Abstract:
Service learning is a well-established pedagogy which provides beneficial experiential learning opportunities (Kolb and Kolb, 2005, Butin, 2010). The expectation of such placements is that students will develop skills in cultural competence which will equip them to take their place as global citizens.
There is no one definition of cultural competence but it is seen as a cumulative, progressive and non-sequential process that requires the development of critical thinking and critical self-reflection skills (Cross et al. 1989, Ranzin et al. 2004, Perso 2012, Wells 2000, Universities Australia 2010).
Embedding cultural competency into service learning programs is not without contention. Much of the literature about service learning is written from a White hegemonic standpoint which privileges the perspective of the academy and focuses more on the students’ learning and less on the impact and benefit for the host communities. Attention to critical issues of service learning are essential if we are to progress beyond cultural awareness, which educates people about peoples, cultures and histories (Downing and Kowal, 2011, Fredericks, 2006), but fails to assist students to develop a full range of cultural competence skills.
This is particularly true for placements in the Indigenous Australian context where a cultural competence framework should capture a decolonising lens (Fredericks, 2006). Such a framework would require students and educators to not only develop a greater knowledge of Indigenous peoples, histories, cultures and statistics but also to develop an understanding of white race privilege; white advantage and Indigenous disadvantage within Australian society and their position within this structure (Fredericks 2006). This can be a challenge when many students and staff have had little or no experience of working in Indigenous contexts (Jackson et al, 2013, Ranzin et al. 2004). Additionally, Universities have a responsibility to ensure that students are well prepared prior to their placements in order to ensure cultural safety and the well-being of both the student and the community in which they are placed (Jackson et al. 2013).
This paper will identify and discuss key critical issues that are informing the development of a new model of service learning programs in the Australian Indigenous context.
There is no one definition of cultural competence but it is seen as a cumulative, progressive and non-sequential process that requires the development of critical thinking and critical self-reflection skills (Cross et al. 1989, Ranzin et al. 2004, Perso 2012, Wells 2000, Universities Australia 2010).
Embedding cultural competency into service learning programs is not without contention. Much of the literature about service learning is written from a White hegemonic standpoint which privileges the perspective of the academy and focuses more on the students’ learning and less on the impact and benefit for the host communities. Attention to critical issues of service learning are essential if we are to progress beyond cultural awareness, which educates people about peoples, cultures and histories (Downing and Kowal, 2011, Fredericks, 2006), but fails to assist students to develop a full range of cultural competence skills.
This is particularly true for placements in the Indigenous Australian context where a cultural competence framework should capture a decolonising lens (Fredericks, 2006). Such a framework would require students and educators to not only develop a greater knowledge of Indigenous peoples, histories, cultures and statistics but also to develop an understanding of white race privilege; white advantage and Indigenous disadvantage within Australian society and their position within this structure (Fredericks 2006). This can be a challenge when many students and staff have had little or no experience of working in Indigenous contexts (Jackson et al, 2013, Ranzin et al. 2004). Additionally, Universities have a responsibility to ensure that students are well prepared prior to their placements in order to ensure cultural safety and the well-being of both the student and the community in which they are placed (Jackson et al. 2013).
This paper will identify and discuss key critical issues that are informing the development of a new model of service learning programs in the Australian Indigenous context.