A Red Dirt Journey

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

4

10 Key Findings

5

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.

7

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.

8

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.

10

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.

12

62

64

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 661john.guenther@flinders.edu.au

Samantha Disbray0437 330 042Samantha.Disbray@cdu.edu.au

Sam Osborne0408 719 939Samuel.Osborne@unisa.edu.au

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