Tracy Shields

Achievement Issues for Aboriginal Students in Mathematics Programs: Issues and Underlying Factors Relating to Mathematics Upgrading Programs in First Nations Communities Tracy Shields

Summary of book content: This thesis describes a 2012 study in a remote First Nations community to analyse the effectiveness of the standard General Education Development (GED) testing. The various issues encountered by the participants and myself as the tutor are examined and contrasted with that of mainstream society. Identity issues seemed to drive the analysis in the study at every turn. The interviews revealed that identity disconnects have been experienced by the participants in many different ways and that for some, those disconnects continued to take place within the GED program itself. As the tutor of the participants, I implemented many of the measures I have used in my teaching of at-risk students in the past. I felt this was warranted because all of the participants came from at-risk backgrounds in that they did not graduate from secondary school with their peers. This paper is an attempt to reify the circumstances that the participants found themselves in. As such, it is hoped that the paper will offer perspective to First Nations communities as they move forward with their mathematics upgrading education programs.