Page 27 - Ontario First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework

Census data indicates that 42 per cent of the Aboriginal population in Ontario, aged 15 years and over, have less than a high school diploma, and only 6 per cent have completed a university degree. The 2005 federal Auditor General’s Report estimated that it would take 28 years for First Nation high school graduation numbers to reach the Canadian average.
A number of studies conducted over the past 30 years, including the Penner Report (1983), the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Final Report (1996), and the Nault Working Group Report on First Nations Education (2003), have pointed to the urgent need for governments
to focus their efforts on improving educational outcomes among First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students. In 1972, the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations), released a document titled Indian Control of Indian Education. The document emphasized, among other things, the need for control of First Nation education by First Nation people, as well as the need for greater involvement of First Nation parents in the education of their children.
There are a number of issues that impact on Aboriginal student achieve- ment, including a lack of awareness among teachers of the learning styles of Aboriginal students and a lack of understanding within schools and school boards of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit cultures, histories, and perspectives.
A further challenge is the lack of coordination between First Nation gov- ernments, Aboriginal organizations, and the provincial and federal govern- ments, which has resulted in varied levels of educational support for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students. However, efforts are currently under way at a number of levels to find collaborative ways of improving the education outcomes of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students.
In September 2004, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, identified Aboriginal education as a priority issue. Ministers acknowledged the need to find new and varied ways of working together to improve
the outcomes of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students across both the elementary/secondary and postsecondary education systems.
• Appendix A
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