Self-Determination and Residential Schools

Jodi Thompson
November 2, 2018
EDUC 3502 Section LM
Mr. Riley Kostek
 AUTONOMY SEE-I
Statement
Autonomy is one’s freedom from external control and influence.

Elaborate
In other words, one’s ability to make their own decisions based upon their personal beliefs,
interests and values. Autonomy allows people to be their own person and ultimately live their
life in whatever way they decide rather than having it be manipulated and changed due to
strong external forces. This psychological need enables one to be, and feel, in control of their
own behavior and have their choices be respected.

Exemplify
In the residential schools the students lost their autonomy as soon as they arrived. Any
belongings that the children had were taken away; including their names. Lydia Ross said she
remembers that while at the school they were arranged “just like an army…. Go, go to cafeteria,
you go by your number. Go to classroom, you go by number all in one row, up the stairs, up to
the classroom. And everything was routinely done” (“The Survivors Speak, 2015, p. 63). These
students almost completely lost a sense of who they were, their home life and their culture all
to be defined by a number amongst all the other numbered children.
Every day at the residential schools, lives were quite regimented, the students had more lack of
autonomy than actual autonomy. The children were given very little choice in their lives,
including the food they ate, “[w]hen they happened to be sick. And they threw up while
eating…. The food is not thrown away. The one whose vomit he eats it.” (“The Survivors Speak”,
2015, p. 74). Sense of self, beliefs, and the ability to make decisions were all affected by the
implementation of residential schools.

Illustrate
 COMPETENCY SEE-I

Statement
Competency is an individual’s ability to do a job properly.

Elaborate
In other words, competency is one’s ability to develop skills and abilities that help that person
have a meaningful effect on their environment. The need for competency encourages one to
pursue experiences that are both challenging and satisfying in order to develop positive self-
efficacy.

Exemplify
In the residential schools the students lost a lot of their competency. Many of the students
found that because they did not speak English they could not understand the instructions.
William Antoine said “I couldn’t do my work. I could not, I couldn’t do it because I didn’t
understand what he was telling me, what to do. So it was hard” (“The Survivors Speak”, 2015,
48).
When the students moved from the residential schools to the public schools they realized that
they could not adequately read or write, Victoria McIntosh “said that when she entered public
school, she discovered that ‘I could hardly read and write. And I knew that I wasn’t, you know,
like, stupid, or, or dumb, or anything like that, I just didn’t know how to read and write” (“The
Survivors Speak, 2015, p.123).

Illustrate
Competency is like climbing a mountain. It may be difficult and you may want to give up but
you know that if you keep going you will eventually reach the top even if it takes a little help.
The next time that you climb a mountain you may be scared but it probably won’t seem as hard
because you know you were able to do it last time and you believe in yourself to be able to do it
again.
 RELATEDNESS SEE-I

Statement
Relatedness is one’s need for social connection and intimacy.

Elaborate
In other words, developing a strong sense of belonging to fulfil the natural desire for
connection. It is important for one to maintain both close personal relationships, such as having
a best friend or a partner, as well as more broad group relationships. Interactions are essential
for some people’s personal well-being.

Exemplify
Before being taken to the residential schools, many of the students had happy home lives with
good family relationships and friendships. Wilbur Abrahams remembers that upon arriving at
the schools “they were separating [the children], girls on this side, and boys on this side” (“The
Survivor Speak, 2015, p. 92). At some schools the children found that they were not even
allowed to wave to one another (“The Survivor Speak, 2015, p. 93).
While their relationships were intentionally broken, many of the students tried to maintain
their sense of relatedness with other students and with their families at home. At the schools
the older students would sneak out to meet each other, Ilene Nepoose remembers seeing
students “meet in the boiler room” to engage in connections they were not allowed (“The
Survivors Speak”, 2015, p. 95). Some parents were able to visit their children at the schools but
they were closely monitored (“The Survivors Speak”, 2015, p. 99). When students were able to
go home for summers, if they were able to go home, often their relationships with their parents
were diminished and the culture differences were evident.

Illustrate
It’s like being a tree and all the roots intertwine and connect with one another, the Earth and
many more things around them so that they can help the tree flourish and grow. The roots
represent the importance of having relationships to encourage positive well-being for the tree.
How do we Foster a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in our classroom with
our students?

The Self-Determination Theory encapsulates our three main psychological needs,

autonomy, competency and relatedness. As teachers, we can foster these three needs into our
classrooms each and every day. One simple alteration to the daily routine, such as more real
conversation time or giving students more choices for assessments, can in turn have an impact
on the overall classroom atmosphere and environment. It is crucial that we begin to ensure that
our students autonomy, competency and relatedness is noticed as well as expanded in our
classrooms to produce the most effective positive learning environment.
We can foster a sense of autonomy in the classroom by ensuring that our students have
choice in their actions and allowing them to monitor themselves and their learning. Students
seeking autonomy “are looking for clear and specific instruction from their teachers so that
they know what they need to accomplish” (Daniels,2010, p. 25). One way that teachers can
help their students thoroughly understand the expectations is to create rubrics alongside the
students. This way the class will have decided on vocabulary for the rubric that makes sense to
them but also can discuss what they think is fair for that assessment or not before the rubric is
finalized. If the students understand what their expectations are they may “willingly devote
time and energy to their studies” (Niemiec, Ryan, 2009, p.135). Another way to encourage
students to be more autonomous in their learning is to provide them with a variety of
submission options. For example, if a classroom were to complete a project describing a Social
Studies unit they could be given the option to submit their assignment in a variety of formats
such as a paper, a video or an art project. It is important when supporting autonomy in the
classroom that the students are given the opportunity to connect their studies to their own
lives but that they also do not lose focus of what they are learning.
Competency is important for encouraging students to apply themselves to their work.
Once the teacher has given the students the instructions of the task and how they will be
assessed it is important that they think the task is possible for them to achieve success. As
teachers we should recognize “the power of achievable challenge: opportunities for students to
see their effort-related improvement along the way to an ultimate goal” (Willis, 2010, p. 49). If
the teachers support their students and provide scaffolding and guided learning, from Vygotsky,
the students will feel like they can complete the task that is being asked of them and they will
know that if they struggle they will have the necessary support to continue. “It is important
that teachers provide students with the appropriate tools and feedback to promote success and
feelings of efficacy” (Niemiec, Ryan, 2009, p. 139).
For students to succeed at school it is important that they have a strong positive
learning environment including their relationships with their peers and their teacher. For a
teacher to simply devote a portion of class time either at the beginning or the end to develop
those positive relationships in the classroom they may see a rise in student’s willingness to
participate. The teachers should be committed to the student’s success and show them that
they care about their learning but also their lives outside of the classroom; “in the classroom,
relatedness is deeply associated with a student feeling that the teacher genuinely likes,
respects, and values him or her” (Niemiec, Ryan, 2009, p. 139). Along with the teacher-student
relationships, the relationships among the students are equally significant. Having the students
peer review one another’s work can help them develop a sense of comfort among their peers
and can also help them further develop their own work. Allowing students to collaborate and
work in group projects is also a way to increase the overall classroom relatedness, students will
be able to work with one another and hopefully develop relationships while working in these
groups. Relatedness is a key aspect of a positive learning environment both in academic groups
but as well as relationships beyond the classroom, building friendships to make the classroom
more welcoming and comfortable.
Autonomy, competency and relatedness are defined as our three basic psychological
needs; it is vital that these three needs are integrated into the classroom so that students can
have the most opportunities to reach their highest potential. If our students are given more
autonomy, competency and relatedness they will be more likely to want to participate in
classroom activities as well as want to put in their utmost effort into individual and group
assignments. While a specific method may not work to foster the needs for every single student
in the classroom, starting with even one may have a significant impact on the students.
References

Niemiec, C.P., Ryan, R.M. (2009). Theory and Research in Education. Autonomy, competence,
and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice.
doi: 10.1177/1477878509104318

Willis, J. (2010). The Current Impact of Neuroscience on Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from
https://moodle.uleth.ca/201803/pluginfile.php/117931/mod_resource/content/1/The%20Curr
ent%20Impact%20of%20Neuroscience%20%28Willis%29.pdf

Daniels, E. (2010). Creating Motivating Learning Environments: What we can Learn from
Researchers and Students. Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20787687?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). The Survivors Speak. Retrieved from
http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Survivors_Speak_2015_05_30_w
eb_o.pdf