CSBA Research – Indigenous Education

Executive Summary

While education is the responsibility of the individual province or territory, the ways in which education for Indigenous students is organized varies across the country.

A large number of Indigenous students in Canada are educated for all or part of their education in provincial/territorial public schools. Many Indigenous students are educated in federally funded, band-operated schools using provincial curricula, but because these schools do not fall under the responsibility of provincial school boards associations they are outside of the scope of this survey. However, it is important to acknowledge that boards need to form a positive and value add relationship with all First Nations schools.

Since there are a variety of ways in which Indigenous peoples are organized in Canada, and given Indigenous populations as a percentage of the total populations vary across the country, it stands to reason that there will be variations in provincial structures for Indigenous education as well as in the emphasis being placed on implementing the Calls to Action. However, one reoccurring theme among the possible recommendations provided below is the importance of data sharing between all systems involved.

This document is a summary of what this survey found. Provincial school boards associations, ministries of education, as well as other organizations and key educational partners provided the following information in response to the survey questions. Read the link below for the full report: 

Cross-Country Overview of Indigenous Education Structure, Initiatives and Promising Practices