Report on Indigenous Teachers and Leaders in Alberta’s Public School System

The research activity in this project was funded and supported in the following ways: • The Alberta Teachers’ Association fully funded the research for Indigenous teachers and school leaders and retained the academic expertise of Dwayne Donald, PhD, to analyze and comment on the Indigenous teacher and school leader data. [...] 61 Indigenous Teachers and Leaders in Alberta’s Public School System | 2022 6 Indigenous Teachers and Leaders in Alberta’s Public School System | 2022 7 Preface Teachers in Alberta and the Alberta Teachers’ Association recognize the critical role and responsibility we have in advancing the goals of Indigenous education and in contributing to truth and reconciliation. [...] A special note of thanks is due also to the researchers at the University of Alberta; to ATA executive staff officer Melissa Purcell, who led the Indigenous teachers and school leaders’ dimensions of this report; and most especially to the Indigenous teachers who contributed their many voices through completing the survey and participating in the focus groups. [...] As St Denis (2011) argues, many Canadians regard efforts to address issues of diversity and inequity as a threat to the perceived virtuousness of the Canadian nation and nationality, and so the resentment of and resistance to the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges and histories is considered justified on these grounds. [...] Although it was challenging to interpret and analyze the data from the few participants, the voices of the participating system leaders need to be heard and included, and compared to the findings from the participating Indigenous teachers and school leaders and to similar research in Canada on Indigenous leaders in education.