Editorial: Challenges, Possibilities and Responsibilities: Sharing Stories and Critical Questions for Changing Classrooms and Academic Institutions

Abstract

Teaching for anticolonial resistance, Indigenization, and reconciliation in a Western post-secondary institution presents integral philosophical, curricular, pedagogical, professional, and personal challenges. With respect to educational philosophy, Indigenous and Western approaches are diametrically opposed, in that Western education compartmentalizes knowledge by subject, while Indigenous philosophies make the funda­mental assertion that knowledge is, by nature, holistic and inter-related (Battiste, 2013; Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Cherubini, 2009; Deloria & Wildcat, 2001; Haig-Brown, 2008; Morcom, 2017). Compartmentalization is evident in the very structure of the Western post-secondary institu­tion, since universities and colleges are divided into departments and faculties that reflect a fragmented conceptualization and dissemination of knowledge. Often, different faculties are even housed in separate buildings, which further emphasizes this compartmentalization. That structure not only ensures the continued practice of compartmentalizing knowledge, but also makes a general statement about the institution's philosophy of the nature of knowledge (Deloria & Wildcat, 2001; Mor­com, 2017).