Veronique Plante

Topic

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

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Date & location

• Tuesday, March 5, 2024

• 10:30 A.M.

• Clearihue Building

• Room B007 and Virtual

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Ted Riecken, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

• Dr. Tim Anderson, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Anita Prest, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Uvic (Member)

• Dr. Rob Hancock, Department of Anthropology, UVic (Outside Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Dwayne Donald, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Donn Feir, Department of Economics, UVic

   

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.