LITERATURE REVIEW
THE LITERATURE ON BUILDING POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS
Prepared for the National Committee on Inuit Education
Frances Abele and Katherine Graham1
March 29, 2010
Introduction and Scope of Research
We shall have more to say about specific gaps in existing literature at the conclusion of this
paper, but it is important to note from the outset that the state of scholarship on postsecondary education for Inuit in Canada matches the state of northern post-secondary
institutional development. Both scholarship and post-secondary institutional development
in Canada lag far behind those of other comparable countries, such as the United States
(Alaska), Greenland, and Norway.
While there are universities in the northern parts of several provinces (Quebec, Ontario,
Alberta and British Columbia) there are no universities in Inuit Nunaat, and none in any of
the territories.2 Perhaps partly as a consequence, the body of published research on
northern post-secondary attainment in Canada is scanty and unbalanced, with most of it
only very weakly relevant to policy development and public decision-making on educational
matters. We were unable to find sufficient relevant, independent analysis to answer the
basic question: what factors contribute (and will contribute) to the post-secondary success
of Inuit students?
Some of the published research is of very good quality. The problem is that there is not yet
sufficient volume of good quality work to support scholarly discussion, comparison and
testing. Many issues of immediate pertinence to post-secondary institutional development
are not covered at all.
In this review, we discuss the existing literature on Inuit post-secondary educational
success in terms of five themes:
1
We would like to acknowledge the helpful research assistance of: Sheena Kennedy, Clarissa Lo, Teevi
Alooloo Mackay and Chris Turnbull. They conducted bibliographic research and provided annotations of
key sources.
2
Many Canadian post-secondary institutions participate in and support the University of the Arctic. In
principle, the distance-delivered UArctic courses are available all over Inuit Nunaat, as elsewhere in the
world. It would be helpful to know something of the level and distribution of Inuit participation in
University of the Arctic courses, but we were unable to find any published research on this topic –or, for
that matter, on the impact of the University of the Arctic on Canadian post-secondary education. Given that
we were asked to prepare a literature review, and given the time available, we did not pursue further
information along these lines, tempting though it was!
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the “hidden curriculum” of colonialism and the possibility of bicultural
education;
the importance of a northern university;
the tension between adult education (including but not limited to vocational
training) and post-secondary education;
new approaches to curriculum design and delivery (including on-line
options), and;
gender differences and the post-secondary experience.
The Literature on the Hidden Curriculum and the Possibility of Bicultural
Education
The ‘hidden curriculum’ is a term used to draw attention to the reality that university
education (and indeed all education) is not only a matter of acquiring skills, accumulating
knowledge and developing insight; it is also a process of socialization that changes
behaviour, attitudes, and self-image, and supports the internalization of certain norms
(Dunnegan 2006). Dunnegan quotes “Meighan” who notes that, in school, students are
“picking up an approach to living and an attitude to learning.”
All children entering school, and all university entrants, encounter a hidden curriculum of
sorts. University students learn norms of polite disagreement, verbal argumentation, and
time management. They learn which forms of challenge to authority are rewarded, and
which punished, and, with luck, they learn by practice the joy of individual and group
discovery, learning and analysis. The critics of the hidden curriculum are not, by and large,
seeking to eliminate these features of education. Rather, they are concerned about an
unintended consequence of the process of individual transformation that occurs as a person
pursues post-secondary learning: devalorization of the student’s own culture, and
alienation of interest based upon cultural difference.
In response to the problem of cultural devalorization as an unintended consequence of
formal education, a range of authors and practitioners are exploring the concept of
bicultural education. Bicultural education, as an ideal, would be built upon the highest
ideals and best practices of Indigenous and other cultures, and most authors assume the
possibility of substantial common ground. Dunnegan 2006 finds that reform is more than a
matter of curriculum, but rather requires a thorough reconsideration of how postsecondary institutions are organized. Reflecting on a case study of university education in
northern California, Dunnegan argues that university classrooms are subject to a
socialization process where societal values are translated into norms that govern the
general behaviour of the “participants”. The hidden curriculum is embodied in the very
organization of the school or university. Dunnegan proposes a number of specific measures
that can help diminish the gap between the mission and operating structures of an
educational institution. (See Implications for Practice, below) The goal is to make such
influences visible and subject to careful choice, and then to create consistency in content
and method between academic curriculum and governance.
Dunnegan works with the concept of hidden curriculum and attention to reforming it to
better align practice and formal goals (such as biculturalism), in order to find means to go
beyond simply “adding in” cultural practices. A similar observation underlies many
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suggestions that Aboriginally specific schools or school divisions are necessary in order for
Aboriginal ways approaching education to be realized (for example, n.a. 2007). Aboriginal
control, of course, is not the same as a restructured educational institution.
Wihak 2005 considered management studies curricula of the periods before and after the
creation of Nunavut. She identifies two principles for reflecting culture in institutional
approaches. (1) non-essentialism – recognition by cross-cultural educators that culture is
heterogeneous; in the specific case of the north each individual and group has different
history and so traditional knowledge is neither homogeneous or static and (2) cultural
reciprocity in both the content of courses and in pedagogy. For non-Inuit instructors this
means demonstrating interest and respect for cultural diversity and cross-cultural
pressures and conflicts and pressures as expressed by students. She also recommends
altering teaching strategies to be more “eclectic,” with less emphasis on written course
material and more on oral teaching and assignments.
Reflecting on Aboriginal education, some authors object to the socialization embedded in
the hidden curriculum. McLean 1997 identifies adult education as a kind of moral
regulation, rooted in the “objectification and naturalization of individuality” that matches
official interpretations of policy purposes. He finds an explanation for, for example, high
attrition rates in adult education classes in students’ resistance to personal transformation.
McLean does not draw an explicit policy or program consequence from his analysis, but it
would perhaps not be stretching his analysis too far to suggest that aiming for cultural
reciprocity along the lines envisioned by Wihak would be an improvement.
Programmatically, Nungak 2004 recommends that 1/3 of the school year at all levels should
be devoted to Inuktitut and Inuit experience. He notes that this would require a national
funding program devoted to strengthening Inuit schooling –in short, adequate resources—
couple with a system of certification for Inuktitut instructors comparable to those in place
for English and French teachers. Nungak’s emphasis on the importance of the language of
instruction is reinforced by an early analysis of Sami language instruction in Norway.
Corson 1995 discusses Norway's Sámi Language Act, and its effects in all government
operations, including the education system. The main effect of the act is expected to be
enhanced cultural revitalization and greater local control by Sami, of the education system.
It is important to note that both Nungak and Corson are reporting in aspirations, not
research on measures that have been in place for some time. Corson’s method was
ethnographic, involved no testing of outcomes, and his assessment made very soon after
Sami Language Act was passed.
Nungak’s recommendation of the use of regulation to advance bicultural education has been
taken quite far in Alaska. The Alaska Native Knowledge Network 1998 promotes the
addition of “cultural standards” to the performance measures already in place in Alaskan
schools. Such standards --non-coercive and meant as “touchstones”-- might well be
appropriate for a new post-secondary system in northern Canada. A similar idea appears in
Wilson 2003. Wilson studied the evolution of research practices and rationales in Canada
and Australia through the entire contact period, arguing that scholars in both countries
have come to an “Indigenist” phase of research in which Indigenous perspectives are
acknowledged and to some degree accepted in academe. As more people understand the
richness of Indigenous knowledge and the potential to supplement it with Western
research methods, Wilson proposes principles for Indigenous research methods, as a
ceremony to be respected.
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Elsewhere, Barnhardt (2008) argues that fostering a new generation of Indigenous
academic leaders is a key factor in setting appropriate research priorities that are
appropriate and reflects aboriginal values, which in turns furthers self-determination and
sustainable governance. While the Alaska Rural Systematic Initiative is one example of
reconciliation between the Indigenous world view and western education system, allowing
the benefits of indigenous knowledge to be realized, there is room for further research
particularly in areas of scientific processes of knowledge construction and use. With
references to the Circumpolar Indigenous PhD network, Barnhardt agrees with the Arctic
human development report that the University of the Arctic provides an important
foundation for international collaboration.
Pulpan and Rumbolt (2008) write about the difficulties they encountered in attempting a
minor form of institutional change: having an Inuk authority (Rumbolt) recognized as a
member of Pulpan’s thesis examination committee. They were ultimately successful, but in
the process identified underlying assumptions and principles in the academy that they
argued, did not recognize “Aboriginal ways of knowing.” It is unknown whether a similar
pattern of behaviour would have emerged in other Canadian universities, or whether an
institutional solution to this difficulty has already been found elsewhere.
The Literature on the Importance of a Northern University
As many commentators have observed over the last fifty years, the absence of a northern
university system in Canada likely limits northern young people’s access to post-secondary
education and hampers social and economic development.
Nord and Weller 2002 provides a analytical tour of northern universities (historical and
contemporary) in all of the circumpolar countries. In the case of Canada, Weller discusses
universities in the northern parts of provinces, but does not comment on the absence of
universities in the territorial north. At least three points are evident from the chapters in
this collection: (1) sustained and substantial public investment is needed to create viable
universities appropriate to northern conditions; (2) in most cases, Indigenous political
leaders led demands for the establishment of northern universities that would serve the
needs of their peoples for accessibly, bilingual education, and (3) northern universities have
a substantial, positive economic impact in their regions.
Poelzer 2009 makes the case for a northern Canadian university very forcefully. He
provides an overview of northern education policy and institutions, showing how
Aboriginal, territorial and federal policy-makers see education as a policy instrument for
achieving sustainable development. Defining the key educational policy tensions in the
North as the oft-perceived (but unnecessary) trade-off between adult literacy and access to
university education, Poelzer provides data on educational attainment reveal that the north
in general lags substantially behind Canadian norms on both of these measures. He
concludes that it is imperative to address traditional knowledge and culture and language
retention while providing education and skills suitable to a globalized world. Several
educational initiatives that might serve this goal are highlighted. A “bricks and mortar”, if
unconventionally designed, northern university is “a major part of the post-secondary
education solution.” (456) Citing the example of the University of Tromso in northern
Norway and OECD research, he argues that a northern university in Canada would (1)
improve access to post-secondary education for northerners; (2) contribute to regional
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economic development and (3) help ensure that northern residents are prepared to
contribute to innovation and knowledge generation in their region and in Canada. Poelzer
argues that the often posited dichotomous choices between ‘traditional knowledge’ and
‘science’, and between addressing basic literacy and providing post-secondary education,
are false dichotomies. Under the right conditions, these are complementary. He argues for a
strong federal role, as a partner with northern governments, in advancing northern
education.
The Gordon Foundation recently commissioned Blair Stevenson to open discussion of the
possibility of a northern university in Canada. Stevenson 2010 is an environmental scan
that revealed there was substantial interest across the north in discussing practical aspects
of establishing a northern university system. Stevenson’s main conclusion was that the
Gordon Foundation should convene a “dialogue session” in the North to help “stakeholders”
develop a common vision. Stevenson’s consultation was selective, with sparing engagement
with citizen constituencies (such as recent university graduates living in the north) and
southern universities who are currently delivering university education in the North. The
Gordon Foundation intends to continue to convene broader discussions on the
establishment of a northern university, moving in their usual careful fashion to avoid
‘leading’ while hoping to facilitate and stimulate.
Northern post-secondary institutional development has received some international
attention. Todal 2003 looks at the question of why Sami have been relatively successful in
gaining traction in the education field. He argues that the achievement of a Sami specific
curriculum was made possible by two main developments: the backdrop of an international
movement toward acknowledging and improving minority rights and desires for autonomy
from national minority groups and Indigenous people; and the willingness of the national
government to take a new approach. Focuses on the first, arguing that the international
networks of Sami were very significant – relationships with other Arctic In peoples –
sharing of research, ideas and experience, knowledge and strategies and the development of
educational institutions and research centre across the Arctic.
Roland 1993 also discusses the importance of Sami political organization in Norway in
stimulating the establishment of appropriate post-secondary opportunities for Sami. She
notes in turn that education can in turn that “education can effect social change on behalf of
a minority in the long run, especially when brought about at top levels of governance.”
Roland concludes: “Once the Saami elite entered the democratic process in the 1980 by
participating in government committees with mandated Saami majorities, they were able to
advocate specialized teacher training for Saami. Their line of reasoning was that a program to
train Saami teachers would abate the shortage of teachers in areas with Saami populations.
Yet their intention was that such a program be only a stage toward the development of a
Saami university. This university in turn would be an intellectual home for Saami and nonSaami researchers whose work would include synchronic and diachronic studies of Saami
language, Saami religion, legends, history, etc. The retrieval and preservation of Saami culture
would ensue. In this way, Saami ethnic identity and status were to be secured in Scandinavia.”
A similar trajectory is evident in Alaska, where Native legislators played a key role after the
negotiation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. Hitchins 2002 notes
“Providing higher education access for Alaska Natives had not previously been identified as
part of the mission of the University of Alaska and had certainly not figured in the reasons for
its founding. The University denied AFN’s request [Alaska Federation of Natives request for for
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locally controlled community colleges in northern and western Alaska o teach the skills
necessary to successfully run the corporations created by ANCSA], arguing that Natives could
take advantage of existing Cooperative Extension programmes. This led native legislators to
use their power in the university budget process to create community colleges…in Bethel in
1972, Nome in 1975 and Kotzebue in 1976. It also led the North Slope Borough to create its
own Inuit Ilisagviat-Inupiat University of the Arctic in 1975…”
Similar processes led to the formation of the Kativik School Board, which since its
establishment pursuant to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement is often cited as
a Canadian example of innovation and development in Inuit education. There has not been
parallel political pressure, however, for the creation of a Nunavik-based post-secondary
educational system. (see http://www.kativik.qc.ca/en/history-of-education-in-nunavik and
Fuzessy 1998.)
The Literature on the Tension Between Adult Vocational Education and PostSecondary Education
The post-secondary education system in the territorial north --and particularly in the
Northwest Territories and Nunavut—is marked by an historical emphasis on vocational
training. The existing colleges in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut began as a
vocational school and despite decades of steady expansion and several waves of
institutional reform, they remain marked by this role, whether one considers funding
practices or curriculum (Hilyer 1997, Hicks 2005, Abele 1989).
While there is a need for vocational education in the north as elsewhere in Canada, in the
north vocational training has been powerfully shaped by the stronger forces in territorial
economics. Hodgkins 2008 criticizes the impact of the “training for mega projects”
mentality that pervades the NWT college system, noting that both political and market
pressures co-opt the potentially broader educational purposes of the college.
Berger 2006 discusses the specific shortfalls in the supply of appropriately educated Inuit
for senior and middle management, and professional positions in the Nunavut public
service. These positions (where Inuit employment is 25% and under) require universitytrained individuals from a variety of disciplines, and typically, it is not possible to become
qualified for such work by learning on the job, if there is not adequate academic
preparation.
Barnhardt’s many writings about the evolution of the educational system in Alaska (which
includes colleges devoted to vocational training and universities, all ‘open’ in different ways
to Indigenous participation) indicate some of the complexities involved in balancing
vocational training and university education. An important challenge for the latter is
arriving at a workable consensus on how different knowledge systems will be reflected in
the university. An important feature of the Alaskan case is the emphasis placed by Native
organizations as early as the 1970s on suitable post-secondary education (Hitchins 2002).
Richardson and Blanchet-Cohen (2000) review post-secondary programs in Canadian
universities for “Aboriginal people.” The emphasis in this work is on First Nations
experiences, but the authors provide a typology of programs that may be useful. They find
three types of programs (which can co-exist in the same institution): “add-on”,
“partnership” and “First Nations control”.
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Unfortunately, we found no synthetic analyses of the territorial college system, focusing for
example on the differential evolution of the colleges in the three territories, nor were we
able to locate recent or longitudinal studies of post-secondary education and vocational
training in the Inuvialuit lands, Nunatsiavut or Nunavik.
The Literature on New Approaches to Curriculum Design and Delivery
The wide geographic distribution of the relatively small northern population has led many
authors to promote various approaches to distance education, with substantial optimism
focuses on technological improvements that will render on-line instruction reliable,
successful and satisfying. Over the years, many different approaches have been tried,
including the largely on-line delivery of University of the Arctic courses, and several
“hybrid” systems that involve bringing students and professors physically together for some
part of the course, which is otherwise delivered using WebCT, webinar, and other
instructional software. A few of these instructional modalities have been evaluated
(Carleton University and Government of Nunavut 2007), but in many cases evaluations are
either unavailable or non-existent.
There is a small literature that speaks to the viability and reliability of on-line content. For
example, Iseke-Barnes and Sakai 2003 suggest wariness of internet texts –that is, they
suggest that content be examined carefully. In a study of on-line materials used to instruct
Grades 3 and 4 students, they found that binary stereotypes and ideas about inferiority
were reinforced by neutral-seeming internet content.
MacFadyen 2003 emphasizes the positive contribution that new internet communiciation
technologies can bring to intercultural and international communication, knowledge, skills
and understanding. The report showcased the experience of six Canadian post-secondary
institutions offering international courses, programs or projects online for undergraduatelevel students and provided a profile of each case based on eight common criteria. Across
the cases, they all advance the goals of educational, institutional and humanitarian of
international education.
Similar ideas applied to the circumpolar context are advanced in by Swedish member of
Parliament Lennart Daléus (2002). An Arctic Council conference focused on widening
knowledge accessibility to all those living in the Arctic through the use of new information
technologies (IT). The conference established five goals for IT development: 1) IT must be a
tool available to everyone living in the Arctic; 2) IT must boost the possibilities of setting up
and investing in knowledge-intensive enterprises in the Arctic; 3) IT must help the Arctic
become a region with a high general level of education; 4) IT must be used to revamp the
social services in the Arctic; 5) IT must help reinforce participation, transparency and
access, and the Arctic identity. While the conference report also offered very specific
recommendations, it is unknown whether any were implemented.
Besides new approaches that hinge on technology, there is very little discussion in
the Canadian literature of innovative approaches to the design and delivery of postsecondary education, arising from the experience of Inuit. The single exception that
we were able to find is Hanson 2003, writing about Nunavut Sivuniksavut. There
are some general discussions of post-secondary attainment and program design
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relevant to Aboriginal peoples generally (Preston 2008, Richardson and BlanchetCohen 2000) but none treat the experience of Inuit directly.
The Literature on the Differential Experiences of Women and Men in PostSecondary Education
One of the few studies on the sources of the gender gap in post-secondary attainment is
Kleinfeld and Andrews, 2006. This was a comparative study using quantitative data from
the Inupiaq region and the Yup’ik region. It reveals similar trends in low male educational
attainment in high school and post-secondary education in each region, despite pronounced
variation in the economies and employment prospects. The research thus suggests that the
gender gap is reflective of ‘male malaise’- disengagement from wage employment for which
education is a preparation- rather than a functional adaptation to a mixed wage and
subsistence way of life where gender roles vary. Kleinfeld and Andrews acknowledge that
qualitative, community level research is now needed to explore this issue further.
Given that strong gender differences appear in Aboriginal education attainment across
Canada (Hull 2003) and in such other worrying social indicators as the incidence of suicide
(Hicks 2009), this would seem to be an area where more research is urgently needed.
Preston 2008 reports Inuit post-secondary attainment by gender, based on Statistics
Canada data, but there is no discussion of the evident gender gap.
Gaps in Research
This literature review is based upon a review of over two hundred sources identified using
library-based search engines and other internet resources. Reference selection, yielding the
56 sources that form the basis for this paper, emphasized Canada and the other
circumpolar countries; relevant examples from the broader international context likely
exist, but in the time available we did not find any.
Readers of all three policy papers will note the necessary and fruitful overlap between this
discussion and the literature on bilingual and Inuit-centred education. The only current
synthetic Canadian study of Inuit post-secondary education (Berger 2006) emphasizes the
importance of bilingual curricula and studies, and the overwhelming importance of strong
primary and secondary schooling for post-secondary success.
As mentioned earlier, there is in general very little published scholarly analysis of Inuit
post-secondary educational attainment, on the factors accounting for post-secondary
success, such as university program design, family support, financial circumstances, place of
educational delivery, or primary and secondary preparation.
Other gaps include:
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a marked absence of independent review and analysis of specific program initiatives
in any of the Inuit territories;
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no secondary critical analysis or meta-analysis of case study accounts (of which
there are several) to see what might be gleaned from them;
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virtually no comparative research that might help practitioners identify useful
lessons for Canada from other jurisdictions;
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no synthetic analyses that provide an historical perspective on the evolution of
northern post-secondary education systems;
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no academic treatments of the “grey” literature of commissioned reports,
evaluations, and studies concerning the northern post-secondary education system;
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no critical scholarly critical debate about the efficacy of methods and and the
viability of conclusions;
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no organized information to support public discussion of high level strategic
academic planning. Given the high cost of all new initiatives in northern Canada,
and the even more severe constraint of a shortage of trained personnel to
implement new measures, it seems that high level strategic academic planning
would be of value. As far as we have been able to determine, there has been no
research-based discussion of the program mix that would be desirable in northern
post-secondary discussion, or of what broad social goals should lead university
development. Watt-Cloutier has offered some comments on this matter, but there is
no evidence of a larger public discussion, and so far, we have found no published
data.
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no research-based exploration of the dimensions of the federal role in northern
education, or of a practical and “enabling” financial model for the development of
an adequate post-secondary system in Inuit Nunaat.;
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There has been no Canadian research on possible viable models for building the
capacity of Inuit to delivery post-secondary education, as has occurred in Alaska.
There is very scant research in a number of areas:
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on the impact of adult education and trades training, whether the focus is on
instructional methodology, the organization of education and training delivery or
the place of these public services in post-secondary education. (Abele 1989 is a
somewhat dated exception.)
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on the experience of southern Canadian universities in successful and unsuccessful
“partnerships” with northern colleges in the delivery of post-secondary education.
Sometimes these programs are mentioned, but there are usually few details. There
are apparently no studies of the factors that favour success in such partnerships,
and no studies of the capacities of these institutions to respond to actual northern
needs and priorities.
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Implications for Practice
The preceding section illustrates the first lesson for practice: there is an urgent need for
focused research on the post-secondary experiences of Inuit.
No doubt a great deal of knowledge has been accumulated by practitioners in all of the
jurisdictions of Inuit Nunaat, and similarly, the experiences of individuals with the postsecondary system have surely taught much. The problem lies in ensuring the reliability and
transferability of this knowledge, and particularly, in making experiential knowledge
available to others for reflection, testing and development.
Given the relative paucity of pertinent research, firm conclusions should be avoided, but
with some imagination it is possible to draw a number of practical implications from the
existing literature:
1. The northern post-secondary system, as it continues to be built, should be
bilingual and bicultural.
The existing literature from around the pole, and the small documented experience in
Canada, suggests that student academic success is supported by this, as are the broader
goals of Inuit cultural vitality and development.
High levels of English (or French) competence are essential for success in post-secondary
professional and academic education. The primary and secondary educational experience is
obviously a foundation for the post-secondary system, and it is in these early years that fully
bilingual university students will be developed.
2. Post-secondary education would become more accessible, and develop in a way
that was more responsive to local needs, if universities were added to the postsecondary education system in Inuit Nunaat.
Experience in both the Canadian provincial north, and in the circumpolar region, reveals
that universities established there, either by design or by local pressure, eventually align
better with local conditions. Research and experience across Canada suggests that it is
helpful to have both vocationally-oriented community colleges, and more generally
academic universities.
3. Post-secondary institutions of all kinds should be designed with strategies to shape
the “hidden curriculum” towards community and cultural affirmation. That is, they
should be explicitly structured in a way that aligns with local values and practices, to
the maximum extent possible.
This challenge is similar to that faced by the new institutions of public and Inuit
government, and by the primary and secondary school systems. While the secondary
literature provides powerful indictments of the negative effects of the hidden curriculum,
there is less guidance in the literature about alternatives. Extensive community
involvement, bilingualism, and an explicit commitment to biculturalism are the main means
identified.
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4. Inuit representative organizations have an important role to play in the
realignment and stimulation of greater investment of funds and imagination in the
elaboration of the post-secondary educational system.
The lessons from around the pole are quite clear in this regard. In Norway, Sweden and
Alaska, appropriate measures in post-secondary education followed from the political
mobilization and pressure of Indigenous authorities.
Implications for Policy
All governments and Inuit organizations have a role to play in developing postsecondary
policy in Inuit Nunaat.
1. Inuit organizations can provide the necessary impetus and vision for the
improvement of the post-secondary system in all Inuit Nunaat regions, as they have
already done in Nunavik and to some extent in other regions –and as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
has done in stimulating the work of the National Committee on Inuit Education.
2. Provincial and territorial governments can develop enabling policies that are
designed with the longer term strategic purpose of completing the construction of a
northern post-secondary educational system. In all regions there has been a necessary
focus on primary and secondary education. But the goals of self-government and of
ensuring adequate employment opportunities for the whole population require
commensurate and concurrent strategic advances in post-secondary education. These must
move well-beyond the primarily vocational training foci of the well-established northern
college system. Inuit require more access to university and professional education in order
to staff the senior and middle management, and professional positions, in all of the northern
institutions.
3. Consideration should be given to the extent to which jurisdictional divisions can be
overcome to create a single university system for Inuit Nunaat. Economies of scale and
commonality of interests, especially as regards bilingualism and biculturalism, argue for a
single university system for all Inuit. Such a system would necessarily be a federation,
rooted in the four jurisdictions of Inuit homelands.
4. Very obviously, substantial federal investment is required. There is no research
available to give an estimate of costs, but such an estimate could be made. It is clear from
the international experience that a sustained commitment of funds is required, on a scale
suitable to the education of generations, not committed by fiscal years. It is equally clear
that such an investment would strengthen the regional economy as it created the basis for
healthier northern communities.
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