Emma Greenfield

Emma Greenfield is currently working towards her Master of Education in Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Emma is passionate about anti-oppressive education and decolonizing pedagogies. Her work largely centres around reimagining education systems that are more inclusive of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit stories, knowledge, and perspectives. Emma grew up in Schomberg, Ontario and currently resides in Toronto. She is British, Irish, French, Italian, and Mohawk.

Emma worked with TakingITGlobal to document the barriers and best practices within post-secondary institutions to create more inclusive environments for Indigenous students.

Community Engagement Initiative

Emma hosted a virtual knowledge sharing event with staff and faculty across Canada to discuss common challenges and best practices in supporting Indigenous students amidst COVID-19. Read the full report Still Thriving or the shortened version (infographic).

Report

Supporting Indigenous Student Success in Post-Secondary Education (word version), or read the visual version of the final report.

As more Indigenous students enter into post-secondary institutions, many colleges and universities are making commitments to advance Indigenous education and success. Although this is the case, barriers still exist that First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Afro-Indigenous students confront along their educational journey. This report identifies these barriers by analyzing the policies, practices, and resources of post-secondary institutions across Canada. It also explores the already existing supports that allow Indigenous students to thrive in college and university. 

Surveys and interviews with staff and faculty who work with Indigenous students illuminate two factors: what colleges and universities are currently doing to support Indigenous post-secondary students and the barriers that continue to impact Indigenous students despite these supports being in place. Recommendations for colleges and universities emerge from the findings that are organized into the following categories: Recruiting, Applying, Transitioning, Studying, Graduating, and Recommendations Specific to COVID-19. Implications for future research and advocacy are also identified.

Keywords

Indigenous, students, post-secondary education, barriers, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and Afro-Indigenous students, thriving