Supporting First Nations and Métis Post-Secondary Students’ Academic Persistence - Insights from a Canadian First Nations-affiliated Institution

Oct 15, 2026

Study examining how social support influences the academic persistence of First Nations and Métis students at a First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institution. A qualitative intrinsic case study expands the research lens beyond mainstream approaches to explore culturally grounded administrative and pedagogical practices. Findings show that supports aligned with Indigenous ontologies help students respond to generational effects of colonization while enabling advancement, cultural growth, identity formation, community development, and Indigenous sovereignty.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

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Introduction

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Canadian Indigenous Students

Supporting First Nations and Métis Post-Secondary Students’ Academic Persistence: Insights from a Canadian First Nations-affiliated Institution Tania Kristoff University of Saskatchewan Michael Cottrell University of Saskatchewan Abstract Post-secondary institutions have a critical role to play in addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action through indigenization strategies (TRC, 2015) but, to date, it has proven challenging. In this study, the research lens was expanded to focus on First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions, since these come closest to providing authentic approaches to indigenization. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how social support affects the academic persistence of First Nations and Métis students at a First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institution. The findings revealed that administrative and pedagogical practices, consistent with Indigenous ontologies, enabled students to respond to challenges stemming from the generational effects of colonization, and promoted individual and familial advancement, cultural growth and identity formation, community development, and Indigenous sovereignty. It is concluded that mainstream institutions can benefit from the findings as First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions provide valuable understandings of potential transformations toward indigenization. Keywords: culturally responsive support, First Nations and Métis post-secondary students, indigenization, academic persistence, First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions Résumé Les établissements postsecondaires jouent un rôle déterminant pour répondre aux appels à l’action de la Commission devérité et réconciliation (CVR) par des stratégies d’autochtonisation (CVR, 2015), mais jusqu’ici, l’effort s’est avéré difficile. Dans la présente étude, nous braquons notre objectif sur les établissements postsecondaires affiliés aux Premières Nations, car ceux-ci se rapprochent le plus d’une démarche authentique d’autochtonisation. Notre étude de cas examine la manière dont le soutien social influence la persévérance des étudiant.e.s autochtones et mé[tis.ses](tis.ses) dans un établissement postsecondaire affilié aux Premières Nations. Les résultats démontrent que des pratiques administratives et pédagogiques conformes aux ontologies autochtones permettent de relever les défis générationnels associés à la colonisation et de promouvoir le progrès individuel et familial, le développement culturel, la formation de l’identité, le développement des communautés et lasouveraineté autochtone. Nous concluons que les établissements conventionnels peuvent bénéficier de ces découvertes – les établissements postsecondaires affiliés aux Premières Nations assurent une compréhension inestimable des transformations éventuelles vers l’autochtonisation. Mots-clés : soutien adapté à la culture, étudiant.e.s postsecondaires, Autochtones et Métis, autochtonisation, persévérancescolaire, établissements postsecondaires affiliés aux Premières Nations Introduction Demographic changes accompanied by shifts in public discourse and policy following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action have drawn attention to the history of Canadian colonization and the Canadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 51:2 (2021) urgent need for reconciliation with the country’s Indigenous peoples (TRC, 2015) . Post-secondary institutions have been identified as having a critical role to play in“righting wrongs and creating the conditions for Indigenous students to succeed”(Davidson & Jamieson, 2018, para. 4) . Here we argue for expanding the research lens beyond the institutional mainstream to focus on First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institutions. Although relatively young in institutional terms and often suffering from resource constraints, these institutions represent attempts to est

FAQs

What research question does the study focus on?

The study explores how social support affects the academic persistence of First Nations and Métis students at a First Nations-affiliated post-secondary institution.

Why does the study emphasize First Nations-affiliated institutions?

The research argues these institutions are closest to providing authentic approaches to indigenization and can deepen understanding of needed transformations in higher education.

What do the findings show about the role of support?

Administrative and pedagogical practices consistent with Indigenous ontologies enable students to address challenges linked to colonization’s generational effects and support advancement, cultural growth, identity formation, community development, and Indigenous sovereignty.

Oct 15, 2026

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