Higher education governance in Canada is changing. Indigenous individuals have made important strides in shifting policy, gaining access to and creating new leadership positions, advocating for increased funding in academia (Pidgeon 2019, Gaudry & Lawrence, 2018; Stonechild, 2006). This paper is grounded in the critical policy analysis literature examining the discourses of policy change towards equity, diversity and inclusion. Specifically, this paper analyzes changes in institutional governance structures and policy (strategic plans, hiring and employment policies) in relation to Indigenous individuals. The paper draws on document analysis of 15 research intensive universities and conversations with 15 Indigenous faculty members. Conceptually, this paper adopts critical policy analysis approach, where policies are viewed as participatory, “struggled over, not delivered” (Ozga, 2000, p. 2). The paper uses Ball’s (1994) notion of a policy cycle as an analytical frame to examine where and how policy is made and re-made in the context of higher education. The three contexts of the Ball’s policy cycle include:
a) Context of influence, where interest groups struggle over the construction of policy discourses;
b) Context of policy text production, where texts represent policies;
c) Context of practice, where policy is subject to interpretation and recreation (Lall, 2007, p. 5).
The paper highlights the ways in which institutional structures tend to be grounded in advocacy work from within. This paper provides evidence on how Indigenous communities in Canada have been able to contribute to shifting norms and values, activating many groups within universities in their work.

Authors:
Merli Tamtik, University of Manitoba, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Merli Tamtik is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at University of Manitoba in Canada

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