Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T09:02:29.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-lasting educational engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Where are the Ghundus (children)? A longitudinal study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2019

Sharon Louth Open the ORCID record for Sharon Louth [Opens in a new window] ,
Keane Wheeler  and
Joyce Bonner
Sharon Louth*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast Fraser Coast Campus Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655, Australia
Keane Wheeler
Affiliation:
Institute of Korrie Education, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia
Joyce Bonner
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast Fraser Coast Campus Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Sharon Louth, E-mail: slouth@usc.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

This paper is a retrospective exploration of the long-term and deep-reaching impact of an educational aspirations program, Burunga M Gambay (Learning together) (BMG, 2012), on the career pathways and life-long learning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students. The current project, where are the Ghundus (children)? (2017) follows a phenomenological research design by seeking to describe and interpret the long-term effectiveness of BMG through the experiences of the participants and the career pathways they have followed since the program. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed iteratively using nVivo 11. The program influenced the participants positively in four major areas: cultural identity, sharing culture, motivation and future aspirations. Notably, all participants completed senior school and added to their qualifications since school and are currently in paid employment. The implications of these findings suggest that future educational aspirations programs be co-constructed with the community to ensure cultural validity and a sense of connectedness. This will, as a result, ensure that the positive effects of such programs are long-lasting and deep-reaching in the educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Keywords

Aboriginalcultural competencecultural validationstudent engagementTorres Strait Islander
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , August 2021 , pp. 107 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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

Ary, D, Jacobs, LC and Sorensen, C (2010) Introduction to Research in Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011) Census of Population and Housing. Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2012) The Australian Curriculum. Sydney: ACARA.Google Scholar
Australia Government (2016) Communicating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Audiences. Canberra: Australian Government.Google Scholar
Bassett, B (2012) Iterative. In Mills, AJ, Durepos, G and Wiebe, E (eds), Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc, pp. 504–506.Google Scholar
Behrendt, L, Larkin, S, Griew, R and Kelly, P (2012) Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Final Report. Canberra: Australian Government.Google Scholar
Commonwealth of Australia (2018) Closing the Gap: Prime Minister's Report 2018 Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Available at https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/.Google Scholar
Garrett, R and Wrench, A (2010) They should talk to us’ Inclusivity and Physical Education. Draft. University of South Australia. Adelaide.Google Scholar
Garnett, ST, Sithole, B, Whitehead, PJ, Burgess, CP, Johnston, FH and Lea, T (2009) Healthy country, healthy people: policy implications of links between Indigenous human health and environmental condition in tropical Australia. Australian Journal of Public Administration 68, 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gay, G (2010) Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. Columbia University: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Gee, G, Dudgeon, P, Schultz, C, Hart, A and Kelly, K (2014) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing. In Dudgeon, P, Milroy, H and Walker, R (eds), Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice, 2nd Edn. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, pp. 55–68.Google Scholar
Haslett, M, Harrison, B, Godfrey, J, Partington, G and Richer, K (2000) Teacher perceptions of the characteristics of effective teachers of Aboriginal middle school students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education 25, Issue 2, Article 4, 1–9.Google Scholar
Helme, S and Lamb, S (2011) Closing the School Completion gap for Indigenous Students. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/83074cc6-7dc9-40fb-9505-7b49c07e68e3/ctgc-rs06.pdf.aspx?inline=true.Google Scholar
Kahu, ER (2013) Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education 38, 758–773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Louth, S (2012) Overcoming the ‘shame’ factor: empowering indigenous people to share and celebrate their culture. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Australian Multicultural Interaction Institute (AMII), Phuket, Thailand.Google Scholar
Louth, S (2013) Mentoring indigenous secondary school students to raise educational aspirations. Paper presented at the 6th Annual Mentoring Conference, Albuquerque, NM, United States.Google Scholar
Maddern, R (2011) NVIVO 10 Two Day Workshop with Research Assist. Sydney, NSW: Research Assist.Google Scholar
McRae, D (2002) What Works. Improving Outcomes for Indigenous Students. Canberra: Department of Education Science and Training.Google Scholar
Milliken, N and Shea, S (2007) From oral history to leadership in the Aboriginal community: a five year journey with the Wagga Wagga Aboriginal Elders Group Incorporated. Rural Society 17, 299–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakata, M (2010) The cultural interface of Islander and scientific knowledge. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 39, 53–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purdie, N, Tripcony, P, Boulton-Lewis, G, Fanshawe, J and Gunstone, A (2000) Positive Self-Identity for Indigenous Students and its Relationship to School Outcomes. Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Queensland University of Technology: Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
QSR (2015) nVivo 11 software. Doncaster, VIC QSR International Pty Ltd.Google Scholar
Sarra, C, Spillman, D, Jackson, C, Davis, J and Bray, J (2018) High-expectations relationships: a foundation for enacting high expectations in all Australian schools. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 1, 1–14.Google Scholar
Shay, M (2017) Counter Stories: Developing Indigenist Research Methodologies to Capture the Voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff in Flexi School Contexts. (PhD thesis). Queensland University of Technology.Google Scholar
Spencer, D (2000) Anomie and demoralization in transitional cultures: the Australian Aboriginal model. Transcultural Psychiatry 37, 5–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yunkaporta, T (2009) Aboriginal Pedagogies at the Cultural Interface (Doctoral dissertation). James Cook University.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zyngier, D (2008) (Re)conceptualising student engagement: doing education not doing time. Teaching and Teacher Education 24, 1765–1776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar