Evaluation of the Saskatchewan Indian Community College occupational training programs 1976-1981
Date
1985-01-18
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
The Saskatchewan Indian Community College (SICC) is an institution of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) having the
mandate to deliver occupational training progams to Indian people in Saskatchewan. For the years of this study, 1976-1981,the SICC delivered
approximately 250 occupational training programs to nearly 3000 students.This study is the first attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of these
training programs in a systematic manner. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of the SICC occupational training
programs and to make recommendations regarding the future operation of these programs.
The main goal of SICC occupational training programs is to provide their recipients with skills to advance to either further levels of
training or to employment, As a result,the Decision Making Model of evaluation was utilized in order to gain adequate information on the
results of SICC training in relation to employment. In order to obtain a broader perspective in terms of all the impacts of SICC training, the Goal Free Model was also used.
Data for this study was collected through interviews administered by research assistants. Research assistants were trained in a week-long
orientation and skill session to prepare them to conduct student follow-up interviews. The research assistants travelled to reserves to
interview as many former SICC students as possible. A total of 806 of 2909 former SICC students were interviewed for this study between June,1982 to August,1982. The Adult Basic Education student completion rate was 60.8 per cent and it was 70.5 per cent for skills training. The pre-training Adult Basic Education employment rate was 33.5 per cent as compared to 33.3 per cent after training. The pre-training skills training employment rate was 33.3 per cent as opposed to 54.6 per cent after training. While SICC training is one variable affecting the employability of students, the difference may be the result of a number of variables of which SICC training is only one.Former SICC students generally were satisfied with and perceived their training to have been of high quality but found the training to be of limited value in gaining employment. The training was of limited benefit in such unintended areas of increasing the respondents' self-confidence, their involvement in band affairs, their incomes and their children's attendance in school by their example.There are a number of structural barriers limiting the effectiveness of the College's occupational training programs . These include(a)the lack of positive definition of the type of institution that the College is or should be, b)a complicated program identification, request, and approval process,(c)lack of accreditation of skills and trades programs,d)lack of a student support system and strategy, and (e) inadequate linkages between training and economic development and employment opportunities.
Recommendations from the study include ensuring (a) that the nature of the SICC as an educational institution be positively defined and that
this definition take into account the complex set of factors affecting the College, (b) that SICC training fits into a larger strategy of economic and employment development, (c) that a comprehensive set of occupational training opportunities exist, (d) that training be fully accredited and recognized, and (e) that links be made between Adult Basic Education programs and skill programs and employment.This study provides a baseline of information on the SICC and the effectiveness of its occupational training programs . There needs to be further research in this area to develop a model for the delivery of occupational training that can be generally applied .
Description
Keywords
Saskatchewan Indian Community College, occupational training programs, aboriginal education
Citation
Degree
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Department
College of Education
Program
College of Education