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Recontextualizing Schooling within an Inuit Community

1994; Canadian Society for the Study of Education; Volume: 19; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Francês

10.2307/1495246

1918-5979

Anne Douglas,

Indigenous and Place-Based Education

Inuit community members in Baffin Island are learning to manage formal schooling, and at the same time modifying that institution so that it reflects their own community context. Yet finding the right fit between schooling and a new cultural context presents a challenge. Many Inuit find problematical the new values schooling introduces into the community. This article proceeds from the assumption that the practices and values of formal schooling historically have been superimposed upon already existing indigenous institutions, which, in many cases, remain invisible to “southern” educators. The concept “formal schooling” as used here is not restricted to classroom values and practices, but denotes the whole schooling system and extends to include the system’s many roles and varied content. Les membres de la communaute inuite de l’ile de Baffin apprennent a gerer les pro- grammes scolaires officiels tout en leur apportant des modifications relevant du contexte communautaire. La recherche du juste equilibre entre les programmes d’etudes officiels et un nouveau contexte culturel constitue toutefois un defi. L’ecole introduit de nouvelles valeurs que de nombreux membres de la communaute estiment problematiques. L’auteure pose comme hypothese que les pratiques et les valeurs de l’ecole officielle sont depuis toujours surimposees a des institutions autochtones deja existantes qui, dans de nombreux cas, demeurent invisibles aux educateurs “du Sud.” Ici, le concept d’“ecole officielle” ne se limite pas aux valeurs et pratiques rattachees a la classe, mais englobe l’ensemble du systeme scolaire, notamment les nombreux roles et les contenus divers de ce systeme.