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Abstract

This study utilizes a CHamoru epistemological perspective to understand secondary teacher preparation for courses satisfying the Indigenous Focused Graduation Requirement (IFGR) in British Columbia. The three participants in this study were identified as exemplary in teaching Indigenous-focused course content by administrators in their district. Each of the educators in this study live and teach in three distinct regions throughout the province, Vancouver Island, Northern BC, and the Lower Mainland. The data on each participant’s preparedness for the IFGR were gathered using a combination of: 1) qualitative interviews and 2) reflective letter writing. Guided by a theory of interdependence, the Fo’na Framework, a CHamoru decolonial education framework created by CHamoru scholar Dr. Kisha Borja-Quichocho-Calvo, was used to interpret and analyze the data from the interviews and letters gathered. The resulting findings elucidated wise practice recommendations for ongoing teacher preparation for the IFGR in British Columbia. The research question for this study is: How are high school educators in British Columbia who have been identified as exemplary in teaching Indigenous-focused content preparing themselves personally and professionally to teach courses which satisfy the new Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirement (IFGR)? The sub-questions are: 1) What resources and materials are teachers who have been identified as exemplary in teaching Indigenous-focused content using to prepare themselves for their IFGR courses? 2) What obstacles, if any, are teachers who have been identified as exemplary in teaching Indigenous-focused content facing when preparing to teach IFGR courses? and 3) What support do teachers who have been identified as exemplary in teaching Indigenous-focused content need from their administrators and school districts in order to better prepare for their IFGR teaching practice.