Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T22:12:26.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Building on ‘Red Dirt’ Perspectives: What Counts as Important for Remote Education?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2015

John Guenther ,
Samantha Disbray  and
Sam Osborne
John Guenther*
Affiliation:
Flinders University, School of Education, and Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Samantha Disbray
Affiliation:
Charles Darwin University, The Northern Institute, and Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, Alice Springs
Sam Osborne
Affiliation:
University of South Australia, School of Education, and Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, Adelaide
*
address for correspondence: John Guenther, PO Box 2363, Parap, Northern Territory 0804, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The Remote Education Systems (RES) project within the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP) has, over the last four years, gathered and analysed qualitative data directly from over 230 remote education stakeholders and from more than 700 others through surveys. The research was designed to answer four questions: (1) What is education for in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?; (2) What defines ‘successful’ educational outcomes from the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; (3) How does teaching need to change in order to achieve ‘success’ as defined by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander standpoint?; and (4) What would an effective education system in remote Australia look like? Based on this data, the paper reveals how perceptions differ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities compared with people who come from elsewhere. The analysis points to the need for some alternative indicators of ‘success’ to match the aspirations of local people living in remote communities. It also points to the need for school and system responses that resonate with community expectations of education, and to develop narratives of aspiration and success alongside community views.

Keywords

remote education systemseducational successIndigenous educationeducational policyremote community aspirationssuccessful teaching in remote schools
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 44 , Issue 2: Red Dirt Revisited: Examining remote learning and education experiences , December 2015 , pp. 194 - 206
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ABC (Producer). (2012, February). Highly educated teachers the key to success. Lateline. Retrieved August 2015, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-28/highly-educated-teachers-the-key-to-success/3858612?WT.svl=news5.Google Scholar
Atelier Learning Solutions. (2012). Phase 1 national evaluation: Final report on the analysis of SSNP activity and evaluation effort, June 2012, Atelier Learning Solutions Pty Ltd. Retrieved May 2014 from http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/phase_1_evaluation_final_report.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011, 28 July). Remoteness structure. Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/remoteness+structure.Google Scholar
Australian Council for Educational Research. (2013). Evaluation of the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy initiative, June 2013, Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved May 2014 from http://deta.qld.gov.au/indigenous/pdfs/cyaaa-evaluation-report.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2012). Measurement framework for schooling in Australia 2012, December 2012, ACARA, Sydney. Retrieved May 2013 from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Measurement_Framework_for_Schooling_in_Australia_2012.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015). My school. Retrieved April 2015, from http://www.myschool.edu.au.Google Scholar
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). National Professional Standards for Teachers, February 2011, AITSL. Retrieved July 2012 from http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/static/docs/AITSL_National_Professional_Standards_for_Teachers_Final_110511.pdf.Google Scholar
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2012). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, February 2011, AITSL. Retrieved May 2015 from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apst-resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf.Google Scholar
Bat, M., & Guenther, J. (2013). Red dirt thinking on education: A people-based system. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42 (2), 123–135. doi:10.1017/jie.2013.20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnett, B., & Lampert, J. (2011). Teacher education and the targeting of disadvantage. Creative Education, 2 (5), 6. doi:10.4236/ce.2011.25064.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Council of Australian Governments. (2012). Schools and education. Retrieved 7 May 2015, from http://www.coag.gov.au/schools_and_education.Google Scholar
Council of Australian Governments Reform Council. (2013). Indigenous reform 2011–12: Comparing performance across Australia, COAG Reform Council, Sydney. Retrieved June 2013 from http://www.coagreformcouncil.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/National%20Indigenous%20Reform%20Agreement%20-%2030%20April%202013(1).pdf.Google Scholar
Denzin, N.K. (2010). Grounded and Indigenous theories and the politics of pragmatism*. Sociological Inquiry, 80 (2), 296–312. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2010.00332.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Education and Training. (2015, 22 March). Engaging parents in education. Retrieved May 2015 from http://studentsfirst.gov.au/engaging-parents-education.Google Scholar
Department of Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2013). Closing the gap in the Northern Territory monitoring report monitoring report January - January June 2012: Part one. Retrieved September 2014 from http://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/01_2013/part_1_nter_monitoring_report_31jan.pdf.Google Scholar
Fordham, A., & Schwab, R. (2007). Education, training and Indigenous futures. CAEPR policy research: 1990–2007. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Guenther, J. (2014a). Families And Schools Together (FAST) at Gillen Primary School: The sustained impact of a family-strengthening process. Research Report CR002, CRC-REP, Alice Springs. Retrieved October 2014 from http://www.crc-rep.com.au/resource/CR002_FASTatGillenPrimarySchool.pdf.Google Scholar
Guenther, J. (2014b). What is education for in a remote community or school?Remote Education Systems Lecture Series: University of South Australia.Google Scholar
Guenther, J., & Bat, M. (2013). Towards a good education in very remote Australia: Is it just a case of moving the desks around? The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42 (2), 145–156. doi:10.1017/jie.2013.22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guenther, J., Bat, M., & Osborne, S. (2013). Red dirt thinking on educational disadvantage. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42 (2), 100–110. doi:10.1017/jie.2013.18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guenther, J., Bat, M., & Osborne, S. (2014). Red dirt thinking on remote educational advantage. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 24 (1), 51–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guenther, J., Disbray, S., & Osborne, S. (2014). Digging up the (red) dirt on education: one shovel at a time. Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues (Special Edition), 17 (4), 40–56.Google Scholar
Guenther, J., Osborne, S., Arnott, A., McRae-Williams, E., & Disbray, S. (2014). Amplifying the voice of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander VET stakeholders using research methodologies: Volume 1. Paper presented at the AVETRA 17th International Conference, Surfers Paradise. Retrieved from http://avetra.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Abstract-33.pdf.Google Scholar
Harding, S. (1992). After the neutrality ideal: Science, politics, and “strong objectivity”. Social Research, 59 (3), 567–587.Google Scholar
Hattie, J.A. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hughes, H., & Hughes, M. (2012). Indigenous Education 2012. CIS policy monographs; 129. Centre for Independent Studies. Retrieved August 2015, from http://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2015/07/pm129.pdf.Google Scholar
Jensen, B. (2012). Catching up: Learning from the best school systems in East Asia. Grattan Institute Report No. 2012–3, February 2012, The Grattan Institute. Retrieved September 2012 from http://grattan.edu.au/static/files/assets/00d8aaf4/130_report_learning_from_the_best_detail.pdf.Google Scholar
Ladwig, J., & Sarra, C. (2009). 2009 Structural review of the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training: Delivering the goods, 25 March 2009. Retrieved May 2014 from http://www.education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/6674/NTeducationAndTrainingReviewReport.pdf.Google Scholar
Lea, T., Thompson, H., McRae-Williams, E., & Wegner, A. (2011). Policy fuzz and fuzzy logic: researching contemporary Indigenous education and parent–school engagement in north Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 26 (3), 321–339. doi:10.1080/02680939.2010.509813.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lincoln, S., Lynham, S., & Guba, E. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. In Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (Vol. 4th Edition, pp. 97–128). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc.Google Scholar
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf.Google Scholar
O’Keefe, K., Olney, H., & Angus, M. (2012). Obstacles to success: Indigenous students in primary schools. Retrieved April 2013 from http://www.appa.asn.au/reports/Obstacles-to-success.pdf.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013). Teachers for the 21st century: Using evaluation to improve teaching, OECD Publishing. Retrieved August 2015 from http://www.oecd.org/site/eduistp13/TS2013%20Background%20Report.pdf.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). Education policy outlook 2015: Making reforms happen, 19 January 2015, OECD Publishing. Retrieved May 2015 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264225442-en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne, S., & Guenther, J. (2013). Red dirt thinking on aspiration and success. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42 (2), 88–99. doi:10.1017/jie.2013.17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne, S., Lester, K., Minutjukur, M., & Tjitayi, K. (2013). Red dirt curriculum: Reimagining remote education. Paper presented at the Sidney Myer Rural Lecture 3, Desert Knowledge Precinct, Alice Springs. Video recording retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za6w8ph_VDg&feature=youtu.be.Google Scholar
Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations. (2012). National education agreement. Retrieved May 2013 from http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/npa/education/national-agreement.pdf.Google Scholar
Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations. (2013). National Education Reform Agreement, Council of Australian Governments. Retrieved August 2013 from http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/other_related_agreements/current/National_Education_Reform_Agreement_2013.pdf.Google Scholar
State of Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment. (2013). Capability framework – teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D. Retrieved August 2015 from https://indigenousportal.eq.edu.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/eald-capability-framework.pdf.Google Scholar
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2014). Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: Key indicators 2014, November 2014, Productivity Commission, Canberra. Retrieved December 2014 from http://pc-temp.clients.squiz.net/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/181909/key-indicators-2014-report.pdf.Google Scholar
Vieluf, S., Kaplan, D., Klieme, E., & Bayer, S. (2012). Teaching practices and pedagogical innovation: Evidence from TALIS, OECD Publishing. Retrieved August 2015 from http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/TalisCeri%202012%20(tppi)-Ebook.pdf.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
What Works: The Work Program. (2012). Success in remote schools: A research study of eleven improving remote schools. Retrieved September 2012 from http://www.whatworks.edu.au/upload/1341805220784_file_SuccessinRemoteSchools2012.pdf.Google Scholar
Wilson, B. (2014). A share in the future: Review of Indigenous education in the Northern Territory, May 2014. Retrieved May 2014 from http://www.education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/37294/A-Share-in-the-Future-The-Review-of-Indigenous-Education-in-the-Northern-Territory.pdf.Google Scholar