Relationships Matter: Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Students in British Columbia, Canada

Autor/inn/en	Pidgeon, Michelle; Archibald, Jo-ann; Hawkey, Colleen
Titel	Relationships Matter: Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Students in British Columbia, Canada
Quelle	In: Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44 (2014) 1, S.1-21 (21 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0316-1218
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; Indigenous Populations; Culturally Relevant Education; Mentors; Transitional Programs; Peer Relationship; Interpersonal Relationship; Responsibility; Online Surveys; Student Surveys; Academic Persistence; Accountability; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Sinti und Roma; Peer-Beziehungen; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Verantwortungsübernahme; Zuständigkeit; Schülerbefragung; Verantwortung; Kanada
Abstract	The current Canadian landscape of graduate education has pockets of presence of Indigenous faculty, students, and staff. The reality is that all too often, Aboriginal graduate students are either among the few, or is the sole Aboriginal person in an entire faculty. They usually do not have mentorship or guidance from an Indigenous faculty member or ally, that is, someone who is supportive of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenity. While many institutions are working to recruit and retain Aboriginal graduate students, more attention needs to be paid to culturally relevant strategies, policies, and approaches. This paper critically examines the role of a culturally relevant peer and faculty mentoring initiative--SAGE (Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement)--which works to better guide institutional change for Indigenous graduate student success. The key findings show that the relationships in SAGE create a sense of belonging and networking opportunities, and it also fosters self-accountability to academic studies for many students because they no longer feel alone in their graduate journey. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of a culturally relevant peer-support program for mentoring, recruiting, and retaining Aboriginal graduate students. It also puts forth a challenge to institutions to better support Aboriginal graduate student recruitment and retention through their policies, programs, and services within the institution. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. P.O. Box 34091, RPO Fort Richmond, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5T5, Canada. Tel: 204-474-6404; Fax: 204-474-7561; e-mail: csshe@cc.umanitoba.ca; Web site: http://www.csshe-scees.ca/cjhe.htm
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10