RANKIN INLET - Educators from across Nunavut gathered in Leo Ussak School in Rankin Inlet for 10 days in July to participate in Nunavut's principal certification course, the annual Educational Leadership Program.

"At our first meeting in the new year we looked at the education act to see if there were changes that needed to be made," educational leadership development co-ordinator Darlene Nuqingaq said. "Some of the main changes to the education act are that schools have to be based on the IQ (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit) principals."

The workshops are intended to help all educators better understand the eight principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and to assist educators to better understand Inuit culture. Forty participants made up of various educators and leadership instructors took part in the workshops, Nuqingaq said.

"All the different topics that we explore are explored in the context of teaching in Nunavut and teaching in a cultural setting," Jesse Payne, principal of Rankin Inlet's Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik said. "Before you can really be a teacher or a principal here you need to understand the historical and cultural perspective of Inuit people and that's one of the major aspects of the ELP program."

IQ co-ordinator David Serkoak is a retired teacher and now works with the Nunavut Sivuniksavut program in Ottawa. He has been involved with the workshops for more than 10 years and said they are an invaluable way to help introduce Inuit knowledge to new educators.

"The timing is good because the GN is emphasizing the importance of Inuit knowledge into their programs and decision making and education is no different," he said. "It's important for the people coming into the schools or principals that are new from the south to see the issues of the North, the issues of today, the problems of today and also have a quick snapshot of the past."

Serkoak invented a word to describe the program, a term he calls "Inuktizing."

"That's what we're doing right now; a quick snapshot of the past and also, this is my very own word, Inuktizing the program," he said. "So my job is to be an assistant to the group leaders."

Serkoak said the group also received some hands-on experience by spending a night camping on the land near Rankin Inlet.

Jimmy Qaqqaq, a teacher and vice-principal in Baker Lake, said the principles are going to be incorporated into all aspects of education.

"We were told this is our base, the IQ principles," he said. "We're going to incorporate the IQ principles and invest them as much as possible into math, science, social studies, always addressing the principals and making sure that the eight principles are covered in any subject."

The program is also designed to provide principal's certification for current and prospective principals in Nunavut, Nuqingaq said.

There are two phases of the program and once completed, candidates receive a certificate of eligibility as principal in Nunavut.

"Phase one is a 10-day program followed by a practicum and when they complete the practicum, they can come back for phase two," she said. "That is followed by a 40-hour practicum. Then they get a certificate of eligibility to become a principal in Nunavut."

Nuqingaq said the ELP is a mandatory requirement and while principals can be hired before receiving certification, they must complete the program during their employment.

"Right now you don't need a certificate to be hired, but if you're hired then you're hired under the understanding that you need to complete the certification process."

Nuqingaq said the workshops also allow educators to come together to share ideas and to meet with other educators from across the territory.

"I think overall there is an encompassing Nunavut vision that helps to bring us together," she said. "It helps principals to not feel so isolated."