Educator Understandings of Wellness: Barriers and Supports in Northern Alberta First Nations Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/ajer.v69i4.77008Abstract
School communities thrive when educators actively foster wellness. Educators working in First Nations communities conceptualize wellness in unique ways and are active agents in creating opportunities to meet their own wellness needs. This research explores conceptions, supports, and challenges related to wellness from the perspectives of teachers and educational assistants from three First Nation schools in northern Alberta. This qualitative case study includes interviews with 19 educators, and preliminary understandings revealed that educators situate their own wellness within the context of the school and larger community. They prioritize physical wellness and understand that emotional and psychological wellness are also often important. Finally, factors such as isolation, land, access, distance, and cost are seen as barriers to wellness by many. These same factors also represent opportunities to engage in wellness in ways that are less accessible to educators working and living in urban centers. We conclude that attention must be paid to the unique educator wellness needs in First Nations community schools as wellness-promoting initiatives are explored.
Keywords: wellness, Indigenous education, educator wellness, northern, First Nations
Les communautés scolaires s'épanouissent lorsque les éducateurs favorisent activement le bienêtre. Les éducateurs travaillant dans les communautés des Premières nations conceptualisent le bienêtre de façon unique et sont des agents actifs dans la création d'occasions pour répondre à leurs propres besoins en matière de bienêtre. Cette recherche explore les conceptions, les soutiens et les défis liés au bienêtre du point de vue des enseignants et des assistants pédagogiques de trois écoles des Premières nations du nord de l'Alberta. Cette étude de cas qualitative comprend des entrevues avec 19 éducateurs, et les résultats préliminaires révèlent que les éducateurs situent leur propre bienêtre dans le contexte de l'école et de la communauté dans son ensemble. Ils accordent la priorité au bienêtre physique et comprennent que le bienêtre émotionnel et le bienêtre psychologique sont aussi souvent importants. Enfin, des facteurs tels que l'isolement, le territoire, l'accès, la distance et le coût sont considérés par beaucoup comme des obstacles au bienêtre. Ces mêmes facteurs représentent également des occasions de s'engager dans le bienêtre d'une manière qui est moins accessible aux éducateurs travaillant et vivant dans les centres urbains. Nous concluons qu'il faut prêter attention aux besoins uniques des éducateurs en matière de bienêtre dans les écoles communautaires des Premières nations lors de l’exploration d’initiatives de promotion du bienêtre.
Mots clés : bienêtre, éducation autochtone, bien-être des éducateurs, du Nord, Premières nations
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