Grounded Theory and Focus Groups: Reconciling Methodologies in Indigenous Australian Education Research

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Generative Process ◽  
Dialogic Relationships ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Torres Strait

AbstractThis paper captures an ideological moment in time in which I contemplated the methodological approach I was embarking upon. In my search for a more appropriate approach for conducting research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students at the University of Queensland, I chose focus groups set within the qualitative process of grounded theory. This paper explores the meaning, usefulness and persistence of grounded theory, how it juxtaposes with focus groups, and the implications for the reciprocal integrity of the research for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and me. Within this context and the tenets of grounded theory I ask questions such as, “For how long in the process can your research texts (linking data and theory) about field texts (participants’ narratives) remain purely inductive?” And, “How does the movement between inductive theory development and deductive assumptions fit widi issues of power and authority in an Australian Indigenous context?”I see possibility in the complementary use of grounded theory and focus groups that creates dialogic relationships between the students as both narrators and audience. Through the interaction of retelling, reliving and recreating life experiences in conversations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students conceptualise their individual subjectivities in a process of self-construction. How perceptive I am in “seeing” developing concepts within the students’ testimonies, and how I interpret those concepts in relation to existing theoretical content, may lead to new theory that influences the ongoing deconstruction of grand narratives often assigned to group identities. Co-research among the participants can provide the opportunity for monitoring the generative process.

scholarly journals “My work? Well, I live it and breathe it”: The seamless connect between the professional and personal/community self in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Health Worker ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Torres Strait Islander Health

Abstract Background Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals often juggle the challenges of working and living in the same community in ways that are positive for both themselves and their clients. This study specifically examines the strategies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals have developed to enable them to feel empowered by the sense of being always visible or perceived as being always available. Findings provide examples of how participants (Team Members) established a seamless working self, including how they often held different perspectives to many work colleagues, how Team Members were always visible to community and how Team Members were comfortable to be seen as working when not at work. Methods This qualitative study engages an Indigenous research methodology and uses an Indigenous method, PhotoYarning, to explore lived experiences of a group (n = 15) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers as they worked in the Australian health sector. Results The analysis presented here comes from data generated through PhotoYarning sessions. Team Members in this study all work in health care settings in the communities in which they also live, they manage an extremely complex network of interactions and relationships in their daily working lives. They occupy an ambivalent, and sometimes ambiguous, position as representing both their health profession and their community. This article explores examples of what working with seamlessness involved, with findings citing four main themes: (1) Being fellow members of their cultural community, (2) the feeling of always being visible to community as a health worker, (3) the feeling of always being available as a health worker to community even when not at work and (4) the need to set an example. Conclusions While creating the seamlessness of working and living in the same community was not easy, Team Members considered it an important feature of the work they did and vital if they were to be able to provide quality health service to their community. However, they reported that the seamless working self was at odds with the way many of their non-Indigenous Australian colleagues worked and it was not well understood.

scholarly journals Listening to and learning from the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to facilitate success

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The University ◽  
Tertiary Study

Drawing on interviews with current and past Indigenous undergraduate students at the University of Queensland (UQ), this paper reports on findings from a project that explored the experiences of Indigenous Australian students and identified inhibitors and success factors for students. It also discusses one of the outcomes of the project and planned future developments that aim to provide better support for Indigenous Australian students at UQ. By knowing and acting upon the kinds of mechanisms that can assist Indigenous students, their experiences of tertiary study can be enhanced, leading to more students enrolling in and completing university study.

scholarly journals Yarning about oral health: perceptions of urban Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaley Butten ◽  
Newell W. Johnson ◽  
Kerry K. Hall ◽  
Maree Toombs ◽  
Neil King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Oral Health Behaviours ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Important Time ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Many factors influence how a person experiences oral health and how such experiences may facilitate supportive oral health behaviours. Women in particular face different challenges due to their environment, responsibilities and physiological differences to men. Within Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are reported to have poorer oral health and are faced with additional barriers to supporting their oral health compared with non-Indigenous women. The objective of this paper is to report the experiences and perceptions of oral health from the perspective of urban, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Methods: The present data derive from a descriptive study that used yarning circles and face-to-face interviews with women who were mothers/carers of urban, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. This was a qualitative study to investigate the impact of child oral health on families. Participants used the opportunity to share their own personal experiences of oral health as women, thus providing data for the present analyses. Information collected was transcribed and analysed thematically Results: 20 women shared their personal narratives on the topic of oral health which were reflective of different time points in their life: growing up, as an adult and as a mother/carer. Although women are trying to support their oral health across their life-course, they face a number of barriers, including a lack of information and the costs of accessing dental care. The teenage years and pregnancy were reported as important time periods for oral health support. Conclusions: To improve the oral health of Indigenous Australian women, policymakers must consider the barriers reported by women and critically review current oral health information and services. Current oral health services are financially out of reach for Indigenous Australian women and there is not sufficient or appropriate, oral information across the life-course.

scholarly journals Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future: Aboriginal parents’ views of what helps support recovery from complex trauma

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Chamberlain ◽  
Yvonne Clark ◽  
Stacey Hokke ◽  
Angela Hampton ◽  
Caroline Atkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Complex Trauma ◽  
Perinatal Care ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We aimed to understand support needs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing complex trauma.Becoming a parent is an exciting yet challenging transition, particularly for parents who have experienced past hurt in their own childhood which can have long lasting effects, including complex trauma. Complex trauma-related distress can make it harder to care for a baby, but the parenting transition offers unique opportunities for recovery. This formative research is part of a community-based participatory action research project which aims to co-design perinatal awareness, recognition, assessment and support strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents experiencing complex trauma. We used an Indigenist approach and grounded theory methods. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents who were pregnant and/or have children up to two years old were recruited through perinatal care services and community networks in three Australian sites (Alice Springs, Adelaide and Melbourne). Parents were offered a group discussion or individual interview, facilitated by Aboriginal researchers. Third-person scenarios and visual tools were used to facilitate reflections about the impact of past experiences, what keeps parents strong, hopes and dreams, and what is needed to achieve those dreams. Parents were also shown themes from a previous systematic review of parents’ experiences as a prompt to identify any additional key issues. Seventeen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents participated in August to September 2019. Most were mothers (n = 15).  The study’s grounded theory methods provided the foundation of a theoretical supposition that positions the transformation of the compounding cycle of trauma, to a reinforcing cycle of nurturing at the intersection of: 1) parents’ connectedness; 2) social and emotional wellbeing; and 3) the transition to parenting. Unique opportunities and challenges situated at the interface are bound to the compounding or reinforcing nature of the intersecting factors. Findings reveal complexity, differing experiences by gender and age, as well as within and between communities.

scholarly journals Introduction

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

Indigenous Australian studies, also called Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, is an expanding discipline in universities across Australia (Nakata, 2004). As a discipline in its own right, Indigenous Australian studies plays an important role in teaching students about Australia's colonial history and benefits both non-Indigenous and Indigenous students by teaching them about Australia's rich and shared cultural heritage (Craven, 1999, pp. 23–25). Such teaching and learning seeks to actively discuss and deconstruct historical and contemporary entanglements between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and, in doing so, help build better working relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As educators in this discipline, it is important for us to find pedagogical approaches which make space for these topics to be accessed, understood, discussed and engaged with in meaningful ways.

University-Qualified Indigenous Early Childhood Teachers

2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Fleet ◽  
Ros Kitson ◽  
Bevan Cassady ◽  
Ross Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Boundary Crossing ◽  
Cultural Boundary ◽  
Torres Strait

DEMONSTRATING PERSISTENCE and resilience, increasing numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early childhood teachers are gaining university qualifications. This paper explores factors that support and constrain these students on the path to their degrees. Investigated through a cycle of interviews and focus groups, otherwise perceived as taking time to chat and yarn, the data speaks through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Graduates from a cohort-specific three-year degree program, and several of their colleagues from an earlier program, share their reflections. The importance of family, community and infrastructure support is apparent, as well as recognition of complexities of ‘both ways’ learning (Hughes, Fleet & Nicholls, 2003) and cultural boundary crossing (Giroux, 2005). Highlighting salient factors is critical in efforts to create and maintain conditions in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can gain university qualiflcations and extend their professional contributions.

Understanding Social and Legal Justice Issues for Aboriginal Women within the Context of an Indigenous Australian Studies Classroom: a Problem-based Learning Approach

2004 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Kristy Thatcher ◽  
Camille Seldon
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Active Process ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Aboriginal Women ◽  
Contemporary Perspective ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
The University

AbstractProblem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogical approach in which students encounter a problem and systematically set about finding ways to understand the problem through dialogue and research. PBL is an active process where students take responsibility for their learning by asking their own questions about the problem and in this paper we explore the potential of PBL as a “location of possibility” (hooks, 1994, p. 207) for an engaged, dialogic, reflective and critical classroom. Our discussion centres on a course called ABTS2010 Aboriginal Women, taught by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland where PBL is used frequently, and a specific PBL package entitled Kina v R aimed at exploring social and legal justice issues for Indigenous Australian women. From both a historical and contemporary perspective, we consider the types of understandings made possible about justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women for students in the course through the use of a PBL approach.

Another Country: Non-Aboriginal Tertiary Students' Perceptions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
English Language ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Indigenous Perspectives ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Even though Aboriginal people are from Australia it does not mean they speak the English language (non-Aboriginal tertiary student).Jo Lampert's (1996) research discussed in her articleIndigenous Australian perspectives in teaching at the University of Queenslandspeaks volumes about the challenges of attempting to make university curricula inclusive of Indigenous Australian perspectives. She documents the often ambivalent attitudes of academics towards opening up the curriculum to Indigenous Australians. The research discussed here seeks to add to our understanding of this process, focussing this time on the response of students to the introduction of Australian Indigenous perspectives into a single unit within a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching program. The impetus to reflect on the process came with the shock of reading student papers, written at the end of the unit, and finding that effective communication about the educational needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples did not seem to have taken place, making a closer analysis of the teaching/learning process imperative. This investigation will address questions abouthowuniversities can communicate effectively about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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