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Dorintosh Central School has received $20,000 in funding for a research project based on their land-based education. (Facebook/Dorintosh Central School)
Research Funded

Dorintosh Central School receives grant to fund land-based education research project

Aug 16, 2019 | 2:03 PM

Dorintosh Central School received a $20,000 grant from the McDowell Foundation for a new research project called “Developing Sense of Belonging.”

The school will collect data on the effect of traditional Indigenous ways of learning on students’ sense of belonging in their school and community since introducing the concept of land-based learning to the students a few years ago.

Michael Radford, principal of Dorintosh Central School, said they will be using research circles to gather data.

“These essentially are opportunities for students to tell their own narrative around sense of belonging in the setting with an elder and in sharing circles in a teepee,” Radford said.

Dorintosh Central School introduced the Culturally Courageous Land-Based Leadership (CCLL) initiative in 2017 and Radford said it has completely changed how relationships have been built in the building.

Students have taken part in self-directed learning, Treaty education and truth and reconciliation through land-based learning as part of the Circle of Courage, a youth development model based on principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity.

Through the project, the school will collect data to understand traditional Indigenous ways of learning and how students, teachers and the community benefit from a holistic learning environment.

“From what we’ve seen so far, the connectedness, the relationship building and developing a sense of belonging in not just our building but in our staff, our students and our community members, there has been a great relationships and connections built. I believe that plays a huge role in our sense of belonging and I’m assuming we’ll collect data that supports that,” Radford said.

Dorintosh students won’t be the only ones taking part in the project as Radford said students from Jonas Samson Middle School and Gateway Elementary will share a few classes as part of the project.

Radford said the school staff, Northwest School division and Elder Sid Fiddler were instrumental in the project and thanked them.

nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov

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