Having trouble writing your thesis? Need some inspirations? Here are some examples from past UBC Graduates that should help put you on the right track.
Dr. Joyce Schneider, The warp and weft of it all: Ucwalmicw education emerging out of the Aboriginal education tapestry (2018)
Summary
Guided by the central tenets of Lester-Irabinna Rigney’s (1999) Indigenist paradigm; resistance, political integrity and honoring Indigenous voice, Dr. Joyce Schneider takes up the Ucwalmicw loom and blanket weaving as metaphor and praxis to honor Samahquamicw engagement in this PhD project. To contribute to the significant work already being done to define and transform Aboriginal education into the ever-emerging tapestries of Indigenous education, the research questions that guide the work disseminated here were:
1. In what ways can Ucwalmicw knowledge system processes disrupt mainstream understandings of Aboriginal education?
2. How can the facilitation of Ucwalmicw processes and protocols contribute to transforming classrooms for all students?
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Dr. Amy Parent, Keep them coming back for more: Urban Aboriginal Youth Perceptions and Experiences of wholistic Education in Vancouver (2009)
Summary
The perceptions and experiences of eight Aboriginal youth who participate in Aboriginal youth organizations in Vancouver, British Columbia are explored in this thesis. Dr. Amy Parent first examines the literature on Aboriginal youth within the larger context of mainstream society and the urban environment in order to highlight the role that current and historical structural policies have played in their lives. Then, Parent traces and critiques the positive youth development movement, and examines the various wholistic models of Aboriginal education that have been applied to mainstream and Aboriginal community- based settings.
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Dr. Sara Davidson, Following the Song of k’aad ‘aww (Dogfish Mother): Adolescent Perspectives on English 10 First Peoples, Writing, and Identity (2016)
Summary
The purpose of this study was to explore how identity texts and narrative writing could strengthen adolescents’ writing and support adolescents’ identity explorations. The study took place in an English 10 First Peoples class in a small, remote community in northern British Columbia. The context was highly unique; therefore, the study also includes findings regarding the students’ and community’s response to a compulsory course with Indigenous content, the struggles for educators teaching the course, and the perceived strengths of the course.
Click this link to access the full thesis.