Search

This study investigated how high-ability Australian Aboriginal adolescents reasoned about sources of effort in their transition to secondary schools. High-ability Year 7 Aboriginal adolescents (n = 4) participated in interviews on three occasions: Term 1 Year 6 (primary); Term 1 Year 7 (secondary); and Term 4 Year 7 (post-transition). Parents (n = 5) and staff (n = 20) were interviewed on one or two occasions. The longitudinal, mixed-methods design included: longitudinal analysis of multiple case studies; discourse analysis; frequency tables; and content analysis of key themes pertaining to the research questions. Results indicated that effort investment was associated with class-average ability. High-ability Aboriginal students found difficulty transitioning to secondary school when placed in classes where the average-ability levels were higher than theirs, forcing upward comparisons, adversely impacting their academic self-concept. Schools should consider targeting academic skills and self-concept simultaneously and encouraging cooperation to enable a successful transition.

Improving educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students is a key strategy to helping Indigenous people reach their full potential. This has resulted in well-intentioned efforts by Australian educators and governments to ensure Indigenous children have positive school experiences. However, Indigenous students still lag behind their non-Indigenous counterparts in educational outcomes. This is particularly so for Indigenous students living in rural and remote parts of Australia where educational opportunities are limited, especially in high school. One solution to this problem has been to enrol these students in boarding schools in urban and metropolitan centres. While research on the success of boarding schools for Indigenous students is scarce, what little that does exist is not encouraging. The focus of this research was to examine the effects of boarding for Indigenous (n = 11) and non-Indigenous students’ (n = 158) wellbeing (N = 1423) in two large private boys’ schools. Participating students aged 12–18 years old completed a survey measuring wellbeing constructs on two occasions, 12 months apart. Non-Indigenous boys were generally higher in wellbeing compared with Indigenous boys. There was also evidence of improved social wellbeing beyond that of non-Indigenous boarders over time. Overall, while evidence of merit was weak, boarding schools may benefit their Indigenous students’ development in social wellbeing.

Internationally there is a gap in high school completion rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In Australia, gap estimates are commonly based on lag indicators, precluding examination of underlying mechanisms. Using two longitudinal and representative samples of Australian youth, we explored differences in high school completion between Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates and whether the gap varies for students of similar academic ability. Using an intersectional approach, we show the Indigenous gap varies by SES and location. Specifically, high SES and living in urban settings are protective factors for non-Indigenous students, but not so for Indigenous students. Results also show the Indigenous gap declined in response to government policy that increased the compulsory school leaving age.

Enabling children and youth’s well-being is widely valued by families and communities worldwide as an important outcome of schooling. However, whilst the concept of well-being in childhood has been widely studied, there is no general agreement about the structure and measurement of well-being in schooling contexts, nor in particular for Indigenous students who comprise some of the most educationally disadvantaged populations in the world. Hence there is a need to advance the conceptualization and development of better measures of well-being for schooling contexts. We theorized a multidimensional student well-being model and the Multidimensional Student Well-being (MSW) Instrument, grounded on recent research. We investigated its structure, measurement, and relation to correlates of well-being for a matched sample of 1,405 Australian students (Indigenous, N = 764; non-Indigenous, N = 641) at three time-points 10-12 months apart. Analyses supported an a priori multidimensional model of 6 higher-order domains of well-being, represented by 15 first-order factors. This structure was invariant across Indigenous and non-Indigenous, male and female, and primary and secondary schooling levels. Correlates provided support for convergent and discriminant validity. There was a downward trend in well-being over time, which calls for attention to multidimensional domains of students’ well-being to promote healthy development throughout school life and beyond. The results support a multidimensional model of student well-being appropriate for primary and secondary schooling and both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

We investigated how satisfaction of the basic psychological needs at work was associated with the psychological and physical wellbeing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees both within and outside of the workplace. Participants included 1,146 Indigenous ( n = 559) and non-Indigenous Australians (60.9% female), aged 18 to 81 years ( Mage = 43.54) who were recruited through their employer or online advertisements. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data, and Indigenous status and occupation type were investigated as moderators. Results revealed that independent of income, autonomy satisfaction was related to better physical and psychological health, satisfaction of the need for relatedness was associated with increased family and community thriving, and competence satisfaction was linked to decreased psychological distress. Results also showed that autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction was lower among Indigenous employees compared to non-Indigenous employees. Moderation analyses suggested that relatedness at work was especially important for non-Indigenous employees’ connection with their community, as were high levels of competence satisfaction for Indigenous employees. These findings are discussed in the context of self-determination theory and the implications for organizations wanting to improve the wellbeing of their Indigenous and non-Indigenous workforce.

In Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), children born between January and July have the choice to start school in the year they turn five, or delay entry until the year they turn six. We used linked administrative data for children who started school in NSW in 2009 or 2012 (N = 162,878) to identify child, family and area characteristics associated with delayed entry, and to explore the relationship between school starting age and five domains of child development, measured using the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) in the first year of school. Among both the 2009 and 2012 cohorts, 26% of children delayed starting school until the year they turned six. Area-level rates of delay ranged from 8% to 54% across 198 areas in NSW, with lower levels in disadvantaged urban areas. Factors associated with delayed entry included male sex, a birth date close to the enrolment cut-off date, socioeconomic advantage, and having a mother born in Australia. There was a strong, significant relationship between school starting age and early childhood development: each month of maturity corresponded to an increase of approximately 3% in the probability of scoring above the 25th percentile in all five AEDC domains. Independent of school starting age, children who were older in relation to their classroom peers had better development outcomes. The potential for initial age-related differences to impact later school outcomes warrants further longitudinal research.

The purpose of the paper was to investigate (a) similarities and differences in cultural perspectives, self-concept, and school motivation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian students; and (b) the relative influences of self-concept, motivation, and cultural perspectives on academic engagement. Data were collected from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in Years 3 to 6 from 52 primary schools in metropolitan Sydney (N = 1745). Students completed a questionnaire asking about three cultural perspective factors (Aboriginal perspective, cultural diversity, and cultural identity), school self-concept, two motivation factors (a mastery approach goal and a performance approach goal), and a behavioral outcome (academic engagement). Results indicated that Aboriginal students were higher in all three cultural perspectives, but did not differ much from non-Aboriginal students in school self-concept, motivation, and academic engagement. For both groups cultural diversity, cultural identity, school self-concept, and a mastery approach goal orientation were positive predictors of academic engagement. A performance approach goal orientation was not a significant predictor of engagement but higher SES and being female were positive predictors. The findings suggest that teachers should understand the importance of promoting a positive sense of culture in the classroom to better engage students.

Despite wellbeing being critical for individuals and communities to thrive in life and succeed in education, there is little research that investigates how Indigenous Australian youth attending universities conceptualise wellbeing. The purpose of this research was to empower the voices and agency of Indigenous youth attending higher education institutes to identify their construals of: the significance and nature of their wellbeing, the factors influencing their wellbeing, and the drivers and barriers to their wellbeing. Focus groups were undertaken with Indigenous youth (N=30) attending four Australian higher education institutions. The participants construed wellbeing as holistic, multidimensional, interconnected, collective, and subjective. Cultural identity, family and kinship, connection to Country, spirituality, having a sense of self, Indigenous student role models in higher education, and Indigenous staff support are facilitators of wellbeing. Factors such as racism and discrimination, lateral violence, non-culturally safe university spaces, family violence, “walking in two worlds”, and Indigenous community wellbeing when at risk, were identified as barriers to their wellbeing.

Participatory design seeks to involve users as partners in the design process. However, for traditionally disenfranchised groups participation may not be enough. Over the past year, we've worked with Indigenous leaders and end-users to develop a process by which HCI practitioners can pass the reins to Indigenous people to lead their own technology projects with the support of designers as needed. We present a brief summary of our experience and reflections on this budding user leadership process so far. We describe key steps (ie. user-led recruitment, user-leader training, and user-led workshops) as well as some challenges and takeaways, in order to contribute to the advancement of processes for Indigenous-led co-design, and user-leadership for the empowerment of disenfranchised communities around the world.

The article describes the teaching and learning framework that underpins a Kinship Online Module aimed at delivering online cross-cultural training at the university level. It is based on an existing workshop designed and presented to non-Aboriginal staff and students by Lynette Riley, a Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman from Dubbo and Moree. In doing so, this article reflects on the pedagogical framework and adopted learning environment, and describes how the project adopts a ‘cultural praxis’ approach that combines a social constructivist, problem-based immersive learning approach with five complementary pedagogical approaches. These principles underpin the designing of a program that embeds diverse Aboriginal knowledge into this online teaching resource.

This article explores a project at the Koori Centre, University of Sydney, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) in 2011, titled 'Indigenous On-Line Cultural Teaching and Sharing'. One of the team members (Kutay) was also a project team member on the ALTC-funded project 'Exploring PBL in Indigenous Australian Studies', which has developed a teaching and learning process (PEARL) for Indigenous Australian studies. In this article, we present the 'Indigenous On-Line Cultural Teaching and Sharing' project as an exemplar of this teaching process. The project turns a highly successful interactive kinship workshop into an interactive online experience for all students and staff of the University of Sydney. The project is developing a sharing portal for Aboriginal people in New South Wales (NSW) to incorporate their stories and experiences of cultural, historical and educational issues within a knowledge-sharing workshop. The site will use voices of Aboriginal participants to express the knowledge of their culture in a comparative and affirmative context. An interface for uploading audio and video has been generated to combine example stories from different perspectives. The interactive kinship workshop and Aboriginal voices will then be used in an online game, embedding Aboriginal knowledge and values within different professional learning contexts, such as law, social policy, health, and education. © The Authors 2012.

Since its inception, Problem-based learning (PBL) as a process for learning and teaching has been used to enhance many skills based courses, including education programs at Bachelor College and the Aboriginal Technical Health Worker training program at the Centre for Appropriate Technology in Alice Springs. While PBL is an approach to learning and teaching which has been designed to provide a more holistic educational process for all students, Foster and Meehane (2007) suggest that many aspects of the courses are ideally suited for Indigenous students. In particular, this approach is useful when introducing students to a subject matter which is new both in being derived from another culture and not being accessible to Indigenous parents in the past. PBL provides a flexible approach to enable motivation and involvement of the students and their community. This paper considers the benefits of PBL for learning Information Technology and presents some course templates developed to support teaching Indigenous students at school.

Purpose This chapter outlines an audit process that led to a group of non-Aboriginal academics, and professional staff embarking on a journey to explore insights into Aboriginal knowledge and culture. It presents a compelling account of the benefits of a project devised by a creative Aboriginal teacher and community arts practitioner, The Embedding Diversity: Towards a Culturally Inclusive Pedagogy. Findings The Embedding Diversity project allowed a reflective and process-based deep learning to occur which enabled practical and meaningful Reconciliation to transpire between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff at an Australian University. Within the Faculty of Education and Social Work, staff collaborated with, listened to, and were taught by Aboriginal people in a range of contexts. Through this partnership, training, engagement, and conversations were had that shifted perspectives and changed thinking. Practical implications The outcome of this project was a commitment to change and advocacy for cultural competence to embedding stronger and more informed Aboriginal education, Aboriginal Studies Units of Study (subjects), and perspectives in teacher education curriculum. We present this project as it is reflective of the meaningful Reconciliation and educational reform which may be possible in other learning communities.

Purpose: This chapter outlines the successful community engagement process used by the authors for the Kinship Online project in the context of Indigenous methodological, epistemological, and ethical considerations. It juxtaposes Indigenous and western ways of teaching and research, exploring in greater detail the differences between them. The following chapter builds on and extends Riley, Howard-Wagner, Mooney & Kutay (2013, in press) to delve deeply into the importance of embedding Aboriginal cultural knowledge in curriculum at the university level. Practical implications: The chapter gives an account of an Office for Learning and Teaching (OLTC) grant to develop Indigenous Online Cultural Teaching and Sharing Resources (the Kinship Online Project). The project is built on an existing face-to-face interactive presentation based on Australian Aboriginal Kinship systems created by Lynette Riley, which is being re-developed as an online cultural education workshop. Value: A key consideration of the researchers has been Aboriginal community engagement in relation to the design and development of the project. The chapter delves deeply into the importance of embedding Aboriginal cultural knowledge into curriculum at the university level. In doing so, the chapter sets out an Aboriginal community engagement model compared with a western research model which the authors hope will be useful to other researchers who wish to engage in research with Aboriginal people and/or communities. Copyright © 2013 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Teaching complex learning domains such as cultural awareness relies on individual perspectives. In this paper we present the process and technology to develop an online system to share multiple experiences of Aboriginal Culture in NSW, Australia within a social-constructivist framework. The focus of the material is the Kinship system used for thousands of years in this region. This topic exemplifies the knowledge used to maintain societies and provides the setting for social conflict with the non-Aboriginal people who came here in recent history. We are using stories from the community to augment the learning material. Using innovative web services, teachers can select the stories that are relevant to their course, and link these within a range of scenarios being developed. The scenarios enable students to select the way they relate to the characters, listen to their stories, and become aware of their own role in the community. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Background Metformin has been proffered as a therapy for adolescent obesity, although long-term controlled studies have not been reported. Objective To test the hypothesis that 48 weeks of daily metformin hydrochloride extended release (XR) therapy will reduce body mass index (BMI) in obese adolescents, as compared with placebo. Design Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Setting The 6 centers of the Glaser Pediatric Research Network from October 2003 to August 2007. Participants Obese (BMI > or = 95th percentile) adolescents (aged 13-18 years) were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 39) or placebo groups. Intervention Following a 1-month run-in period, subjects following a lifestyle intervention program were randomized 1:1 to 48 weeks' treatment with metformin hydrochloride XR, 2000 mg once daily, or an identical placebo. Subjects were monitored for an additional 48 weeks. Main Outcome Measure Change in BMI, adjusted for site, sex, race, ethnicity, and age and metformin vs placebo. Results After 48 weeks, mean (SE) adjusted BMI increased 0.2 (0.5) in the placebo group and decreased 0.9 (0.5) in the metformin XR group (P = .03). This difference persisted for 12 to 24 weeks after cessation of treatment. No significant effects of metformin on body composition, abdominal fat, or insulin indices were observed. Conclusion Metformin XR caused a small but statistically significant decrease in BMI when added to a lifestyle intervention program. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifiers: NCT00209482 and NCT00120146.

Teaching Aboriginal culture relies on individual teachers providing their particular perspective, yet cultural education is about providing a community perspective. This paper describes the design process for creating such an online system to share multiple experiences of Aboriginal Culture in New South Wales (NSW), Australia in a coherent and social-constructivist framework. The focus of the material is Aboriginal Kinship systems used for thousands of years in this region. This topic was chosen as the history of conflict through government policy, social inclusion and technology take-up has continually returned to issues of Kinship and cultural knowledge maintenance within respective societies, areas in which Aboriginal and European societies are markedly different. There is a pressing need to improve knowledge of Aboriginal cultural heritage and technology provides a novel means of sharing this understanding. Narratives from Aboriginal communities are used to augment an interactive face-to-face Kinship presentation which has been videoed and will be available as part of the learning material. Using innovative authoring tools, teachers will be able to select Aboriginal people's narratives that are relevant to their course of study, and map these to a range of scenarios being developed. The scenarios enable students to select ways they relate to the online characters, listen to various narratives, and become aware of their own role in the wider community, in relation to working for or with Aboriginal people. © Common Ground, Cat Kutay, Janet Mooney, Lynette Riley, and Deirdre Howard-Wagner.