OHSWEKEN – Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) will strengthen its existing partnership with Western University to offer a Master of Professional Education (MPEd) starting this July. This course-based MPEd prepares students for a range of leadership roles in schools, education systems, colleges, adult learning settings and related agencies.
“Education is an important sector here in Six Nations,” said Rebecca Jamieson, president of SNP. “We have so many amazing educators who work hard to help our community. Our hope in offering this Master’s degree is to give our educators the opportunity to continue working while they pursue their degree right here at home and one of the things that makes this program so unique is its focus on Indigenous education.”
Students in the program will study contemporary and historical issues in Indigenous education and identify strategies for success. In addition to a thorough grounding in the theories and practices of leadership, graduates of the program will have a comprehensive understanding of Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy and the historical and contemporary conditions of Indigenous education in Canada.
“Over the last decade, the Faculty of Education has collaborated with several Indigenous communities throughout southwestern Ontario to offer this program,” said Brent Debassige, director of education and the aboriginal educational leadership MPEd program co-ordinator in the Faculty of Education at Western University. “This partnership between Western’s Faculty of Education and SNP is a testament to the program’s success. Some graduates of this Educational Leadership program, who are also members of Six Nations of the Grand River, are the ones who encouraged me to seek out this partnership and helped to make it happen. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these remarkable leaders who have a vested interest in their community.”
The MPEd program will be delivered to accommodate students who are working full time by offering four weeks in the summer, and winter courses that will be scheduled in consultation with students and usually held on weekends. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply for GRPSEO funding (if eligible) by February 1st, 2018. Program application deadline is April 30, 2018.
