a red dirt journey
TRANSCRIPT
Adelaide, 9 February 2016
Remote Education Systems project
A Red Dirt Journey
Welcome And Acknowledgements
2
CRC-REP Remote Education Systems project
3
The Red Dirt Thinking Journey
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10 Key Findings
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Document source All sources
All coding references*
Remote Aboriginal
references*Number of
unique participants
Interviews and focus groups 45 2501 523 250
Field notes and observations 12 111 0 0
Secondary sources/reports created by or for RES 10 856 603 ~800†
Butchers papers and whiteboards 20 197 0 0
Total 87 3665 1126
Finding #1 Remote Indigenous Disadvantage
• A metro-centric construct not supported by those living in remote communities
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0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
References to ‘disadvantage’
System responses:reconciliation, equity,race and aboriginality
System responses:poverty and socio-economic status
Cross-cutting theme:context and complexity
Teaching to success:health and well being
PER
CENT
OF
ALL
RESP
ONS
ES
EQUITY ITEMS
Remote Aboriginal references* Non-remote responses
Finding #2 The No Jobs Myth
• There are ‘jobs aplenty’ in remote parts of Australia.
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16395
236
27411
-561
1729
8780
-5000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
Employed Unemployed Total population
27Changes in employment ges in e2006
n e0606-
mploymn e66-2011
Non-Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Finding #3 Simple Solutions For Complex Contexts
• There are no quick fixes.
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0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
R1 R2 (blank)
SCHO
OL
ATTE
NDAN
CE R
ATE
RSAS ROUND 1 AND 2, AND NON-RSAS SCHOOLS
20082009201020112012201320142015
Finding #4 What Is Education For?
• Education should support local aspirations for culture, land, language and identity.
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Language, land and culture
Identity
Strong in both worlds
Employment and economic participation
Meaningful engagement in the world
Community leadership and participation
Learning
Choice and opportunity
HolisticFurther learning and skills Socialisation to schooling
Other
Finding #5 Successful Remote Schools
• Success is first about parent and community involvement in school.
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Parent involvement and role models in child's
education, 63
Academic outcomes, 42
Community engagement, 27
Attendance, 22Learning outside school, 21
Children choose to engage, 20
Place and space, 17
First language literacy, 14
Meeting student needs, 13
Post school transition, 13
Governance and decision making, 12
Strong, 10
Other, 21
Finding #6 Qualities, Not Quality
Specific teaching context & Frameworks and Standards • Local Standards - relational• AITSL Teacher Standards, Assistant teacher standards• Cultural competency frameworks
Adapt and implement responsive curriculum• System support
Expertise in teaching, monitoring and assessing English language learning • in specific TESOL/Multilingual learning setting• ATESOL Elaborations of the AITSL Standards
# Teaching in very remote schools is a specialist field, requiring specialist qualities
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Finding #7 Local Staff Matter
• Schools with higher proportions of non-teaching staff get better results.
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66
68
70
72
74
76
78
80
0-.5 (n=512) .51-1 (n=266) 1.01-1.5(n=177)
1.51-2 (n=92) 2.01-2.5 (n=22) >2.5 (n=35)
AVER
AGE
PERC
ENTA
GE
SCHO
OL
ATTE
NDAN
CE R
ATE
RATIO OF NON-TEACHING TO TEACHING STAFF
Finding #8 Boarding Schools
# There is too much we do not know about the effectiveness & impact of boarding for very remote students, their families and communities
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Policy promoting boarding school at Federal, State/Territory levels
• Non-Government-Government partnerships, eg. Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Yalari, Future Footprints
Anecdotal and derivative data indicate low success of boarding for very remote students, identifies specific issues. Overall,
• No easily available quantitative data • Little empirical research• Growing qualitative research• Development of good practice guidelines to support to enhance
options and opportunities
Finding #9 Money Matters
• Schools with more resources get better outcomes.
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0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
AVER
AGE
RECU
RREN
T IN
COM
E ($
) PER
ST
UDEN
T
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PERCENTAGE
Finding #10 Engagement For What?
1. Success, as defined by communities is parents and communities involved in education (‘close and constant voices’)
2. If we take community view seriously, community involvement/power/ownership will be a priority
3. The type of engagement matters: ‘Targeted’ engagement will be unsustainable. (Tjukurpa nganngi-tjara)
4. Create opportunity structures for participatory involvement: governance, local staff, engagement accountability
*‘Power-sensitive’ (Haraway 2004), Incorporating the ‘assets’ (Moll et al. 1992) of the students’ families and communities
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Strategies For Improved Outcomes
ResourcingEmploy, train and develop local workforceInvest in teacher qualities that matterEstablish local governance structuresExplicit pathways through school to economic participationUnderstand the full impact of boarding options AND provide quality secondary options
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Concluding Remarks And Thanks
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More About RES
http://crc-rep.com/remote-education-systems
John Guenther0412 125 [email protected]
Samantha Disbray0437 330 [email protected]
Sam Osborne0408 719 [email protected]
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