inventory; and compiled a profi le on the Akitsiraq Law School based on interviews and review of avail-able documents about the Law program. In May 2011, the team identifi ed individuals who would be inter-viewed, prepared ethics application, and Sheena Ken-nedy spent 10 days conducting archival research at the Prince of Wales Museum and Archives (7 days) and the NWT Legislative Library (3 days) in Yellowknife dur-ing which time, she identifi ed and collected information on programs offered between 1960 and 1999, as well as documents concerning the thinking and debates about post-secondary education in the North during that pe-riod. Sheena Kennedy also conducted interviews with four key informants, including a former president of the Arctic College. Between June and September 2011, the team assembled inventory to-date and identifi ed areas requiring more information, and drafted plan for pub-lications. Between January and March 2012, they will complete the fi rst draft of the inventory and produce a fi rst journal article draft.

Marise Lachapelle and Melissa Ruston are conducting a similar project for Nunavik that will be ready by March 31, 2012. A survey has been sent to Kativik School Board administrator (Paul Khatchadourian), McGill Teacher training program (Donna Lee-Smith), John Ab-bott College (Louise Legault), Programme Exploration-intégration Inuits, Cégep Marie-Victorin (Michel Pru-neau), Adult Training at Kativik Regional Government (Margaret Gauvin), and Kativik School Board Voca-tional Training (Réjean Gascon). Interviews have also been conducted with KSB staff – Paul Khatchadourian (Director), Marc Vachon (Student Counsellor), Gail Richardson (Student Counsellor), Sheri Burke (Student Counsellor), Jacques Laplante (Student Counsellor), Wayne McElroy (Student Counsellor) (all at KSB) – as well as Cégep Marie-Victorin staff – Michel Pruneau and Claude Lévesque (Social Services). These inter-views and surveys will provide a picture of post-sec-ondary programs in Nunavik.

3. Workshops

3.1) Ottawa Workshop

On March 1st, 2011, the project held a fi rst workshop in Ottawa. Marise Lachapelle wrote the fi nal report of this workshop, helped by Melissa Ruston. This document presents the participants experiences, and the results of the workshop. A draft has been available to all partici-pants of the project since the fall of 2011, and they have been asked to make comments and add information. The fi nal version will be released to the participants and partners by Feb. 29th.

3.2) Kuujjuaq Workshop

On November 22nd, 2011, a workshop was organized in Kuujjuaq with Nunavut and Nunavik stakeholders (Ka-tivik Regional Government, Nunavut Arctic College, Kativik School Board, Iqaluit mayor and Kuujjuaq vice-mayor) to explore post-secondary program delivery in the Eastern Arctic (Nunavik and Nunavut). The organi-zation and coordination of the workshop were handled by Université Laval Ph.D. student Marise Lachapelle and Carleton graduate student Erin Strachan. A report of the workshop will be produced before March 31st, 2012. During this workshop, Thierry Rodon acted as a middleman to encourage the establishment of links be-tween Kativik School Board and Nunavut Arctic Col-lege that might lead to more collaboration between the two institutions in the near future.

4. Website for prospective inuit students

The website project was carried away under the super-vision of Marise Lachapelle (technical aspect) with ma-terial produced by Carleton and Nunavut Sivuniksavut Students under the supervision of Erin Strachan (up to December 12th, 2011) and Lucille Villasenor-Caron (from January 2012 on). Ideas for the website also came from Melissa Ruston. More importantly, the website echoes post-secondary students’ preoccupations that have been discussed in the workshop held during the Nunavut 25th anniversary (2010) and the Workshop held in Inuvik (2010) and the many focus groups con-ducted since the beginning of the project.

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The architecture of the website, designed by Charles Ménard (web designer) has been under construction since December 2011 and will be accessible to the re-search team by February. Focus group will be organized with Inuit students at NS and CEGEP Marie-Victorin in early March in order to have their feedback. Discussion have also been initiated with ITK in order to have them host the website permanently.

This website offers: 1) practical information to Inuit students, 2) advices and inspiration about postsecond-ary experience, and 3) networking function (providing students with an opportunity to learn directly from their peers as they explore viable career options). The aim of the website is also to allow the Inuit to network with past and present post-secondary students.

5. Caldo meeting

Thierry Rodon was Université Laval’s representative when Northern colleges (Nunavut Arctic College, Au-rora College of the Northwest Territories and Yukon College) met on November 17th, 2011 with the four members of CALDO – the consortium that brings to-gether four of Canada’s leading research Universities (the University of Alberta, Laval, Dalhousie and Ot-tawa) – to discuss a partnership with CALDO universi-ties for the delivery of post-secondary programs in the Canadian Arctic. Thierry Rodon will be a member of the working group that has been established during this meeting.

6. Networking

Several networking activities were conducted this year:

• CALDO Meeting with Northern University (see above);

• Kuujjuaq workshop: During this workshop, links were established between KSB and Nunavut Arc-tic College that might lead to more collaboration between the two institutions (see above);

• Thierry Rodon, principal investigator of the pro-ject, was also interviewed about the project by

Nunatsiaq News. The article was published on Nov. 24, 2011. That contributed to increase the profi le of the research and of ArcticNet as well.

• ITK @40 Conference allowed the project to net-work with Inuit organizations from all the Arctic.

7. Conferences and seminars

Project and sub-project participants participated in vari-ous conferences and seminars over the year:

7.1) ITK (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) 40th Anniversary Conference: From Eskimo to Inuit in 40 Years

Erin Strachan, Pam Gross and Teevi McKay partici-pated to ITK (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami) 40th anniversary in Ottawa to promote the project and collect some in-terviews/quotes from Inuit leaders. Participation in this conference allowed the project to network with Inuit organizations from all over the Arctic (Figure 1).

7.2) International Polar Year (IPY) Conference

Thierry Rodon has submitted and abstract to the In-ternational Polar Year (IPY) Conference to be held in Montreal (April 2012). The abstract has been accepted

Figure 1. Improving Access to University Education in the Canadian Arctic Booth during ITK@40, Ottawa. Photo cred-it: V. Karetak

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and Thierry Rodon will be presenting a scientifi c com-munication about the project during the conference.

7.3) ICASS IV

Thierry Rodon has presented a paper titled Inuit Gov-ernance and Leadership: Youth Voices from Nunavut and Nunavik, during ICASS VII in Akureyri, Iceland, June 24, 2011. The communication was based in part with data collected in this project

7.4) IPSSAS 2011

Marise Lachapelle participated in IPSSAS (Interna-tional Ph.D. School for Studies of Arctic Societies) in Nuuk, Greenland, from May 20th until May 30th where she presented a paper titled Negotiating Inuit needs and ways in a formal setting: Is there room to combine mod-ernization and heritage through post-secondary educa-tion for the students from Nunavik?, which was based on data collected during this project.

8. Upcoming activities: january 2012- march 2012

During the upcoming weeks, the team is looking at:

• Final version of the Ottawa Workshop Report;

• Draft and then complete the report for the Kuu-jjuaq Workshop;

• Finalise the report on the Inuit student survey in order to disseminate it amongst partners;

• Finalizing the website demo version;

• Making more videos and written biographies, in-cluding one that showcases a day in the life of an Inuk journalism student;

• Completing the Nunavik education post-sec-ondary programs report (Marise Lachapelle and Melissa Ruston);

• Prepare the International Polar Year (IPY) Con-ference to be held in Montreal in April 2012;

• Frances Abele and Thierry Rodon are both draft-ing journal articles for publications with their re-spective team.

RESULTS

1. Introduction

In 2011-2012, research activities followed the path set during 2010-2011 and focused on gathering Inuit stu-dent’s post-secondary experiences. The data was gath-ered using three methods: surveys, interviews, and focus groups. However, new data gathering activities were also undertaken: two workshops were organized – one in Ottawa in March of 2011, the other in Kuujjuaq in November of the same year, and several interviews were recorded and videotaped by team members and In-uit students. Although students who participated to the survey in 2011-2012 have studied in a broader number of programs and come from many regions of the Cana-dian Arctic – allowing the research team to make sev-eral regional comparisons – this year’s results mainly confi rmed those obtained last year.

The new activities (the workshops and the videos) did not only allow the gathering of new data however. Most importantly, they allowed Inuit students to network with other students, with researchers, and with people responsible to design post-secondary programs for Inuit in Nunavut, Nunavik and in the South.

One of the most signifi cant activities undertaken in 2011-2012 is the creation of a website that aims at giv-ing practical information to Inuit students and giving them advices and inspiration about postsecondary ex-perience. The site, which will be online before March 2012, also provides the Inuit students with an oppor-tunity to network with other past and current Inuit stu-dents and to learn directly from them as they explore viable career options. This website is the result of the participative action research methodologies employed in this project as it stems from the preoccupation identi-fi ed by Inuit students themselves during the data gath-ering activities (surveys, interviews, focus groups, and workshops). Furthermore, the Inuit students themselves will be responsible of its content.

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An inventory and analysis of the history and current ex-tent of programs to provide post-secondary education in Nunavut has also been produced. This inventory, which results will be discussed below, will soon be followed by a similar one undertaken in Nunavik.

2. Inuit students’ post-secondary experiences

2.1) Respondents Demographics

Respondents are mostly female (79%); the majority (79%) are between 17 and 25 years of age when they attended their post-secondary programs. 62% of re-spondents are from Nunavut, 15% from Nunavik and the remaining from larger centres such as Yellowknife and Ottawa.

Sixty-fi ve of our respondents were former students from Nunavut Sivuniksavut. In two of the programs, there are only three former students represented in each (University of Prince Edward Island Masters in Edu-cation and Carleton University/University of Ottawa). Where the fi ndings are disaggregated by program, care should be taken when interpreting fi gures for UPEI and Carleton/Ottawa U students, as the number of cases is very low (Table 1).

Eighty-two percent of respondents reported that they speak English fl uently, while 60% of Nunavut students reported that they speak Inuktitut fl uently. A very small number of Nunavik students told us they were fl uent in Inuttitut.

Ninety-six percent of respondents reported that they completed high school, which is signifi cantly higher

than the territorial fi gure for Nunavut and Nunavik. 41% of respondents reported that they were the fi rst in their family to attend post-secondary education. There was a small difference in the percentage of stu-dents from Nunavut and Nunavik who reported being the fi rst in their family to attend post-secondary edu-cation: 40% of students from Nunavut were the fi rst, compared to 45% of students from Nunavik.

Close to 81% of respondents have obtained at least one certifi cate, diploma, or degree. Most respondents reported some previous post-secondary education experience, prior to attending the programs included in the survey. Forty-six different courses and/or pro-grams were reported across the different categories of post-secondary education: CEGEP, College or Voca-tional Institute, Undergraduate University, Graduate University and Professional Diploma. Respondents at-tended post-secondary courses and/or programs at 25 different institutions, located in 15 different towns and cities across Canada. One respondent even attended an international university. The majority of the students took the course or program onsite, with the remaining taking the course by distance, or some combination of the two.

2.2) Educational Objectives

We asked respondents to identify their educational goals to help us understand their motivation for at-tending post-secondary program. The most common educational goal was to “complete a university pro-gram”, followed by “training toward employment”, “act as a leader or mentor for others”, and lastly “reg-ister for more university courses.” Nearly one third of respondents took a post-secondary course or program because it was made available to them through their employer (Figure 2).

When disaggregated by program type, the fi ndings show that completing a university program is the pri-mary educational goal reported by all respondents, except for those from Kativik School Board: 70% of whom reported that completing College/CEGEP was their top educational goal.

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents, by Program

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We asked respondents to tell us the main reasons they decided to pursue post-secondary education. The top 6 reasons given, in ranked order, were:

• Personal education goals;

• Encouraged by others;

• Interested in the material;

• Enjoy learning through courses;

• Serve as an example to others;

• Employment or promotion.

These fi ndings suggest that the decision to attend post-secondary comes from a combination of personal motivation or desire and support from others (family

members, employers, etc.), coupled with an interest in classroom style learning.

2.3) Post-Secondary Experience

The majority (86%) of respondents reported that their experience with post-secondary education was gener-ally positive. Respondents felt that participating in post-secondary programs outside their community allowed them to develop life and academic skills, and it helped them to achieve a goal (personal or academic), or move forward with plans for the future. However, living away from home was also challenging for some respondents, who experienced feelings of isolation and a lack of community where they attended university or college.

Figure 2: Educational Goals

Figure 3: Contributing Factors to Positive or Negative Experience

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We asked respondents to select all the factors that con-tributed to their positive or negative post-secondary ex-perience. Figure 3 summarizes these results.

The factors that were cited by at least 40% of respond-ents cover elements both inside and outside the class-room. Inside the classroom, the most important reported factors impacting a students’ experience were: the in-structor’s style of teaching; the course curriculum; the type of course delivery (onsite); and the incorporation of cultural values into the course or program. Outside the classroom, the most important reported factors were: balancing family and work obligations with course work; travel to the South; and learner support (which could include support from instructors and classmates, family members and employers).

Fifty-three percent of respondents told us that a close learning community has contributed positively to their experience. The personal development and growth that students experienced while attending their post-sec-ondary program was viewed by 38% of respondents as contributing to the program’s success. Moreover, one quarter of respondents (26%) reported that learning about their own culture and history was rewarding and contributed to their personal development. Worthy of mention is the fact that no Kativik School Board (Nuna-vik) student deems important learning about their own culture and history. Figure 4 summarizes these fi ndings.

Ninety-seven percent of respondents reported that the incorporation of Inuit language is at least “somewhat important”. The majority of respondents (72%) believe that it is “extremely important”. However, the impor-tance of incorporation of Inuktitut in post-secondary programs for Inuit varied by program. While 81% of NS students reported that Inuktitut was “extremely im-portant”, only 38% of KSB students felt the same was true. Students from the Nunavut Certifi cate program had the highest percentage of respondents who reported that the use of Inuktitut in post-secondary programs is “not important”. This can be traced to the fact that Nu-navut certifi cate students are more fl uent in Inuktitut and therefore do not need language courses. Figure 5 summarizes these results.

Figure 4: Top 3 Factors Contributing to Course/Program Success, by Program

Figure 5: Importance of Inuit Language in Course Delivery, by Program

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Finally we asked respondents to assess the impact that the use of English or French as the primary language of instruction had or has on their learning experience. Nearly three-quarters reported that they were positively impacted by the use of English or French as the primary language of instruction. Figure 6 summarizes these re-sults.

Respondents explained that even though the incorpo-ration of Inuktitut is incredibly important, they were generally not negatively impacted by having English or French as the primary language of instruction for three main reasons: student fl uency in English (36%), Eng-lish is easier to understand (24%), and knowing Eng-lish/French is important or necessary (21%).

2.4) Comparing Northern and Southern Based Education

Respondents were asked to compare the advantages and disadvantages of attending post-secondary in the North and in the South. Tables 2 and 3 summarize the com-ments made by respondents regarding the North and the South respectively.

2.5) Preparing for and Accessing Post-Secondary Education

We asked respondents to identify some of the elements that they feel help prepare students for post-secondary, based on their personal experience and the experience of others that they know. The top elements (cited by at least 40% of respondents) were:

• Strong support by others (74%);

• Strong interest in course material (66%);

• Relevant work/life experience (61%);

• Strong high school background (57%);

• Knowledge of classmates (44%);

• Incorporation of cultural values (41%).

We also asked respondents to identify the factors that they felt impact Inuit Nunangat-based learners’ access to post-secondary courses or programs. The top six fac-tors (cited by at least 40% of respondents) were:

• Motivation (79%);

• Level of Education (74%);

Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Northern-based Education

Table 3: Advantages and Disadvantages of Southern-based Education

Figure 6: Impact of English/French as Primary Language of Instruction

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• Personal responsibilities (67%);

• Personal preparedness (61%);

• Cost (42%);

• Technology (40%).

These 12 responses are likely closely related. The most obvious example is the relationship between strong support and personal motivation. For example, a strong high school background and an interest in the material being taught are related to a student’s readiness and willingness to make the decision to further their educa-tion, despite the challenges they will face moving to a new place.

2.6) Valued Elements of Programs and Preferred Course Delivery Methods

When we asked respondents to tell us what they valued most in their educational experience, they overwhelm-ingly reported that having an instructor with knowledge of the North and/or Inuit was important; so too was stu-dent support (both learning supports and support from family and employers); a community-based and/or an Inuit instructor were also seen as important, as well as having access to other students with whom to share the

experience and to work through the course material. Figure 7 summarizes these results.

Respondents were also asked to rank their preferences with respect to methods of course delivery. The results displayed in Figure 8 are based on the number of times a delivery method was selected as a fi rst choice.

Clearly, onsite delivery is the preferred method of course delivery, with more respondents choosing an In-uit-Nunangat-based course, followed by one delivered onsite in the South. Despite our fi ndings reported above that respondents do perceive there to be disadvantages to attending post-secondary in the North, it is evident that many would still prefer to remain there, if given the choice.

Figure 7: Valued Elements of Learners

Figure 8: Ranking Course Delivery Preferences

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2.7) Conclusion

Listening to Inuit students’ post-secondary experiences has allowed us to learn a certain number of key ele-ments:

• Choice and personal development are important when comes the time to choose a program of study;

• Inuktitut is important in program-delivery;

• Programs should have a Northern focus;

• Inuit students need access to counseling/orienta-tion that will help them decide where to go and identify appropriate resources;

• Inuit students need networking tools to connect themselves together in order to create groups in a given institution (learner community);

• Housing is problematic, especially in Northern communities;

• Inuit students have problems of funding (Equity and Choice).

3. Results of networking activities

3.1) Website and video production

During interviews, focus groups and in surveys, Inuit students have expressed the need to have a tool that they could use to fi nd practical information about programs available to them, where they could receive advices and have the opportunity to network with other Students and learn from them as they explore viable career op-tions. This website stems directly from those demands and is, as such, a perfect example of the action research methodologies employed in this project. The content of the website is therefore aimed at Inuit students and is also, in great measures, determine by them.

One of the most important features of the website is that it includes videos made by Inuit students about Inuit students. These videos consist of recordings of inter-views made with Inuit who share their post-secondary experiences. By making them available on the website, future or current Inuit students can hear from others

who have had similar experiences than theirs. Asked to create the videos from scratch with the help of an experienced team at Wapikoni Mobile, Cégep Marie-Victorin in Montréal and Kativik School Board, Inuit students participating in the project learned the techni-cal and editorial aspects of recording of videos.

More importantly however is the fact that while record-ing the videos, Inuit students were able to network and share their own post-secondary experiences together. They realized they were not alone facing the inherent challenges that come with studying away from home in a city and in a different cultural context. For many, this networking experience gave them motivation to pursue their post-secondary experience further.

As mentioned above in the introduction, the results of the video interviews were similar to those of the sur-veys, non-recorded interviews, and focus groups. Inter-viewed Inuit students however highlighted a number of key issues:

• The gap between high school and post-secondary programs can be steep and tough to overcome;

• Living in a large city like Ottawa or Montreal can be challenging when accustomed to small north-ern communities. This is especially true when stu-dents have to spent time away from their families;

• Finding motivation to complete school assign-ments can be extremely challenging;

• Taking school seriously is also challenging.

To succeed, Inuit students need motivation. And as highlighted above, making videos and networking with other Inuit students gave all Inuit participants extra mo-tivation.

3.2) Ottawa and Kuujjuaq Workshop

Two workshops were organized in 2011. The fi rst one took place on March 1st in Ottawa, the second in Kuu-jjuaq on November 22nd. Bringing together Inuit stu-dents, project team members (Thierry Rodon, Fiona Walton, Frances Abele, Darlene O’Leary, Teevi Mac-

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kay, Pam Gross, and Erin Strachan) and Northern actors (post-secondary institutions, Inuit organizations, may-ors from various communities, etc.), these workshops allowed networking in the form of an open discussion about the experiences of Inuit students, Southern uni-versities, college administrators, Northern stakeholders, instructors and communities who are involved in Arc-tic post-secondary education and training. Participants shared ideas, experiences, successes, concerns, and challenges and presented their knowledge of the stu-dents’ needs and the strengths and weaknesses of cur-rent programs for Inuit students and discussed the crea-tion of a Canadian Arctic University. Although many of the results that came out of the discussions had been identifi ed with other methods of data gathering (sur-veys, interviews and focus groups), none prove as ef-fective as the workshop to favour networking between every actor concerned by post-secondary education and training in the Canadian Arctic. Results are summarized in tables 4 and 5.

A report of the fi rst workshop summarizing the dis-cussions and the key elements identifi ed in both tables above was prepared by Marise Lachapelle and Melissa Ruston and released during the fall of 2011. The report of the second workshop held in Kuujjuaq in Novem-ber has yet to be released but will be before the end of February 2012. However, an article about the activities of the workshop was published in the Nunatsiaq News on November 24th, under the title Kuujjuaq Workshop Fleshes Out Canadian Arctic University Concept.

4. Inventory and analysis of post-secondary education programs (a report on university program delivery in the eastern arctic providing guidelines and recommendations)

4.1) Nunavut

This project consists of making an inventory and an-alyzing the history and current extent of programs to provide post-secondary education in Nunavut. The inventory includes basic information about each pro-gram, including the details of program organization and delivery, scope and number of students affected, dura-tion, and budget information if available. A number of factors have been taken into account in the analysis of these programs: institutional position (particularly but not exclusively, the degree and method of collaboration among institutions), balance of Inuit and non-Inuit stu-dents and knowledge, localization of content and ap-proaches to pedagogy and delivery methods, and the nature and extent of student participation in program development. Where appropriate, attention was paid to the role of non-governmental institutions and actors, and federal and territorial funding.

The following paragraphs provide a brief summary of some of our initial fi ndings. In order to complete our in-ventory, we plan to conduct more interviews. Although we continue to add to the inventory, it is unlikely that

Table 5: Improving Access to University Education in the Ca-nadian Arctic: Successes

Table 4: Improving Access to University Education in the Ca-nadian Arctic: Challenges

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we will identify all of the adult education programs that have ever been offered; there have been hundreds, some private and of short duration. We were erred on the side of inclusion in developing the inventory, but leaned towards programs related to programs that were truly post-secondary (that is, that normally required Grade 12 graduation).

Hundreds of adult education and post-secondary cours-es and programs have been offered across the North since the 1960s. These programs can be divided into three main categories: academic, vocational/technical; and cultural-linguistic programs. The vast majority of programs and courses were designed and provided by government either through the network of Arctic Col-lege community learning centres or directly by govern-ment departments for labour force training purposes. Other providers include non-profi t organizations, like Frontier College, Nunavut Sivuniksavut or Piqqusil-irivvik Cultural School, and private companies, labour unions, or organizations, such as those that offer heavy equipment operator or pilot training.

Historically, adult education programs offered in the North have tended to mirror the political and economic events and priorities of their time. Increasingly, adult education has become focused on skills development and improving the employability of Inuit in the wage economy labour force (in both the private and public sectors). The earliest programs were offered to Inuit adults in the 1960s through Frontier College, which sent adult educators to Northern communities to teach English and civic literacy courses. Cooperative man-ager training was also offered in the 1960s and 1970s to Inuit in communities across the Northwest Territories as part of an attempt by government to educate north-ern indigenous peoples about democracy and so-called “local self-government”. In the 1970s, one of the most long-standing Northern programs – the Teacher Educa-tion Program – was established in partnership between the Arctic College and McGill University. This tradition of institutional arrangements between the College and universities and colleges in the South continues today. A number of vocational training programs were also of-fered during this time as communities began to prepare

for major resource development projects and increases in community infrastructure. By the 1980’s, the Arctic College had expanded to include 6 campuses, with com-munity learning centres located in every NWT com-munity. The number of courses and programs offered proliferated at this time as well and refl ected many of the labour force needs at the time. For example, in 1985 Arctic College ran 81 programs in thirty communities across the NWT; and the government provided more than 95 training and professional development courses to over 1200 employees. In the 1990s, there was a surge of business and offi ce administration programs offered by government and the colleges in the Eastern and West-ern parts of the NWT in preparation for the division of the territory. After 2000 there was a rapid development of initiatives in post-secondary education, stimulated by the need for well-educated staff for the new Govern-ment of Nunavut and for Benefi ciary organizations.

Some of the themes that emerged from our research on the programs offered, and the historical evolution of the thinking about post-secondary education in the North include:

• The relationship between adult education and citi-zen engagement as a government policy; and later the change in government policy and thinking to-ward understanding adult education as a means of building a workforce in a wage-economy.

• The benefi ts and challenges of community-based education vs. attending college or university in a larger centre or in the South have been on-going since the 1960s.

• The governance of post-secondary education in the North has been complicated by the fact that the main post-secondary institution in the North – the Arctic College – has very strong institutional linkages with the territorial government.

• Debates over the establishment of a northern university have re-emerged in recent years in re-sponse to the understanding noted in #1 above. This relates both to the idea that education is about more than skills development; and that Uni-versities offer space for developing and debating ideas, as well as teaching students.

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4.2) Nunavik

The project of making an inventory and analyzing the history and current extent of programs to provide post-secondary education in Nunavik is still underway. Surveys have been sent and interviews made, but as of January 20th, results have not been made available and the report has not yet been released. It will ready by March 31, 2012.

DISCUSSION

1. Inuit students’ post-secondary experiences

1.1) Making the Decision to go for a Post-Secondary Education

Students were asked what their purpose was in pursu-ing university education and clearly the most important reason was personal development. We learned from the surveys that the decision by respondents to pursue education at the post-secondary level stems primarily from a desire to achieve personal education goals, such as completing a university program, or training toward employment. The enjoyment of learning through cours-es and personal interest in the material taught in a par-ticular program were also driving forces behind the de-cision to participate in a post-secondary program. This decision is not an easy one for many Northern students, however, as it often requires a move to a new place (in many cases, to Southern cities like Ottawa or Montreal). The issue of student support came out frequently in the survey data, as well as in interviews and focus groups. This will be discussed in more detail below. Finally, focus group participants expressed that students would benefi t from help deciding what programs to apply for, and where to attend university or college.

Some interesting fi ndings came out of the questions about preparing for post-secondary and the factors that impact Inuit Nunangat-based learners’ access to post-secondary programs that are worth discussing here. Respondents reported that strong support and encour-agement by others was the most the important element

helping to prepare students for post-secondary and the most important factor limiting access to post-secondary reported by respondents was motivation. This suggests that there may be a link between the support students receive from people in their communities and in their lives, and their decision to attend college or university. In the case of many respondents, the issue of personal responsibilities (and balancing those responsibilities) was reported as a challenge but in many cases, this may also limit students from taking courses that are outside their community.

The focus groups have shown us that housing is a sig-nifi cant concern for Northern students. For example, the housing shortage has deterred students coming from other communities from studying in Iqaluit. This short-age is well documented in many Northern communities and has led to overcrowding. Students thus fi nd it very diffi cult to fi nd a place to study and it has an impact on their success.

Focus group participants reported that funding was not only hard to access but also inequitable. In some re-gions, the Regional Inuit Association (RIA) will top up the Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students (FANS) program. In other regions, FANS benefi ciaries cannot get extra funding from the RIA.

For many Inuit Nunangat-based students, the decision to attend post-secondary may also be limited by their level of education: 74% of survey respondents cited this as one of the top factors impacting Inuit students’ access to post-secondary education. In order to participate in many post-secondary programs, particularly at the uni-versity level, students must complete high school, and as the territorial data illustrates, high school completion rates are signifi cantly lower in the North than elsewhere in Canada.

1.2) Program Options

Choice is a key message, gathered from our survey data as well as interviews and especially in the focus groups we conducted. The Inuit students want to be able to choose their programs and the institutions they attend.

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The problem is more acute in the North where there are only a very limited number of programs available. With that said, choice is also limited in the South where in some cases, the rules of funding programs only allow students to attend certain institutions.

It is clear from the survey data that onsite course deliv-ery is preferred by most over other methods such as on-line or correspondence. If given the choice, most of the people we surveyed would prefer to attend college or university in the North (although not necessarily in their home communities). The majority of those surveyed reported that they experienced important personal de-velopment by moving away from home, meeting new people, and living in a different cultural environment. Some told us that it would be very diffi cult to go to col-lege or university at home because there would be too many distractions.

Others (primarily women with children) told us that online courses, or programs that incorporated hybrid delivery were ideal for them because they could work at their own pace and then periodically meet with their classmates either online or in person, as the case may be.

It is likely that preferences for the different methods of course delivery are largely shaped by the personal re-sponsibilities and situation of each student. Based on our initial analysis of the results, it seems that a vari-ety of course/program choices, with different options for delivery therein would be useful and benefi cial for Northern students, and may help to increase the number of students pursuing post-secondary studies.

1.3) Close Learning Community and Learner Support

We learned from the surveys, the focus groups, and the workshops that a strong and close learning community is highly valued by students, particularly when attend-ing programs away from home. Some elements that help to build a strong learning community are instruc-

tors with knowledge about the North and/or Inuit; re-spectful and open minded classmates; and frequent con-tact with teachers, support staff and peers. Focus group participants and survey respondents alike told us that connecting Inuit students to one another, particularly on bigger college and university campuses is important and helps to create a sense of community. In the case of undergraduate students in Ottawa, for example, one respondent suggested that more joint activities (both on campus and off) would link Inuit students from Carle-ton University with those from the University of Ot-tawa. Finally, classroom size was seen as a contributing factor to building a close learning community, with the preference being for smaller class sizes, in which stu-dents could interact directly with instructors and peers more easily.

Access to learner support (inside and outside the class-room) was a common theme that came out in focus groups and in the survey data. These included: orien-tation by the university to raise awareness about the services and activities on campus; supplementary sup-port for course work, such as teaching assistants, stu-dent work groups, etc.; and counseling and peer support groups.

1.4) Importance of Language and Cultural Components

The incorporation of language and culture into pro-grams for Inuit students was seen as very important by respondents. In fact, most of the former Nunavut Sivuniksavut students surveyed told us that the Inuit and Northern-specifi c course curriculum and extra-cur-ricular components of the program were not only in-teresting but contributed to their personal development and helped them to improve their self-confi dence.

Even though most of the survey respondents reported speaking English fl uently, the inclusion of Inuktitut was seen as centrally important by more than three quarters of those surveyed. The incorporation of Inuktitut is not only important for those students who wish to work

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government positions in their home communities but it also helps to generate a sense of community among students.

2. Networking activities

Apart from the aforementioned results, many research activities undertaken this year (website, video record-ings of interviews, focus groups and workshops) gave project participants the opportunity to do some network-ing amongst themselves as well as with Southern uni-versities, college administrators, Northern stakeholders, instructors and communities who are involved in Arctic post-secondary education and training. The importance of such activities cannot be overstated, especially for Inuit students. The challenges facing most Inuit stu-dents pursuing post-secondary education are consider-able. Most of them are coming from isolated communi-ties. To them, post-secondary education means moving away from families and loved-ones in large towns and cities (mostly Ottawa and Montreal) where they do not know many people and where they are not accustomed to live. Often, they are registering to programs which they are not well-prepared for.

It came out from the various activities undertaken this year that Inuit students greatly enjoyed having the op-portunity to network with others. Meeting other stu-dents made them realize they were not alone facing the challenges linked with studying away from home in a new and different cultural context. This helped many relativize their own experience and encourage many as well. Meeting Inuit students who had succeeded after having registered to post-secondary programs one, two, three or several times also increase the motivation of most to pursue in their own program. Many also un-derstood that if they did not necessarily complete their program during their fi rst or second attempt, they could complete it, or another one, later and still enjoy profes-sional and personal success.

Students have thus told us virtual (website) or in-person (workshops, video recording sessions, focus groups, etc.) networking activities are extremely important for them to stay motivated and focus.

CONCLUSION

Improving university access for Inuit students requires multiple strategies.

First, there is a need for a University of the North that is grounded in Northern cultures and needs. Such an insti-tution will allow a better appropriation of postsecond-ary education and Inuit youth with better role models. We cannot, however, expect a University of the North to offer a full range of programs and, as we have seen, Inuit students want to have choice. Location also mat-ters. A university in Iqaluit or Yellowknife would only improve access for a limited number of Northerners.

This is why Southern Universities will continue to play a key role. They can keep on delivering courses to Northern students, but this delivery could be done in partnership with a University of the North. Southern universities should also more actively support Inuit stu-dents who study in the South. There are already some models for such an approach. This year, this strategy has seen some success with the establishment of a working group between Northern College and a Southern Con-sortium of Universities that will discuss options to de-liver more programs in the Canadian North.

Northern governments are also key players. They could not only support a Northern university but also better support Inuit students through relatively simple means. First, they and Inuit organizations could ensure inter-regional equity in funding. A cohort of Inuit students could also be organized in order to avoid loneliness and to create a support group. To this end, a website will act as a portal for access to Southern university programs. It could also provide information on programs and on support available for Inuit students.

The focus groups and the interviews provided the Inuit students with an opportunity to hear other stories and to refl ect on the value of education. The participation to the meeting with Northern colleges and to the ITK 40th anniversary has also allowed the research team to participate to the debate on a Northern University.

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In 2012-2013, we will complete surveys and have more valid regional comparisons, improve the website, and propose a series of research and networking activities that will continue the work undertaken in the past two years. Planned activities are described below in the sec-tion Planning: Overview of Future Work.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research could not have been conducted without the invaluable involvement of each participant; we are sincerely thankful to all of them for their participation. We want to address a special thanks to our partners, the Kativik School Board, the Nunavut Arctic College and the Nunavut Sivuniksavut for their precious collabora-tion, partnership and support since the beginning of the project. We also want to thank Wapikoni Mobile and First Air who were both instrumental in the success of two our projects: the video productions and the Kuu-jjuaq Workshop. We are also grateful to Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for giving us the opportunity to set a booth presenting the project at the ITK 40th anniversary.

All this work could not have been achieved without the signifi cant work of all the research team. Thanks to Sheena Kennedy, Erin Strachan, Pam Hakongak-Gross, Teevi Mackay and Lucille Villasenor-Caron at Carleton University, to Lori Tagoona at Nunavut Sivuniksavut, to Harriet Keleutak and Paul Khatchadourian, from KSB for their work and support in organizing the Kuujjuaq workshop, to Madeleine Redfern, the mayor of Iqaluit to make time in her busy schedule for participating to the Kuujjuaq Workshop, to Lise Fortin for advice and support and Marise Lachapelle and Francis Lévesque at Laval University.

Susan Sammons, one of the original participants of this project, passed away this year. We would like to under-line her important contribution to Inuit knowledge, cul-ture, and language through her devotion and passionate work at Nunavut Arctic College throughout her life. We are extremely grateful for her participation in our re-search project. She will be missed dearly.

REFERENCES

Berger, P. 2001. Adaptations of Euro-Canadian Schools to Inuit Culture in Selected Communities in Nunavut, Department of Education, Lakehead Univer- sity, Thun-der Bay.

Government of Nunavut. 2011. Territories Sign Memo- randum of Understanding to Further Explore Universi- ty Models. June 30, 2:37pm. www.nunavutecho.ca/en/ government-news/item/4542-northern-university.

Hicks, J. 2005. Education in the Canadian Arctic: What Difference Has the Nunavut Government Made? Indig-enous Affairs 1/05.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. 2008. Report on the Inuit Ta- piriit Kanatami Education Initiative: Summary of ITK Summit on Inuit Education and Background Research, April 15-17, at Inuvik.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Research and Analysis Direc-torate. 2006. Gains Made by Inuit in Formal Education and School Attendance, 1981-2001. Ottawa: Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Fed-eral Interlocutor for Métis and Non Status Indians.

National Committee on Inuit Education. 2011. First Canadians, Canadians First: National Strategy for Inuit Education 2011. Available at: http://www.scribd.com/ doc/58033503/National-Strategy-on-Inuit-Education- May-31.

Poelzer, G. 2009. Education: A Critical Foundation for a Sustainable North. In Abele, F., Courchene, T., Seidle F., St-Hilaire, F. Northern Exposure: Peoples, Powers, and Prospects for Canada’s North. Montreal: Institute for Research in Public Policy.

Rodon, T. 2008. Training Plan for the Nunavik Govern-ment. Makivik Corporation.

Silta Associates. 2007. Post-secondary Case Studies in Inuit Education: A Discussion Paper. Inuit Tapiriit Ka- natami.

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Walton, F., Sandiford, M. (Producer), & Frenette, D. (with Nunavut MEd students). (2009). Lighting the Quilliq: The First Master of Education Program in Nunavut. A documentary video. Charlottetown: Uni-versity of Prince Edward Island, Centre for Education Research. Authors.

2011-12 PUBLICATIONS

All ArcticNet refereed publications are available on the ASTIS website (http://www.aina.ucalgary.ca/arcticnet/).

Lachapelle M., 2011, Negotiating Inuit needs and ways in a formal setting: Is there room to combine moderni-zation and heritage through post-secondary education for the students from Nunavik?, IPSSAS (International Ph.D. School for Studies of Arctic Societies) in Nuuk, Greenland.

Lachapelle M., T. Rodon and M. Ruston, 2012, Improv-ing access to university education in the Canadian Arc-tic: learning from past experiences and listening to Inuit student experiences., Report on the Ottawa Workshop, March 1, 2011.

Rodon T., 2011, Inuit Governance and Leadership: Youth Voices from Nunavut and Nunavik, ICASS VII, Akureyri, Iceland, June 24, 2011.

Rodon T., M. Lachapelle, F. Walton, D. O’Leary, F. Abele, S. Kennedy, T. McKay, P. Gross, 2012, Improv-ing access to university education in the Canadian Arc-tic: Learning from past experiences, listening to the Inuit students and developing tools and policies, IPY 2012 From Knowledge to Action Conference.

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