As part of the Queen’s online Professional Master in Education (PME) program, students can choose to take part in a Capstone Project – a self-directed course that allows student professionals to explore current and relevant educational challenges within their own practice and organization. Find out about the exciting project PME Alumna Talia Kaufman (‘18) undertook as part of her program.
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For my PME Capstone Project, I wanted to address a challenge I had experienced first-hand: designing leadership programming for Indigenous youth in a way that resists colonial influence and honours Indigenous and local belief systems and values.
Usually, leadership programming focused on Indigenous youth are delivered by individuals (like me) who are members of settler communities. They also tend to be designed by educators with Eurocentric views of the world as well as bias for Eastern-European concepts of leadership.
I wanted to create a helpful research-based tool so organizations and individuals could overcome these challenges. The project is presented as a traditional paper, with an accompanying set of guidelines in an effort to make the ideas and information accessible to non-academics who may be interested in designing youth programs for these contexts. I hope these resources can serve as a guide for developing effective youth leadership programs.
In June 2018, a version of the guidelines was presented to youth from the Kurdish skateboarding community, and to volunteers from the UK and Belgium, through a knowledge-sharing initiative called the Goodpush Alliance. In January 2019, the presentation was adapted for the Programs team at Skateistan South Africa.
About Me
I have been in the role of Programs Director with Skateistan since 2013. Skatistan is an international non-profit organization providing programs combining skateboarding, sports, education, and leadership development to children and youth in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and South Africa.
Before joining Skateistan, I worked for the Calgary Sexual Health Centre (2008-2012) developing and delivering curriculum as a community health educator. My formal education includes a Diploma of Journalism – Hon. SAIT, a BA in Development Studies (from the Univeristy of Calgary), and a Professional Master of Education, with a focus on Aboriginal (Indigenous) Education from Queen’s University. I have also been skateboarding since I was 14, which is something I taught myself how to do.