Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP)

For over forty years the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) has offered a pre-service teacher training program. The SUNTEP program is delivered by the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI), in partnership with the Ministry of Advanced Education and the University of Regina.

SUNTEP sponsors Métis applicants for all tuition and required fees during the four years of pre-service teacher-training. 

Distinct features of the SUNTEP program include small class sizes, one-on-one academic and instructor support, tutorials, and access to professional development opportunities and Michif cultural experiences on and off campus.

The primary goals of SUNTEP are:

• to ensure that people of Métis ancestry are adequately represented in the teaching profession, and
• to ensure SUNTEP graduates are trained to be sensitive to the individual needs of Indigenous students and all students.

Learn About

SUNTEP is grounded in foundational educational theories and embraces a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. Metis ways of knowing and being are fundamental to all learning experiences within the program. There is a strong emphasis on cross-cultural education, Indigenous histories and cultures, Michif language learning opportunities and land-based learning experiences. There is a strong focus on preparing teachers to teach the Saskatchewan curriculum including engagement with issues of social justice and anti-racism. SUNTEP has a strong field component with classroom experiences in all four years of the program.

Values

The foundations of SUNTEP are promoted in the Gabriel Dumont Institute mission statement:

To promote the renewal and development of Métis culture through research, materials development, collection and distribution of those materials and the design, development and delivery of Métis-specific educational programs and services.

In School Experience

SUNTEP pre-service teachers spend a significant amount of time in schools working with students, teachers and the school community to gain first-hand experiences with the profession of teaching. Field placements progress each year beginning with a one day visit in first year, multiple one day visits in second year, week long visits in third year (pre-internship) and culminating in a four month internship in the fourth year of the program.

Sample Courses

• Michif Language Immersion 
• Metis Culture and History
• Educational Professional Studies (Curriculum and Pedagogy) 
• Cross-Cultural Education 

SUNTEP courses promote excellence and skill building while nurturing a community of practice inclusive of peers, professional educators, Metis Old Ones/Knowledge Keepers and the Michif community. 

Career Opportunities

The Bachelor of Education degree earned through SUNTEP is awarded by the University of Regina and meets all standards of the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board and fulfills all requirements necessary to obtain a Saskatchewan teacher’s certificate.

SUNTEP prepares students to meet the challenges of today’s diverse classrooms. The program has over 1,400 graduates who have gained excellent reputations as teachers, advocates, role models, mentors and leaders in schools across Saskatchewan, Canada and internationally. Additional career pathways include early childhood, community-based education programs, and positions within government and or post-secondary institutions. SUNTEP graduates are highly sought after in both urban and rural Saskatchewan school divisions.