January11,2016
SFU-PsychologistsreleasecommunityreportontheAboriginalFocusSchoolinVancouverBC
SFUresearchersScottNeufeld(MACandidate,Psychology)andProf.MichaelSchmitt(Psychology)
havepartneredwithVonnieHutchingson,thefirstprincipaloftheAboriginalFocusSchool(AFS)in
Vancouver,toresearchtheperceptionsofparentsandcommunitymembersoftheAboriginal
FocusSchool.HutchingsonisanSFUalumnusfromtheHaidaandTsimshianFirstNations.The
AboriginalFocusSchoolislocatedatMacdonaldElementaryandisnowinitsfourthyearof
operation.
Hutchingsonsayssheengagedinthisresearchpartnershipbecauseofherlifelongpassionfor
integratingAboriginallanguage,cultureandhistoriesintotheclassroom.Shewantedtolearnhow
theAFSwasperceivedinthecommunity,andhowitcouldbeimproved.Neufeldsays,“The
purposeoftheresearchwastotalktoparentsandstaffattheAFStolearnfromtheirperspective
whatwasworkingwellintheschoolandwhatcouldworkbetter.Inadditionwewantedtotalkto
parentswhodidnothavechildrenintheAFS,tolearnabouttheirperceptionsoftheAFS.Nowwe
arereportingwhatwehavelearnedtothecommunityatlarge,withthehopethatourfindings
contributetoanongoingcommunitydialogueandultimatelyservetheinterestsofthechildrenin
theFocusSchool.”
TheresearchpartnershipisnowreleasingitsfindingsinTheAboriginalFocusSchool,Vancouver,
BC:ACommunityResearchReport,availableonline(http://tinyurl.com/AFSreport)andinprintat
variouscommunitylocationsintheneighbourhoodaroundtheschool.
Regardingexperiencesattheschoolthusfar,thereportfindsthattheAboriginalFocusSchoolhas
alreadydeliveredpositiveoutcomesforstudents,includingfosteringastrongsenseofAboriginal
culturalpride.Whenaskediftheywouldsendanotherchildtotheschool,overhalf(57%)ofthe
parentswithchildrenintheAFSsaidthey‘definitelywould’andanother21%saidthey‘mightand
wouldconsiderit’.
However,theresearchersalsoreportthatparents,teachersandstaffdidexpressconcerns.For
parents,oneofthemorecommonconcernswasthattherewasnotenoughAboriginalcultural
contentintheirchild’sclassroom.Inparticular,parentswantedmoreculturalcontentdeliveredby
peopleofAboriginalheritage.Inaddition,parents,staffandteachersagreethatfortheschoolto
flourish,morerobustsupportfortheprogramisneededfromtheVancouverSchoolBoard.
Neufeldpointsoutthat,“InresponsetoconcernsraisedbyparentsattheAFS,theschoolboard
hasrecentlyvotedtorecommittheirfullsupporttotheschool,whichisagreatstepintheright
direction.Basedonwhatwelearnedfromtalkingtomanyparentsattheschoolandinthe
surroundingcommunity,wemakeseveralrecommendationsforhowtheschoolboardcanbetter
supporttheschool.”
Forexample,theresearchersrecommendthattheVSBdomoretopromoteawarenessand
accurateunderstandingoftheAFS.Theyfoundthatmanyparentsinthesurroundingcommunity
wereeitherunawareoftheschool’sexistence,orlackedaccurateinformationabouttheschool.
OnecommonmisperceptionwasthatmostparentsassumedthattheschoolwasforAboriginal
studentsonly,despitethefactthattheAboriginalFocusSchoolisopentostudentsfromall
backgroundsandtherearetenstudentscurrentlyenrolledwhodonotidentifyasAboriginal.
Accordingtotheresearchers,non-AboriginalparentsoftencouldnotseetherelevanceoftheAFS
fortheirchildren.However,Schmittpointsoutthatthereisgoodevidencefromresearchinsocial
psychologythattherearemanypotentialbenefitsfornon-AboriginalstudentsenrolledintheAFS.
Schmittsays,“Thesebenefitsincludepositivecross-culturalrelationshipswithAboriginalpeoples,
enhancedcreativityandproblem-solvingskillsfromlearninginaculturallydiverseenvironment,
andadeeperconnectionwiththeirownheritagecultures.”
TheresearchersfoundthatAboriginalparentsinthesurroundingcommunityoftenanticipatedthe
AFSwouldprovideasubstandardeducation,andthatthenegativeexpectationsofAboriginal
parentswerebasedonnegativepastexperienceswithotherAboriginaleducationprograms.The
researcherssuggestthateffortstopromotetheschoolcouldbeenhancedwithanincreased
recognitionofthesepastexperiences.Tobuildtrustandpromoteaccurateinformationaboutthe
school,theresearchersrecommendthattheVSBpursuemeaningful,ongoingengagementwith
theAboriginalcommunityinVancouver.
Basedontheirfindings,theresearchersmakeseveraladditionalrecommendationstotheVSB:To
increaseAboriginalrepresentationintheAFSamongteachersandstaff,increaseAboriginal
contentattheAFS,andactivelypromotetheschooltobothAboriginalandnon-Aboriginal
parents.
VonnieHutchingson,whocompletedhertimeasthefirstprincipalattheAFSthispastSpring,says
“TheAboriginalFocusSchoolwasimplementedatamomentoustimeinhistoryforAboriginal
peoples,atatimewhenthereissomuchhopeforthefutureofourchildrenandourcommunities.
Culturallyresponsiveeducationispivotaltothesuccessofourcommunities.Thisreport,and
theserecommendations,provideasetofconcretesuggestionsforhowtheVSBcanrespondto
therecentcallsforactionoftheTruthandReconciliationCommissionbybuildingonthestrengths
oftheAboriginalFocusSchool.”
ScottNeufeld,SFUPsychology,MACandidate,778.378.8782,sdn2@sfu.ca
MichaelSchmitt,SFUPsychology,Professor,604.569.4697,mschmitt@sfu.ca
VonnieHutchingson,FirstPrincipalattheAboriginalFocusSchool,604.215.4467,
vhutchingson@gmail.com