Abstract:
Working together to find solutions to complex needs within Indigenous communities is imperative. This presentation by researcher and community member documents the journey undertaken thus far of how people in two communities gave voice to what they wanted in an alternate model of education for the youth in their community and how these needs correlate with five characteristics the literature suggests is important.
Learning opportunities for adolescents in Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw, two Aboriginal communities on Cape York in Queensland, are varied. Not all adolescents in the communities meet the requirements of the mainstream learning pathway. For those adolescents disengaged from these mainstream pathways, other alternatives are needed.
This PhD study aimed to co-design an alternate model of education to meet the developmental needs of remote Indigenous adolescents. The specific needs in each location were identified and considered alongside the systematic literature review findings to inform the co-design of an alternate model that could meet the needs specific to the community.
Community Based Participatory Research was the chosen methodology to work with adolescents, families and service providers. Co-design and Grounded Theory methods of data collection and analysis were drawn upon in yarning circles and interviews to glean information through stages of the project including: Determining specific needs of the community, conducting a systematic literature review of characteristics that are found in alternate models of education for remote Indigenous adolescents, comparing the needs of the community with the systematic literature review to identify what the community wanted in their model, then using this data to co-design what a model could look like in the community.
While there is very little literature about working models of alternate education in remote Indigenous communities, the evidence found in the systematic review provides five characteristics found in existing alternate models that closely aligned with what adolescents and their families were saying as their requirements for an alternate model of education. This presentation documents the engagement with community, adaptations required in each individual context and the approach to working cross culturally through the research journey.
Learning opportunities for adolescents in Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw, two Aboriginal communities on Cape York in Queensland, are varied. Not all adolescents in the communities meet the requirements of the mainstream learning pathway. For those adolescents disengaged from these mainstream pathways, other alternatives are needed.
This PhD study aimed to co-design an alternate model of education to meet the developmental needs of remote Indigenous adolescents. The specific needs in each location were identified and considered alongside the systematic literature review findings to inform the co-design of an alternate model that could meet the needs specific to the community.
Community Based Participatory Research was the chosen methodology to work with adolescents, families and service providers. Co-design and Grounded Theory methods of data collection and analysis were drawn upon in yarning circles and interviews to glean information through stages of the project including: Determining specific needs of the community, conducting a systematic literature review of characteristics that are found in alternate models of education for remote Indigenous adolescents, comparing the needs of the community with the systematic literature review to identify what the community wanted in their model, then using this data to co-design what a model could look like in the community.
While there is very little literature about working models of alternate education in remote Indigenous communities, the evidence found in the systematic review provides five characteristics found in existing alternate models that closely aligned with what adolescents and their families were saying as their requirements for an alternate model of education. This presentation documents the engagement with community, adaptations required in each individual context and the approach to working cross culturally through the research journey.