Surveying Land-Based Learning for Engineering Education: Preliminary Steps

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an initial literature and website search of land-based education initiatives in Canadian post-secondary institutions. This work represents the first stage of a larger project, which aims to gather information about existing land-based education within Canadian post-secondary institutions and develop land-based curriculum for engineering students. The paper begins with a discussion of truth, reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonization in the context of education and land-based learning. It continues by presenting the authors’ positionalities, and then methods and findings. Preliminary findings from the initial search show that land-based approaches do not appear to be widespread within engineering faculties, programs, or courses in Canada. Additionally, more diversified knowledge gathering is required to better understand the current landscape of land education within Canadian post-secondary institutions.