Cultural Immersion: Developing a Community of Practice of Teachers and Aboriginal Community Members

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathie Burgess ◽  
Paddy (Pat) Cavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Causative Factor ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Joint Enterprise

A lack of teacher awareness of the cultural and historical background of Aboriginal students has long been recognised as a major causative factor in the failure of Australian schools to fully engage Aboriginal students and deliver equitable educational outcomes for them. Using Wenger's communities of practice framework, this paper analyses the effectiveness of the Connecting to Country (CTC) program in addressing this issue in New South Wales (NSW) schools whereby Aboriginal community members design and deliver professional learning for teachers. Qualitative and quantitative data from 14 case studies suggest that the CTC program has had a dramatic impact on the attitudes of teachers to Aboriginal students, on their ability to establish relationships with the local Aboriginal community and on their willingness to adapt curriculum and pedagogy to better meet the needs of their students. As Aboriginal community members and teachers developed communities of practice, new approaches to Aboriginal student pedagogies were imagined through a sense of joint enterprise, mutuality and shared repertoire, empowering all participants in the CTC journey. Implications from this research highlight the importance of teacher professional learning delivered by Aboriginal people, Aboriginal community engagement in local schools and addressing deficit discourses about Aboriginal students and their families.

Culturally Responsive Relationships Focused Pedagogies

2020 ◽  
pp. 127-157
Author(s):  
Catherine Maree Burgess ◽  
John Robert Evans
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Social And Cultural Capital ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Marginalised Students

This chapter examines the importance of culturally responsive relationships-focused pedagogical approaches in engaging Aboriginal students in their learning and the significance of this to improving their educational outcomes. Significantly, the themes and issues raised in this chapter reflect much of the international literature on Indigenous, minority and marginalised students. The following enablers are necessary when implementing culturally responsive relationships focused pedagogies: Engaging with Aboriginal families and community members; Harnessing Aboriginal students' backgrounds, lived experiences and interests as classroom resources; Implementing innovative place-based curriculum approaches, and Exploring holistic teacher professional learning opportunities. The combination of these factors creates quality learning environments as places of belonging and socio-cultural support underpinned by mobilising Aboriginal family and community social and cultural capital in the educational process. Once schools and teachers realise the potential of this approach, conditions are created to improve the academic, social and cultural outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

A Promising Approach for Identifying Gifted Aboriginal Students in Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay L. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Gifted Students ◽  
Gifted Children ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Minority Children ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
University Of Georgia ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
The University ◽  
Aboriginal Children ◽  
Identification Of Gifted

Recently research was conducted in Queensland, Australia which was designed to describe a more effective approach for the identification of gifted students. The purpose of the research was to contribute to the improvement of current procedures used in the identification of gifted minority children, particularly urban Aboriginal gifted children. The five year study of Dr. Mary M. Frasier at the University of Georgia served as a basic design model for the research. This paper reports the findings from the two data collection activities of the research project. Firstly interviews of urban Aboriginal community members, including parents of gifted Aboriginal children, were undertaken followed by a state wide survey of Aboriginal teachers in Queensland. The aim of both was to gain information concerning how giftedness was perceived and described by urban Aboriginal community members. This information was then utilised to establish the viability of Frasier's work in the identification of Australian gifted Aboriginal students and to suggest modification to Frasier's model which would heighten its cultural relevance to the Aboriginal society

scholarly journals Participatory Action Research-Dadirri-Ganma, using Yarning: methodology co-design with Aboriginal community members

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hepsibah Sharmil ◽  
Janet Kelly ◽  
Margaret Bowden ◽  
Cherrie Galletly ◽  
Imelda Cairney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Drug And Alcohol

Abstract Background Appropriate choice of research design is essential to rightly understand the research problem and derive optimal solutions. The Comorbidity Action in the North project sought to better meet the needs of local people affected by drug, alcohol and mental health comorbidity. The aim of the study focused on the needs of Aboriginal peoples and on developing a truly representative research process. A methodology evolved that best suited working with members of a marginalised Aboriginal community. This paper discusses the process of co-design of a Western methodology (participatory action research) in conjunction with the Indigenous methodologies Dadirri and Ganma. This co-design enabled an international PhD student to work respectfully with Aboriginal community members and Elders, health professionals and consumers, and non-Indigenous service providers in a drug and alcohol and mental health comorbidity project in Adelaide, South Australia. Methods The PhD student, Aboriginal Elder mentor, Aboriginal Working Party, and supervisors (the research team) sought to co-design a methodology and applied it to address the following challenges: the PhD student was an international student with no existing relationship with local Aboriginal community members; many Aboriginal people deeply distrust Western research due to past poor practices and a lack of implementation of findings into practice; Aboriginal people often remain unheard, unacknowledged and unrecognised in research projects; drug and alcohol and mental health comorbidity experiences are often distressing for Aboriginal community members and their families; attempts to access comorbidity care often result in limited or no access; and Aboriginal community members experience acts of racism and discrimination as health professionals and consumers of health and support services. The research team considered deeply how knowledge is shared, interpreted, owned and controlled, by whom and how, within research, co-morbidity care and community settings. The PhD student was supported to co-design a methodology that was equitable, democratic, liberating and life-enhancing, with real potential to develop feasible solutions. Results The resulting combined Participatory Action Research (PAR)-Dadirri-Ganma methodology sought to create a bridge across Western and Aboriginal knowledges, understanding and experiences. Foundation pillars of this bridge were mentoring of the PhD student by senior Elders, who explained and demonstrated the critical importance of Yarning (consulting) and Indigenous methodologies of Dadirri (deep listening) and Ganma (two-way knowledge sharing), and discussions among all involved about the principles of Western PAR. Conclusions Concepts within this paper are shared from the perspective of the PhD student with the permission and support of local Elders and Working Group members. The intention is to share what was learned for the benefit of other students, research projects and community members who are beginning a similar journey.

scholarly journals Participatory Action Research with Daddiri and Ganma: Methodology Co-Design with Aboriginal Community members.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hepsibah Sharmil ◽  
Janet Kelly ◽  
Margaret Bowden ◽  
Imelda Cairney ◽  
Joanne Else ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Drug And Alcohol

Abstract Background: This paper discusses the process of co-design of a de-colonising participatory methodology that enabled an international PhD student to work respectfully with Aboriginal community members and Elders, health professionals and consumers, and non-Indigenous service providers in a drug and alcohol and mental health comorbidity project in Adelaide, South Australia. The Comorbidity Action in the North project sought to redesign services to better meet the needs of local people affected by drug, alcohol, and mental health comorbidity. This arm of the study focused on the needs of Indigenous peoples. Methods: The PhD student, Aboriginal Elder mentor, Aboriginal Working Party and supervisors (the research team) sought to co-design a methodology that could address the following challenges: many Aboriginal people deeply distrust Western research due to past poor practices and a lack of implementation of findings into practice; Aboriginal people often remain unheard, unacknowledged and unrecognised in research projects; drug and alcohol and mental health comorbidity experiences are often distressing for Aboriginal community members and their families; attempts to access comorbidity care often result in limited or no access; Aboriginal community members experience acts of racism and discrimination as health professionals and consumers of health and support services; and, the PhD student was an international student with no existing relationship with local Aboriginal community members. The research team considered deeply how knowledge is shared, interpreted, owned and controlled, by whom and how, within research, co-morbidity care and community settings. The PhD student was supported to co-design a methodology that was equitable, democratic, liberating and life-enhancing, with real potential to develop feasible solutions. Results: The resulting combined Participatory Action Research (PAR)-Dadirri-Ganma methodology sought to create a bridge across Western and Aboriginal knowledges, understanding and experiences. Combined mentoring by senior Elders, Indigenous methodologies Dadirri (deep listening) and Ganma (two-way knowledge sharing), and Western PAR.Conclusions: Concepts within this paper are shared from the perspective of the PhD student with the permission and support of local Elders and Working Group members. The intention is to share what was learned for the benefit other students, research projects and community members who are beginning a similar journey.

Understanding lived experiences of Aboriginal people with type 2 diabetes living in remote Kimberley communities: diabetes, it don't come and go, it stays!

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Straw ◽  
Erica Spry ◽  
Louie Yanawana ◽  
Vaughan Matsumoto ◽  
Denetta Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Aboriginal Community

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of Kimberley Aboriginal people with type 2 diabetes managed by remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services using phenomenological analysis. Semi-structured interviews formulated by Aboriginal Health Workers, researchers and other clinicians were used to obtain qualitative data from 13 adult Aboriginal patients with type 2 diabetes managed in two remote communities in the Kimberley. Together with expert opinion from local Aboriginal Health Workers and clinicians, the information was used to develop strategies to improve diabetes management. Of 915 regular adult patients in the two communities, 27% had type 2 diabetes; 83% with glycated haemoglobin A >10%. Key qualitative themes included: the need for culturally relevant education and pictorial resources; importance of continuous therapeutic relationships with healthcare staff; lifestyle management advice that takes into account local and cultural factors; and the involvement of Aboriginal community members and families in support roles. Recommendations to improve diabetes management in the remote communities have been made collaboratively with community input. This study provides a framework for culturally relevant recommendations to assist patients with diabetes, for collaborative research, and for communication among patients, Aboriginal Health Workers, community members, researchers and other clinicians. Interventions based on recommendations from this study will be the focus of further collaborative research.

FELIKS - Fostering English Language in Kimberley Schools - A Professional Development Package for Primary Schools.

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-24
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Catholic Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Aboriginal Students

FELIKS (Fostering English Language in Kimberley Schools) is a Catholic Education Office initiative having its beginnings in the early eighties when the need to teach English as a second language to Aboriginal students in the Kimberley was recognised. The professional development package, designed and successfully trailed by the Language Team members of the CEO Kimberley Region, is targeted at classroom teachers, Aboriginal Teaching Assistants (ATAs) and Aboriginal community members.

Observations on the Operation of a Unit for Aboriginal Students in Katherine High School

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Federal Department ◽  
Diverse Community

Katherine High School is the only school offering secondary education in the region and thus is catering to the educational demands of a culturally diverse community. In seeking to meet these requirements the school has endorsed the Participation and Equity Program (PEP) of the Federal Department of Education and one highly successful and continuingly popular experimental component of this program has been the TESL (Aboriginal) unit.This unit represents the attempts of educators and community members to construct an educational environment in which the aspirations of the Aboriginal people can be ameliorated without compromising their Aboriginality.

Culturally Responsive Relationships Focused Pedagogies

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Maree Burgess ◽  
John Robert Evans
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Social And Cultural Capital ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Marginalised Students

This chapter examines the importance of culturally responsive relationships-focused pedagogical approaches in engaging Aboriginal students in their learning and the significance of this to improving their educational outcomes. Significantly, the themes and issues raised in this chapter reflect much of the international literature on Indigenous, minority and marginalised students. The following enablers are necessary when implementing culturally responsive relationships focused pedagogies: Engaging with Aboriginal families and community members; Harnessing Aboriginal students' backgrounds, lived experiences and interests as classroom resources; Implementing innovative place-based curriculum approaches, and Exploring holistic teacher professional learning opportunities. The combination of these factors creates quality learning environments as places of belonging and socio-cultural support underpinned by mobilising Aboriginal family and community social and cultural capital in the educational process. Once schools and teachers realise the potential of this approach, conditions are created to improve the academic, social and cultural outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

From Basic Participation to Transformation

2014 ◽  
pp. 446-473
Author(s):  
Diana Ayling ◽  
Hazel Owen ◽  
Edward Flagg
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Community Platforms ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

In a time of great change and challenge in education, teachers have an “urgency” with regard to their professional development. Many educators are choosing to move away from traditional modes to participation in online communities of practice. The aim of this research was to verify that online communities of practice can support transformative learning and positive professional development experiences for members. Two community platforms were observed and examined in terms of online activity. In addition to the formal research methods, the researchers monitored the activity of a selection of community members, tracking their engagement and participation in the communities. The research demonstrates that rich and transformative learning and professional development can occur in online communities of practice. The authors highlight some of the values and skills required by both the community and active members. They conclude that well designed and deftly supported online communities have a bright future for professional learning and development.

From Basic Participation to Transformation

2014 ◽  
pp. 47-74
Author(s):  
Diana Ayling ◽  
Hazel Owen ◽  
Edward Flagg
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Community Platforms ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

In a time of great change and challenge in education, teachers have an “urgency” with regard to their professional development. Many educators are choosing to move away from traditional modes to participation in online communities of practice. The aim of this research was to verify that online communities of practice can support transformative learning and positive professional development experiences for members. Two community platforms were observed and examined in terms of online activity. In addition to the formal research methods, the researchers monitored the activity of a selection of community members, tracking their engagement and participation in the communities. The research demonstrates that rich and transformative learning and professional development can occur in online communities of practice. The authors highlight some of the values and skills required by both the community and active members. They conclude that well designed and deftly supported online communities have a bright future for professional learning and development.

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