The Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: Self-Determination Theory in Indigenous

Education

Alisa Fontes

University of Lethbridge

EDUC 3502: Educational Psychology

Dr. Noella Piquette

November 10, 2020

Introduction

Self-determination has been primarily studied within both the educational context and for

Indigenous communities in Canada, respectively. What has been largely missing from academic

research is the importance of self-determination for Indigenous students. The Truth and

Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) reported that the legacy of Indian Residential

Schools (IRS) “continues to this day. It is reflected in the significant disparities in education,

income, and health… disparities that condemn many Aboriginal people to short, poorer, and

more troubled lives” (TRC, 2015, p. 103).

The generational effects of IRS are clearly documented and understood. As the TRC

(2015) reported in the above excerpt, Indigenous students’ educational opportunities continue to

be impacted by IRS, which were in operation from the 1870s to the late 1990s, in Canada. In an

Indigenous education workshop, Don Shade (2020) suggested that the negative experience of

Residential Schooling led survivors, as parents and grandparents, to be more hesitant about

sending their children to school and promoting education in general. Here, we can see how this

trauma has generational impacts on Indigenous education. So, how can present and future

teachers address the legacy of Residential Schooling for their Indigenous students?

In this paper, I assert the importance of learning from IRS experiences from an

educational psychology standpoint; in doing so, we can begin to understand a course of action

for improving the educational quality of our instruction and classroom environment. Specifically,

I will highlight the lack of self-determination in Residential Schooling as a reference of what

teachers must avoid. Learning from IRS survivors and applying the tenants of self-determination

theory (SDT) to our teaching practice is, as I will demonstrate in this paper, is essential for

addressing the legacy of Residential Schooling for our Indigenous students.

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Setting the Stage: SDT and Residential Schooling

SDT asserts that intrinsic motivation is innate to the human being, and it is often snuffed

out when controlling, external regulations are placed upon the individual (Niemiec & Ryan,

2009). Scholars of SDT accept both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as being beneficial for

individuals’ learning. For example, teachers need to support students’ self-driven inquiry by

giving them control over their learning. But what happens when students do not have a personal

interest in what they are learning? Here, SDT suggests that students must internalize this

regulation. In other words, students must integrate these regulations with the ‘self,’ so that this

motivation will radiate from within (Ryan & Deci, 2000). For example, students may work hard

in high school because they are externally motivated by the high GPA needed to get into their

dream college. Still, they do because they want to become a Veterinarian. In this example, the

student is being externally motivated but ultimately chooses to go to a school where they work

hard for acceptance; this type of motivation is called integrated regulation.

Further, SDT suggests that humans’ basic psychological needs are autonomy,

competence, and relatedness; these principles, when facilitated in education, lead to self-

regulation for learning, academic performance, personal wellbeing, self-motivation, and social

development (Niemiec & Ryan 2009; Ryan and Deci 2000). Connecting to motivation, Niemiec

& Ryan (2009) demonstrate how autonomy and competence together are essential for sustained

intrinsic motivation.

Within the IRS context, Indigenous students were forcibly taken from their families and

home communities, where they were stripped of their identity, culture, and autonomy. When we

consider the three basic psychological needs identified by SDT, it is clear how the entire

Residential School experience consisted of a lack of autonomy; almost every aspect of student

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life/learning was externally controlled (TRC, 2015). There are many examples of IRS students

losing competence and relatedness during their time at these schools. The following excerpt from

the TRC’s final report (2015) sums these experiences up well:

Separated from their parents, they grew up knowing neither respect nor affection. A
school system that mocked and suppressed their families’ cultures and traditions
destroyed their sense of self-worth and attachment to their own families (p. 103)

In other words, the students lacked a sense of relatedness to their – unaffectionate – teachers and

their cultures as they were systematically stripped from them through the loss of language,

traditions, etc. Student competence was also thwarted in the schools, as seen in the previous

excerpt, as they were made to feel incompetent due to their ethnic heritage (TRC, 2015). After

‘graduating’ from the IRS’s, many survivors left with an overall lack of relatedness, as they were

not ‘Canadian’ enough for settler society, and somehow not Indigenous enough for their home

communities. Additionally, due to their lack of adequate education, they were left without secure

employment prospects, leading to less income and poor health conditions.

Recommendations for Teachers

As suggested previously, IRS continues to have an impact on Indigenous education,

despite the last government-run school closing twenty-four years ago. Teachers have to

understand that, historically and contemporarily, Indigenous peoples have been deprived of self-

determination; this includes our students and their entire communities. Although I would argue

that self-determination theory should be applied for all of our students’ benefit, this is

exceptionally vital for our Indigenous students, who, in many respects, lack self-determination in

the other areas of their lives. One study has shown that Indigenous students drop out of high

school at a rate of 50%, compared to 10% of non-Indigenous children (Richards, Hove, &

Afolabi, 2008). Although there may be various factors involved, Feir (2016) suggests a

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correlation between Indigenous students who drop out and a history of Residential Schooling in

their family (parent/grandparent).

As teachers, we must provide our Indigenous students as much self-determination as

possible while addressing their psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Supporting their psychological needs may look very different, depending on the student, the

teacher, and the classroom. Some examples of how we may support the autonomy of our

Indigenous students may include providing choice, where students can explore specific areas that

they are interested in (supporting intrinsic motivation); allowing students to demonstrate what

they know in a way that is meaningful to them; and setting goals with them, so that they feel in

control of their learning. Students with autonomy-supportive teachers are shown to have

“increased intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, and higher self-esteem” (Niemiec &

Ryan, 2009, p. 135).

Competence for our Indigenous students may be supported by us when we provide

effectance-relevant feedback; here, we focus on the things they did well while framing areas of

improvement in a positive way (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Further, giving them the room to thrive in

an area that they are interested in may increase their self-efficacy. Ryan & Deci (2000) suggest

that autonomy and competence go hand in hand for sustaining intrinsic motivation; this may be

another important consideration for teachers. We must use all of these tenants together to support

the psychological needs of our Indigenous students.

Supporting relatedness is critical for our Indigenous students, whose families may feel

apprehensive about sending their children to school in fear of them being mistreated by their

teachers. Lack of relatedness is perhaps the most prominent aspect of Residential Schooling that

led to so much trauma for its survivors. We must create a classroom environment where our

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students feel secure, safe, supported, and cared for by us. We must also facilitate relationship

building in our classrooms, where students may find connections with their peers. Relatedness is

essential for internalizing external motivation, as behaviours modelled or valued by those whom

students feel connected are more likely to become internalized and integrated within the self.

Teachers must address the legacy of Indian Residential Schools (IRS) to support their

Indigenous students better. We may learn from the schools and the experiences of their survivors

to inform our teaching practice. In other words, we must do the opposite of what IRS ‘teachers’

did in those schools. As I argued here, we may do this using self-determination theory (SDT). By

supporting our Indigenous students’ basic need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, we

are not only valuing their rights as individuals, but we are providing the conditions for increased

motivation, which will enhance their quality of learning and life. Further, the lack of self-

determination that they face outside of school, from a political standpoint, makes it all the more

important that they have these tenants at school.

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 Reference List

What we have learned: Principles of truth and reconciliation. (2015). Winnipeg, Manitoba:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Shade, D. (2020). Indigenous Workshop: PSI [recorded lecture]. Retrieved from

https://uleth.zoom.us/rec/play/TzpMpyLgAe8KdH9V_jocO3ALnezOROHx7DzELrQbpr

3ObSEVP2VOAeNtg5OX9NDBdjan3dx_1apfgHUO.5Bd0GKcWNMRHIy7R?

continueMode=true&_x_zm_rtaid=_TZj_ocbS4yT5Nb0ln0EOQ.1605055780810.8e3088

ef6556c524240da0f2df95ab00&_x_zm_rhtaid=136

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom.

Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133–144.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic

motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68

Richards, J., Hove, J., & Afolabi, K. (2008, June). Explaining the Aboriginal–non-Aboriginal

gap in student performance in BC schools. Presented at Annual Meeting of the Canadian

Economics Association, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Feir, D. L. (2016). The Intergenerational Effects of Residential Schools on Children’s

Educational Experiences in Ontario and Canada’s Western Provinces. International

Indigenous Policy Journal, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2016.7.3.5