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A growing awareness of the value of Aboriginal teachers in Australian schools has motivated the development of the 'On Country' Teacher Education (OCTE) program through collaboration between the Western Australian Department of Education and Curtin University. The OCTE builds on previous initiatives to increase the number of Aboriginal teachers in Australian classrooms and has also developed new features. It enables Aboriginal and Islander Education Officers (AIEOs ) to obtain a teaching degree while studying 'on Country' and working in their (often remote) schools. An evaluation of the first year of this course through the interviews/yarns with the AIEOs, principals, and program staff is outlined, highlighting the value of support afforded by the program, course flexibility, and face-to-face workshops. We also describe how feedback provided through this evaluation has been considered and incorporated into the ongoing development of the course

For millennia, stories and oral histories have been a fundamental way of sharing knowledge in many Aboriginal cultures. Honouring the role of stories can address a continuing lack of Aboriginal voices in Australian educational research literature. In this paper, we describe the philosophical underpinnings and methodology of our research, which aimed to learn from Aboriginal people about their post-school experiences, particularly in remote communities. The uniqueness of the project included training currently enrolled students as researchers to interview past students through yarning and storying. The collected stories were then interpreted and represented in audio recordings later developed into podcasts, writing, and through art. The aim of these research outcomes is to inform relevant policies and the development of teaching and learning resources for Aboriginal students. The way the methodology of our study evolved in response to the participants' input is another key focus of this paper as well as having implications for future research.

In this conceptual paper, we explore the opportunities and challenges that translanguaging may provide for students from Australian Aboriginal backgrounds and their teachers. We use examples taken from Australian Aboriginal students who may speak Standard Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, creoles (Kriol being the common one across the north of Australia) and traditional languages (e.g. Kija, Martu). We begin by examining the concept of translanguaging and show how Australian Aboriginal students can move fluidly between their various linguistic resources, dialects and repertoires to make meaning, express their thoughts, understandings and feelings, create their identities, and do so in often playful and creative ways. The principles of fair and valid assessment are explored and the role that translanguaging can fulfil for assessment purposes is considered. We also document some of the social, cultural and linguistic biases that underpin aspects of assessment, and make suggestions for improvement. In particular, we examine how teachers could approach assessment so that students with Aboriginal backgrounds are able to draw on their full linguistic repertoire and, in this way, address the issues surrounding discriminatory assessment practices that are founded on monolingual mindsets. We also take up the gauntlet to 'stop measuring black kids with a white stick' and seek positive and embracing ways for all students with Aboriginal backgrounds to engage in assessment practices.

With a focus on Australian Aboriginal students, in this article we argue that translanguaging provides a useful resource for multilingual learners. We point out that although translanguaging is a relatively recent term, in Indigenous Australia is has been used consistently throughout the ages as people from different languages communicated with each other. We argue that through the use of translanguaging in the classroom, children can be supported to draw on the wide range of linguistic resources they bring with them to school. Using data collected from an Aboriginal school in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia, we illustrate the ways in which this perspective can inform approaches to teaching which will both enhance these learners' communication skills in Standard Australian English (SAE) in the classroom, and, importantly, at the same time demonstrate that the languages the children come to school with are valued.

Sense of belonging is a fundamental human need that can affect long term education and health outcomes. It can also be impacted by the design of the built environment, in this case by the interior design of boarding schools. Within the emerging literature pertaining to experiences of boarding school for Aboriginal students in Australia, issues of loneliness, isolation, homesickness, and the feeling of being 'between two worlds' are commonly reported. However, there is currently a dearth of literature that connects these issues with a potential role for design. Therefore, the aim of this project was to address this gap through Participatory Action Research (PAR) in which data was collected through yarning and drawing with 52 participants. 27 current boarders (all Aboriginal people, 2 male, 25 female), 18 recent alumni (All Aboriginal people, 3 male, 15 female), and 7 boarding staff members (1 Aboriginal person, all female) participated. Four themes emerged that suggest a role for interior design in increasing student sense of belonging. These relate to the institutional characterisation of current boarding schools (Place Identity), avoiding 'all or nothing' social interaction through flexible spaces (Interior Relationships), allowing student participation in ongoing interior design (Spatial Voice), and the provision of spaces that offer social and cultural relief (Third Space). These are described in this paper using the voices of the participants. It is proposed that, although these findings report only a particular collection of voices, the potential application of these ideas may be broad and of benefit to many students.

Eight adult Aboriginal people residing in a remote community in the north-west of Australia participated in this research. The data were collected from an 'inside' perspective and, as culturally appropriate, through informal interviews (yarning) and ongoing conversations. These data were recorded as field notes and audio files which were transcribed and used to formulate case studies. Because the authors are not Aboriginal people, the voices of the participants were used to tell their personal stories and experiences. The findings indicate that each identified as Aboriginal and according to their language group. They recognized their wide-ranging linguistic repertoire which included Aboriginal English (AE), Kriol and, to various degrees, traditional languages. They believed they were more connected to their culture because of their Aboriginal dialects and languages. Their language use was fluid and they engaged in translanguaging. Not all claimed to be proficient in Standard Australian English and some described feeling 'shame' when speaking this and their Aboriginal language varieties. They also reported experiences with linguicism and racism, even in their own community because of their language use and because of the color of their skin. Our findings suggest a key role for education in providing support for multilingual Aboriginal people.

This paper examines the cultural safety offered to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students within their university environments. In the context of this paper, cultural safety includes cultural competency, as recently subscribed by Universities Australia, and "extends beyond (to) cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity" (Bin Sellik, 2003, p. 210) and includes putting in place explicit measures to address racism of all types. Informing this study were interviews and an online survey conducted with Aboriginal students and staff members of Aboriginal centres which formed part of a larger study investigating the "Transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students into Higher Education" (Oliver et al., 2013a; 2013b). Their responses provided evidence suggesting overt and covert experiences of racism, exclusion and cultural isolation indicating that there is still much to be done before cultural safety is truly attained in our universities. As such our findings support recommendations stemming from previous research indicating that cultural safety is an issue that needs to be brought to the attention of governing bodies within our higher education sector.

Drawing from a study of the experiences of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students, this paper presents an overview of the specific needs of these students as they enter and progress through their tertiary education. Extracts from a set of case studies developed from both staff and student interviews and an online survey are used to illustrate what we have categorised as the emotional, motivational, financial, study, literacy, and transitional needs of this particular cohort of students. Our findings, supported strongly by other current research, point to the need for a whole-of-university approach to enhancing the educational and subsequent employment opportunities for Aboriginal students. This includes acknowledging cultural and familial responsibilities, recognising and accommodating Aboriginal knowledge, and ensuring equitable experiences of university life.

Aboriginal school students, especially those living in rural and remote areas, continue to achieve below the national standard in oral language, literacy and numeracy. On leaving school their unemployment rate is three times that of non-Aboriginal people. At the same time we know academic and career success is closely tied to one's self-identity. Therefore, the aim of this research is twofold: firstly, within the context of living in a rural community, explore which factors contribute to a positive self-identity amongst Aboriginal youth; and secondly, examine how this relates to their educational experience and transition into the workplace. The participants were five Aboriginal males aged between 16-18 years at the commencement of the study who attended the local high school and were supported by Clontarf Academy staff who were located at this school. The data were collected over an 18 month period using observation, formal and informal interviews (i.e., yarning). This was done from an 'inside' perspective as one of the researchers had a long term mentoring relationship with all the participants. This rich and thick data was used to formulate in-depth, ethnographic case studies which were further interrogated to identify themes to address the research aims. The findings show that 'family' play a key role in the maintenance of both language and culture, that style of communication continues to be strong marker of Aboriginality, and their location in the rural area and particularly as part of the Academy served to support and sustain strong Aboriginal identities.

In this study, we explore how Aboriginal multilingual speakers use technology-enhanced environments, specifically Facebook, for their translanguaging practices. Using data collected from Facebook posts written by seven Aboriginal youth over a period of 18 months, we investigate how the participants move between Aboriginal English (AE) and Standard Australian English (SAE) creatively and strategically to express humour and group membership, and to identify as an Aboriginal person. We also observe how these practices have the potential to enhance rather than detract from their development of SAE. The findings of the study have important implications for teaching bilingual and bidialectal speakers in general and AE speakers in particular, highlighting the importance of creating a translanguaging space to enable them to maximize their knowledge and understanding of different subject matter and develop competencies in their various linguistic codes.

This paper reports findings from a recent study of Australian Aboriginal higher education student experience. Reported here are extracts from a set of case studies of staff, specifically those working in Indigenous Centres, involved with these students in both teaching and support capacities. These participants provided a rich set of qualitative data regarding their own experiences in the learning and teaching of Australian Aboriginal students. The paper raises important issues for the improvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university student experience and for increasing their representation in higher education, a strategy strongly supported by several current government initiatives. Best practice in the context of this paper not only includes teaching and learning, which in turn has implications for raising the awareness of university teaching staff, but also applies more broadly at the level of university-wide responsibility including policy-making and future directions.

This article reviews the significant and diverse range of research in applied linguistics published in Australia in the period 2008-2014. Whilst acknowledging that a great deal of research by Australian scholars has been published internationally during these seven years, this review is based on books, journal articles, and conference proceedings published in Australia. Many of these sources will be unfamiliar to an international audience, and the purpose of this article is to highlight this body of research and the themes emerging from it. The journals selected in this review include "Australian Journal of Language and Literacy," "Australian Review of Applied Linguistics (ARAL)," "BABEL," "English in Australia," "English Australia," "Papers in Language Testing and Assessment," "Prospect: An Australian Journal of TESOL," "TESOL in Context,", and "University of Sydney Papers in TESOL." Selected refereed proceedings are from key national conferences including: "ALAA (Applied Linguistics Association of Australia), ACTA (Australian Council of TESOL Association), ASFLA (Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association), and ALS (Australian Linguistics Society)". Our review of selected applied linguistics work revolves around the following themes: the responses to the needs of government planning and policy; the complexity of Australia's multicultural, multilingual society; the concern for recognizing context and culture as key factors in language and language learning; social activism in supporting language pedagogy and literacy programmes at all levels of education; and acknowledgement of the unique place held by Indigenous languages and Aboriginal English in the national linguistic landscape.

Aboriginal Australians are entering university in greater numbers than in past decades, yet many struggle to complete their degrees. This paper reports on the qualitative component of a research project aimed at enhancing understandings about this issue by investigating student perspectives about those structures that facilitate or impede their retention. Interview and survey data were gathered from 57 participants at one university and analysed for emerging themes. The findings demonstrate a diverse Indigenous student population in terms of age; comprised personal, professional and university networks; institutional services and resources; and the students' personal qualities and study practices. Factors perceived to obstruct retention included: a lack of support from some teaching staff, schools and faculties; financial insecurity; and often interrelated issues surrounding university workload, jobs, health, as well as family and community responsibilities. These findings are discussed in the light of relevant literature and recommendations.

The transmission and dissemination of knowledge in Aboriginal societies for the most part occurs orally in an Aboriginal language or in Aboriginal English. However, whilst support is given to speaking skills in Indigenous communities, in our education system less emphasis is given to developing equivalent oral communicative competence in Standard Australian English (SAE). Instead the focus is given to the ongoing assessment of reading and writing skills and grammatical knowledge - this is in direct contrast to the existing language experience of Aboriginal students. Therefore, for Aboriginal students to participate in mainstream society, we suggest that there is a need to nurture oral language skills in SAE and provide learners with the experience to develop their code-switching ability to maintain continuity with their first language or dialect. Drawing on previous research that we and others have undertaken at several schools, this paper highlights the need for three fundamental changes to take place within language education: (1) school policies to change and explicitly accept and support Aboriginal English in code-switching situations; (2) familiarity among school staff about the major differences between Aboriginal English and SAE; and (3) tasks that focus on developing and practising the "when, why and how" of code-switching.

The uptake of small screen technology by adolescents is widespread, particularly in industrial nations. Whether the same is true for Australian Aboriginal youth is less clear as there is a dearth of research in this regard. Therefore, in this exploratory study the use of small screen technology by Indigenous students was examined. Twenty-four Indigenous adolescents (mean age 16.4 years) attending a boarding school in a remote region of Western Australia participated in individual and in-depth structured interviews that queried their use of: (1) television, (2) video games, (3) computers, (4) the internet, and (5) mobile phones. The results showed that mobile phones were the most frequently used and the most popular (i.e., they were nominated as first choice in a hypothetical scenario), followed by the internet, whereas television, video games and computers were used less often. It did appear that mobile phones were used by participating Aboriginal adolescents in ways similar to non-Indigenous adolescents (e.g., not only to make phone calls, but also to send text messages and access the internet). However, their mobile phone use did reflect differences based on their cultural values and identity, and also reflected their physical distance from their family (i.e., because of their enrolment at a boarding school). This study supports anecdotal evidence of a rapid uptake of mobile phones by Indigenous adolescents. It also suggests that as the small screen technology of choice, they have the potential to be utilised for educational opportunities.

While needs analyses underpin the design of second language analytic syllabi, the methodologies undertaken are rarely examined. This paper explores the value of multiple data sources and collection methods for developing a needs analysis model to enable vocational education and training teachers to address the needs of Australian Aboriginal students from remote communities who speak Australian English as an additional language (EAL). Adopting a task-based approach to needs analysis, data were gathered from educators, students, potential employers and Aboriginal community members using interviews, observation and document collection. The findings highlight the benefits of a needs analysis for triangulating multiple data sources and methods to identify the actual target tasks, including social workplace interactions as well as cultural issues. These findings have implications for all language needs analyses, particularly for EAL students from non-Western cultures.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in high schools has had positive effects on the retention of Indigenous students, providing important pathways into further education and the workforce. However, low-level literacy (and numeracy) skills can make successful completion difficult, especially for students who speak Standard Australian English as an additional language or dialect. This article describes research undertaken to inform the development of a "second language and literacy needs analysis model" designed for high school VET teachers to address the needs of Indigenous students. The study draws on second language acquisition research, which demonstrates the value of using "tasks" as the basis for language teaching syllabus design, with "needs analysis" as a fundamental aspect of this. The project centred on Aboriginal high school VET students from remote and rural communities in Western Australia, who speak English as an additional language/dialect. Data collected included: individual and focus group interviews, training materials, and observation field notes on the language and literacy practices in classrooms and workplaces. The major findings focus on the development of oral language (for both job-oriented and social interactions in the workplace) and literacy skills, as well as the need to overcome "shame" and develop confidence for speaking to non-Aboriginal people.

Repeated assessments of literacy skills have shown that Aboriginal students do not achieve at the same level as their non-Aboriginal peers. Many Aboriginal students speak Aboriginal English, a dialect different from the Standard Australian English used in schools. Research shows that it is crucial for educators in bidialectal contexts to be aware of students' home language and to adopt appropriate educational responses. For over a decade, the ABC of "Two-Way Literacy and Learning Professional Development Program" has sought to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students in Western Australia. By promoting a two-way bidialectal approach to learning, Aboriginal English is valued, accommodated and used to bridge to learning in Standard Australian English. This paper draws on a large research project, which used qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of the on-going professional development for teachers. It reports on the attitudes and understandings of teachers, with and without professional development and working in different contexts. (Contains 4 tables and 1 endnote.)