New study finds both positives and shortcomings from Indigenous courses at U of W

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A new study looking at the Indigenous course requirement at the University of Winnipeg shows there is increased recognition among students about the discrimination Indigenous people faced, but it also noted some shortcomings as well.

Since 2016, the U of W has required all undergraduate students to take at least one Indigenous course.

Jeremy Siemens and Katelin Neufeld studied the affects the classes had on the students that took them.

Ninety-one students were surveyed at the beginning and end of the program and were measured in four categories: awareness of contemporary injustice, sense of benefit from unjust systems, sense of responsibility in reconciliation and support for systemic change.

Looking at the students surveys before and after taking the class, Siemens and Neufeld found "greater awareness of systemic discrimination impacting Indigenous People in Canada, and stronger agreement that non-Indigenous Canadians benefit from such systems; they also expressed stronger agreement that non-Indigenous Canadians have a personal responsibility to address injustices impacting Indigenous Peoples, as well as more support for government initiatives to address injustice."

Siemens said the classes also led some students to change their behaviour towards ignorance and stereotypes in their own social circles.

"I hope that this work can continue. The work of this kind of education in Canada, that it can be a launching pad for future research," he said. "My work looked at what happens to non-Indigenous student attitudes in one particular place, but it's important to know what the experiences of Indigenous students are, what the experience of the Indigenous professors in these classes are."

Despite the positives that came out of the program, Siemens said one negative was students thought their participation was an endpoint in reconciliation.

"They weren't necessarily aware of their ongoing biases, described this as some of change that, as I said, had reached some kind of endpoint. And we hope that this can be ongoing work, and work without an end, so that students can continue to see the value in additional courses, additional learning."

Of those surveyed, the group's mean age was 22, with half of respondents being born in Canada. The majority of the group were also women and around three-quarters were white.