44
AN ETHICAL SPACE
FOR
DIALOGUE
ABOUT
DIFFICULT
HISTORY: FOSTERING CRITICAL THINKING AMONGST
STUDENTS
IN
CANADA’S NORTHWEST TERRITORIES &
NUNAVUT
Sarah Daitch
The potential for developing human capital in the North rests on improved education outcomes for secondary school students. As
part of Northwest Territories and Nunavut education systems’ respective aims towards improved results, new curriculum
materials are being developed in the North. One aim for these materials is to overcome persistent inequalities in educational
achievement outcomes in the Canadian North. The territorial education departments developed a mandatory curriculum module
regarding the history and legacy of the Canadian governments’ former policies of assimilation, and forcible removal of Indigenous
children from their families to residential schools. This curriculum and accompanying resource module was piloted in high schools
during the 2012-2013 academic year. This article presents a study conducted in collaboration with the territorial departments of
education in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, evaluating the curriculum initiative. It examines how Northern Canadian
youth connect difficult history with their identity, and become capable of and committed to community and civic engagement in
their own lives. Because it is a region undergoing rapid development and governance changes, fostering critical citizenship amongst
students is vital. Compassionate students who can think critically will be positioned to improve the Canadian North, and the
wider circumpolar Arctic.
Introduction: Improving Education in a Transforming Environment
In Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut, there is a renewed focus on improving
secondary and post-secondary education outcomes. These aim towards bridging the notable gap in
education achievements with the rest of Canada, and with other circumpolar regions.1 In Nunavut,
the need for improvement in education was a central issue in the October 2013 election (Kennedy
Dalseg 2014). The Government of the Northwest Territories announced its Aboriginal Student
Achievement Education Plan in 2011, and in 2012, the NWT Education Renewal and Innovation
Sarah Daitch is a mediator, research and public policy consultant and Action Canada Fellow 2013-2014.