March 07, 2005
Winnipeg, March 7, 2005 – The Manitoba government and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation have signed a six-year, $3-million memorandum of understanding to support a pilot project that will provide information about how communities and schools can better work with Aboriginal students to prepare them for post-secondary education.
Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjornson, Advanced Education and Training Minister Diane McGifford and Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Norman Riddell signed the memorandum in Winnipeg today with the support of the Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board.
"Among the major goals of the Aboriginal Education Action Plan our government announced last year are increasing high school graduation rates and increasing access to post-secondary education for Aboriginal students," said Bjornson. "This is a significant research and development project that will help identify ways to make this happen. Improving our research in this area is another significant part of the action plan."
Beginning in the fall, the new project, called Making Education Work, will offer academic, counselling and community supports to Aboriginal students in six secondary schools, including three First Nations schools: Cross Lake, Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House, Peguis Central, R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson and Swan Valley Regional Secondary School.
"Many Aboriginal students do not continue their education beyond high school," said Riddell. "By funding this project, we can contribute to the development of knowledge that will benefit Aboriginal communities and education policymakers in the years ahead, and that will help the Foundation in its commitment to improve access to post-secondary education."
Making Education Work will be funded by a $2 million contribution from the Foundation and a $1 million contribution from the province.
A key element of the project involves partnering with Aboriginal community organizations in program development, implementation, research and evaluation phases. The project will strengthen parent and community involvement in education and enhance career development services. It will be rigorously evaluated to determine if it had the desired effect, and if it would be worth replicating in the future.
"Involving tutors, mentors, role models and Elders in the education system will hopefully help students to complete high school and continue on to a successful experience in post-secondary education," said McGifford. "Aboriginal Manitobans will form a significant percentage of the workforce in coming years, and it is essential that they have access to education and training programs that will lead to work in various professions and skilled trades."
"Making Education Work underlines the commitment the Foundation and the Province of Manitoba have made toward improving access to post-secondary education for Aboriginal Peoples," said Alcock. "Since its creation in 1998, the Government of Canada is pleased to see the Foundation working together with its provincial partners to help Canadians benefit from higher education."
The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation is a private, independent organization created by an act of parliament in 1998. It encourages Canadian students to strive for excellence and pursue their post-secondary studies. The foundation distributes $285 million in bursaries and scholarships each year throughout Canada. Since its inception, it has awarded more than $1.5 billion in the form of over 500,000 bursaries to Canadian post-secondary students.
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Making Education Work | Frequently Asked Questions
Making Education Work is a pilot research project for Manitoba Aboriginal high school students. It will test whether a combination of community, family, academic and career guidance interventions positively affects rates of participation in post-secondary education among Aboriginal students. The project is supported by the Province of Manitoba and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation.
The project will follow one cohort of approximately 180 students beginning in 2005-2006 in Senior 1 (grade 9) through high school completion and to the end of potentially one year of a post-secondary program. Active programming will be offered during the high school years. An equally sized and structured comparison cohort, not participating in program interventions, will provide the basis for evaluating how well the program is doing.
The project is based on the priority, shared by the Aboriginal community, the Manitoba government and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, of improving the currently low rates of high school completion and post-secondary program uptake and success among Aboriginal students.
This is a complex challenge. The research literature and consultations reinforce the importance of multi-component interventions, including active parent or guardian and community involvement in support of students.
The program intervention model for northern and rural Manitoba was developed based on a literature review and a two-stage consultation/validation process involving the communities in which the project will be delivered. The design of the project evaluation model is based on a review of relevant literature and a consultation process.
Who’s involved in Making Education Work?
The project is being funded and delivered by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the Manitoba government. The evaluation of the project will be funded separately by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. The project will take place in six secondary schools in rural and northern Manitoba, including Cross Lake, Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House, Peguis Central, R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson and Swan Valley Regional Secondary School. The project management structure will include Foundation and Manitoba representatives; day-to-day management by Manitoba will be undertaken by the Research and Planning Branch and the Aboriginal Education Directorate of Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth. The project will be delivered by the officials in each school.
How much will Making Education Work cost? Who’s paying for it?
Over the course of the project’s six years, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation will provide a total $2 million in funding and the Government of Manitoba will provide $1 million in funding. The evaluation of the project will be funded separately by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation.
Where will Making Education Work be delivered?
The project will take place in six secondary schools in rural and northern Manitoba, including Cross Lake, Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House, Peguis Central, R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson and Swan Valley Regional Secondary School.
Why those locations and not others?
Making Education Work is designed to deliver community and classroom support to Aboriginal students in order to improve their chances of participating in post-secondary education. The six locations in which the project will take place have been selected because they provide the necessary context. Because they meet the need for rural, northern and Aboriginal communities, they are well suited for inclusion in Making Education Work.
Why has Making Education Work been developed?
According to the 2001 Census, 19.7% of non-Aboriginal people had a university degree, diploma, or certificate compared to 6.3% for reserve residents. Comparable statistics in a wide range of studies reveal that, despite some progress being made, the education gap remains one of the most critical problems facing Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Post-secondary education is becoming increasingly important. The Manitoba government has made improving the educational outcomes of Aboriginal students a priority under its Aboriginal Education Action Plan. As its mandate is to increase access to post-secondary education, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation shares the government’s interest in encouraging and assisting those who are currently not likely to continue their education beyond high school.
Making Education Work will evaluate methods of encouraging access to higher education for Aboriginal students. Its findings will allow policymakers in Manitoba and across the country to gain a better understanding of how they may target the resources available to them in the best manner possible. If the project is successful, it will provide governments with a viable, tested option with regard to improving access to post-secondary education for Aboriginal students. How policymakers eventually use the information provided by the project results is impossible to foresee at this point.
Making Education Work will enhance policymakers’ understanding of the ways in which Aboriginal youth can receive the information, guidance and support needed to encourage their participation in post-secondary education.
When will it begin?
The project is slated to commence during the 2005-06 academic year, and will continue for five more years.
Who will deliver Making Education Work?
The project will be managed jointly by the Manitoba government and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. It will be administered on a day-to-day basis by the Research and Planning Branch and the Aboriginal Education Directorate of Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, and it will be delivered by local education authorities (provincial school divisions and First Nations school authorities).
How will we know if Making Education Work works?
As with the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation’s other pilot research projects, Making Education Work will be evaluated independently by a third-party research organization. By working with students who participate in the project as well as those who do not, the research firm will be able to measure the impact of the project’s components on the decision to pursue post-secondary studies. The findings of the research evaluation will be made public through reports over the course of the project’s lifetime and in a final report once it is completed.
What can Manitoba residents expect to gain from Making Education Work?
Making Education Work will allow Manitobans to gain a detailed understanding of the tools that will encourage Aboriginal youth to take advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. By testing different kinds of support mechanisms, guidance and information, Making Education Work will provide Manitoba’s policymakers with information about the best ways in which the policy objectives of increasing post-secondary participation among Aboriginal Manitobans can be achieved.
Why is the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation conducting Making Education Work?
Making Education Work is a partnership between the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the Province of Manitoba and several Aboriginal communities. The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation’s mandate is to improve access to post-secondary education in Canada. Research indicates that Aboriginal students are less likely than their non-Aboriginal colleagues to pursue education beyond high school. The Foundation is proud to be working together with the provincial government, local school boards and Aboriginal community leaders to encourage Aboriginal youth to continue their education at the post-secondary level. Making Education Work was developed and will continue to develop with significant input from the participating communities. The Foundation looks forward to learning from committed individuals at the community level how it may assist young Aboriginal students on the educational pathway.
Why is the Government of Manitoba conducting Making Education Work?
The Province of Manitoba and the Manitoba Aboriginal community want to improve rates of high school completion, post-secondary program uptake and success among Aboriginal students, and identify effective means to these ends.
Several major Government of Manitoba strategies target improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal youth. The Manitoba K - S4 Education Agenda for Student Success, 2002-06 states a priority of "improving outcomes, especially for less successful learners." Aboriginal students are prominent among the less successful learners.
The provincial departments of education have developed partnerships with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Manitoba Métis Federation, Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg and Aboriginal educators to address educational issues.
Shouldn’t the Foundation be focused on delivering scholarships?
The Foundation operates its Millennium Research Program in order to gain a better understanding of how it can best conduct its own bursary and scholarship programs. The research program, of which Making Education Work is a part, is funded entirely by the savings realized by the Foundation’s ability to keep its overhead costs to a minimum — not by funds designated for scholarships.
How will Making Education Work function?
Project staff will recruit eligible Senior 1 Aboriginal students in the identified communities to participate in either the program group or the comparison group. Students in the program group will participate in academic courses, support activities, tutoring, and guidance and mentoring sessions over the course of the project’s five years. Those in the comparison group will not participate in the program elements. By following students in both the program group and the comparison group, the project will be able to determine the effectiveness of the different elements of the project.
Will students be required to participate in Making Education Work? Will all students in those communities participate?
Participation in Making Education Work is entirely voluntary. Students will be recruited but will have the option whether or not to take part in Making Education Work. Students, however, will not be able to choose if they will form part of the program group or the comparison group. Students may withdraw from the program at any time.
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