Working towards relational accountability in education change networks through local indigenous ways of knowing and being

Abstract

Indigenous communities and students have been marginalized by colonial practices, disproportionally referred to special education programs, and encounter systematic prejudice and discrimination in education systems that lack respect for their ways of knowing and being. To disrupt hierarchical practices and structures that enact a hidden curriculum of privilege and racism, reconciliation and educational and system transformation need to work in tandem. Drawing on critical case study guided by Indigenous Storywork principles, we are researching how Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) can support educators and Indigenous community partners’ collaboration to decentre colonizing education practices. Analysis of preliminary data offers a window into the potential and complexity of engaging in decolonizing work that asks educators to unpack their role in reconciliation efforts and unlearn much of what they believed to be ethical practice. Findings include: participants awakening to structural inequities and racism; white/settler participants engaging with difficult knowledge; educators emphasizing their need for external resources to decolonize their practice; and a delicate balance between educators feeling challenged, feeling hopeful, and recognizing the distance yet to be travelled. This study demonstrates that collaboration with Indigenous community partners within education change networks (ECNs) holds potential to support pedagogical transformation and ultimately redefine student success.

Keywords

• education change networks
• decolonization
• professional learning networks
• equity
• relational accountability