The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Students’ cultural knowledge a resource

“I was still seeing this student through my white, middle-class lens, and wondered why she couldn’t just call her grandfather on the phone.”
—Nancy, student teacher

Lynne Wiltse, an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Elementary Education, is the winner of the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s 2012 Educational Research Award. Her research project, conducted over four years, examined how the cultural knowledge Aboriginal students sourced from their homes and communities could be used to reshape school teaching and literacy practices.

“When I undertook this research project, I stepped back from the notion that teaching and learning problems are tied to the traits of students—whether they are Aboriginal or not,” explained Wiltse, a former teacher with many years of experience teaching in Aboriginal communities. “Instead, I looked at how students’ knowledge of their culture and teachers’ understanding of that cultural diversity can be a resource that enhances teaching practice.”

 Wiltse’s study, which took place between 2007 and 2011, was funded by the ­Social ­Sciences and Humanities ­Research Council of Canada. It involved three interconnected groups—Aboriginal students in Grades 4–7, their teachers and four sets of student teachers. Major findings of the study are as follows:

• Aboriginal students’ learning was enhanced by teachers who used Aboriginal culture as a focus of learning and by requiring students to draw on out-of-school resources, such as family and community members, to complete their projects.
• Most of the student teachers were inadequately prepared to teach Aboriginal students, but exposure to cultural diversity enhanced their university coursework and heightened their awareness of how an understanding of Aboriginal culture could contribute to more successful teaching ­practices.
• Teachers, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, benefited from having time away from the classroom for monthly meetings, where they reviewed research literature, discussed findings from the research project as it progressed, and developed ways to incorporate those findings into their classroom practice.

Nancy, the student teacher quoted at the beginning of this article, participated in Wiltse’s study. Her comment is based on her experience with an ­Aboriginal student who needed to interview her grandfather to complete an assignment on a tribal mask. Nancy went on to say: “Fortunately, before I asked a tactless question and revealed my ignorance, my ­[student] partner told me that she couldn’t phone her grandfather because buying a calling card would be expensive. Instead, I helped her write a letter to her grandfather. When she was done, she informed me that she did not know where she could get an envelope or a stamp. In my middle-class world, long-distance phone calls, envelopes and stamps are a part of everyday life.”

For some, Nancy’s experience may conjure up an Aboriginal stereotype, but it is only one of the many valuable experiences gained by all participants. Overall, Wiltse’s research is enlightening and provokes one to reflect on how—with all the talk around meeting the needs of 21st-century learners—we can ensure that we have 21st-century teachers.

The ATA’s Educational ­Research Award, valued at $5,000, is presented annually to a faculty of education member or sessional lecturer at an Alberta university or university college who has undertaken high-quality research on classroom teaching and learning.