Culturally relevant programs hold the secrets to Aboriginal student engagement and achievement in Canada’s public schools.

Aboriginal people in Canada want an education that reflects their cultural values and linguistic heritages, an education that will foster their children’s engagement and identity and not marginalize them as learners.

Lorenzo Cherubini investigates the effectiveness of culturally relevant programs in Ontario by turning the spotlight on a rare success story – one urban high school’s attempt to recognize Aboriginal students’ cultural and academic needs while helping them build relationships with non-Aboriginal students. In this insightful study, teachers, students, youth counsellors, parents and caregivers, community leaders, and administrators share their thoughts on the program, adding their voices to the existing literature and giving a human face to the quantitative data on Aboriginal education and achievement.

Aboriginal students constitute one of the fastest-growing groups in Canada’s public schools. This timely study reveals how the current system is failing indigenous students and offers recommendations for enhancing their achievement levels in Ontario, Canada, and abroad.