Education Commons^™

Understanding The Identity Work And Aspirations Of Indigenous Males Navigating Elite Australian Higher Education, James A. Smith, Garth Stahl, Andrew Harvey, Braden Hill, Himanshu Gupta, Sam Moore, Jianing Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In Australia, there has been increased attention to attracting Indigenous peoples into higher education but, despite a recent growth in enrolment numbers, they remain severely underrepresented. This underrepresentation is particularly notable among Indigenous males, who are the least likely to attend. In this paper, we investigate the experiences of four Indigenous young men who attended an elite higher education institution. Aligned with other research on the experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic males in higher education, the article captures how their experience in privileged institutions compels them to reflect on their own positionality and the cultural interface between Indigenous and …

Embedding Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Lgbtiq+ Issues In Primary Initial Teacher Education Programs, David B. Rhodes, Matt Byrne

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Existing research has explored inclusion in education, however, issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+ young people, with some notable exceptions, have, until recently, seldom been included in any meaningful academic discussion. Issues of youth race, gender and sexuality have been interrogated as discrete issues. This small but growing body of research demonstrates the potential impacts of intersectional disadvantages experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia (Uink, Liddelow-Hunt, Daglas, & Ducasse, 2020). This article seeks to explore the existing research and advocate for the embedding of a critical pedagogy of care in primary …

Deadly Sista Girlz Final Evaluation Report, Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett, Anne Price, Jen Featch

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

The Deadly Sista Girlz (DSG) program is one of several school-based mentoring programs currently operating in Australia to improve educational outcomes of Indigenous girls. Deadly Sista Girlz runs programs on 12 DET WA school sites, 1 Catholic Education school site in Broome and 1 in Victoria. Each school site has a dedicated DSG room where DSG coordinators and mentors support the girls individually and communally whilst also running regular program workshops. There are currently over 732 high school aged girls enrolled in the program. DSG is part of the large and well established Wirrpanda Foundation.

Overall aims

This External …

Local Wisdom In Regenerative Teacher Practices, Sue E. Smith, Jon C. Mason, Majella Bowden

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this article, teacher professional practice is conceptualised within a regenerative framing as a synthesis of intercultural perspectives drawn from wisdom traditions, placing ethics-in-action alongside reflection-in-action. Regenerative practice foregrounds the need for renewal connecting professional learning with lifelong learning. Global sustainability agendas also inform this endeavour, reminding us of our connectedness within living ecosystems while ‘local wisdom’ is considered a primary source to inspire regeneration. Ecological models of education are therefore explored to determine the nature and scope of regenerative practices. Isolation imposed by the global pandemic provided opportunity to reflect upon our own practices and how these inter-relational constructs, …

Narratives Of Place And Land: Teaching Indigenous Histories In Australian And New Zealand Teacher Education, Richard Manning, Neil Harrison

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article offers a trans-Tasman critique of approaches to the teaching of history in New Zealand and Australia. Taking knowledge out of place and time and presenting it in textbooks is a conflicted task for schooling in both countries. The disembodiment of knowledge in history books has led students to the proclamation that the teaching of history in schools is ‘boring’ and irrelevant to their lives. The authors seek a way out of this dilemma in proposing that the teaching of Indigenous history in schools must recognise that Indigenous historical narratives are intimately tied to the ecologies of places – …

A ‘Better’ Education: An Examination Of The Utility Of Boarding School For Indigenous Secondary Students In Western Australia, Mary-Anne Macdonald, Eyal Gringart, Terry Ngarritjan Kessaris, Martin Cooper, Jan Gray

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Over the past 10 years, great improvements have been observed in the Year 12 attainment rate of Indigenous Australians. This has been due, in part, to government funding of programmes aimed at improving education opportunity for Indigenous Australian students, including funding of scholarships for students from remote areas to attend boarding schools. The current qualitative study investigated the perspectives of school leaders and Indigenous secondary students across the Australian state of Western Australia, on the utility and impact of this boarding provision. Students identified that boarding education allowed them to achieve a dual goal of meaningful career pathways and improved …

Investigating The Relationships Between Education And Culture For Female Students In Tertiary Settings In The Uae, Beverley Mcclusky

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research is about the higher education of Indigenous Emirati women and how they balance the intricate demands of higher education with the social customs of a traditional society and the expectations placed on women. The study sought to identify and comprehend the issues which have affected the educational changes that are taking place, including culture, gender, religion, the influence of Western education processes, and the desire of an Indigenous population to raise their educational practices to an internationally recognised benchmark.

The research was aimed at providing insights into the distinctiveness of this group of women from their social and …

Effective Teaching Practices For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Students: A Review Of The Literature, Natalie J. Lloyd, Brian Ellis Lewthwaite, Barry Osborne, Helen J. Boon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents a review of the literature pertaining to the teacher actions that influence Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student learning outcomes. This review investigates two foci: the identification of teacher actions influencing learning outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students and the methodological approach to how the influence of teacher behaviours on student learning has been determined. The literature review identifies that published literature in the effective teaching area is predominantly in the ‘good ideas’ category; that is assertions are made by authors with no research-based evidence for supporting such claims, especially through quantitative research which seeks …

Teaching Aboriginal Curriculum Content In Australian High Schools, Sarah Booth

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many misconceptions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders stem from Australia’s period of colonisation in the 18th and 19th centuries when Indigenous people were believed to be inferior by European settlers. It is disturbing that after 200 years these negative ideas still exist and are often perpetuated through the mass media. Even though schools are well positioned to challenge these colonial values; unfortunately there are many factors which affect the depth and quality of teaching Aboriginal content, such as culture, history and contemporary issues.

The government has aimed to disperse the inconsistencies associated with teaching Aboriginal perspectives by implementing a …

Creating Cultural Empathy And Challenging Attitudes Through Indigenous Narratives, Cobie Rudd, Moira Sim, Colleen Hayward, Toni Wain

Research outputs 2013

The poorer health status of Indigenous Australians has been largely attributed to social disadvantage and their marginalisation within mainstream society (Marmot, 2011). This includes access to health care, as well as proximity to health services, availability and cultural appropriateness of health services, transport availability, health insurance, the affordability of health services and patient proficiency in English (AIHW, 2011).

The interpersonal attitudes and behaviours of non-Indigenous health providers, both conscious and unconscious, are also known to contribute to disparities in treatment, impairment of communication between health providers and patients, and consequently, patients’ mistrust of the health system due to negative past …

Aboriginal Research And Study Protocols, Dan Mcaullay, Colleen Hayward

Research outputs 2012

The Aboriginal Research and Study Protocols have been developed as a guide for ECU staff and students undertaking research, projects or fieldwork that involve Indigenous Australian issues, people or knowledge or that impact on Indigenous people or communities.

These protocols fulfil a strategic priority of ECU’s Reconciliation Action Plan: Develop clear and agreed protocols around Indigenous Australian research to ensure that research activity is informed by thorough cultural awareness and respect.

They also reflect the requirements of key documents that must be addressed by applicants as required by the ECU Human Research Ethics Committee. If the proposed project relates to …

The Context For Change: Reconceptualising The 3rs In Education For Indigenous Students, Elizabeth M. Jackson-Barrett

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract

In 2011, three years on from the Apology given by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd to the Stolen Generations and coupled with the Federal Governments agenda to ‘close the gap’ in education for Aboriginal students, perhaps it is time to retrospectively look at the issues and challenges that have moulded the terrain of Aboriginal education in Western Australia. It is clear that over the last 200 years there has been progress in improving the access of schooling for many Aboriginal students. However the retention and successful completion of compulsory schooling still remain at unacceptable levels. It is these current performance …

Aboriginal Students And The Western Australian Literacy And Numeracy Assessment, Sean Gorman

Research outputs pre 2011

Since the introduction of standardised testing in Western Australia with the Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (WALNA) it has become quite evident that Indigenous students' performance is well below that of non-Indigenous students.

As WALNA is now very much a part of the pedagogical landscape steps must be taken to ensure that those students who are not reaching the benchmark scores or the MSE requirements do progress...

Developing A School Based Science Curriculum: Teachers' Work As Language Work, Jennifer Ann Barnett

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

While it is widely recognised that language is consequential in teachers' work within the classroom, this thesis argues that it is also consequential in their curriculum development work outside the classroom. The study takes a phenomenological approach based in a single school, and the key data sources are transcripts of teachers' meetings held to develop a new curriculum framework for their junior secondary science classes. The broad aims of the study are to better understand the ways in which language is consequential in that work, to consider the implications these have for understanding school based curriculum development, and to identify …

Learning Better Together : Australian Indigenous Education Conference 4-7 April 2000 Esplanade Hotel Fremantle, Western Australia, Graeme Gower (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Towards More User-Friendly Education For Speakers Of Aboriginal English, Ian G. Malcolm, Yvonne Haig, Patricia Konsignberg, Judith Rochecouste, Glenys Collard, Alison Hill, Rosemary Cahill

Research outputs pre 2011

The project reported on here set out, on a basis of cooperation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal investigators working in university, educational system and classroom contexts, to lead to understandings which would enable a more accessible ("userfriendly") education to be provided for students in primary and secondary schools who are speakers of Aboriginal English.

Specifically, in the context of schools of the Education Department of Western Australia, the project sought to:

1. extend knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal English and its areas of contrast with standard Australian English;

2. provide clarification in the following under-researched areas of Aboriginal English:

a) semantic …

Language And Communication Enhancement For Two-Way Education : Report, Ian G. Malcolm

Research outputs pre 2011

Indigenous Australians command many languages including autochthonous (Indigenous) and contact languages (creoles and Aboriginal English). This project is concerned with the majority who speak English, especially those who speak English as a first language, in an Aboriginal English variety. The project was developed by Edith Cowan University in cooperation with the Education Department of Western Australia as a response to an increasing demand from teachers of Indigenous students for help in providing for their needs as speakers of Aboriginal English. It was funded from the DEBT National Priority (Reserve) Fund to enable the University to develop course modules in Aboriginal …

Learning My Way : Papers From The National Conference On Adult Aboriginal Learning, Barbara Harvey (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

The National Conference 'Learning My Way' has made a significant contribution to the promotion of issues concerning Aboriginal adult learning styles. Staff at the Department of Aboriginal and lntercultural Studies at the Western Australian College of Advanced Education co-ordinated the input. They were responsible for taking ideas beyond the embryonic stage and shaping these into a conference format.

Aboriginal participation was very strong at the conference. It was gratifying to find that Aboriginal people made up seventy percent of the five hundred in attendance. Also it is important to point out, that of the eight five papers presented, seventy three …

South West Aboriginal Studies Bibliography : With Annotations And Appendices, Anna Haebich, Lois Tilbrook

Research outputs pre 2011

The south west of Western Australia was the first region of the state to experience the impact of European settlement, when the Swan River Colony was founded in 1829. Yet the Aborigines of this unique area have remained largely obscured in its history for almost a full 150 years. This is ironical, as their counterparts of the Pilbara, Goldfields and Kimberleys, feature prominently in literature, and have captured the imagination of artists, writers and academic researchers alike.

There are several reasons for the neglect of the original inhabitants of the south west by observers of the day, and later by …

Language Problems And Aboriginal Education, Ed Brumby (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

Effective communication must be an essential feature of any teaching/ .learning situation and it follows that considerable difficulties arise when teacher and learner speak different and mutually unintelligible languages or dialects. This, unfortunately, is the situation in which many, if not most, Aboriginal children and their teachers throughout Australia find themselves. This classroom situation reflects, of course, the difficulties and frustrations experienced on a wider scale by many Aboriginal parents and Aboriginal communities, and those outsiders who work with them. The problem is compounded further by the fact that few teachers or others who work in Aboriginal areas are given …

Our Multicultural Future And The School, John Sherwood (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

It is only in the last four or five years that an observable effort has been made to extend the growing awareness within the community that Australia's population is clearly multicultural in composition. Despite this, most of the political, economic and social structures and organisations in the community do not adequately reflect or cater for the variety of people of different ethnic origins and identities.

While this increasing awareness in individuals is encouraging, it has been evident that the focus of discussions, conferences and gatherings to date, in Western Australia at least, has been rather narrow. Some have concentrated on …

Preparing Teachers For Aboriginal Education : Report On The National Conference, Ed Brumby (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

The first National Conference of Teachers of Aboriginal Children was held in Adelaide between 29th August and 1st September, 1976. The conference delegates expressed their concern about the ineffectiveness of teachers in Aboriginal schools and while recognizing that the task was often a demanding one, they were generally critical of the lack of expertize of recent graduates and the high staff turn over in Aboriginal schools...

A Report On The Aboriginal Teacher Aide Conference, Pundulmurra, May '74, Mount Lawley Teachers College, Education Department

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Education Of Aboriginal Children In Selected Western Australian Schools : (Preliminary Survey), C. Makin, D. Ibbotson

Research outputs pre 2011

Information was sought late in 1972 about problems encountered by teachers in schools with a fairly high proportion of Aboriginal children. For this purpose a questionnaire was designed to elicit information about the school situation, the surrounding community, enrolment, age and experience of the teaching staff and actual pedagogical problems encountered and methods of dealing with them. Another principle aim was to ascertain the extent to which the curiculum had been adapted to local situations and to determine what implications this might have for pre-service and in-service training.

Aboriginal Views On Education, David Gray (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.