Curriculum Studies

The Department of Curriculum Studies works to include both First Nations and Metis culture in all aspects of it mission. We support the development of student understanding of culture and the important role these elements play in the everyday lives of teachers. We have mandated the inclusion of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis content and culture in all of our courses. The exposure to culturally connected content and process broadens the awareness of our students and creates for them a greater skillset.

Our Department provides instructors to both on and off campus Teacher Education Programs such as ITEP and SUNTEP. Our faculty are committed to supporting the growth of First Nations and Metis students through providing tailored and culturally relevant instruction.

We have a number of specific indigenous initiatives in our Department:

The Indigenous Languages Certificate (ILC) is a ten course offering for teachers to become skilled in the pedagogy of indigenous languages and culture in a variety of languages such as Cree, Michif, and Saulteaux.

We offer a Michif Language course (ECUR 498) for all learners interested in learning to speak an important Indigenous Language and are working on the development of the new Michif Language Certificate. 

We have developed and piloted two courses in indigenous curriculum pedagogy. These courses will provide a much needed supplement for our future teachers and the diverse classrooms they will experience in the future.

We offer an Indigenous Science Methods course as a unique elective to complement traditional teacher training in the area of science.

Our faculty complement includes a number of Indigenous Scholars and Elders including noted Cree and Michif culture and language teachers.

Our service and research includes connections to local schools and First Nations to better support and understand the needs of all students. We continue to look for opportunities to increase our engagement and support of those working to further the concept of Indian Control of Indian Education.

Educational Administration

The Department of Educational Administration welcomes you to our vibrant and growing community of students, educators, and researchers, located on Treaty 6 Territory and within the ancestral homeland of the Plains Cree, the Whitecap Dakota, and Round Prairie Métis.

For more than 50 years, the Department of Educational Administration has been dedicated to fostering partnership expansion and bridging cultures through the study of professional leadership successes and challenges in schools and communities across Saskatchewan and Canada, on First Nations, and around the world.  We believe that our strong record of preeminence in school-administrator focused teaching, research, and advocacy is a product of our stalwart commitments to Saskatchewan First Nations and Métis communities.  Placing importance on Aboriginal perspectives, the Department regularly adapts undergraduate and graduate programming to the contexts of First Nations schools and provincial schools with Aboriginal populations.  Moreover, through our partnerships with Saskatchewan First Nations, Tribal Councils, and provincial school systems, we take great pride in the accomplishments of our past and on-going Master’s student cohorts taught in First Nations’ communities and in the North.  Our Master’s and PhD classes are welcoming spaces for Aboriginal students—we value our students’ insights, we honour our students’ community knowledge, and we support our students’ growth and success.

Indigenous Education and Organization Masters Cohort

The Leadership in Indigenous Education and Organization Cohort provides opportunities for current and aspiring Indigenous educational leaders to enhance expertise in aspects of leadership, governance and management of First Nation schools through enriched practical, research-based and theoretical course offerings relevant to contexts in which Indigenous educational leadership takes place.

Educational Foundations

Our Committment

The Department of Educational Foundations is committed to advancing the study of social and ecological justice education in relation to Indigenous knowledge and anti-racist education in the following ways:

  • hiring and retaining internationally renowned Indigenous faculty:
  • professional practice in support of Indigenous communities, schools and students  and antiracist educational practice. (See profiles above)
  • community and university service
  • offering a Master of Education program with cohorts in: Indigenous education, land based Indigenous education, adult education. 
  • special case and interdepartmental PhD programs which students can direct to anti-racist and Indigenous study.
  • courses in the College of Education Bachelor of Education program including on Indigenous and Antiracist Education

Masters Degree in Indigenous Studies

Masters Degree for Indigenous Studies in Social and Ecological Justice Education

  • Be a better teacher, principal, vice-principal or superintendent.
  • Become a director of education with a social and ecological justice mission.
  • Be an adult educator, build community organizations and direct institutions of higher learning.
  • Develop vision with Indigenous organizations and First Nations governments.
  • Teach for justice in complex social and political educational landscapes.
  • Pose critical social, political and philosophical questions about education theory and practice.
  • Engage a diverse community of professionals, scholars and researchers.
  • Expand your experiential, holistic, problem- posing teaching and learning repertoire.
  • Be an informed and ethical advocate and ally and resource for improving Indigenous education and inclusion in your organization, school or institute.

 

Educational Psychology and Special Education

Acknowledgements

Staff, students and faculty in our department want to acknowledge the host community, its people, and its territory.  We believe that we are indeed “all treaty people” and must respect the rights and responsibilities inherent in these historic agreements.  Living and working on Treaty 6 land is a privilege negotiated by our forefathers two centuries ago.  However we continue to enjoy the gifts of this land and hope to share them equitably with all who call this land their home. We remain indebted to our First Nations and Métis teachers and mentors who continue to guide us in their patient yet persistent manner. 

Mission Statement

Using a combined teacher-scholar and scientist-practitioner model, the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education prepares professional practitioners and scholars to make significant contributions to the educational and psychosocial well-being of diverse children, youth and adults within educational, family, and community settings.

Values Statement

Our core ethical principle is respect for the dignity of all human beings.  Within this overarching principle, we believe in the potential for resiliency within human beings and are committed to being agents of positive personal and social change as we promote the values of self-determination, interdependence, equity, social justice, learning from diversity, cooperation and collaboration, excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Indigenous Knowledge

Inherent in our department’s mission and value statements are the core beliefs of equity and respect for diversity.  Additionally, our focus on resiliency replaces a “deficit mindset” that may have shaped previous ways of viewing those that experience challenges or must cope with adversity in whatever forms it may take. Similarly, respect for languages, cultures and non-Eurocentric traditions remains core to understanding and accepting differences.  This mindset naturally extends to indigenous peoples and their ways of knowing.  We remain committed to engaging in informed conversations with elders and knowledge keepers who can help us shape our programs and services in a manner that is as inclusive as it is respectful.