Abstract:
Contemporary child-related policy discourses in First Nations contexts continue to overemphasise deficit and mainstreaming. Anthropological accounts rarely focus on children’s lives prior to school or child-and-family practices. Mediascapes perpetuate stereotypes with representations of ‘traditional’ practices that exotify and fail to engage with the complexity of contemporary young children’s lives. There is a current paucity of serious engagement with the early years of First Nations children’s lives prior to schooling.
What does it mean to be a Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi child today and what are the implications for early childhood education in remote communities? Based on research conducted by Australian National University with seven Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi community-based research collaborators from 2018 to 2022, this presentation suggests that Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi children are navigating a world with multiple intersecting layers of complexity. Yet, despite myriad external forces, societal sociocultural values remain central to their practices. What is revealed in this investigation is a nuanced understanding of contemporary childhoods in remote regions, to guide the transition from home to school. The presentation provides insights to inform early childhood educators and caregivers of the need to be more aware of the context of children’s everyday lives and the relevance of current service models for children living in remote communities by signalling the priorities and worldviews of Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi communities.
What does it mean to be a Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi child today and what are the implications for early childhood education in remote communities? Based on research conducted by Australian National University with seven Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi community-based research collaborators from 2018 to 2022, this presentation suggests that Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi children are navigating a world with multiple intersecting layers of complexity. Yet, despite myriad external forces, societal sociocultural values remain central to their practices. What is revealed in this investigation is a nuanced understanding of contemporary childhoods in remote regions, to guide the transition from home to school. The presentation provides insights to inform early childhood educators and caregivers of the need to be more aware of the context of children’s everyday lives and the relevance of current service models for children living in remote communities by signalling the priorities and worldviews of Ngaanyatjarra and Pintupi communities.