Decolonizing Literacy Instruction

Introduction
Northwest Community College held a regional conference to address decolonization of post-secondary education. Faculty participated in discussions to critically examine curriculum/content changes to make courses more relevant to First Nations learners. The conference served as the catalyst to begin considering a number of issues for research, summarized in the following question: What changes to instructional strategies, content, and program delivery would effectively redress colonization, modify the traditional educational paradigm, increase learner retention, and improve completion rates of First Nations adult learners in adult literacy programs?
This paper argues for the use of the critical pedagogy paradigm over the positivist paradigm to address the research question above. To investigate perceptions of First Nations adult learners, it is crucial to go beyond what can be observed. The critical social science paradigm is concerned with investigating belief systems, values, and processes of how perspectives are transformed, how meanings are created and modified, and how souls are healed and emancipated (Garrison & Shale, 1994). This paper will provide an overview of critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview, and proceed to argue for the adoption of critical theory rather than positivism to address the research question above. This essay will cover a number of standpoints: the purpose of knowledge, the construction of knowledge, the role of the researcher, data collection methods, and validity and credibility.
Critical Pedagogy as a Decolonizing Paradigm
Critical pedagogy asserts that positivism is “…anti-democratic, narrow, and non-humanist in its use of reason” (Neumann, 2006, pg. 94). The positivist paradigm seeks to reduce the study of human beings to what can be observed, to what can be seen in external reality. Educators influenced by the positivist paradigm reduce learning to outcomes, evaluating success based on performance, and minimizing of a person's subjective experiences and mental processes.

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (2006) described the oppressor consciousness in terms that mirror several key characteristics of the positivist research paradigm:

“The oppressor consciousness tends to transform everything surrounding it into an object of its domination. The earth, property, production, the creations of people, time, everything is reduced to the status of objects at its disposal” (Freire, 2006, pg. 58).

The Indigenous World View
In Wisdom of the Elders, Knudston and Suzuki (1992) explained the holistic viewpoint of the Native Mind:
"...human thoughts, feelings and interpersonal communications as inextricably intertwined with events and processes in the universe rather than apart from them. Indeed, words themselves are considered spiritually potent, generative, and somehow engaged in the continuation of the cosmos, not neutral and disengaged from it" (pg. 14).
Among indigenous learners, the focus of knowledge is on “the web of relationships among human beings, animals, plants, natural forces, spirits, and landforms in particular localities” (Battiste & Henderson, 2000, p. 44).
Hart (2007) describes the indigenous knowledge paradigm as dependent on the relationships within personal and social contexts. It relies on subjective experiences and interpretations, on how individuals carve out meaning. The goal of knowledge, according to the indigenous knowledge paradigm, is to learn to better create a harmonious lifestyle with the local ecosystem and remain embedded harmoniously in the extended kinship network the individual is an inseparable part of.

Purpose of Knowledge
In the positivist paradigm, knowledge is discovered and verified through direct observations or measurements of phenomena; facts are established by taking apart a phenomenon to examine its component parts. Knowledge for positivist researchers has relevance to the extent that it can be used by people to control their environment or achieve goals, and to the extent it enables people to master or control events in the world around them. Positivism aims to lead to research results that are detached from human concerns, and concerned only with studying it instead of acting on it (Neumann, 2006).
The critical pedagogy approach for conducting research views knowledge as a process that combines greater awareness with taking action (Neumann, 2006). The purpose for research using the critical pedagogy paradigm is to critique and transform social relations, and deal with empowering people.

Construction of Knowledge
The positivist paradigm, in contrast, assumes values-free science: knowledge is not based on values, opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. Scientific knowledge transcends personal prejudices, biases and values. Behavioral theory, for example, the foundation of outcomes based evaluation, is based on the premise that learning can be reducible to observable actions, without any reference to any unobservable internal states. The dominant worldview of positivism in education, particularly Adult Basic Education, is apparent by the adherence to Criterion Referenced Instruction principles, where knowledge and skills are broken down into component parts and the focus is on the directly observable. This positivist approach to education is in stark contrast to critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview.
Leroy Little Bear (2005) explained that the two worldviews are colliding on several levels. Of critical importance to the research question mentioned above are the differences about the nature of how knowledge is constructed. The indigenous worldview holds that we need to depend on each others’ truths to reflect more and more of the whole picture. Learning and knowledge construction occurs through storytelling and shared experiences. The Eurocentric worldview asserts that truth is objective and must be sought out actively, that knowledge is constructed, and that learning occurs on the basis of the transmission of one objective body of knowledge from expert to novitiate (Henderson, 2005).

The Role of the Researcher
As a researcher-practitioner conducting fieldwork based on critical pedagogy, one needs to be prepared to refuse to play the role of researcher as required by the positivist paradigm. While working closely as an educator with adult literacy learners in a remote First Nations community, the social realities make it necessary to instead adopt the role of the researcher as defined by critical pedagogy.
The positivist paradigm requires researchers to remain detached, neutral, and objective while measuring aspects of social life, examining evidence, and replicating the research of others. Positivism fosters a technocratic perspective among researcher-practitioners, who take on the technical expert role of providing answers asked by large institutions. Such researchers adopt the dominant paradigm of their sponsors, and act on their behalf rather than on behalf of those being observed.
Critical pedagogy requires the researchers to examine and critique the assumptions, and reflect on the differences. It requires an open, trusting dialogue. The technocrat, however, is taught not to ask different questions, nor redirect an inquiry into a new area, nor challenge the basic premises of questions, nor defy objectives set by leaders of the large bureaucratic organizations they serve.




Appropriate Data Collection Methods
Data collection needs to be appropriate in addressing the specific question being researched (Garrison & Shale, 1994). To conduct research of First Nations adult learners’ perceptions, beliefs, and values, there is a preference for qualitative over quantitative methods. Qualitative research reports are descriptive, incorporating expressive language and the "presence of voice in the text" (Eisner, 1991, p. 36). Qualitative research has an interpretive character, aimed at discovering the meanings events have for individuals and the interpretations of those meanings by the researcher.
Examples of quantitative data collection methods suitable to research some elements to make the study more comprehensive would be analysis of data from statistics within College databases, identifying variables such as past and present trends for applications of First Nations learners, registration numbers, attendance, grades, percentages of drop-outs, and numbers of returnees. Online activity could be analyzed using the web log files. Such data might predict overall probability of a group of First Nations students completing courses. A survey of adult learners inquiring about barriers and challenges encountered might identify a number of reasons for withdrawals.
Examples of qualitative data collection methods appropriate to address the research questions would include surveys, ethnographic methods, and case studies. Data that can be collected using these methods would include online journal postings published by adult learners, taped interviews with faculty and learners at different points of the academic year, notes and surveys from student focus groups, class notes from instructors, recordings of in-class discussions, discursive analysis of students’ written assignments reflecting on their own learning process, and observations of in-class and online learning activities.

Examining Validity and Credibility
The validity of qualitative research methods consistent with critical pedagogy is further strengthened by triangulation, the application of a combination of methods, data sources, and researchers. The findings then become more comprehensive, providing a holistic approach more in keeping with the indigenous worldview of the community collaborating in the research process (Garrison & Shale, 1994). Qualitative methods are more consistent with the indigenous worldview, where “not everything meaningful can be articulated in language” (Atleo, 2007). Each case is unique. Qualitative methods that add context and provide a greater depth of description are providing an alternative way of seeing that is more holistic and more meaningful.
Applying the positivist paradigm to researching learner retention and completion of First Nations adult learners would be of reduced validity compared to the application of the critical pedagogy approach, because quantitative data collection aims to strip context from the data collected (Garrison & Shale, 1994). Though the study of individual adult learners might not be easily generalized to the characteristics of a large group, the usefulness of the research based on qualitative research methods can offer options, rather than being prescriptive and pinpointing a plan of action (Donmeyer, 1990).
Case studies, in particular, are “more appropriate for suggesting new concepts and explanations rather than for making generalizations” (Hayes, 1991, pg. 79). A case study that depicts authentic responses from learners over time is far more credible when addressing the question of retention and learner success than by only using quantitative methods, as it describes the detailed experiences of actual students, and the reasons they might have over time for not completing courses.
Conclusion
This paper provided a brief overview of critical pedagogy and the indigenous worldview, and compared the positivist research paradigm with critical pedagogy with respect to the purpose and construction of knowledge, the researcher’s roles when conducting research, appropriate ways of collecting data, and issues concerning validity and credibility.
To approach research questions which aim to help people take meaningful transformative action depends upon respectful consultation with First Nations learners and leaders within the remote community. The critical pedagogical approach is more appropriate in this context. Applying the positivist paradigm when engaging in research to find out answers to the question cited at the beginning of this paper is going to be perceived by the community members as paternalistic and elitist, as perpetuating colonial hegemony, and the purpose for research will be questioned. Consequently, cooperation will be restricted, and participation will be minimal because of mistrust that the aims of the research will not serve the community’s goals, but instead serve the professional aims of the researcher.

References

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