Indigenous Teacher Education University of British Columbia

Overview

This Indigenous Teacher Education program from University of British Columbia is a Bachelor of Education program for Aboriginal students wishing to teach at the elementary, middle, or secondary school level that builds upon Aboriginal identity and cultural heritage while preparing persons of Aboriginal ancestry to be effective educators for public, band, and independent schools in BC.

NITEP teacher candidates take arts, science, and education courses in each year of their degree program. 

The first two to three years are offered through a regional field centre so that teacher candidates can remain near their home community to maintain their family and cultural connections. 

NITEP includes the same elementary or secondary teacher education program course requirements, but in a different sequence. Also, NITEP includes courses that focus on Aboriginal education theory, content, and pedagogy.

Teacher candidates who successfully complete the requirements for the BEd program are recommended to the BC Teacher Regulation Branch for a professional teaching certificate. Information about the BEd program at UBC is available at teach.educ.ubc.ca.

Your future

• NITEP alumni are part of a growing number of Indigenous leaders in education who are transforming schools, organizations, and communities through Indigenous ways of knowing. 
• Many NITEP graduates go on to teach in local public and independent schools, while some decide to venture beyond BC’s Lower Mainland to teach in rural or international locations or pursue graduate degrees.

• NITEP students and graduates are role models and agents of change and empowerment. 
• For over four decades, 389 individuals have graduated and gone on to successful careers as teachers, administrators, provincial and federal government employees, and other highly valued positions in Aboriginal education.

• UBC NITEP BEd alumni include Dr. Gwendolyn Point, chancellor, University of the Fraser Valley; DeDe DeRose, first superintendent of Aboriginal Achievement; and Perry Smith, director of instruction for curriculum, Abbotsford School District.