Anna Lees is the author of the article, “Roles of Urban Indigenous Community Members in Collaborative Field-Based Teacher Preparation.” Ā In the following blog, Lees provides insight into theĀ research process for this work. The article is featured in the November/December issue of JTE; you can read itĀ here.
Q. What motivated you to pursue this particular research topic?
Research around Indigenous education is a personal endeavor for me and motivated by the sacrifices made by my family to ensure my educational success and state of privilege. To engage in the professorate and stay true to my community means my scholarship must work to advance the historical and continued efforts of elders to create a better future for the children. As I engaged within an urban Indigenous context, I realized the particular importance of critical community-based research around urban Indigenous education where educators work to serve tribally diverse youth and families. This study was conducted with a genuine desire to improve the school experiences of future generations of Indigenous children, and my intention for publishing this article was to continue discussing how radical reform efforts in teacher education may advance decolonization in Indigenous education.
Q. Were there any specific external events (political, social, economic) that influenced your decision to engage in this research study?
The historical dispossession of Indigenous knowledges and priorities in education drove my decision to center Indigenous experiences in this study. Indigenous knowledges are gaining attention in dialogue around social change and the actions at Standing Rock and other tribal communities have furthered the visibility. This recognition is important in the acknowledgement of tribal sovereignty and shared efforts to sustain a peaceful existence. However, Indigenous ways of knowing and being are still widely excluded from education systems. By prioritizing Indigenous community partners as leaders in teacher education, I strive to disrupt the pattern of Indigenous exclusion in higher education and school curriculum.
Q. What were some difficulties you encountered with the research?
Research with Indigenous communities is both essential and challenging for me as an Indigenous and multicultural scholar. I am committed to learning from the work of others and taking guidance from my community, which is not necessarily aligned with academic research and publication. That said, I had steadfast support from experienced mentors in this study and a close relationship with the community members involved in the project; this led to what I believe was a successful collaboration between a primarily white, settler-serving academy and an urban Indigenous community organization. I believe that tensions between research and Indigenous communities are important in consistently critiquing the purpose of the research and the level of reciprocity achieved, so the difficulties faced in designing and conducting Indigenous research are essential to the integrity of the work.
Q. Writing, by necessity, requires leaving certain things on the cutting room floor. What didnāt make it into the article that you want to talk about?
The aim of this article was to prioritize the perspectives of Indigenous community leaders as co-teacher educators and with that, I did not include the perspectives of teacher candidates. While I am committed to continuing to center the experiences and perspectives of Indigenous communities to improve Indigenous education, I am interested in knowing how the teacher candidates in this study were impacted by their engagement with an urban Indigenous community. I would also like to examine how pre-service experiences with Indigenous communities impacts teachersā work in classrooms with Indigenous and all children. Data around the teacher candidate experience was not collected in this study, and is an area in need of further research.
Q. What current areas of research are you pursuing?
I am currently examining efforts of decolonization in higher education and curriculum & instruction. In collaboration with Indigenous colleagues, we are working to understand the transformation process towards decolonized education. Examining the process for teachers and teacher candidates to develop their critical consciousness and what barriers they encounter as they move towards social action. We are also working to explore the possibilities of decolonization in higher education by centering Indigenous knowledges and intergenerational relationships on a settler-serving campus to create authentic community between Indigenous students, staff, and faculty. Challenges faced in decolonizing higher education, and the mismatch present in this goal, are being explored by challenging the boundaries of the academy as we dream a new reality.
Q. What new challenges do you see for the field of teacher education?
A great challenge in schools of teacher education is serving an increasing population of students of color. Many institutions have succeeded in their recruitment of students from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities. Enrolling a diverse student body in teacher education is significant in working to serve the increasingly diverse children and families attending our nationās schools. However, the field of teacher education has not yet made the necessary structural or curricula changes to support the needs of students of color in their preparation. Teacher education must work to embrace multiple knowledges and ways of being to reflect the communities of all teacher candidates. Without this, teacher education programs uphold a hidden curriculum for the students of color recruited into whitestream institutions; neglecting preparation relevant to the communities they intend to serve. I am interested in models of teacher education programs recruiting students of color and prioritizing their holistic needs during and beyond the preparation experience.
Contact the author of this blog:
Anna Lees-Anna.Lees@wwu.edu