Listening to the 2023 Teaching Practices Survey: Integrating Indigenous Topics 

Every four years, UBC faculty and those with teaching appointments are invited to participate in the Teaching Practices Survey (TPS). The purpose of the TPS is to “better understand how instructors structure learning for students and to give participants a forum for confidential feedback on the teaching climate at UBC” (TPS Website). The most recent iteration of the TPS, which wrapped up in May 2023, included responses from 714 faculty members, 70% of whom have over 10 years of teaching experience in a higher education setting.  

As a unit that supports faculty and students at UBC, the Indigenous Initiatives (II) team at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology at the UBC Vancouver campus formulated a question that centered on approaches to Indigenization and decolonization in the classroom. We were interested in how teaching staff were responding to Goal 4 of the Indigenous Strategic Plan (2020), “Indigenizing our curriculum,” which encourages the University to “include Indigenous ways of knowing, culture, histories, experiences and worldviews in curriculum delivered across Faculties, programs and campuses”. 

Over a period of 3 months, a small team comprised of Indigenous Initiatives (II) and Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (OISI) team members, worked collaboratively to analyze the open-ended question on the Teaching Practices Survey: “If you have integrated Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews into your course, please describe your approach to doing this work (i.e., your decision-making process, decisions around support/resources sought)” (Question 9.4, TPS survey, 2023). As a team, we decided to write a series of blog posts (to be rolled out this summer) in order to make space for a deeper engagement with this question among the teaching and learning community. We also wanted to contextualize the themes in the data within the UBC climate, including other surveys around student experience such as the AMS student experience survey, and the larger context of Indigenization and decolonization efforts in higher education institutions across Canada. In the spirit of reciprocity, providing the space for this discussion was also our way of acknowledging the time and care that many survey participants put into answering this open-ended question on the survey, as well as modeling transparency in how the data was analyzed and interpreted. 

Breaking down the data   

While the TPS data provides a helpful snapshot of the teaching climate at UBC, it is important to understand it as just that – a snapshot. On average, the completion rate of the TPS has been in the range of 17.8%-23.5%, with a 17.8% completion rate for the 2023 survey. For the open-ended question our team analyzed, there were 434 blank responses, 8 responses that indicated an “N/A”, and a small number (13) who said they did not incorporate Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews because they were not deemed relevant to the particular course/subject being taught. As a team, we focused our analysis on 280 responses and identified four key approaches in how people were approaching the integration of Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews into their course(s):   

• Content integration (56% – 158 mentions)  
• Consultation (23% – 63 mentions)
• Professional development (16% – 45 mentions)
• Inviting guest speakers (12% – 33 mentions)

We re-visited the data multiple times, both individually and collectively, and did our best to ensure that we arrived at a shared understanding of how we were coding and interpreting the responses. In taking a collaborative approach to our analysis, we became attuned to the subjective nature of data, and how our positionalities informed how we interpreted the responses. We also made sure to share our initial findings with our colleagues on the II team, our colleagues at the UBCO campus (who did a separate analysis for their open-ended question) and the Senior Management team at CTLT (Vancouver campus). We welcomed feedback and questions about our analysis process and discussion about the implications for teaching and learning at UBC.  

While our analysis highlights 4 common approaches, we noted that many survey participants were embedding more than one approach into their teaching contexts. For instance, content integration was often coupled with consultation, as it is often understood that meaningful content integration also involves engaging with one’s network of relationships, both on and off campus, to ensure that the material is relevant to the context and place. Given this, and as with any survey results- it is important to read our findings for this question with a nuanced lens. We hope that our discussion of the data for Question 9.4 of the 2023 Teaching Practices Survey encourages fruitful dialogue around respectful approaches for integrating Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews into teaching and learning contexts. 

Content Integration: Highlights and challenges for instructors  

Content integration was the most common theme in the data in relation to how instructors approach the integration of Indigenous perspectives and worldviews into their teaching. Over half of the respondents spoke to how they have sought to intentionally embed readings and other course material by Indigenous scholars, as well as material related to colonialism and decolonization. Many responses highlighted that faculty/instructors are including land acknowledgements in their courses and highlighting Indigenous voices through carefully selected readings, resources, and materials, including resources specific to Musqueam. These findings support Goal 4 of the ISP, and in particular Actions 15 and 16:  

In keeping with the University’s commitments to the ISP, it was reassuring to see that for many faculty and instructors, engaging with Indigenous topics, perspectives and worldviews in their courses went beyond a “checklist” approach (see: Pidgeon, 2016). We noted that several responses signaled a growing self-awareness around an instructor’s positionality, settler status and privilege, as well as an awareness around the importance of engaging with local Indigenous communities when re-designing their courses and teaching material. Some survey participants spoke to how the integration of Indigenous content also informed their reflections on teaching and their approaches to pedagogies and relations with students in the classroom.  

At the same time, while many of the responses to Q. 9.4 indicate promising moves forward in terms of engaging with Indigenous topics, perspectives, and worldviews, it is important to note that many participants reported feeling like they have a long way to go before they can meaningfully engage in this work. Knowing when and how to incorporate Indigenous content into their classrooms is proving challenging for some instructors, as well as navigating how to do this work as a non-Indigenous person (see: “When will we be ready?”, 2017). As many respondents reflected, further learning was necessary not only in learning more about content but also in approaching this work in a way that does not perpetuate stereotypes and further harm. These are common – and important – concerns, even among faculty who have been engaged in this work for years. In acknowledging steps towards integrating Indigenous perspectives and knowledges it is important that we continue to reflect on the larger systems at work that continue to perpetuate colonial and epistemic injustice. While integrating Indigenous content is one way forward, we also need to reflect on how pedagogical practices may work to perpetuate the status quo by placing the bulk of the responsibility to decolonize the University on individuals, and in particular Indigenous students, faculty and staff (see Debassige et al. 2022; Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018; Tuck & Yang, 2012).   

Recommendations for moving forward  

In discussing the first theme in the TPS – content integration – our team highlighted the importance of connecting with units and folks who support Indigenous initiatives across campus. As one place to start, the Indigenous Initiatives team at CTLT offers programming and resources that can assist faculty and staff in addressing some of their questions around meaningfully engaging with Indigenous content in their classrooms. We also provide opportunities for connecting with others across UBC, which is essential when folks want to engage with the goals laid out in the ISP, but are unsure where to start. As so many of the survey responses indicated, doing the work of Indigenizing and decolonizing teaching and learning is not – and cannot be- a solo endeavor. The Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (OISI) is also a great place of contact for folks who would like to engage with the ISP through the Self-assessment and Intent to Action tools with their unit/faculty as well as connect with faculty, staff and students doing work through the ISI Fund.   

 Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post next month, which will explore “consultation” as our second theme in the TPS data! In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with us at one of our upcoming Virtual Coffee Drop-in’s or learn more about our resources and programming on our website.  

References  

Brunette-Debassige et al., (2022). Mapping approaches to decolonizing and Indigenizing the curriculum at Canadian universities: Critical reflections on current practices, challenges, and possibilities. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 13(3). https://10.18584/iipj.2022.13.3.14109  

Gaudry, A., & Lorenz, D. (2018). Indigenization as inclusion, reconciliation, and decolonization: Navigating the different visions for indigenizing the Canadian Academy. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 14(3), 218-227. 

Pidgeon, M. (2016). More than a checklist: Meaningful Indigenous inclusion in higher education. Social inclusion, 4(1), 77-91. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v4i1.436  

Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1-40.  

University of British Columbia. (2020). UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan. https://isp.ubc.ca/implementation/the-action-plan/.  

UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. When will I be ready? (2017). https://ctlt.ubc.ca/2017/05/30/integrating-indigenous-knowledges-in-teaching-when-will-we-be-ready/ Date accessed: July 10, 2024.