Approaches to Aboriginal Education in Canada

"This timely publication brings diverse perspectives on aboriginal education together in one volume, providing readers a context with which to understand and consider them. These approaches are juxtaposed to encourage critical analysis of the different assumptions underlying proposals for improving aboriginal education.

There are two general categories of perspectives explored in the book, parallelist and integrationist approaches. Nine essays are provided as examples of parallelist thinking. They all argue, to varying degrees, that aboriginal autonomy and control over education, as well as the revitalization of aboriginal traditions, is necessary for aboriginal education to be improved. Integrationist approaches, on the other hand, assume that solutions to aboriginal problems lie in facilitating native participation in the Canadian educational system and workforce. These approaches, represented by nine articles, are informed by both liberalism and political economy.

The book concludes with two dialogues between parallelist and integrationist approaches. These exchanges are intended to uncover how the different approaches respond to arguments and assumptions that are oppositional to their own. The book ends with a rebuttal from a parallelist perspective. As parallelism is the dominant approach being articulated with respect to aboriginal education policy, it is important that this perspective be given the last word."--pub. desc.