Student Success Research Consortium: Two Worlds Community-First Research

Abstract

Although this article does not directly address the provision or improvement of earlychildhood education (ECE) to grade 12 education, it does address the theme ofIndigenous Knowledges and provides an example of how to conduct community-firsteducational research. Research that is centered on a community-first perspectivemust be negotiated so as to cultivate respectful, reciprocal, and responsiblerelationships with the community in which the research is situated. The StudentSuccess Research Consortium on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory is aresearch collaboration that seeks to examine ways of defining and supporting studentsuccess from a community perspective. This article explores the emergence ofcommunity-first processes that occurred while the foundation for the educationalresearch was being developed. We discuss the distinctions between community-basedresearch and our approach to community-first research that we describe as land-basedresearch. We also focus on the consideration of Aboriginal ethics from a communityviewpoint, the development of a memorandum of understanding, and the emergenceand implications of ethical space.