| Summary: | The general purpose of this study was to examine Native content inclusion in the Division one language arts program. Particular attention was given to gaining insight into, a) what Native content was being included, b) how Native content was being included, and c) what help was received affecting inclusion.<p>During the 1988-89 school year, five Division One teachers in two Community Schools with high Native student population, volunteered to participate in the study. Both Community Schools were affiliated with the Saskatoon Public Board of Education. The participating teachers were interviewed through the use of semistructured interviews during the study. Informal observations also took place over the duration of the study, and the participating teachers recorded on log sheets what forms and strategies they used for Native content inclusion. Treatment of data included a presentation of verbatim statements on matrices for each teacher interviewed, a search for general themes, and a comparison of interview and log data which highlighted patterns among responses.<p>Over the course of the school year, all of the participating teachers reported that they had included Native content in their language 'arts program. The degree to which Native content was included varied from teacher to teacher, as did the support they received. They recognized the need for Native content in their language arts programs and felt they were significant participants in the process of Native content inclusion.<p>The study also revealed that the participating teachers believed that they could have included even more Native content in the language arts program, had they more Division One resource materials and urbanized materials to work with.<p>Findings from this study have important implications for educators and for further research. Over the course of the year, support, in-service and the availability of resource materials must be in place to meet the needs of the teachers in their lesson and program planning. Consultants, community coordinators and administrators need to be aware of the individual needs of teachers so they in turn can meet the needs of their students.
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