Parent & Family Involvement

Parents in First Nations communities can become involved by working in all areas of the education program, for example: as directors of education, principals, teachers, classroom assistants, counsellors, secretaries, maintenance engineers, and language teachers. Elders of the communities can become involved with the teaching of First Nations languages, traditional values and skills, and cultural studies. Informally, parents should be encouraged to participate in school activities, such as professional development days, parent-teacher workshops, socials, sports activities, outings, dances and other student activities. (Assembly of First Nations, Tradition and Education) (Engaging First Nations Parents in Education: An Examination of Best Practices, Lise Chabot, Chiefs of Ontario, n.d. PDF)

Parental involvement in education is not a concept that is distinct to First Nations people in North America nor is it a struggle that only First Nations people embark upon. What distinguishes the First Nations situation from others is the culture, languages and worldview that they bring to the equation – none of which exist anywhere else in the world – and the number of stakeholders – Departments, Ministries, School Boards - that must be cajoled to realize First Nations' goals. These groups have posed and will continue to pose the biggest challenge to accomplishing a meaningful degree of parental and community involvement in First Nations education.

In developmental terms, major youth transitions (for example, leaving the parental home, moving into employment or post-secondary education, getting married, or becoming a parent) have been represented as periods of vulnerability and/or opportunity when much of an individual's life is in flux. Families, groups, and communities provide young people with support during these transitions in the form of extra attention, rituals, activities, or structured experiences to support successful transitions. Although there are several successful cases of positive social and economic transformation in Aboriginal communities, heartening instances of community healing, and exemplary experiences of individual and collective empowerment (Ponting and Voyageur 2005; Wuttunee 2004), statistical trends show that Aboriginal youth are more and more likely to live in lone-parent families, just as they are more likely to be part of a stepfamily or to live with a grandparent (with no parent present). Aboriginal people in Canada are also noted for having particularly.

First Nations recognize the vital role of parental involvement in education. Parents must participate in establishing the direction and goals of the education program. Active involvement of parents in school programs creates better understanding and cooperation between the education staff and the parents, in fact, the community as a whole.

Parents in First Nations communities can become involved by working in all areas of the education program, for example: as directors of education, principals, teachers, classroom assistants, counsellors, secretaries, maintenance engineers, and language teachers. Elders of the communities can become involved with the teaching of First Nations languages, traditional values and skills, and cultural studies. Informally, parents should be encouraged to participate in school activities, such as professional development days, parent-teacher workshops, socials, sports activities, outings, dances and other student activities. (Assembly of First Nations, Tradition and Education) (Engaging First Nations Parents in Education: An Examination of Best Practices, Lise Chabot, Chiefs of Ontario, n.d. PDF)

Parental involvement in education is not a concept that is distinct to First Nations people in North America nor is it a struggle that only First Nations people embark upon. What distinguishes the First Nations situation from others is the culture, languages and worldview that they bring to the equation – none of which exist anywhere else in the world – and the number of stakeholders – Departments, Ministries, School Boards - that must be cajoled to realize First Nations' goals. These groups have posed and will continue to pose the biggest challenge to accomplishing a meaningful degree of parental and community involvement in First Nations education.