Personal Suitability
Upon admission to the Aboriginal Program of study, students will be
expected to attend Cultural Camp where they will learn traditional
teachings and practices under the instruction of Elders and Aboriginal
faculty. This experience will enable Elders and academic staff to
determine the comfort level of students with this form of instruction
and to help students determine their suitability for this field, aside
from their intellectual capacity. During the course of the program,
students will be evaluated with regard to traditional knowledge,
traditional ceremonies, and their ability to “carry” and express these
teachings in the context of their behaviors and practice.
Students will be expected to garner from the traditional teachings, which may be transmitted orally, the meaning this knowledge contains for them and for the people with whom they will work. They will also be expected to articulate how this understanding fits into their own wholistic healing practice paradigm. It is expected that students may find this new process of learning to be challenging. Therefore students will be guided and supported throughout the program by Elder teachers and Aboriginal academic staff to assist them to master this challenging process.
If concerns arise about the personal suitability of a student to practice from the Aboriginal worldview, these concerns will be discussed with the student and a plan to address the concerns will be developed. If serious concerns about personal suitability persists, the collective of the Aboriginal Faculty and Elders will evaluate if the student has the capacity and commitment to practice from the Aboriginal worldview. If the collective decision of Aboriginal Faculty and Elders is that a student does not have such capacity or commitment, the Aboriginal program director will counsel and may require the student to leave the program. The student will be provided with the insights of the Elders and the Aboriginal academic staff as to the basis for this conclusion, and he or she would have the right to engage in the existing appeal processes, which are set out in the policies of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Social Work and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Students will be expected to garner from the traditional teachings, which may be transmitted orally, the meaning this knowledge contains for them and for the people with whom they will work. They will also be expected to articulate how this understanding fits into their own wholistic healing practice paradigm. It is expected that students may find this new process of learning to be challenging. Therefore students will be guided and supported throughout the program by Elder teachers and Aboriginal academic staff to assist them to master this challenging process.
If concerns arise about the personal suitability of a student to practice from the Aboriginal worldview, these concerns will be discussed with the student and a plan to address the concerns will be developed. If serious concerns about personal suitability persists, the collective of the Aboriginal Faculty and Elders will evaluate if the student has the capacity and commitment to practice from the Aboriginal worldview. If the collective decision of Aboriginal Faculty and Elders is that a student does not have such capacity or commitment, the Aboriginal program director will counsel and may require the student to leave the program. The student will be provided with the insights of the Elders and the Aboriginal academic staff as to the basis for this conclusion, and he or she would have the right to engage in the existing appeal processes, which are set out in the policies of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Social Work and the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
