The Path to Education in a Canadian Aboriginal Context

Abstract

The researchers are members o f the white mainstream who wish through research togain a better understanding o f the Aboriginal reality and hope to assist thisheterogeneous group in its quest fo r self-determination and access to the majorityculture. This article constitutes a section o f thesis research and examines theassociations between retention/identification with ethnicity, various aspects o fidentity form ation, and mobility on levels o f academic achievement o f CanadianAboriginal people. A secondary analysis o f a sample o f 636 respondents to the 1991Aboriginal Peoples Survey was conducted. The variables examined include:participation in ethnic activities and Native language(s); having Aboriginal teachers;Aboriginal language(s) being used in the classroom; Aboriginal language facility;liking what was taught in school about Native people and history; and number o fschools attended. Both bivariate and multivariate am lyses indicated significantrelationships between educational attainment and Aboriginal language facility, likingwhat was taught about Aboriginal people in elementary school, and number o f highschools attended. Recommendations fo r future research include the use o f moreprecise data on the variables o f interest in order to predict confidently the factors thataffect educational achievement among Canada's Aboriginal people.