Shared values, cultural diversity and education :
What to learn and how ?

Nunavut, New Territory's Education System

Nunavut, Northern Canada

April first, 1999 was the birth of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory and home mainly to Inuits. The new government has set new goals for education. Under the plan of continuous learning some of these goals are:
-Recognizing all potential teachers in the community, beginning with elders and within families
-Developing land and language skills as well as pride in the culture and language
-Building the education system within the context of Inuit Qaujiwajatu gaugit
-Teaching respect for individuals as the basis for effective learning and a healthy workplace
Moreover, they emphasize the fact that:
-The population is adaptable to change and welcome of new skills, while at the same time preserving it's culture, values and language of origin
-Educational programs are offered on a strategic basis of community needs.

The Ministry of Education of Nunavut is preparing a new curriculum for the first grades of elementary school to better fit the cultural needs of the inhabitants of its territory (work with elders, community members and teachers). The government is also aware that more Inuk teachers need to be trained (elementary and high school).
For the moment, students (K to 4) can choose between an English or Inuktitut (Inuit language) stream (and in some schools, also French). The goal for the future is to integrate these streams into one, a Nunavut curriculum with both Inuktituk and English- bilingual classes for all children.

Residents of Nunavut are building their new territory with an emphasis on self reliance. A complete curriculum (K - grade 12) for the young Nunavummiut is one part of the objective, where all parts of the community are working together to make it relevant to themselves (both to their traditional knowledge and to the new skills they would need to participate in the modern world).

Ministry of Education of Nunavut, Iqaluit
Minister : Mr. Peter Kilabuk.
(Legislative Building)
or Artic college, Nunatta Campus (Iqaluit) for teacher training, in collaboration with McGill University, Montreal
Contact : Leigh Clark
(867) 979 7252
or lclark@nac.nu.ca
Acting principal of Nunavut Teacher Education

Since April 1, 1999 for the new territory. New curriculum for Nunavut (Inuvqatigiit) in 1996

See : Inuvqatigiit, the curriculum from the Inuit perspective, Northwest Territories, Education, Culture and Employment or Inuktitut Language Arts (K - 6), Nunavut Department of Education, 1999.