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Voices from the Periphery: Northern Regional Education Heather Peters, Arlene Herman and Dave Sangha In 1994 the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) officially opened its doors as the first University in and for the people of northern British Columbia (BC). It is located in the City of Prince George, which has a population of 80,000 people. The geographical area served by the university is vast and includes more than one half of the province of BC. In seeking to fulfill its mandate to serve the north, UNBC has opened three additional, though smaller, campus locations: one in Terrace serving the northwest, one in Ft. St. John to address the education needs in the Peace River-Liard, and the last in Quesnel in the south-central region. Each of these campuses offers a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, with some variation based on each region’s needs. Although the expectation is that they will continue to grow in response to the educational needs of the communities, at the current time the only UNBC program to have tenure-track faculty located full time and permanently in each region is the Social Work Program. Being the ‘first’ in any area usually means that there is a considerable amount of learning taking place as to what works best and what unexpected issues are being faced. The following discussion of experiences of the Social Work regional faculty may be of benefit to other programs and universities, which have plans to expand to regional campuses. Social Work Education in the Northwest The city of Terrace is nestled in the Coast Mountain Range, in a series
of “terraces” above the Skeena River in northern BC. It
is described as the geographic center of Northwest BC and is considered
the “hub” of the region because it is the primary location
for the region’s business, retail and government services. The
community is located in the traditional territory of the Tsimshian Nation
and is currently home to over 14 First Nations communities, with many
Aboriginal people living on reserve as well as in town. Currently the
city’s population is around 15,000 with a steady decline over
the past five years due to a downturn in the economy. The population
of the northwest region is 70,000 and is spread over many small communities
and an immense geographic area. The UNBC campus in Terrace is a single story office complex located adjacent to the local liquor store. The campus has three permanent staff; a Regional Chair, an administrative assistant and me as a Social Work program faculty, the only permanent faculty member in Terrace. Access to students and the general community is easy in this small ‘storefront university’ one of the great advantages to a community oriented faculty member. During the past three years it has been possible for me to work alongside community practitioners and to join the network of concerned social activists in the community. I am part of the community both professionally and personally. It is not uncommon for me to work along side students at community gatherings or socialize with them at a community dinner or event. On the flip side however, the role of an academic who is also a social activist presents some unique dilemmas in a small town where it is easy for people to categorize you quickly as being on one side or another, and you can easily be subject to the community gossip mill. The challenge of these fluid boundaries is to be a part of and yet separate from the community. It is important for the integrity of the campus to create a welcoming and positive atmosphere for all members of the community. As the only permanent faculty member in Terrace I am often seen as an ambassador for all aspects of UNBC and I am mindful of this hidden responsibility each time I take a stand on an issue that might be controversial. Classroom teaching also presents its own set of opportunities and challenges, particularly, making sense of contemporary social work knowledge and in particular, structural theory. Structural theory and its resultant practice framework are underscored by an analysis of contemporary social, political and economic relations at the global, national, and provincial and community level, with a growing emphasis on how the global economy and state role shape local problems and social inequities. This analysis calls for a clear commitment to social justice work and encourages students to be social change activists. This call to activism is more easily realized in an urban-based university classroom than in the small community of Terrace. While Terrace has some groups such as the Anti-Poverty Society that work on social justice issues, they are few and far between. When I taught in Toronto my students had easy access to over a hundred social justice groups that worked on issues ranging from welfare rights to environmental health. Student involvement with these groups was an integral part of social work course assignments and helped them make sense of the bridge between social work and social activism. This exposure to a broad range of activist groups became an invaluable teaching tool for making sense of how to actualize structural theory’s call to activism. It also provided students with a powerful experience in being a part of larger movements for social change. In the absence of this kind of experience in Terrace students are often left searching for how to put activism into practice within their current social context. Some students have made this link by connecting with activist groups through cyber space however it continues as a topic to be explored both in and outside of the classroom. Quesnel and the South-Central Region The primary industries in this region include resource extraction such as logging, saw mills, pulp mills and some mining. Secondary industries include agriculture, primarily cattle ranching. The recent dispute with the United States regarding softwood lumber exports, combined with the repercussions of the BSE infected cows (one in Alberta and one in Washington that came from Alberta) and current government of BC cuts to various ministries and employees mean that the South-Central region has been facing a considerable economic downturn. In addition, the planned BC government cuts to the Ministry of Children and Family Development have led to nervous questions from current and potential Social Work students about the viability of their career choice in this region. The depressed economy as a whole leads to questions about the economic viability of raising a family in the community. Education choices of students in Quesnel are closely linked to what jobs are available as an end result of their education, as well as where the jobs are for their spouse or other family members. I have had several experiences of sharing information on applying to the BSW program with individuals or groups where a potential applicant has said straight out: “I have kids and I’m doing this because I need a good paying job. How certain are you that there will be work for all of us in Quesnel at the end of the degree?” While these pressures exist in many other social work and professional programs, I believe it is accentuated during this time of economic downturn, and especially so in smaller communities with fewer employment opportunities and less diversity in those options. The smaller the community the closer one is to the reality of a “one-industry” town, and from a pragmatic perspective people in these communities know that they must be prepared to take the jobs that are there. Acquiring an education based primarily on one’s interests is a luxury rarely afforded in a small community. In addition to these ongoing realities, the brunt of current provincial spending and program cuts, which are often linked to a centralization of services in a regional hub, are being disproportionately felt by smaller and northern communities (Lee 2003). The previous Quesnel cohort graduated prior to most of the government cuts and economic downturns, so there were not as many additional pressures at that time. The differences in expectations from the students of that cohort to the current one are significant. One student has talked about how she believes in the structural theory of social work, but that her first responsibility is to be able to feed her children. She is clear that she would have no choice but to sacrifice her structural values if that is what it took to keep a job. In teaching Social Work, praxis exists not only at the point where students are bringing theory into their practice and skill development, but also in the context of students bringing their life experiences (practice at a personal level) into the theory of the classroom. Living in a community in the context of a depressed economy puts increasing pressure on students to have marketable skills, and thus a job. This is especially true for students who have children and thus feel an increased need for a stable job in order to care for their family. Most of the students in Quesnel have children, and at least one third of the current cohort are single parents. The pressure they feel for a job and thus marketable skills is often translated into pressure on the instructor to teach a set of skills and competencies, rather than an interest in theory. The competition for field placement opportunities is also more acute as students lobby me, as the local field placement coordinator and field instructor, for placements they believe will lead to potential job connections, rather than seeking out placements with challenging or unique learning opportunities. The pressure the students feel and thus project to the faculty teaching them has a unique twist in a small regional program. The smaller number of students in the regions, combined with student intakes at every second year, rather than every year, mean a much greater level of interaction between the regional faculty and the BSW cohort than happens at the Prince George, or any larger, campus. For example, in Quesnel I will have taught the same 13 students six or seven courses by the time they complete their degree, whereas one faculty in Prince George is more likely to teach the same 25 or 30 students about three courses. This greater level of interaction with students in the regions and the increased likelihood of meeting and interacting with them out in the community results in significantly more opportunities for students to get to know and to lobby the faculty regarding issues of job market pressures, or other academic concerns. I routinely run into students while grocery shopping, doing errands, and at local events such as concerts in the park. On several occasions the brief conversation that began with a benign “how are you?” culminated in a gentle reminder from the student about why that particular placement they want is so important to them and their family. While the economic pressures of wanting marketable skills may still exist in larger programs and campuses, the pressure on both students and the faculty member in smaller communities and regional campuses appears to be more constant, obvious and intense.
Fort St. John is similar in some respects to Quesnel and Terrace. It is somewhat isolated from the rest of the province because of its northern location. It is about a five hour drive to Prince George during the summer months and much longer during the winter. In fact, most of the travel in and out of the community to ‘southern’ communities during the winter months is by air, since there are no rail links. Because of its eastern location in the province and its economic base in the oil and gas industry it shares more in common with northern Alberta and there are much stronger travel and cultural connections (newspaper and social outlook) with Alberta than the rest of the province. It also shares a rather harsh set of climactic conditions with the other regions, and temperatures can often reach -30 C. during the months from November to March. Unlike the other regions, Fort St. John is in a rather unique position in present day British Columbia in that it is characterized by a booming economy, based largely on oil and gas exploration. House construction can not keep up with demand and large, expensive pick up trucks fill virtually every parking lot. Newspapers as far away as Vancouver contain articles on the economic opportunities in the region, and the local Chamber of Commerce and city mayor are constantly referring to its successes. On the surface, everything appears to be ideal. Upon moving to the community to begin teaching, I began to speak with individuals working in the social services and another perspective emerged. A number of social problems underlie the rather idealistic picture portrayed by the ‘city fathers’. Addressing these problems has been hampered by the ‘rugged individualist’ character typical of many resource cities. All of this has an important effect on pedagogical strategies in teaching social work, particularly from a structuralist perspective. A fundamental problem facing Fort St. John stems from its sudden growth. The town has grown from barely ten thousand to almost sixteen thousand in approximately a decade. The development of appropriate levels of services for children, youth and women has not kept pace with the city’s needs. This situation has been made considerably worse by cuts to many of the city’s social service agencies imposed by the provincial government in recent years. As an example, one of the local multi service agencies had its budget slashed by approximately 50% last year and was forced to lay off almost half of its staff. Several local social workers have pointed out to me the often difficult lives which oil patch workers and their families lead, despite the high salaries and material trappings that often accompany this work. Workers are usually young and work long hours in isolated camps away from their families for long periods of time. Working conditions in these male centred camps are often harsh and can lead to substance abuse issues and domestic violence. Workers are also injured while at work, and once injured may find it difficult to locate alternative employment because of their lack of literacy skills. This again leads to difficult domestic situations. Women leaving these relationships often have poor literacy skills and the local Literacy Society is hard pressed to keep pace with the local demand for their services. The community is surrounded by First Nations territories and there are about a thousand people of First Nations and Métis descent living in the actual city. While some have profitable businesses, most do not appear to have benefited from the economic boom. Public discourse regarding First Nations communities as revealed in local newspapers, electronic media and promotional materials is virtually non existent. It was surprising for me to discover shortly after arriving that this city with such harsh weather conditions has only one shelter facility for homeless people which is only open for certain months in the year. Last year, a First Nations male sleeping on the stairs of a local church was found dead in the morning after trying to seek shelter on a particularly cold evening in October. The fact that the man was of First Nations ancestry is significant since most of the homeless population that I have observed in the city is of First Nations ancestry. Despite efforts to establish a permanent shelter/addictions treatment facility in the city for many years, Fort St. John was still at last count some 500,000 dollars away from its financial needs to establish the facility. As one can see from this discussion, there are two pictures of Fort St. John emerging. The one which predominates is that of “The Energetic City” (its official city motto); a city brimming with economic opportunities and prosperity, made up of rugged individualists who are living out the ‘Canadian dream’. The other picture not often discussed is that of a city with a host of difficult social issues typical of many boom and bust northern resource communities with limited social infrastructure. Teaching social work, particularly from a structuralist perspective, has unique challenges in such a setting. As in the case of the other regions, many of the students are middle aged mothers with children and face the attendant problems of balancing school, work and family lives. From a structural perspective, it is often difficult to generate grounded discussions regarding issues of structural unemployment and poverty in a setting with so many of the trappings of material wealth. Most public discourse in the city revolves around new economic developments in the region, and there is little discussion regarding those sectors of society who are not benefiting. Because of both of these factors, it is often more challenging for students to effectively relate to structural issues and perspectives in a setting such as this. Conclusion References |
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