Is inclusive education enough for Australian Aboriginal students?

2021 ◽  
pp. 99-115
Author(s):  
Sheelagh Daniels-Mayes ◽  
Gary Fry ◽  
Karen Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Aboriginal Students

Customised approaches to vocational education can dramatically improve completion rates of Australian Aboriginal students

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie Gwynne ◽  
Jorge Rojas ◽  
Monique Hines ◽  
Kim Bulkeley ◽  
Michelle Irving ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Vocational Education ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Completion Rate ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Scholarship Recipients

Objective Completion rates in vocational education are typically poor for Aboriginal students (<30%). A scholarship program was designed for Australian Aboriginal students using five enablers of success previously identified for Aboriginal preregistration tertiary nursing students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the five enablers contributed to the success of Aboriginal students in vocational education and whether there were any other enablers. Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with two groups of Aboriginal students in Certificate III and IV Dental Assisting and Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance, and their teaching and support staff. The data were initially coded inductively. Initial codes were then categorised according to the five enablers identified to contribute to the success of Bachelor of Nursing students. New categories were created for data not assigned to the enablers. Results Twenty students (64.5% of the cohort) and six staff (75%) consented to participate. The five enablers were perceived to have contributed to the success of the scholarship recipients and two additional enablers were identified. A completion rate of 96.8% was achieved by the scholarship recipients (30 completions of 31 enrolments). Conclusions In contrast with the state average, a completion rate of 96.8% was achieved using seven enablers in this study. To improve completion rates for Aboriginal students, vocational education programs need to be customised to cultural, family and community context. The seven enablers in this study should be subject to a larger study to inform policy, funding, design and delivery of vocational training for Aboriginal students. What is known about the topic? It is well established in the literature that Aboriginal students have poorer educational outcomes than other students. What does this paper add? This paper validates five previously identified enablers to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students and an additional two for vocational education. These enablers may also be applicable to other types of education. What are the implications for practitioners? Practitioners can use the enablers in this study to design and implement vocational education programs and improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal students.

The Universal Appeal of Facebook©

2013 ◽  
pp. 262-284
Author(s):  
Maree Gruppetta ◽  
Terry Mason
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Original Intention ◽  
Technology Users ◽  
The University

The positive and negative aspects of using Facebook© as a crucial communication tool between Aboriginal academics and their Aboriginal students will be discussed within this chapter. Initially, the authors’ use of Facebook © was to provide support for our Australian Aboriginal students within their own communities. The original intention was to supplement existing electronic forums provided by the University to maintain contact with students between study blocks, encourage reluctant technology users to interact online, and build links to the students’ own communities and families. In 2009, the authors’ students were involved in a research project (Milton, Gruppetta, Vozzo & Mason, 2009) and their use of Facebook © to interact with students was recognised as innovative and the authors were encouraged to investigate the potential within another research project (Vozzo, et al., 2011). From a peripheral practice conducted by two Australian Aboriginal academics, the importance of utilizing Facebook © to build social capital and support an Indigenous Academic community has become crucial to the success and retention of our Aboriginal tertiary students. The authors’ most recent research project relies heavily on Facebook © as the main communication tool due to the vast distances between Aboriginal communities in Australia and the variety of technology provided by each state/territory.

Djalkiri Rom and Gifts, Talents, and Talent Development: Yolnu Way, an Australian Aboriginal Approach to Talent Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Genevieve Thraves ◽  
Miriam Dhurrkay ◽  
Penelope Baker ◽  
Jeanette Berman
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Talent Development ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Cultural Milieu ◽  
Cultural Minority ◽  
Cultural Construct ◽  
Culturally Influenced

Giftedness has long been recognised as a cultural construct. Further, the processes and practices for developing talents are culturally influenced. Yet, there is little existing research into Australian Aboriginal understandings of giftedness and talent. There is a need to move beyond pan-Aboriginality when considering Australian Aboriginal views, and with this in mind, this paper reports the findings of an investigation into Yolŋu conceptions of giftedness, talent, and talent development. Importantly, for the Yolŋu participants in this study, these constructs are grounded in their foundation law (Djalkiri Rom). It follows that identification of giftedness relies on observation of traits and behaviours that, when harnessed, will serve these cultural priorities. It also follows that the practices and processes used by the Yolŋu to develop talents will be mediated by their cultural milieu. This has implications for young people from cultural minority backgrounds, including Australian Aboriginal students, who often find their approaches to giftedness and talent sidelined at school.

scholarly journals Translating translanguaging into our classrooms: Possibilities and challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882093882
Author(s):  
Rhonda Oliver ◽  
Gillian Wigglesworth ◽  
Denise Angelo ◽  
Carly Steele
Keyword(s):  
Communication Skills ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Indigenous Australia ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Australian English ◽  
Using Data

With a focus on Australian Aboriginal students, in this article we argue that translanguaging provides a useful resource for multilingual learners. We point out that although translanguaging is a relatively recent term, in Indigenous Australia is has been used consistently throughout the ages as people from different languages communicated with each other. We argue that through the use of translanguaging in the classroom, children can be supported to draw on the wide range of linguistic resources they bring with them to school. Using data collected from an Aboriginal school in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia, we illustrate the ways in which this perspective can inform approaches to teaching which will both enhance these learners’ communication skills in Standard Australian English (SAE) in the classroom, and, importantly, at the same time demonstrate that the languages the children come to school with are valued.

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