Education is expected to assist students in the development of their personal identities and the achievement of social and economic success. Yet the aspirations of Aboriginal students have too often been thwarted by the very structures that are supposed to help them. Combining a research study, an extensive review of literature, and an analysis of current trends, Schissel and Wotherspoon detail the harm done to Aboriginal children and their families--not only in the past, when residential schools explicitly set out to eliminate Aboriginal identities, but also in more recent years, when educational systems designed for the mainstream have relegated First Nations students to the sidelines. The authors find hope for the future in four experimental programs from Saskatchewan, in which severely stressed Aboriginal youth have found self-esteem in educational settings that take into account traditional culture and spiritual teachings, as well as academic achievement. Interviews with Aboriginal students provide an additional depth to the authors' findings.

Bernard Schissel's profile page

Terry Wotherspoon's profile page

Bernard Schissel has been a professor at the University of Saskatchewan since 1989. He is the co-author of Social Control in Canada with Linda Mahood (OUP Canada, 1996). He is a contributor to one of the chapters in Youth Crime: Varieties, Theories, and Prevention, edited by Russell Smandych, and another chapter in Youth Justice: History, Legislation, and Reform (both Harcourt, 2001), also edited by Smandych. He has also contributed to books by Sage, Copp-Clarke, and Fernwood.

Terry Wotherspoon has been head and professor of the sociology department at the U of S for many years. Dr. Wotherspoon has much publishing experience. He wrote The Sociology of Education in Canada (OUP Canada, 1998), and co-authored First Nations (Nelson, 1993) with Vic Satzewich. He has contributed to manu books including Bolaria's Social Issues and Contradictions, 3e (Harcourt, 2001).