Presenters : Julie Cossette, ESL Teacher and Mahikan Project Coordinator; Jo Anni Joncas, Professor, University of Sherbrooke

Institution : Trois-Rivières Adult Education

According to recent studies, vocational training (VT) promotes the graduation of individuals from marginalized groups and seems perfectly suited to address the issues of graduation and employability among them, thereby contributing to greater social justice. However, in Canada, little research has focused on the scope of VT in the journey of Indigenous people. This lack of knowledge is worrying, because according to Statistics Canada (2017), VT is at the top of the list of the highest level of education attained by First Nations in Quebec. This project seeks to answer the following question: “Can the VT promote social justice among Indigenous people? If so, how? Data were collected from Indigenous students studying at three vocational training centres in Quebec. The preliminary analyses presented will propose a typology of their journey from a social justice perspective.