Funding to Strengthen Indigenous Voices in Early Childhood Education at Guelph

Integrating Indigenous perspectives into early childhood studies (ECS) and responding to the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action are the goals of a landmark $1-million donation provided this month to the University of Guelph in collaboration with the University of Guelph-Humber.

New funding from the Flanagan Foundation will support the hiring of an Indigenous faculty member through the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) as well as an Indigenous curriculum specialist that will engage with the University of Guelph's Child Care and Learning Centre.

The faculty position will be cross-appointed between U of G's Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (FRAN) and Guelph-Humber's ECS program.

The initiative will make Guelph-Humber one of only a few post-secondary ECS programs in Canada with a dedicated Indigenous faculty member, said Dr. Nikki Martyn, ECS program head.

Along with the new curriculum specialist, the new professor will help ensure that students gain exposure to Indigenous knowledge and experience.

Dr. Kim Anderson, a professor and Indigenous scholar in FRAN, has taught Indigenous units across the curriculum in her department and welcomes the expertise that an Indigenous early childhood education (ECE) professional will bring.

"This is a great opportunity to enhance child studies in FRAN," she said. "I'm very excited that our students will be able to learn about all the tremendous work that Indigenous communities have done in ECE over the years."

Additional funding in support of these positions comes from CSAHS who are committing to expand scholarship and experiential opportunities for Indigenous students.

ECS students to support culturally sensitive approach to educating children

Wider and more inclusive perspectives help early childhood professionals connect and work more effectively with Indigenous families and children, Martyn said.

 

"When they're engaging with an Indigenous family, the ECEs can share in the understanding of their history, culture and experiences, supporting a more attuned and culturally sensitive approach to their work in caring for and educating children," she said.

Referring to families' potential experience of impacts of trauma from colonization and Canada's residential school system, Martyn said ECS students exposed to enriched cultural programming "will feel more confident in connecting respectfully and with care, compassion and empathy. They will understand and see the world from a different vantage point, which is important for reconciliation and creating change in the world."

Martyn said she hopes the new positions will attract more Indigenous students to the program, particularly from Northern communities that mostly lack trained early childhood educators.

"What excites me is the ripple effect. When new ways of understanding are modelled, we provide students with opportunities to see their lived experience in a new way that can positively impact the way in which children understand and engage in relationships and with the world around them."

Both the ECS program at Guelph-Humber and the Child Studies program in FRAN are accredited with the College of Early Childhood Educators.

Nearly 900 students are enrolled in early childhood studies, including about 425 full-time students over the four-year program. More than 450 working professionals enrol in online studies to upgrade skills and knowledge.

Initiative to strengthen ties with U of G experts, child care centre

The program already includes an introductory Indigenous studies course; Martyn said most existing courses also touch upon Indigenous topics. She expects the new hires will help to extend such offerings and strengthen collaborations with colleagues in FRAN within the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences and at U of G's Child Care and Learning Centre, where the new curriculum specialist will be working.

"Those U of G units will also benefit from the expertise of the curriculum specialists in their unique programs, integrating and impacting all the child-focused communities at U of G," said Martyn.

The curriculum specialist will likely be hired by this fall. The new faculty member is expected to be in place by summer 2023.

 

That professor will teach and conduct research, potentially investigating the effects of early childhood services and supports in Canada. "We hope the new faculty member will be able to explore how to enhance the support and connection with children and families," said Martyn.

The Flanagan Foundation contacted the university earlier this year after learning of Guelph-Humber's program and its events to mark Orange Shirt Day, an annual initiative to raise awareness of Indigenous history and the impacts of residential schools. Those events were led by ECS instructor Christine Zupo, who teaches the introductory Indigenous studies course.

"There is strong evidence that early childhood education is a route to a healthier and more equitable society," said Kathleen Timms, a board member of the foundation.

Noting that the federal government plans to fund the provision of more child-care and preschool places, she said, "We hope that supporting this initiative by the University of Guelph-Humber will enable teachers to be equipped to teach all Canadian preschoolers about our own Indigenous peoples' ways of knowing and being. We trust this will be a step toward reconciliation of all our Canadian nations."

The organization's funding is expected to help in addressing the pertinent "call to action" of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs.

Byron Sheldrick, interim Dean of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, said "we are incredibly grateful to the Flanagan Foundation for their trust in the University of Guelph and their support of our ongoing efforts to address the legacy of colonialism and our shared commitment to reconciliation. This gift will have transformative impacts for the early childhood education, both at the U of G and UGH, and beyond."