Concerns raised about removal of the Indigenous Science Framework from the Ontario Elementary School curriculum

BY PAUL JUNOR

There has been attention focused on the removal of the Indigenous Science Framework from the newly released Ontario elementary school curriculum. Details about the removal of the material were obtained because of an Access to Information request, which revealed the extent of the changes in the curriculum document.

Caroline notes that three weeks prior to the public release of the science and technology curriculum at the beginning of March 2022, based on directions from Ontario’s Minister of Education’s office, staff in the Ministry of Education office were instructed to erase specific language that focused on the scientific and technological knowledge systems and perspectives of various cultures. This removal flies in the face of one of the calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was released in 2015. It acknowledges the value of incorporating Indigenous contributions as an integral part of the school curriculum.

In response to this removal, Jodie Williams, co-chair of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education Association of Ontario states that this, “Further erases the contributions of Indigenous people to science.”  She states further, “It’s a missed opportunity to really correct how Indigenous people are portrayed in education, historically and even up until today.”

She mentions that her organization worked with the Ministry of Education on the draft document, and there were repeated revisions of the curriculum documents. There were over 900 pages of revisions observed for this specific section of the science and technology document. Particularly, the deleted sections contain language that was embedded in expectations with respect to lessons that would pervasively influence the curriculum.

In a specific note from the Ontario’s Minister of Education’s office on February 10^th, 2022, it was stated, “Please remove these expectations across all grades; the principle of the section is to be added into the front matter, but not as an expectation.” The sections, which were crossed out included real-world issues connecting Indigenous sciences and technologies and Western science and technology, using ways of knowing such as the Two-Eyed Seeing approach.

This approach emphasizes the importance of looking at things not just from a Western perspective but also incorporating Indigenous methodology. The overall effect of this transition was the contraction of the three expectations into one that emphasizes looking at the science and technology of diverse communities.

Grace Lee, a spokeswoman for Stephen Leece, Ontario Minister of Education states, “We remain focused on ensuring Ontario’s students excel at the foundations of math, science, and reading, so they can pursue good-paying jobs.”

It is sad that the Ontario government has not seen the importance of adding Indigenous education in the science curriculum.