Teachers learning new curriculum to be rolled out in Nunavut starting next year

Nunavut teachers were in Iqaluit this past week to learn a new education curriculum rooted in Inuit language and culture that the territorial government says it will start rolling out next school year.

The curriculum will be used in kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms in Nunavut schools in 2025-2026, though the territory says it has finished developing the curriculum all the way through to Grade 6 so far. 

Pamela Gross, the territory's education minister, described it as a "very huge milestone" and said it was also a "really large undertaking" that she hopes students will be proud of. 

"The curriculum is fully embedded in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit [Inuit traditional knowledge and principles] and will have our culture, our language, and what we know in our environment in the curriculum," she said, adding that it will be "very relevant" to students. 

Right now, Nunavut's curriculum comes from Alberta and other jurisdictions.

The territory says each year the new curriculum will be introduced to another grade, until it's fully implemented up to Grade 12 in 2036. Gross said the territory was still working on developing the curriculum for grades beyond the sixth, and that the first draft of it was done for Grades 7 to 9 so far.

Teaching materials for kindergarten and Grade 1 are available in Inuktut and English, according to a news release from the government of Nunavut last week. Gross said educators were brought to Iqaluit this past week to be trained on the new curriculum. 

Ashley Tulugak, the manager of program implementation and training in the territory's educator development division, helped develop part of the curriculum. She said an example of traditional knowledge in the program is how, in the first grade, students will learn about traditional naming practices. 

"They could learn their Inuktitut name, who they're named after, learning to write their name, spell their name in Inuktitut. They can practice the kinship terms, with each other like in the class." 

Teachers association worries how curriculum will be delivered

Justin Matchett, the president of the Nunavut Teachers Association (NTA) which represents teachers and administrators in Nunavut's education system, welcomes the new curriculum. 

"This has been a demand from our teachers for a long time, they keep asking about resources, they keep asking about how they're going to meet the expectations that the government has set," he said. 

The government of Nunavut passed legislation in 2008 to require Inuktut education for all grades by 2019-2020. The government missed that initial deadline and in 2021, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. launched a lawsuit against the territory claiming that it had failed to provide education in Inuktut and was discriminating against Inuit as a result — a legal battle the government has since taken to the highest court.

"It's very important that this curriculum comes out. It's going to help teachers in their attempts to achieve the goals of the [Nunavut government]," said Matchett.

But he is also worried how the territory will find the teachers needed to deliver it. 

"While the NTA firmly believes that teaching the language is important, we're also very firm believers in qualified educators in the classroom, and we don't think language … prioritization should take precedence over having a qualified teacher in the classroom," he said. 

Matchett said there are already "a lot" of unqualified teachers in Nunavut classrooms. 

"If the government wants to roll out this curriculum effectively, and if we're talking about the 2030s, there has to be that long-term plan of how they're going to get qualified Inuit teachers into the classroom." 

Consultations with communities finishing this month

Gross said the territory has enough teachers who speak Inuktut to start rolling out the curriculum for kindergarten and Grade 1 students in the coming school year, but that they "always do need more" teachers. 

"This will be worked out with the district education authority and the school and the department just to make sure that they're filling what they need," she said. 

The territory is wrapping up consultations in communities this month for input on regulations about the language of instruction. Those consultations will help map out the percentage of the curriculum that's taught in Inuktut and English in each community.  

Tulugak said it would be up to local district education authorities to decide which model they would like their schools to use.