residential schools essay

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Indian Residential School system

Truth and reconciliation commission, papal apology.

residential school

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• Encyclopedia of the Great Plains - Indian Residential Schools, Canada
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residential school , school that was part of a Canadian government-sponsored system created and administered by various Christian churches between 1883 and 1996 with the intentions of assimilating Indigenous children to Western culture and expunging Indigenous cultures and languages. Some 150,000 First Nations , Métis , and Inuit children were forcibly taken from their homes to attend residential schools. Not only were Indigenous children physically and sexually abused at the schools, but also thousands of them died and were buried unceremoniously and anonymously—often the victims of malnutrition, fire, or disease spread rapidly through overcrowding. In the early 2000s the Canadian government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses at the schools, and in 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology for the harm caused by the school system.

Canada ’s first church-run school for Indigenous children, the Mohawk Institute, was established in 1828 by the Anglican church in Brantford (now in Ontario ). An amendment to the Indian Act of 1876 created the Indian Residential School (IRS) system. The system’s schools were funded by the Canadian government but run by various Christian churches. About 70 percent of the schools were administered by the Roman Catholic Church , and the remainder were run by Anglican , Methodist , and Presbyterian churches.

Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to an IRS, where they were not allowed to speak their language or practice their culture. If they did, they were severely punished. The education at the IRS was not the same as that provided for the non-Indigenous Canadian population. Girls were taught domestic skills (e.g., sewing, cooking, and cleaning), while boys were taught farming, carpentry, and maintenance. By the time they reached age 18 and were sent away from the school, most students had attained only the fifth-grade level of education. While at an IRS, many Indigenous students experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. They were likely to become ill because of the living conditions. Deadly fires also occurred in the schools. Thousands of Indigenous children died during the years of the IRS system. Moreover, it was common for the dead children to be buried in unmarked graves somewhere on the school site.

The number of residential schools grew quickly after 1883. A government medical inspector reported in 1907 that high numbers of Indigenous children were dying at the boarding schools; however, church and government officials took no action. Beginning in 1920, every First Nations child between ages 7 and 16 was required to attend an IRS. (The policy was not consistently applied to Métis and Inuit children.) The severe regimes at many of the schools were resisted by some Indigenous students. By the 1940s it had become apparent to the government and church administrators that the schools were not effective, and, partly in response to protests by Indigenous people, policy changes were undertaken. In the mid-1950s the government began taking over church-run residential schools in the Arctic. In 1969 the government took over the remaining residential schools from the churches. In 1979 only 28 residential schools remained open, but thousands of Indigenous students were still enrolled in them at the time. The last schools closed in the 1990s.

In 1990 a residential school survivor who was also a First Nations chief spoke out about the abuse he had suffered and called for a public investigation. The government began the inquiry the following year. The report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples released in 1996 made clear the harm that Indigenous peoples and their cultures had suffered as a result of the Indian Act.

For many years, former IRS students (IRS Survivors) tried to get the Canadian government and the churches that ran the schools to acknowledge that the abuses had taken place and provide some kind of payment. The result was the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007, which included financial payments for all IRS Survivors. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a formal public apology on June 11, 2008. The settlement also created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Starting in 2008, the TRC interviewed IRS Survivors, their families, and residential school staff and shared those stories with the rest of the country.

After speaking with more than 6,000 people, the TRC released its report in 2015. The report included 94 calls to action, including the creation of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and changes to the national school curriculum that focused on residential schools, treaties, and Indigenous peoples’ contributions to Canada. A large section of the report focused on missing children and unmarked burials. It called upon the federal government to help find and protect the locations of deceased residential school children. In 2021 the remains of more than 1,000 people, mostly children, were discovered on the grounds of former residential schools across western Canada.

The TRC also established the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) at the University of Manitoba to continue the research of the commission, to promote public education and understanding of the residential schools, and to help foster reconciliation and healing around the subject. September 30 was established as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour the lost children and IRS Survivors. On that day Canadians are encouraged to wear orange as a sign of respect and remembrance. It was first celebrated in 2021.

The TRC report also called upon the pope , as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, to issue an apology to IRS Survivors and their families for the church’s role in the operation of the schools. In April 2022 Pope Francis apologized to a First Nations delegation that was visiting the Vatican and pledged that he would travel to Canada as part of the healing and reconciliation process. In July he made good on that promise, undertaking a six-day penitential trip to Canada. On July 25, at a gathering near a former residential school in Maskwacis, Alberta , a First Nations community that is home to four Cree nations, the pope apologized, saying “I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples.”

• Open access
• Published: 02 March 2017

Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review

• Piotr Wilk 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Alana Maltby 1 &
• Martin Cooke 4 , 5  

Public Health Reviews volume  38 , Article number:  8 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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The history of residential schools has been identified as having long lasting and intergenerational effects on the physical and mental well-being of Indigenous populations in Canada. Our objective was to identify the extent and range of research on residential school attendance on specific health outcomes and the populations affected.

A scoping review of the empirical peer-reviewed literature was conducted, following the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005). For this review, nine databases were used: Bibliography of Native North Americans, Canadian Health Research Collection, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Indigenous Studies Portal, PubMed, Scopus, Statistics Canada, and Web of Science. Citations that did not focus on health and residential school among a Canadian Indigenous population were excluded. Papers were coded using the following categories: Indigenous identity group, geography, age-sex, residential school attendance, and health status.

Sixty-one articles were selected for inclusion in the review. Most focused on the impacts of residential schooling among First Nations, but some included Métis and Inuit. Physical health outcomes linked to residential schooling included poorer general and self-rated health, increased rates of chronic and infectious diseases. Effects on mental and emotional well-being included mental distress, depression, addictive behaviours and substance mis-use, stress, and suicidal behaviours.

The empirical literature can be seen as further documenting the negative health effects of residential schooling, both among former residential school attendees and subsequent generations. Future empirical research should focus on developing a clearer understanding of the aetiology of these effects, and particularly on identifying the characteristics that lead people and communities to be resilient to them.

The effects of colonization are apparent in all aspects of Indigenous peoples’ health and well-being [ 1 ], affecting not only their physical health, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness [ 2 ]. It is well established that Indigenous peoples in Canada experience a disproportionate burden of ill health compared to the non-Indigenous population [ 3 ]. In large part, these health disparities have been a result of government policies to assimilate Indigenous peoples into the Euro-Canadian ways of life, leading to physical and emotional harms to children, lower educational attainment, loss of culture and language, and the disconnect of family structures [ 4 – 6 ]. Many of the illnesses and conditions that are disproportionately experienced by Indigenous peoples, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, have therefore been attributed to the lasting effects of colonialism, including the Indian Act, the reserve system, and residential schooling [ 7 ]. Loppie Reading and Wien [ 8 ] note that colonialism, a distal determinant of health, is the basis on which all other determinants (i.e. intermediate and proximal) are constructed.

Among colonial policies, residential schooling has stood out as especially damaging to Indigenous peoples. The residential school system was intended to eradicate the language, cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs of Indigenous children in order to assimilate them into the Canadian society [ 5 , 6 , 9 , 10 ]. More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children attended the church-run schools between their establishment in the 1870s and the closure of the last school in the mid-1990s [ 11 ]. As admitted by government and church officials, the explicit purpose of the residential school system was “to civilize and Christianize Aboriginal children” [ 10 ]. In addition to the cultural and social effects of being forcibly displaced, many children suffered physical, sexual, psychological, and/or spiritual abuse while attending the schools, which has had enduring effects including, health problems, substance abuse, mortality/suicide rates, criminal activity, and disintegration of families and communities [ 5 ]. Moreover, many of the residential schools were severely underfunded, providing poor nutrition and living conditions for children in their care, leading to illness and death [ 5 ].

These attempts of forced assimilation have failed, in part due to the resilience and resistance of many Indigenous communities [ 12 ]. Nonetheless, it is apparent that they have had profound effects “at every level of experience from individual identity and mental health, to the structure and integrity of families, communities, bands and nations” [ 6 ]. The concept of historical trauma suggests that the effects of these disruptive historical events are collective, affecting not only individual Survivors, but also their families and communities [ 13 , 14 ]. According to Kirmayer, Gone, and Moses, historical trauma provides a way to conceptualize the transgenerational effects of residential schooling, whereby “traumatic events endured by communities negatively impact on individual lives in ways that result in future problems for their descendants” [ 14 ]. Recent findings suggest that the effects of the residential school system are indeed intergenerational, with children of attendees demonstrating poorer health status than children of non-attendees [ 9 ]. In fact, families in which multiple generations attend residential schools have been found to have greater distress than those in which only one generation attended [ 9 ]. Although this provides important evidence of the role of residential schooling in the current health and social conditions of Indigenous peoples, the links in the causal chain are not well understood, and there are many potential intermediate factors between residential school attendance and its effects on subsequent generations [ 14 ].

The consequences of residential schooling for Indigenous peoples in Canada have been known for some time, having been documented by the accounts of former attendees [ 15 , 16 ]. These effects parallel experiences in the USA and Australia, where boarding or residential schools were also a key tool of assimilation [ 17 ]. In its final report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada made 94 “calls to action” to redress the legacy of residential schools [ 18 ]. Among those related to health, the TRC admonished federal, provincial and territorial levels of government to acknowledge the effects of Canadian government policies (e.g. residential schools) and, working together with Indigenous peoples, to identify and close the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in health outcomes [ 18 ]. Although there have been some empirical studies of the effects of residential schooling on Indigenous peoples’ health, there has been no previous attempt to synthesize the evidence of these effects. The purpose of this scoping review is therefore to describe the current state of the literature regarding residential school attendance and the health and well-being of Indigenous people in Canada. In particular we ask; what are the health outcomes that have been empirically linked to residential schooling, what are the populations in which these effects have been identified, and whether effects are found among Survivors or also among other family members and subsequent generations. By summarizing the current literature and identifying needs for further research, this effort can contribute to our understanding of the effects of residential schooling on the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples.

Search strategies

The scoping review process for this paper was informed by Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework for scoping studies [ 19 ]. A scoping review is an approach used to map the existing literature on a particular general topic in order to understand the overall state of knowledge in an area [ 19 ]. Scoping studies therefore typically have broad research questions and focus on summarizing the available evidence [ 20 ]. According to Armstrong and colleagues, a scoping review also differs from a systematic review in that the inclusion/exclusion criteria can be developed in an iterative process, the quality of studies might not be discussed in the review, and that the synthesis tends to be more qualitative in nature with the review used to identify parameters and gaps in a body of literature rather than coming to a conclusion about the evidence for a specific effect or effects [ 21 ]. Although a scoping review may not describe research findings in detail, it provides a way of navigating the area of research where the range of material is uncertain [ 19 ]. Arksey and O’Malley suggest five stages in conducting a scoping review: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results [ 19 ]. These five stages were used to inform and guide the current literature review. The intent of this scoping review was to assess the extent and range of empirical research examining residential schooling and health outcomes among Indigenous peoples. This broad research question was established at the outset and was used to guide the subsequent stages of the review. In order to identify relevant literature, we conducted a search of nine electronic databases: Bibliography of Native North Americans, Canadian Health Research Collection, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Indigenous Studies Portal, PubMed, Scopus, Statistic Canada, and Web of Science. The search strategy and search terms were developed with the assistance of an academic librarian who specializes in First Nations studies. Broad search terms were used within these databases and are documented in Table  1 .

The search results were downloaded into the reference management software Endnote (Endnote X7, Thomson Reuters, 2014), from which duplicates were removed. Inclusion was determined using the following criteria: (a) English-language source (or translated abstract), (b) analysis using primary or secondary data, (c) focus on an Indigenous population in Canada (e.g., First Nations, Inuit, Métis), and (d) focuses on residential school attendance and its relation to health. Grey literature addressing residential school attendance and health were also sought out to provide additional support, including government or organization reports, commentaries, or news bulletins.

Selecting the articles for inclusion was completed in two steps. In the first stage, two reviewers screened titles and abstracts and citations that did not meet the inclusion criteria were removed. If the reviewers were unsure about the relevancy of an abstract, the full text of the article was retrieved and reviewed. At the second stage, the full texts of the articles were reviewed for final inclusion. The bibliographies of the full articles were hand-searched to identify further relevant references. Systematic or scoping reviews were not included in this scoping review; however, their reference lists were reviewed for pertinent references. A detailed chart depicting the search results is provided (Fig.  1 ). Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework [ 19 ], a spreadsheet was created to chart the relevant data that is pertinent to the research question. The papers selected for inclusion were coded following similar categories used by Wilson and Young [ 22 ] and Young [ 23 ] in their reviews of Indigenous health research. The categories used includes: Indigenous identity group, geographic location, age-sex, residential school attendance, and health status. A description of each category is provided below. Data extraction was carried out by one of the researchers in an Excel database and was verified by another team member.

Scoping review search results

Classification categories

Studies were classified according to the health outcomes examined, the Indigenous population affected, the geographic location of the study, and the age and sex/gender categories included in the study, and the type of residential schooling effect investigated.

Health outcomes

Although we distinguish specific types of health outcomes resulting from personal experiences and the intergenerational impacts of residential schooling, it is important to acknowledge that these outcomes do not occur independently, but exist in complex relationships with other effects [ 24 ]. The consequences of residential schools are wide-reaching and, according to Stout and Peters [ 24 ], may include, “medical and psychosomatic conditions, mental health issues and post traumatic stress disorder, cultural effects such as changes to spiritual practices, diminishment of languages and traditional knowledge, social effects such as violence, suicide, and effects on gender roles, childrearing, and family relationships”. Social, cultural, and spiritual effects of residential schools are often associated with physical, mental, and emotional health [ 24 ]. For the purposes of categorizing the types of outcomes described in the studies reviewed, it was necessary to impose somewhat arbitrary categories of physical health, mental health and emotional well-being, and general health, as described below.

Physical health: Health conditions may include arthritis, chronic back pain, rheumatism, osteoporosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, allergies, cataracts, glaucoma, blindness or serious vision problems that could not be corrected with glasses, epilepsy, cognitive or mental disability, heart disease, high blood pressure, effects of stroke (brain hemorrhage), thyroid problems, cancer, liver disease (excluding hepatitis), stomach or intestinal problems, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, or diabetes [ 25 ].

Mental health/emotional well-being: Mental health issues may include depression, anxiety, substance abuse (e.g. drugs or alcohol), paranoia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexual dysfunction, personality disorders, stress, effects on interpersonal relationships, psychological or nervous disorders, and attention deficit disorder/attention disability. In addition, for the purposes of this review, suicide and suicide attempts or thoughts were also classified with mental health.

General health: A category related to general overall health was also included for papers that did not make references to a specific health outcome.

Indigenous identity group

Populations were also classified as either referring to a single Indigenous identity (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) or a combination of identities (a combination of two single identity groups, or Indigenous and non-Indigenous identities).

Geographic location

For this review, we examined two aspects of geography. Firstly, we determined if the studies referred to Indigenous populations living on First Nations reserves, Footnote 1 Northern communities, non-reserve rural areas, or in urban areas. Secondly, we identified the province or territory of focus in the paper.

Age-sex/gender categories

The health outcomes associated with residential school attendance might be different for men and women, or boys and girls. Studies were categorized by the age range and sex/gender of the participants.

Residential school attendance

Residential school attendance was classified as either personal attendance or familial attendance (i.e. parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles).

Characteristics of the included studies

As depicted in Fig.  1 , 61 studies were found that discussed residential schools in Canada and the health effects among Survivors, their families, or communities. The details of each study included in the review were provided in a chart and can be found in Table  2 . The majority of papers were published in 2000 and later, with the exception of one published in 1999. Their sample sizes ranged from 1 to 51,080 and involved children, youth, and adults. Often, studies included men and women, various Indigenous identities, several geographic locations, and personal and familial residential school attendance.

The majority of studies, 43, included First Nations. Eighteen studies involved Inuit and 17 included Métis. In 11, the population was identified as “Aboriginal” or “Indigenous” and did not distinguish between First Nations, Inuit, or Métis. Three studies also included “Other” Indigenous populations that were not further defined, two included multiple identities, one undisclosed identity, and two included non-Canadian Indigenous populations (Sami, American Indian).

A total of 14 studies were conducted using national level Canadian data. Seven studies focused on Atlantic Canada; two were conducted in Newfoundland, one in Nova Scotia, one in New Brunswick, and two in the Atlantic region. Six studies were conducted in Quebec, ten studies took place in Ontario, and one in Central Canada. In Western Canada, eight studies took place in Manitoba, eight in Saskatchewan, ten in Alberta, 13 in British Columbia, one in the prairies, and three in Western Canada. Additionally, a few studies were conducted in the territories, with two taking place in the Northwest Territories, and six in Nunavut. Two studies did not specify a geographic location and two were conducted in the USA.

Twenty-four studies considered Indigenous peoples living on-reserve, while 23 involved those living off-reserve. Study participants living off-reserve can be further categorized as living in rural or remote areas, northern communities, or urban areas. Seventeen studies indicated that their participants were from a rural or remote location, 14 included participants in northern communities, and 24 focused on urban populations.

Age-sex/gender

Both males and females were represented in the research with 48 studies including both men and women. Five studies included only women, and one solely looked at males. Also, one study included participants who are transgender, one study indicated “other”, and three did not provide a description of the participants’ sex or gender. Regarding age, 46 studies included individuals over the age of 18, whereas 15 included children and youth under the age of 18. Nine studies did not include information on the age of participants.

In terms of residential school attendance, 42 of the studies reviewed included residential school attendees themselves (personal attendance) and 38 examined the effects of having a parent or other family members who had attended (familial attendance). Four studies did not indicate who had attended residential school.

General health : It is evident from the results of this review that personal or familial (e.g. parental or grandparental) residential school attendance is related to health in a multitude of ways. Twelve papers used self-reported health or general quality of life as an outcome measure and found that people who had attended residential schools generally felt as though their health or quality of life had been negatively impacted. Using Statistics Canada’s 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS), Wilson and colleagues found that those who had attended residential schools had poorer overall self-rated health than those who did not attend [ 26 ], a finding that was reproduced with the 2006 APS by Kaspar [ 27 ], who found that 12% of those who had attended residential school reported poor health, compared with 7% of those who did not attend. While this may be attributed to other factors such as aging within the population, the role of residential schools cannot be dismissed [ 26 ]. Hackett et al. found that familial attendance at residential school was associated with lower likelihood of reporting excellent perceived health, even after controlling for covariates such as health behaviours, issues with food security and/or housing [ 28 ] However, while the studies reveal negative effects in relation to the residential school system, this cannot be said for everyone who attended. For example, some studies have found better overall reported health among those with family members who attended (see, e.g. Feir [ 29 ]). Physical health : Physical health problems, namely chronic health conditions and infectious diseases, were also apparent in the literature. Thirteen papers related specific physical health conditions to residential school attendance. These included conditions such as HIV/AIDS, chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes, obesity), tuberculosis (TB), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), chronic headaches, arthritis, allergies, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In a study by Ghosh [ 30 ], participants stated that their experiences at residential school impacted their diets through the higher consumption of carbohydrates, a factor the authors relate to the higher rates of diabetes among this population today. Howard [ 31 ] found similar results and suggested that residential schooling contributed to the urbanization of Indigenous peoples in Canada, which has led to diabetes and other problems. Dyck and colleagues also reported that those who attended residential school had a slightly higher prevalence of diabetes than those who did not, although the finding was not statistically significant [ 32 ]. Residential school attendance has also been found to be a positive predictor of obesity among younger Métis boys and girls, but a negative predictor among older girls [ 33 ]. In addition to chronic conditions, residential school attendance has been associated with poorer sexual health in general [ 34 , 35 ], infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and STIs [ 36 ] and has been identified as an independent risk factor for HCV [ 37 ]. Corrado and Cohen found that many First Nations people who had personally attended residential schools reported suffering from physical ailments including, chronic headaches, heart problems, and arthritis [ 5 ].

Mental health and emotional well-being : Mental health, and particularly emotional well-being, was the area of health most commonly identified as affected by residential school attendance. Forty-three studies reviewed found that personal or intergenerational residential school attendance was related to mental health issues such as mental distress, depression, addictive behaviours and substance misuse, stress, and suicidal behaviours. For example, Walls and Whitbeck [ 38 ] noted that early lifetime stressors such as residential school attendance are negatively associated with mental health among adults. Corrado and Cohen [ 5 ] found that among 127 residential school Survivors, all but two suffered from mental health issues such as PTSD, substance abuse disorder, major depression, and dysthymic disorder. These authors suggest that residential school leads to a specific combination of effects a—“Residential School Syndrome”. Anderson [ 39 ] found that residential school attendance among Inuit men was related to mental distress. Familial residential school attendance has been associated with lower self-perceived mental health and a higher risk of distress and suicidal behaviours [ 28 ]. Intergenerational effects were found by Stout [ 40 ] among women who had parents or grandparents attend residential schools, with women reporting that familial attendance at residential school had had an enduring impact on their lives and mental health.

Substance abuse and addictive behaviours have also been identified as common among those impacted by residential schools. In a study conducted by Varcoe and Dick [ 36 ], a participant associates her drinking and drug use to the sexual, physical, emotional, and mental abuse experienced at residential school. Similarly, co-researchers (research participants) in two studies explained their addiction to drugs and alcohol as a “coping mechanism” [ 44 , 54 ].

Suicide and suicidal thoughts and attempts were associated with personal and familial residential school attendance in several papers. Elias and colleagues [ 41 ] found that residential school attendees who suffered abuse were more likely to have a history of suicide attempts or thoughts. Furthermore, non-attendees who had a history of abuse were more likely to report having familial residential school attendance, suggesting that residential schooling might be important in the perpetuation of a cycle of victimization. Youth (12–17 years) participating in the on-reserve First Nations Regional Health Survey who had at least one parent who attended residential school reported increased suicidal thoughts compared to those without a parent that attended [ 42 ].

This review aimed to summarize the current literature on residential schools and Indigenous health and well-being using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework [ 19 ]. In general, the empirical literature further documented the wide ranging negative effects of residential schools that had previously been identified by Survivors themselves [ 15 ] and confirmed that residential schooling is likely an important contributor to the current health conditions of Indigenous populations in Canada. The studies included revealed a range of poorer physical, mental and emotional, and general health outcomes in both residential school attendees and their families compared with those without these experiences. This included evidence of poorer general health, higher risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, as well as infectious diseases such as STIs. Many of the studies related residential schooling to poorer mental health, including depressions and substance misuse. Although the majority of studies focused on First Nations, various effects were observed among Métis and Inuit as well, and in urban, rural and reserve populations, and in all regions, strongly suggesting that the effects of residential schooling are felt by Indigenous peoples across Canada. The regional and historical variations in the implementation of residential schooling [ 10 ] would lead us to expect geographic variability in these effects. While only one study reviewed examined these differences, it is indicated that variation in health status among community members may be related to various colonial histories in different areas [ 43 ]. Importantly, given the vast consequences and predominately negative impact of attendance at these schools, the literature reviewed suggests that younger generations continue to experience the negative health consequences associated with residential schooling. Some of the papers were able to identify specific intergenerational effects, including higher risk of negative outcomes for those whose parents or grandparents attended, whether they themselves were residential school Survivors [ 9 ]. Others only considered whether family members had attended, suggesting that the effects are clustered within families, rather than isolating the intergenerational transmission of trauma related to residential schooling.

Overall, the newness of the literature indicates that this is a recent and growing area of research. One of the likely consequences of this is that much of the research reviewed was correlational, and few studies explicitly examined the mechanisms that connected residential school experience to health outcomes. Although some of the studies examining mental health identified substance use resulting from a need to cope with psychological pain [ 44 , 45 , 54 ] or to provide individuals with feelings of regaining power and control [ 45 ], most of the studies of physical health effects or general health did not attempt to unpack the range of proximate and mediating factors in the causal chain between residential schooling and the health of Survivors or of their family members.

A strength of this review is that it was conducted systematically and provides methodological accounts to ensure the transparency of the findings. Additionally, the findings of this research highlight the extent and range of the available literature on this important topic in health and suggest areas that require further research. It is important to acknowledge its limitations, however. Firstly, while a scoping review provides a rapid summary of a range of literature, it does not include an appraisal of the quality of the studies included nor provide a synthesis of the data. Secondly, the inclusion of studies is determined by the reviewer’s interpretation of the literature and therefore may be more subjective in nature.

Implications

The lasting effects of residential schooling on the current Indigenous population are complicated and stretch through time and across generations. It is clear, though, that our understanding of the factors that affect Indigenous peoples’ health should include both the effects of “early, colonization-specific” experiences [ 27 ] as well as the more proximate factors, including socioeconomic disadvantages and community conditions [ 27 ]. Although this complexity and the impact of colonial policies and practices, such as residential schooling, on other determinants, such as income, education, and housing has been noted [ 8 ], there is a need to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of this historical trauma, and particularly of the mechanisms by which intergenerational trauma continues to affect Indigenous peoples’ well-being, including the enduring effects across generations [ 46 ].

This would include more research that examines how the effects of residential schooling are mediated or moderated by other social and cultural determinants. For example, the use of ecological frameworks would help researchers and health professionals gain a deeper understanding of how the various levels of context in which the high rates of diseases such as obesity and diabetes have developed have themselves been shaped by colonial policies and by residential schooling in particular. Although isolating the effects of residential schooling on health is important, future empirical analysis should also examine the possible cumulative effects of stressors and traumas, and how these might contribute to the continuing difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples’ health status [ 46 ].

Conclusions

The findings from this scoping review highlight the importance of considering government policies and historical context as critical to understanding the contemporary health and well-being of Indigenous peoples. As Kirmayer, Tait and Simpson [ 47 ] note, this includes other colonial policies, forms of cultural oppression, loss of autonomy, and disruption of traditional life, as well as residential schooling. Better knowledge of how the effects of these historically traumatic events continue to affect communities and individuals may help inform both population health interventions and the care and treatment of individuals. Moreover, identifying the characteristics and conditions of those individuals and communities who have been resilient to the effects of residential schooling may contribute to promoting appropriate supports to limit the transmission of these effects.

In Canada, “Reserves” are parcels of Crown land set aside for use by particular First Nations communities.

Abbreviations

Hepatitis C virus

Injection drug user

Post traumatic stress disorder

Sexually transmitted infections

Tuberculosis

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Courtney Waugh, who reviewed our search strategy and recommended valuable databases to use in our scoping review. Additionally, the authors would also like to acknowledge the valuable feedback and comments provided by the members of Indigenous organizations and communities: The Indigenous members did not wish to be identified.

Funding for this manuscript was provided by The Western Libraries Open Access Fund. AM and PW are also funded by the Children's Health Foundation through the Children's Heart Health grant.

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Authors’ contributions

AM conducted the database searches. PW and AM reviewed the abstracts and extracted relevant information from included studies. All authors contributed to writing and editing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

Piotr Wilk & Alana Maltby

Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

Children’s Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada

Department of Sociology and Legal Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Martin Cooke

School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Correspondence to Piotr Wilk .

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Wilk, P., Maltby, A. & Cooke, M. Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review. Public Health Rev 38 , 8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-017-0055-6

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Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools

Article by Peter Menzies

Published Online March 25, 2020

Last Edited May 30, 2024

Historical trauma occurs when trauma caused by historical oppression is passed down through generations. For more than 100 years, the Canadian government supported residential school programs that isolated Indigenous children from their families and communities ( see Residential Schools in Canada ). Under the guise of educating and preparing Indigenous children for their participation in Canadian society, the federal government and other administrators of the residential school system committed what has since been described as an act of cultural genocide. As generations of students left these institutions, they returned to their home communities without the knowledge, skills or tools to cope in either world. The impacts of their institutionalization in residential school continue to be felt by subsequent generations. This is called intergenerational trauma.

This is the full-length entry about Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools. For a plain-language summary, please see Intergenerational Trauma and Residential Schools (Plain-Language Summary) .

The study of intergenerational trauma, which researchers also call “transgenerational trauma,” is a developing field. The phenomenon is often examined as part of research into historical trauma. Preliminary studies have focused on Holocaust Survivors and their offspring ( see Canada and the Holocaust ). In 1966, Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Vivian M. Rakoff wrote one of the first articles on the topic. His paper focused on family dynamics, particularly between parent and child ( see Family Studies ). Subsequent studies described high rates of psychological distress among children of Holocaust Survivors. Some noted their specific behaviour patterns, including being overly protective of their parents, needing a high level of control, exhibiting an obsession with the Holocaust and having immature dependency.

As early as the 2010s, researchers began examining the intergenerational effects of the residential school system on Indigenous people and communities across Canada .

From Individual Trauma to Intergenerational Trauma

Many children experienced psychological, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their so-called caregivers in the residential school system ( see Child Abuse ). On an individual level, the long-term impact of residential school experiences has left many former students facing significant psychological challenges ( see Mental Health ). These range from heightened feelings of anger, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder and high rates of suicide, among other things. In a national survey conducted between 2008 and 2010, members of First Nations communities identified managing substance use as the number-one challenge for community wellness ( see Social Conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada ).

Residential schools included parenting models based on punishment, abuse, coercion and control. With little experience of nurturing family environments from which to draw, generations of residential school Survivors struggle with residual trauma. As adults, many are ill-prepared to nurture their own children. The effects of these chaotic family systems can be seen in the high rates of family violence and domestic partner abuse. While Indigenous children represent less than 8 per cent of children under 14 years of age in Canada , they make up nearly 54 per cent of children in the care of child welfare authorities.

In her 1991 work, Impact of Residential Schools and Other Root Causes of Poor Mental Health , Maggie Hodgson summarizes the cumulative impact of the loss of parenting knowledge and skills across generations:

If you subject one generation to that kind of parenting and they become adults and have children; those children become subjected to that treatment and then you subject a third generation to a residential school system the same as the first two generations. You have a whole society affected by isolation, loneliness, sadness, anger, hopelessness and pain.

High levels of Indigenous unemployment, a disproportionate number of Indigenous people involved in the justice system, high rates of Indigenous homelessness in urban centres and poor housing conditions in many First Nations communities all share a root cause: Canada’s residential school policy.

Transmission of Intergenerational Trauma

Psychological and sociological researchers are exploring theories about how trauma is transmitted from one generation to the next. They are trying to understand the persistent nature of trauma-induced symptoms that continue to affect the well-being of many Indigenous individuals, their families and their communities.

Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart first documented the impact of historic loss in her study of grief as experienced by the Lakota community ( see Dakota ) in the late 1990s. More recent scholars have offered theories on the origins of the trauma among Indigenous peoples in Canada .

Sociocultural Model

Researchers have many working theories on how intergenerational trauma is transmitted. One can be thought of as the sociocultural model, which focuses on parenting styles and how environmental factors influence child development. This model assumes that children learn from their immediate environment and from the people who directly contribute to their development, such as their parents and immediate family members. When children experience abuse, neglect and stress in their home environments, they are unable to develop appropriate coping skills or strategies to deal with future life stressors. In some communities, multiple families lack the knowledge and skills to support their children’s emotional and psychological well-being. Researchers believe that when this is the case, it becomes more difficult to redress behaviours that have become the community norm. Negative parenting behaviours are replicated by the next generation, and the cycle of trauma renews. Particularly when geographic isolation and social marginalization limits access to new, external parenting models, that cycle remains unaffected and can impact subsequent generations of children.

Psychological Model

Another theory could be described as the psychological model of intergenerational transmission. It focuses on the importance of a parent’s attachment to their child. Their ability to tune into the needs of their child is critical to the child’s development of self-regulation. Early infant brain development can be affected if a child’s needs are not attended to in a way that helps them develop a sense of security and trust in their immediate environment. Cognitive delays and negative coping strategies could follow, impacting a child’s success in school and other social settings, as well as later in life. Whole communities can be affected if this attachment is disrupted for groups of related individuals, and the cycle of psychological trauma could continue to be perpetrated across generations.

Physiological Model

Physiological theories focus on predisposed genetic or biological factors to explain the transmission of trauma across generations. Some recent theories propose that biological risk factors can include “toxic stress ” caused by a child’s environment. This type of problem can contribute to actual changes in the child’s brain development due to abnormal levels of cortisol, dopamine or serotonin, which can affect a child’s future ability to process stressful conditions. This leads to heightened activity levels and can have an effect on concentration and learning abilities ( see Specific Learning Disabilities ). Children dealing with such conditions are described as having limited abilities to self-soothe or regulate their behaviours while under stress. There are also epigenetic theories that suggest maternal stress can impact a child’s in-utero development, ultimately affecting the function of their genes. According to these theories, genetic conditions can predispose an individual’s negative response to stress, and these conditions can be passed on to future generations.

These sociocultural, psychological and physiological theories consider historical trauma as a person's expression of traumatic experiences. They are linked to their distinct ancestral experience. Interventions to treat PTSD have focused on developing health and social programs that address a person's symptoms. But the effectiveness of these programs in the treatment of intergenerational trauma has yet to be determined.

Many researchers are now looking to isolate external conditions that foster trauma among specific populations. They are focusing on groups who have been historically marginalized economically, politically and socially by mainstream or dominant culture ( see Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada ). A recent research article examined the effects of traumatic events and perceived discrimination on the mental well-being of four historically marginalized groups in Canada: Indigenous people , Black people , Jewish people and women . Researchers found that any type of intervention that doesn’t consider the cultural and social contexts in which these groups live risks contributing to their oppression ( see Social History ). This moves the discussion away from victim blaming to one that leverages community knowledge and experiences in new ways.

Moving Forward

Most theories focus on the sociocultural, psychological and physiological ways that trauma is transmitted between generations. Others examine external factors, including racism , cultural discrimination and economic marginalization ( see Economic Conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada ). The latter theories describe the role society plays in perpetuating the intergenerational effects of the residential school experience — something that researchers say must be acknowledged in order to break the cycles of trauma.

Strategies for moving forward with empowerment strategies include increased self-government and self-determination ( see Indigenous Self-Government in Canada ). The 2008 apology issued by the Canadian government to Survivors of federally run residential schools was a start, but the task of identifying strategies for disrupting the legacy of the residential school system remains.

Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide

Residential Schools Podcast Series

• generations
• Indigenous Peoples in Canada
• Suicide among Indigenous Peoples
• residential school
• colonialism
• mental health

Further Reading

Gone, J.P. (2013). Redressing First Natiosn historical trauma: Theorizing mechanisms for Indigenous culture as mental health treatment. Transcultural Psychiatry. 50:683.

Restoule, B.M. (2013). The soul wounds of the Anishnabek People: The psychological and intergenerational impacts of the Indian residential school. North Bay, ON: Union of Ontario Indians.

Aguiar, W. & Halseth, R. (2015). Aboriginal Peoples and historic trauma: The process of intergenerational transmission. Prince George, BC: National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health.

Bombay A., Matheson K., Anisman H. (2011). The impact of stressors on second generation Indian Residential School Survivors. Transcultural Psychiatry 48(4): 367–391.

Bombay, A., Matheson, K., Anisman, H. (2014). The intergenerational effects of Indian Residential schools: Implications for the concept of historical trauma. Transcultural Psychiatry, 51(3): 320-338.

Menzies, P. (2006). Intergenerational trauma and homeless Aboriginal men. Canadian Review of Social Policy, 58: 1-24.

Menzies, P. (2010) Intergenerational trauma from a mental health perspective. Native Social Work Journal, 7: 63-85.

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About This Chapter

This chapter walks us through the experiences of survivors of Indian Residential Schools, from the time they were torn from their families, to their daily routines at the schools, and the long-lasting effects of the system on future generations.

Guiding Questions

• What did a policy of “forced assimilation ” look like in practice?
• What was life like for indigenous students in the residential schools?
• What were the gaps between the language of the missionaries and the realities of the schools?
• assimilation assimilation: This term refers to the process whereby one group or individual’s culture is absorbed into another, creating one single cultural entity, giving up distinct group or individual identity. Believing that indigenous cultures were inferior, the Canadian government, since the middle of the nineteenth century, put forth a series of policies to assimilate the Indigenous Peoples into settler Canadian society.

What’s Included

This chapter is from the The Residential School Experience section of Stolen Lives and includes:

• Connection questions

Additional Context & Background

Most survivors of the residential schools experienced their time at the schools as profoundly painful and destructive. Torn from their parents and communities, they were thrown into schools where human connection with adults was harsh, cold, and even abusive. At the schools, they were forced into the care of strangers—people from an unknown culture whose main goal was to eradicate their values, traditions, and beliefs. Alone, isolated, and sometimes assaulted both physically and emotionally, indigenous students were left to struggle on their own with no parental love or community support. While not all schools were alike, and not every student experienced the schooling in the same way, many were scarred for life. They entered their adult lives with no family model to follow, no connections to their parents and traditions, and, most of all, little preparation for the inhospitable world that consistently denied their experience. Educated in a grey zone between two competing cultures—theirs and the Europeans’—they reported feeling socially disoriented and inadequately educated.

This chapter walks the reader through the experiences of different survivors from the time they were torn from their families through to their daily routines, the effects on other family members, and the effects the second and third generations experience to come after them to this day.

• survivors survivors: The term survivors was first used to refer to individuals who lived through the Holocaust and other genocides; many believe residential school students share similar symptoms with other survivors, including emotional detachment, guilt, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. First used in the 1990s in the discussion of the experiences of indigenous students in the residential schools system, the term also refers to former students of these schools, individuals who suffered neglect and physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their supposed teachers and instructors.
• indigenous indigenous: A generic term for communities of people who resided on territories before they were invaded and/or colonized (primarily by Europeans). Many descendants of these communities have a historical and cultural continuity with their pre-colonial ancestors. For some, the term indigenous is preferable to Aboriginal in reference to the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in Canada.

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Lost Lives, Lost Culture: The Forgotten History of Indigenous Boarding Schools

Thousands of Native American children attended U.S. boarding schools designed to “civilize the savage.” Many died. Many who lived are reclaiming their identity.

Children at Fort Lewis Indian School in Colorado circa 1900. Credit... via the Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College

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By Rukmini Callimachi

Photographs by Sharon Chischilly

• Published July 19, 2021 Updated Nov. 17, 2021

DURANGO, Colo. — The last day Dzabahe remembers praying in the way of her ancestors was on the morning in the 1950s when she was taken to the boarding school.

At first light, she grabbed a small pouch and ran out into the desert to a spot facing the rising sun to sprinkle the taa dih’deen — or corn pollen — to the four directions, offering honor for the new day.

Within hours of arriving at the school, she was told not to speak her own Navajo language. The leather skirt her mother had sewn for her and the beaded moccasins were taken away and bundled in plastic, like garbage.

She was given a dress to wear and her long hair was cut — something that is taboo in Navajo culture. Before she was sent to the dormitory, one more thing was taken: her name.

“You have a belief system. You have a way of life you have already embraced,” said Bessie Smith, now 79, who continues to use the name given to her at the former boarding school in Arizona.

“And then it’s so casually taken away,” she said. “It’s like you are violated.”

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Colonization and Residential Schools Essay

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Colonialism had devastating effects on the native populations not only in Canada but across the world. Before the communing of Europeans, the First Nation communities lived sovereignly, conducting their experimentation on various aspects of life. However, the government formed by the newcomers interfered with their lives, specifically by introducing residential schools. The main aim of creating those institutions was “to civilize and Christianize Aboriginal children” (Wilk et al., 2017). With the new policy, the government expected the natives to integrate into modern society. Most of the practices, way of life, and cultural values of the aboriginals seemed uncouth in the eyes of colonialists. Unfortunately, the government did not provide the Canadian aboriginals with the necessary information and guidelines on how the new education system would benefit them. While the intention of assimilating the indigenous people into Euro-Canadian lifestyles through residential schools was well-meaning, the results were devastating. The policy led to low educational attainment due to disruption of family structures and erosion of culture.

The government made significant steps towards decolonization to allow the indigenous communities to understand the history of their challenges and embrace the new efforts. To date, the legacy of oppression is still a hindrance to successful integration. In the class reading the professor provided, the article claims that decolonization was to enable aboriginals to rediscover their traditional cultural values and traditions (Marsh et al., 2015). However, the challenges facing the government emanated from the mistake in the colonialization policy that forced native children into residential schools. The residential school system started in the 1870s when the first federally funded institution opened its doors for indigenous (Wilson & Biin, 2018). Across the country, more than one hundred and forty schools were constructed with slightly over one hundred and fifty aboriginal pupils attending. The colonialists enacted stringent rules to ensure that parents do not resist the program. Among them was mandatory schooling for children aged between seven and fifteen. Parents were threatened by fines and prison terms if they attempt to keep children at home. The perceived beneficial process for both the community and the government turned disastrous, primarily resulting in low educational achievements.

Colonialists decided to develop residential schools for aboriginal children as the major strategy for assimilation. The policies came into effect between the 1870s and mid-1900s (Wilson & Biin, 2018). While the expectation was increased literacy levels and complete integration of the indigenous children into Canadian ways of life, the results were depressing. However, the limiting factor to achieving the desired objectives was the suffering children experienced through the forceful process. The indigenous children met psychological, emotional, and physical distress. As a result, the pupils could not concentrate in class as was expected. It was even traumatizing for them to encounter on daily basis people they perceived as their oppressors in the name of teachers. Education was a new phenomenon and forcing the children into residential schools was more than torture. Moreover, the schools were poorly funded and lacked the necessary resources for optimum learning (Wilk et al., 2017). At school, children lived in poor conditions and survived on poor nutrition. Due to such unfavorable conditions, the schools were not fit for proper education. Struggling with numerous challenges interfered with children’s academic performance leading to low educational achievement.

The worst part of the residential school system was the destruction of the family structures. Instead of developing policies that encourage the indigenous people to seek education, the government chose to use force by taking away the native children from their families. The government did not request the tribes to decide on their own whether to send their children to school or not. In all manner, the policy was designed to torture the natives. Keeping the pupils in the secluded institutions for a long time was in itself maltreatment of indisputable levels. Families play a crucial role as supporting structures for children for proper cognitive, emotional, and physical development (Moon-Riley et al., 2019). Separating the young ones from their caregivers denied them a chance to develop holistically. As a result, learning became a challenge as it was difficult for most of them to concentrate in such an unconducive environment and with unfamiliar people. Even though the idea of breaking the families was not intentionally meant to hurt them, the repercussions were severe. Instead of helping the children appreciate the Euro-Canadian lifestyle, the system made most of them hate it entirely.

The colonial policy of forcing indigenous children into residential schools hurt culture and consequently undermined educational achievement. Culture plays a significant role in enhancing school performance, yet it is usually overlooked, mainly when native tribes are involved (Pihama & Lee-Morgan, 2018). Although the indigenous traditions are resilient, the persistence of the government is attempting to eradicate some practices that created confusion among the pupils. In the class reading, the article assigned by the professor explains the importance of consultation and working with elders while conducting research (Marsh et al., 2015). Senior individuals have a wealth of knowledge regarding culture, values, and traditional practices to inform studies and policies. The government did not consider the input of such individuals while establishing the colonial regulations. The separation of children from their parents ensured they do not benefit from the knowledge of the seniors. Moreover, indigenous pupils were not allowed to observe their cultural values or even speak their ethnic language. Instead of enjoying their studies, it became a form of persecution as they lost touch with their identity. Before the abolishment, the residential school system had failed terribly in assimilating the aboriginals.

In short, the colonialists’ effort to integrate the indigenous communities into Euro-Canadian ways of life failed due to inappropriate policies. The focus of the government on using education as the most potent tool to achieve the objectives was benevolent and right, but the approach undermined the strategy. Forcing the aboriginal children into residential schools and threatening parents who attempted to resist made the process tormenting instead of appealing. The pupils failed to realize the significance of education due to the oppression emanating from coercion to learn and abandon their culture. As a way of resisting, they registered low educational achievements as a statement of displeasure and resentment. The government realized the ineffectiveness of the policy and abolished all the residential schools. However, the legacy of the unpopular regulation persists through intergenerational trauma and post-traumatic stress exhibited by most indigenous people. The framework did not meet or address the needs of the native people to motivate them to integrate into society. some of the aboriginals still feel resentment and hatred towards the colonial educational system due to the brutality the policies caused them several years ago.

Marsh, T. N., Cote-Meek, S., Toulouse, P., Najavits, L. M., & Young, N. L. (2015). The application of two-eyed seeing decolonizing methodology in qualitative and quantitative research for the treatment of intergenerational trauma and substance use disorders. International Journal of Qualitative Methods , 14 (5), 1-13. Web.

Moon-Riley, K. C., Copeland, J. L., Metz, G. A., & Currie, C. L. (2019). The biological impacts of Indigenous residential school attendance on the next generation. SSM-population health , 7 . Web.

Pihama, L., & Lee-Morgan, J. (2018). Colonization, education, and Indigenous peoples. Indigenous handbook of education , 19-27. Web.

Wilk, P., Maltby, A., & Cooke, M. (2017). Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review. Public H ealth R eviews , 38 (1), 1-23. Web.

Wilson, K., & Biin, D. (2018). Pulling together: Foundations guide. Professional learning series. Web.

• Indigenous History of the Prairies
• Edwards and Pontiac on the Conditionality of Salvation
• Beginnings of British Colonization of America
• Some of the Consequences of Colonial Thinking About Aboriginal Women’s Sexuality for Aboriginal Women Themselves
• Decolonization in Canada: What Does Decolonization Mean?
• Cherokee Removal: A Collection of Documents
• Native Americans and Religion
• American History: Native Americans
• The Way the Federal Government Treated Native Americans
• History of American Encounters to 1850
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Russian Federation

Secondary education.

Prior to the Revolution of 1917, the prototypes of modern secondary schools were gymnasiums and lyceums. The first gymnasiums opened in the early 1700s, with Russian as the language of instruction. These were followed by other secondary schools, which were affiliated with the Moscow (1755) and Kazan (1758) Universities. The lyceums introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century were a combination of primary and secondary schools. The legislation of 1864 established two types of gymnasiums: classical and real. The curricula of the former included ancient history and classical languages, whereas the latter gave preference to sciences. The Charter of 1871 declared classical gymnasiums the only type of educational institutions representing complete secondary education. Only in 1912 did the graduates of real gymnasiums acquire the right to apply to universities.

The October Revolution (1917) declared the schools to be unified, labor, and polytechnic. As a result, general education in secondary schools was combined with vocational training. Strong emphasis was also made on the indoctrination courses expected to propagate Communist ideology. The regulation of 1934 established two types of secondary general education: incomplete seven-year and complete ten-year education. The law of 1959 extended the length of study in complete secondary schools to eleven years, but in 1966 it was cut back to ten years.

The socioeconomic crisis of the 1980s endangered the state of Russian secondary education: its uniformity, lack of educational choice, and social apathy alienated students from the school. The reform of 1984 declared a number of goals to enhance the quality of education, but the state failed to realize most of them. The decision to lower the school age from seven to six years once again extended complete education to a total of eleven years. In the early 1990s, schools acquired the right to choose curricula and textbooks, to diversify the teaching process and introduce different profiles of education.

Primary and secondary level grades are usually located in the same building and are regarded as one school. Nevertheless, there is a major difference between the levels: if in primary grades most of the classes are taught by the same teacher, on the secondary level there is a different teacher for each subject. Students are transferred from primary to secondary school as a class of about thirty, who continue on together as a group. One of the subject teachers is appointed their klassny rukovoditel (academic director) in order to give them guidance, watch their progress, provide leadership for extracurricular and recreational activities, and keep in touch with the parents. Parent-teacher conferences called "parents meetings" are devoted to the students' achievements, discipline, and organizational issues. They also elect representatives to the school parent committee, which assists the teachers and administration.

The academic year in all the schools begins on September 1, which is celebrated as the Day of Knowledge, and continued until the end of May, exclusive of the examination period. The year is divided into quarters. Students go to school five or six days a week (depending on the decision of the school administration) and have up to 36 lessons per week. Classes last 40 to 45 minutes. The intervals between them are from 5 to 25 minutes long, and there is no additional lunch break. Since most of the school buildings cannot accommodate all the students at once, schools usually operate on a shift schedule.

The subjects in the curricula are grouped into seven areas of knowledge: languages and literature (includes Russian, as well as other native and foreign languages; the number of hours allotted for the Russian language can be different and depends on the linguistic situation in the area, as well as peculiarities of a particular school); mathematics (includes algebra, geometry, logic, statistics); sciences (includes physics, chemistry, biology); society (includes Russian and world history, law, foundations of modern civilization, world economics, international relations, and sociology); art (includes fine arts, music, world culture, and courses reflecting the cultural peculiarities of the region where the school is located); labor (includes labor education, professional training, and technical drawing); and physical training.

The number of hours in each area is subdivided into the federal, regional, and school components. The curricula comprise an invariable part, which is mandatory for all the schools, and a variable part, within which schools are free to make decisions of their own. The programs also provide for individual consultations, electives and optional courses, which are often taught by invited university professors, actors, artists, or people of other professions. For the last thirty years the number of subjects at schools have doubled. It can be as high as seventeen to twenty, therefore the schedule of classes is different every day of the week.

Though computer literacy instruction is part of the programs, it is ineffective because in most of the schools the equipment is outdated or nonexistent. The lessons of physical training take place in the gym or on the sports grounds. Due to the lack of adequate equipment and poor organization, sports activities are not very popular with Russian students. Insufficient state financing compels schools to look for sponsors and seek additional funds to improve their facilities. Some innovative schools also work in close conjunction with universities, local libraries, museums, and industrial enterprises.

Students in grades five to eight are evaluated at the end of each quarter, and students in grades ten to eleven twice a year (after the second and the fourth quarter). All secondary school students receive a cumulative grade in each subject at the end of the academic year. Officially the grading is based on a four-point scale: five, excellent; four, good; three, fair; and two, poor (failure). Grade one (very poor) is usually an emotional response to unsatisfactory performance and is used as a disciplinary measure. Students are promoted to the next grade on the basis of academic achievement during the year and the results of the annual examinations (oral or written) in Russian and mathematics (obligatory for all) and one or more subjects of their own choice. Those who fail in two or more disciplines either repeat the year or are transferred to a class of compensatory education. Students with a failing grade in one subject are allowed to go on to the next grade, but they have to complete their work on the subject. People who are unable to cope with a particular level cannot go on to the next one. Excellent students of grades five to eight are exempt from examinations. However, everybody is required to take exams after grade nine, because it is the final year of basic (incomplete) secondary school. After it some students go on to secondary professional schools; others continue with grades ten and eleven.

The examinations for the Certificate of Secondary Education, also called a "maturity certificate," conclude the eleventh grade. They are prepared by the federal authorities and strictly monitored. The school can offer five or seven exams, which always include an essay on Russian literature and a written test in mathematics. Other subjects can be chosen by the student. Those who get all excellent grades for the last four semesters and the final examinations are awarded a gold medal. Students with a maximum of two good grades (all the others being excellent) receive a silver medal. The medals significantly improve their chances to be admitted to a competitive higher educational institution.

The democratization of the school system, greater flexibility in curricula development, and encouragement of innovations have opened up the way for numerous experiments at the secondary school level. In 1998-1999, alongside with regular secondary schools, the network included 2,547 lyceums and gymnasiums with 1,700,000 students. The old terms have acquired a new meaning. The word "lyceum" has come to denote an innovative secondary school with a specialization in a particular area (e.g., mathematics, law, ecology, pedagogy), which is attached to a higher educational institution. "Gymnasium" is a nontraditional humanitarian school with a comprehensive program and the study of at least two foreign languages. To be granted the status of a lyceum or gymnasium, schools are expected to prove that they have highly qualified teachers, advanced programs, and adequate facilities. Among the first institutions to receive this status were the schools with intensive foreign language programs, which had been established under Khrushchev (the 1960s) and had gained popularity for producing nearly bilingual graduates. Though officially these schools are expected to enroll all the children of eligible age from the local community, the entry there is becoming more and more competitive.

The schools for the gifted and talented, which work in conjunction with theaters and conservatories, provide advanced training in ballet, music, and performing arts. Children with outstanding abilities for mathematics, biology, physics, and other sciences selected during nationwide competitions ( Olympiads ) are enrolled in specialized educational establishments, which are affiliated with universities and serve as laboratory schools or experimental grounds.

Those who decide to combine work with parallel secondary education can study at part-time evening schools. Due to the low quality of instruction and the inability to compete with daytime institutions, enrollment in such schools is steadily decreasing. Boarding schools, which in the late 1950s were seen as the Communist school of the future, now predominantly accommodate orphans, children deprived of proper parental care, and students from remote rural areas, who do not have a regular private school in their locality. In 1998-1999 the number of children in boarding schools and orphanages was more than 96,000. Most of such schools, as well as children's homes, are poorly financed and maintained. Their existence is a struggle for survival, rather than a strive for innovation.

The state also operates special facilities, which provide secondary education for the blind or partially sighted, deaf or partially hearing students, individuals with speech defects, and other health problems. The educational process in such schools is adjusted to the students' special needs and trains them in skills, which can be useful in their adult life. Alcoholism, crime and other social problems account for the growing number of institutions for mentally retarded and physically handicapped children, as well as closed correctional establishments for juvenile delinquents.

A school is headed by the Director who is personally responsible for the general management of the school life. As the main administrator, the Director deals with the educational process, staffing, the financial state of the school, the maintenance of its facilities, as well as food and security. Deputy directors ( zavuchi ) take care of particular areas of work (curricula, schedules, extracurricular activities, etc.). The highest organ of school self-government is the pedsovet (pedagogical council), which deals with fundamental aspects of the school life. It is chaired by the Director and includes all the deputy directors and educational staff. The Pedsovet adopts the school Charter ( Ustav ), defines the organizational structure of the school administration, makes decisions about educational programs, choice of curricula, forms and methods of teaching, approves the students' final grades, cooperates with the parents committee, educational institutions, and NGOs.

In the situation when schools have to deal with numerous economic difficulties, it has become vitally important to preserve and support the educational network, especially in the Far North, Siberia, and the Far East. Due to insufficient financing, only 46.3 percent of schools have the necessary facilities; and one third of the buildings need repairs. There is no construction of new educational establishments occurring in rural areas. Many schools are overcrowded, 32 percent of them have to work in two or three shifts.

Due to low social and territorial mobility of students and teachers, people living in different parts of the country do not have equal access to high-quality programs. It is necessary to improve and diversify the content of education, develop new methods, technologies, curricula, and textbooks. Another aim is to make various forms of education accessible for the gifted and talented students living in remote areas. The transition to a market economy requires paying more attention to professional orientation and programs for individuals who combine their education with work.

The principle of continuity between different stages of schooling is declared, but not truly implemented. The number of secondary school graduates, who can enter higher educational institutions without additional training (private tutoring), is steadily decreasing. Serious efforts have to be made to bridge the gap between the content of secondary and higher education. In order to support students from rural schools (68.9 percent of the total number), it is essential to intensify professional guidance, organize specialized classes, and search for other forms of cooperation between VUZs and rural schools. The introduction of unified state examinations is expected to make the admission to higher educational institutions more objective.

One of the long-term goals is a gradual transmission to a 12-year secondary education (4-6-2 model), which involves the development of new curricula, alleviates the students' work load, and allows for the individual choice of subjects according to the students interests and abilities. The reform is preceded by a period of experimentation: beginning in 2001, five educational institutions in every region are working along the lines of the new program. By 2015 the reform will embrace ninety percent of all the students.

The development of specialized professional education in Russia was strongly encouraged by Peter the Great and started with the opening of the Artillery School (1701), Medical School (1707), Engineering School (1709), Navy Academy (1715), and other institutions. By 1914-1915 there were more than 400 professional schools with 54,000 students, who were trained to work in construction, industry, transportation, medicine, and agriculture. During the first years after the October Revolution the Soviet government, which made special emphasis on vocational training, established 450 new institutions called technicums.

In the 1930s the network continued to grow; the night and correspondence departments were opened for those who combined studies with work. During the Second World War the vocational training system prepared 340,000 workers and specialists. When adults were recruited into the Army, teenage graduates replaced them in factory shops. By the late 1940s there were 4,000 vocational schools and technicums with 1,007,700 students. After three more decades of steady growth, the enrollment figures became stabilized and in the 1990s started decreasing (4,611,000 students in 1980, 4,231,000 in 1990).

Vocational institutions were subordinated to the republic, regional, and local administrative organs in order to meet the needs of particular territories. New types of schools (professional colleges and lyceums) combined general and vocational training with the purpose to improve the students' economic, legal, and industrial competence. By 1998-1999 there were 2,649 state and municipal secondary professional schools with 2,052,000 students.

The system encompasses two levels of education. The initial level comprises professional technical schools (PTU) and centers of continuing professional education, which train skilled workers and paraprofessionals for blue-collar jobs. The course lasts from one to two years for professional training only, and three to four years if it is combined with general secondary education.

The types of schools at the secondary professional level include: technicums (or polytechnicums ) (independent institutions, which predominantly train middle-level technicians, lower managers, shop foremen for industry, transport, construction, and agriculture); uchilishcha (schools, which prepare specialists for non-production spheres, including preprimary and primary school teachers, nurses, circus performers, and librarians); and colleges (secondary specialized institutions, which can be either independent or function as structural divisions of a university, institute, or academy).

Other types of vocational institutions are farmers' schools, commercial schools, and specialized schools aimed at the social rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Organizationally, all the schools are subdivided into state, municipal, and non-state institutions. In order to acquire a legal status, they have to be accredited by the state. The prerequisite for admission is basic (nine-year) or complete (eleven-year) secondary education. Prospective students have to take entrance examinations, which in some cases can be substituted by an interview. Preference in admission to free education is given to applicants who are getting professional training for the first time, as well as those who are referred to the institution by employment agencies.

The length of study at schools, which offer an mixture of professional and general education, is from three to four years. The state standards, adopted in 1992 and 1996, introduced a completely new approach to the structuring of the permanent and variable parts of the curricula. They include the federal, national, and regional components. The federal component defines the obligatory minimum content of educational programs, maximum workload, and the required level of student training. In their turn, the national and regional components reflect the specific needs of a particular locality and ethnic group. The standards have to be reviewed at least once every ten years. The new arrangement allows for adjustments, which take into consideration the peculiarities of the natural environment, climate, and the demand for certain skills and occupations. It aims at training specialists of wider profiles, who would have more professional mobility and adaptability to the changing social conditions. The mandatory minimum in the curriculum provides for the equivalency of training on all the territory of Russia.

The curricula, built along the lines of the state standards, include practical and theoretical courses. The annual number of hours can be from 4,418 to 5,744. Approximately one-third of them are devoted to general education (710 to 800 hours for humanitarian subjects, 500 to 680 hours for sciences, and 263 to 435 hours for electives and optional courses). In technical schools special emphasis is made on the basics of technology, economics, law, organization of production, intensive work methods, and use of new equipment. In addition to traditional topics, students get acquainted with new trends in commerce, management, marketing, auditing, and computer science. The educational process consists of lectures, tutorials, laboratory work, consultations, tests, excursions, simulation games, and practical training. The weekly study load is 36 to 38 hours. Students are organized in groups of 25 to 30 students (12 to 15 students for complex specialties). An academic director or a master of production training, attached to each group, is responsible for developing the students' vocational skills. Practical training usually takes place at the school shops or corresponding enterprises. At some schools the course culminates in the defense of a final paper called a diploma project.

Vocational schools are administered by a council representing all categories of employees, students, and other interested parties (enterprises, organizations, or parents). The council is chaired by the Director, who is responsible for the educational process, the school's financial state, the students' health and security, and recreational activities. In 1998-1999 there were 123,200 teachers employed in the network of secondary professional education. Most of them were graduates of industrial pedagogical institutes, higher, and specialized secondary institutions.

Educators are trying to find a rational correlation of theoretical and practical knowledge—a calculated balance of creative thinking and professional skills. In order to intensify the professional, social, and territorial mobility of specialists and make them more competitive on the job market, it is necessary to extend and combine the existing specialties and advance the quality of education. The educational tendencies encompass competitive enrollment; diversified curricula; financial reform of the network; cooperation of the state, businesses, trade unions, and educational institutions; and attraction of investments into the sphere of vocational training.

Additional topics

• Russian Federation - Higher Education
• Russian Federation - Preprimary Primary Education

Education - Free Encyclopedia Search Engine Global Education Reference Russian Federation - History Background, Constitutional Legal Foundations, Educational System—overview, Preprimary Primary Education, Secondary Education