| Summary: | This thesis is a philosophical inquiry that advances an articulation of Indigenous theories of learning and methodology with Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and methodology. An Indigenized sociocultural approach may provide a culturally appropriate theoretical and methodological framework that enables researchers to overcome the prevailing ideological assumptions in the conduct of research with Indigenous communities, including eurocentrism, objectivism, and psychological individualism. More specifically, by Indigenizing a sociocultural approach, and approaching research with this new framework, researchers may be better equipped to conduct research with communities and educators in ways that lead to the production of culturally sensitive recommendations for communities, schools, and classrooms to help engage Indigenous youths. Research that is culturally appropriate is urgently needed given the significantly higher early school leaving rates of Indigenous students compared to non-Indigenous students, due in part to historical, social, and cultural factors. The Indigenized sociocultural approach generated through this philosophical inquiry is applied to Indigenous early school leaving and disengagement in order to highlight how such an approach may contribute to the literature. In addition, recommendations based on the extant literature that explore the possibility of increasing school engagement with Indigenous youths are used as guidelines for future empirical research. Finally, limitations of the theory, methodology, and the thesis itself are discussed. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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