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Indigenous Research Conference: Sámi Perspectives in Teaching and Education

For the third consecutive year, the research groups DivE and SPLP at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences are delighted to invite to an online research conference on Sámi perspectives in teaching and education Friday 10 February 2023.

Illustration photo (Photo: INN University)

Photo: INN University

The conference is part of the Faculty of Education at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences’ ambition to strengthen Sámi perspectives in our teacher education programmes.

The conference will be opened with a keynote address by associate professor Hanna-Máret Outakoski (University of Tromsø and University of Umeå). The day will end with a keynote address titled «Kan vi lykkes med inkluderende opplæring for samiske elever i norsk opplæring?», given by associate professor Hege Merete Somby (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and Sámi allaskuvla).

We hereby invite researchers who wish to present at the conference to submit an abstract of maximum 400 words by 20 November. The abstracts will be peer reviewed and everyone will receive feedback on their abstract by 15 December. The abstract is submitted when you register for the conference, using this link: https://nettskjema.no/a/urfolkskonferanse2023#/page/1

The format for the presentations will be 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions and comments. Presentations can be given either in English or in a Scandinavian language. Make sure to register in which language your presentation will be given when you submit an abstract. The conference will be online, via Zoom.

Important Dates

20th November 2022: Deadline for submission of abstracts

15th December 2022: Review of abstracts

10th February 2023: Online Indigenous Research Conference

Keynotes

Can we succeed with inclusive education for Sámi students within Norwegian education? 

Keynote Hege Merete Somby

As the Norwegian compulsory education increasingly recognises Sámi rights and the Sámi as an Indigenous people, the question of how we can provide an inclusive education to Sámi pupils by recognising Sámi cultures in teaching remains.  The current curriculum ”The Knowledge Promotion” of 2020, acknowledges the Sámi as an Indigenous people for the first time and anchors rights for Sámi pupils in the International Labour Organisation [ILO] convention no. 169 On the rights of tribal and Indigenous peoples (ILO, 1989).

However, even though Sámi perspectives are present in the curriculum, teaching about Sámi perspectives does not necessarily result in the inclusion of Sámi pupils within Norwegian schools. Inclusion as an educational phenomenon is much debated in the research field; however, there is a consensus that the concept revolves around practices such as fellowship, participation, democratisation, benefit, equal access, quality, equity and justice (see for instance Haug, 2017). In this presentation,

I will lay out premises of an inclusive education framework and discuss how teaching for and about Sámi issues in compulsory education is in danger of maintaining a stereotypical presentation of the Sámi people. I will conclude the presentation by proposing a new point of view on how we can succeed with an inclusive education for Sámi children by turning to an “education for all” (as stated in the Jomtien declaration) by the means of ”a relevant curriculum that can be taught and learned in a local language and builds upon the knowledge and experience of teachers and learners” (UNESCO, 2000, 17).

Sincerely, The Organizing Committee

Picture of Hege Merete Somby
Førsteamanuensis
Email
hege.somby@inn.no
Phone
+47 62 51 72 82
Picture of Jonas Yassin Iversen
Postdoktor
Email
jonas.iversen@inn.no
Phone
+47 62 59 79 55
Professor
Email
christina.molstad@inn.no
Phone
+47 62 51 72 90
Published Nov. 22, 2022 9:59 AM - Last modified Nov. 23, 2022 1:27 PM