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Inuit and Non-Inuit School Principals Accounts of their Practice: Knowing the Past to Better Build the Future in Nunavik

Co-investigator: Glorya Pellerin, Mélissa Villela
Collaborators: Elisapie Lamoureux, Passa Mangiuk, Qumaq Iyaituq.
Partners: Tukisivallirutitsanut Parnaitiit, UQAT

Project Title and Summary

Inuit and Non-Inuit School Principals Accounts of their Practice:
Knowing the Past to Better Build the Future in Nunavik

In Nunavik, within a few decades, Inuit have gone from a way of life where school was non-existent to compulsory school attendance, from kindergarten to high school. School in northern communities is still today a developing institution whose anchoring in the community is an everyday challenge (Paul, 2020). More than half of Inuit in Quebec aged 25 to 64 (54.2%) have no certificate, diploma, or degree. The population is very young, with an average age of 27 years versus 41 years for non-Indigenous people (Statistics Canada, 2016). In Indigenous schools, attraction, training, recruitment, and retention of staff are daily challenges (Association des employés du Nord québécois, 2016). Knowing that staff turnover is one of the major challenges hindering the educational success of Aboriginal students and that the influence of school principals can be paramount, we are interested in the management practices of Nunavik school principals.

Our research responds to a need expressed by school stakeholders, both Inuit and non-Inuit, who face enormous challenges on a daily basis in order to efficiently manage their bicultural and trilingual schools located north of the 55th parallel. This research differs from the scientific literature already produced, 1) by the utilization of the historical approach adopted and, 2) by the particular context of the study. The results will make it possible to achieve our goal of better understanding the reality of the principals of northern schools through a better understanding of the issues, challenges and practices concerning them. By tracing the events that took place between 1950 and today, through literature and the compilation of the accounts of managers’ practices of yesterday and today, we will be able to: 1) distinguish what Inuit understanding may be regarding the work of a school principal be as opposed to non-Inuit understanding; the tasks related to this function and how to carry them out; 2) identify the knowledge, skills and soft skills that are useful to principals and 3) update our understanding of the transformations that the profession has undergone in view of the evolution of the historical context, and thus better situate the directors in the context of today. We have identified directors who have had long careers and who are ready to talk about their practice. We will correlate their accounts with the views of current directors, and thus better identify the challenges we face and reflect on the courses of action to consider.

The study is carried out in a partnership between the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) and Tukisivallirutitsanut Parnaitiit and takes root in the collaboration initiated in 1984 between the university and schools in the communities of Ivujivik and Puvirnituq (McKenzie, 1993; Maheux, 2009; Pellerin et al., 2016). The partners believe that improving the management practices of northern school institutions is a priority issue that must be addressed in order to contribute to the social, economic and cultural development of the Inuit people of Nunavik.

Project Objectives

The overall objective of the project is to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in the management of northern schools in response to a need expressed by Nunavik school principals. Through historical research of the events that took place since 1950, and by compiling the accounts of the managers practices of yesterday and today, we will be able to analyze the essentials of school management in a bicultural, trilingual context in isolated environments.

The specific objectives are: (1) to distinguish between what an Inuit understanding versus a non-Inuit understanding of a principal’s work can be; what tasks are related to this function and how to carry them out; (2) to identify knowledge, know-how and behavioral competency useful to principals by highlighting certain experiences of individuals who were involved in Nunavik schools; (3) to update our understanding of the transformations that the profession has undergone in response to the evolution of the historical context and thus better situate managers in today’s context.

Results (if applicable)
The main goal of the research project is to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in the management of northern schools with a view to contribute to the ongoing training of existing managers and, consequently, to the creation of efficient learning and teaching climates in that context. One of the most important aspects of the project is to make this knowledge accessible, the objective of which is to allow Nunavik school administrators to have access to the discussions of former school principals regarding the period of implementation of the institution and their vision of schooling. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the adaptation efforts faced by school stakeholders, and of academic achievement in an Inuit context. Hopefully, the results will achieve the specific objectives to distinguish Inuit understanding versus non-Inuit understanding of the work of a school principal, and to identify any knowledge, skill, and behavioral competency useful to principals, and to renew our understanding of the transformations that the profession has undergone historically.