Bridging the divide: An inquiry into post-secondary decolonization policy and practice

Date

2024

Authors

Plante, Veronique

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Abstract

Post-secondary institutions in BC, Canada, continue to engage with reconciliation objectives and processes of decolonization, practices which are detailed in a growing body of literature, and which are informed by various developments and documents (e.g., the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). Policy for these processes is diverse and ongoing. This dissertation aimed to understand some of the ways that policy and practice are connected in one Faculty at one post-secondary institution—the University of Victoria—using Narrative Inquiry. I interviewed administrative and teaching professionals to gain insight into some of the practices facilitating reconciliation and decolonization pathways. My findings included identifying policy as a relational process involving multiple interested parties—educators, administrators, and students, and involved policy as fluid, and dynamic from its creation to its implementation or enactment.

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Keywords

Decolonization, Policy and practice, Reconciliation, Post-secondary education, Narrative

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