Indigenous Life Courses, Racialized Gendered Life Scripts, and Cultural Identities of Resistance and Resilience

The aim of this research project was to understand the cultural identity of young Indigenous adults living between on-reserve, off-reserve rural settings, and the city. The secondary research question examined the gendered experiences of family, school, and work in this process. I interviewed men and women, 16 from the city of Edmonton, and 15 living in Wabasca, Alberta. This study uses my brand of Indigenous Sociology, in which I combine Cree Indigenous research methodologies, Indigenous feminism, and a life course approach. As background, I lay out the complex geographic, demographic, historical and colonial context of the migration experiences, and show that Indigenous peoples continue to live under a colonial regime that geographically and racially divides us. Findings from interviews reveal cultural identity is based on family relations. Key themes explored are: the child as central to family and community; family as central to building healthy relations and cultural identity; and positive and negative understandings of community. I explore a theory on bouncing among family relations and locations, while balancing family, school and work. One of the key findings of this study is how extended family networks provide for moral support, financial support, and childcare support for those that choose to complete an education and become steadily employed. I present Indigenous models of family as a form of resistance and resilience to colonialism, and that healthy family relations are built in different locations. I present the interview findings on school and work choices. I outline the colonial structures of education which impact access to schooling and funding, which are divided along geographic and racial lines. I examine specific factors that acted as barriers and facilitators to achievements in school and work. I finish by explaining that community members must contend with racialized gendered life scripts along their life courses. Specifically, Indigenous women must contend with life scripts that expect a fate of early childbearing and poverty. Indigenous men contend with a life script that expects them to drop out of high school and enter unskilled jobs in the oil industry. To challenge these life scripts Indigenous men and women demonstrate their agency by making choices for education, and choices to find skilled jobs. I conclude by stating that Indigenous men and women develop an identity based on their resistance and resilience against racist and gendered structural institutions in school and work. I suggest that social policies for Indigenous peoples on education, training, and employment must incorporate an Indigenous model of lifelong learning to combat racialized gendered life scripts. This will allow for a holistic approach where relations to family and community are integral to learning, and Indigenous understandings of the life course can be easily integrated

Interprofessional Simulation Learning with Nursing and Pharmacy Students: A Qualitative Study

Health science students are increasingly learning in simulated situations within their own disciplines, but interprofessional simulation learning (ISL) does not occur as often and is rarely investigated. This research explored perceptions of undergraduate nursing (n=5) and pharmacy (n=4) students with respect to how ISL contributed to discipline-specific learning, to learning about the other profession, and to the development of interprofessional skills. The students were exposed to three ISL activities with data gathered from observation of the simulation sessions, individual interviews, and field notes. Content analysis was conducted. Student participants described the ISL activities as a positive learning experience. They learned how their professional cultures connected and found the activities contributed to feeling pride in their chosen profession. Many stereotypical perceptions about the other profession were dissipated. The positive outcomes resulting from the ISL activities have significant implications for curriculum content development and program delivery. Keywords: interprofessional simulation learning, nursing, pharmacy, qualitative, undergraduate education _______________ Les étudiants en sciences de la santé se servent de plus en plus de la simulation pour apprendre. Cependant cet apprentissage se fait habituellement au sein de leur propre profession. L’apprentissage par simulation dans un contexte interprofessionnel (ASI) est plus rare et peu de chercheurs se sont penchés sur ce genre de simulation. Dans cet article nous présentons les résultats d\u27un projet de recherche où nous avons exploré les perceptions de cinq étudiantes en sciences infirmières et de quatre étudiant(e)s en pharmacie. En particulier, nous avons cherché à comprendre comment l’ASI a contribué à l’apprentissage de contenu spécifique à la profession de l\u27étudiant, à augmenter sa connaissance d’une autre profession, et au développement d’habiletés interprofessionnelles. Les étudiants furent exposés à trois activités d’ASI. La cueillette de données a inclus l’observation pendant les ASI, les interviews individuels, et les notes de terrain. L’analyse des données a été effectuée par analyse de contenu. Les étudiants ont jugé que l’ASI était une expérience d’apprentissage positive. Ils ont appris que leurs cultures professionnelles étaient semblables et se sont sentis fiers de leur profession. L’ASI a aussi permis d’éliminer des perceptions stéréotypées concernant l’autre profession. Ces résultats ont des implications pour le développement du curriculum et sur la prestation des programmes. Mots clés: apprentissage par simulation, apprentissage interprofessionel sciences infirmières, pharmacie, étude qualitative, éducation au premier cycle universitaire