Presentation of the research
This research project, initiated by the Nunavik Student Retention Issue Table (ESUMA), responds to a general request from Nunavik communities and the Kativik Regional Government (KRG) Sustainable Employment Department, and follows up on an exploratory study on the aspirations of Nunavik youth. Conducted in partnership with ENAP’s Observatoire des administrations publiques autochtones, the research is designed to support ESUMA’s mission to “create Nunavik-wide synergy and strengthen actions around education that are aimed at school retention but also that can support the development of youth’s full potential” (Home (esuma.ca)). This is a two-year action-research project that will extend to all 14 communities and will broaden the questioning of youth aspirations by linking it to two complementary components related to educational success, namely parental participation and the role of the community in the educational path of youth.
Aims and expected outcomes of the research project
Knowledge generation:
The project aims to respond to the need – identified by ESUMA and other stakeholders – to provide in-depth knowledge and produce relevant scientific data on the experiences and perceptions, needs and aspirations, resources and assets related to educational success in the 14 communities of Nunavik that will serve as a basis for targeted and sustainable actions and to inform decision making regarding schooling in Nunavik
Knowledge mobilization:
The project aims to contribute to the development of a mobilizing vision of educational success and the identification of collective solutions to facilitate, strengthen and sustain parental involvement and community collaboration in educational pathways and school retention in Nunavik while respecting the aspirations of youth.
The expected impacts of the research are:
- Increased impact of ESUMA’s mission
- Collaborative research-based tools to facilitate the development and empowerment of a community-based retention support network in Nunavik
- Increased and consolidated collaborative research on school retention in Nunavik (data, accompaniment, evaluation)
The axes and objectives of the research
The project has three axes which are declined in three objectives:
Focus 1 – Community Support
Specific objective 1: Identify and analyze the resources, programs and informal practices that exist in the community in terms of educational opportunities and support for school retention.
Axis 2 – Youth aspirations and concerns regarding their educational pathway
Specific objective 2: To know and better understand the concerns, obstacles, expectations and aspirations of young people regarding their educational path.
Axis 3 – Parents’ participation and their role in their child’s educational pathway
Specific objective 3: Understand the needs and perceptions of parents with regard to their role in supporting their children’s educational pathway, with particular attention paid to single-parent families.
Research phases
2021-2023
Phase 1: Research design, establishment of partnerships and a research monitoring committee, development of a multimedia platform for sharing data and resources on initiatives to support student retention and educational success in Nunavik (Axis 1).
Phase 2: Co-development of participatory data collection activities (Axes 2 and 3) and knowledge mobilization activities supported by the multimedia data and resource sharing platform
The Research Team
Elias Moukannas (ESUMA coordinator) is the initiator and leader of the research project.
The research is conducted in collaboration with Jean-François Savard and Claudine Cyr of the École nationale d’administration publique, Université du Québec (ENAP).
A research monitoring committee, made up of representatives of the various stakeholders in the research, will soon be set up.
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