The Bachelor of Education – Indigenous degree is a five‐year concurrent degree designed for Indigenous learners who are aiming to be Ontario qualified educators. The program prepares students to teach in urban, rural, public, FNMI, catholic school systems, on or off reserve, with a focus on the development of a deep understanding of Indigenous cultures, knowledge and languages. An emphasis on Indigenous ways of knowing and learning are central to the program and include a series of core courses that build these understandings while considering how they apply to educational contexts such as classrooms and schools, learning from the land, receiving guidance from Elders and related participatory experiences. The program also equips students with essential content knowledge and skills related to disciplines/subjects in Ontario schools (at the primary/junior and the intermediate/senior levels).

The degree provides graduates with credentials to teach in Ontario and answers the call in Ontario and Canada for an increase in qualified Indigenous educators who bring important knowledge and understanding to school age children and adolescents. The program also responds to education recommendations in the Truth and Reconciliation Report (2015). Graduates will be highly competitive in a job market that increasingly stresses the need for Indigenous educators who can facilitate learning in rural, urban, on reserve, off reserve, Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational settings.