Sam Osborne

At The Heart of Learning (Series: Paper 2 of 4): Witulya mulapa nganana mantjintjaku: From cultural devastation to cultural re-invention

For remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities, the world has changed completely and irrevocably in the space of a lifetime. Drawing on Jonathan Lears (2006) Radical Hope, the authors highlight the comparative struggles outlined in Lears reflection on the life of Crow Indian chief Plenty Coups. For Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara people), the same question that confronted Plenty Coups arises: “How can Anangu pursue a ‘virtuous’ Anangu existence in a world where ‘being Anangu’ no longer ‘makes any sense’?” The authors explore the possibilities of choosing cultural re-invention over resigning to a sense of “the end” and consider how the recognition and retention of long-held values might benefit the broader experience of education, rather than be considered as a barrier or constraint to “success”.

At the heart of learning (series: paper 1 of 4): Putuna kulini: the trouble with “hearing”

Remote Indigenous school principals find themselves caught in the middle of system priorities and demands, the demands of running complex and busy local schools, and the expectations and needs of the local community. Remote communities often complain that they are not being listened to or “heard”, but the process of listening, hearing and understanding in the complex cultural context of remote Aboriginal communities is far more complex than a visit or a single conversation can achieve. This paper examines the clash between values, perspectives and worldviews that is played out on a daily basis as schools go about their business of educating whilst also attempting to take account of what is important for the communities they work in. This work highlights the need for remote principals and educators to reposition themselves in the dialogue with communities in order to allow room for a new conversation that gets to the “heart of learning”.

At the heart of learning (series: paper 4 of 4):Kuranyu- kutu nyakula nyaan nyanganyi? Imagining the future

Mainstream Australian society tends to assume that the purposes of schooling and aspirations that school should enable are universal and roundly accepted. The authors of this paper examine the issues with these assumptions and consider what “imagined futures” (Nakata, 2007a) mean for young people in Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara) schools and communities today. They pose the question, “How might remote educators enable a space for re-imagining the future on Anangu terms and what potential does remote education offer in this regard?” This paper emphasizes the strong self-determination stance and action that is required by Anangu in both articulating Anangu values in the education process and in instilling a positive perspective about the opportunities for young people into the future. The authors also interrogate the role of Piranpa (non-Indigenous) remote educators in how they might position themselves for student imagination, aspiration and hope, pointing students back to the intergenerational capacities that are critical in this regard.

At the heart of learning (series: Paper 3 of 4): Kurunta kanyintja: Holding knowledge in our spirit

In recent years, Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara) education and remote education more broadly have strongly focused attention on key areas such as attendance and literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Remote schools have implemented a number of policies, programmes and strategies, but national statistics show that student attainment remains “behind” and the “gap” is increasing on these measures. In this paper, the authors explore the key ingredients that build confidence and “open the spirit” of young Anangu students to be receptive to acquire new knowledge as they encounter new and unfamiliar experiences in school. In order to achieve this, remote educators need to consider the role of family members and the intergenerational learning environment that cements knowledge deep within the spirit. Educators are encouraged to consider the critical tools and processes required to acquire “codes of power” (Delpit, 1993), building mastery and confidence in the Western social context of schools and mainstream society.

Hearing the voice of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander training stakeholders using research methodologies and theoretical frames of reference

Abstract Researchers in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts within Australia are frequently faced with the challenges of working in an intercultural space where channels of communication are garbled with interference created by the complexities of misunderstood worldviews, languages, values and expectations. A concern of many researchers in these contexts is to ensure that the voices of research participants in remote communities are not only accurately represented, but are allowed to transcend the noise of dominant paradigms, policies and practices. This article brings together the experiences of four non-indigenous researchers in the space of remote vocational education and training. The authors present two vignettes from research in the context of health, employment and education. These vignettes highlight some of the conundrums for researchers as they attempt to harmonize the aims of research with the expectations of organizations involved. The purpose of the article is to explore the utility of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Indigenist methodologies, culturally responsive methodologies and those positioned at the ‘cultural interface’ (Nakata 2007). In so doing this article makes some assessments about the fit of CRT methodologies for such contexts.

Kulini: Framing Ethical Listening and Power-Sensitive Dialogue in Remote Aboriginal Education and Research

Indigenous people often complain that they aren’t being listened to, that researchers, institutions and policy makers aren’t taking them seriously or listening properly to their concerns (Donald, 2016). In response, researchers, politicians and interested ‘others’ make commitments to do a better job. The language of ‘better listening’ is framed in terms such as to ‘listen deeply’ (Kohn, 2016; Wallace & Lovell, 2009), or listen ‘truly’ (Snowden, 2017), and in some cases, notions of ‘listening’ as opposed to ‘hearing’ as an act of good faith in responding to Indigenous peoples’ concerns is argued (Davis, 2016). As an ‘outsider’ working in Indigenous research, it is a primary concern to respectfully engage with, interpret, and ultimately, represent the voices and concerns of Indigenous people as ethically and truthfully as possible within a broader understanding of the limitations on us to do so well, if at all. In reality, this is a precarious negotiation at the best of times and requires careful ethical/methodological consideration to better represent claims that research is ultimately beneficial to participants and the communities they represent. This paper adopts the Pitjantjatjara language term ‘kulini’ (listen to, hear) to mark out the terms of ‘ethical listening’ at the cultural interface (Nakata, 2007a) through an Aboriginal language lens. Ethical responsibilities for initiating dialogue towards action is then developed as a model based on Delpit’s (1993) framing of ethical listening and action in educating ‘other people’s children’. Working from the kulini frame provides methodological cues that can orient research towards justice and more just possibilities. Introduction Indigenous people across the globe are frustrated that they aren’t being listened to, that researchers, institutions and policy makers aren’t listening or responding to their concerns (Donald, 2016). Commitments to listen beyond cursory, power-laden interactions are described in terms such as ‘better listening’ or to ‘listen deeply’ (Kohn, 2016; UngunmerrBaumann, 2002; Wallace & Lovell, 2009), or to listen ‘truly’ (Snowden, 2017). Some have debated the importance of ‘hearing’ as an ethical commitment beyond merely listening in responding to Indigenous peoples’ concerns (Davis, 2016). This paper presents methodological questions that arose in the course of my doctoral thesis (Osborne, 2016) where I endeavoured to privilege Anangu (Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaatjatjarra and Ngaanyatjarra) voices in education dialogue across communities in the tristate area of remote Central Australia (the region where the states of South Australia, Western 27 Learning Communities | Special Issue: Decolonising Research Practices | Number 22 – December 2017 Australia and the Northern Territory meet). Globally, Indigenous scholars have repeatedly raised concerns regarding colonialist approaches to Indigenous research that ultimately diminish, even silence Indigenous voices, knowledges and aspirations (Bishop, 2011; Nakata, 2007b; Rigney, 1999; Sarra, 2011; Smith, 1999; Wilson & Yellow Bird, 2005) leading to ethical questions of research and justice. Others question whether power-laden methodologies are at all reliable in working towards any sense of ‘truth’ (Haraway, 2004; Harding, 1992). I have previously highlighted issues with outsider researchers’ attempts to ‘listen’ and ‘hear’ across points of power, epistemological and language difference in remote Aboriginal communities (Osborne, 2013, 2014, 2015a; Osborne & Guenther, 2013). In this paper, I propose working from the Pitjantjatjara language term ‘kulini’ (listen/hear) to frame a more culturally and contextually responsive (Guenther, 2015; Perso, 2012) methodological approach. In doing so, research must take account of the epistemological, ontological, axiological and cosmological contexts of the voices that are attempting to be heard. I then propose a model for informing institutional commitments to power-sensitive dialogue and ultimately, approaches to positioning research towards ‘more-just’ (Brennan & Zipin, 2008) possibilities.

‘Red Dirt’ Schools and Pathways into Higher Education

Since 2011 the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s (CRC-REP) Remote Education Systems (RES) project has investigated aspects of remote schooling with a view to uncovering ways that outcomes for remote students and their families could be improved. One of the key questions driving the research was ‘what is education for in remote communities?’ The bulk of responses from remote Aboriginal respondents discussed the need for education to maintain language and culture, and build strong identities in young people. Very few respondents suggested that school was a stepping stone on a pathway to higher education. The question remains then, ‘what kinds of pathways would enable remote learners to progress to university and then to succeed?’ The answers we provide to this question are in part drawn from the RES research findings. But we also propose responses that are built on principles that emerge from the project. We look forward to consider how remote education systems could respond to give young people with aspirations for higher education the opportunities they need to succeed. The answers we provide recognise the complexity of the context. In particular, we provide a critique of boarding school strategies and suggest – in line with RES findings – strategies and approaches that are responsive to both the aspirations stated by community members for the future of the youth and the community.

Cultural Capacity and Development; the case for flexible, interdisciplinary research in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities

Policies in relation to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities tend to adopt a logic of intervention, where current policy discourse has been narrowed to measures of school attendance, workforce participation and community safety (see Gordon, 2015). In this context, culture is sometimes viewed as unimportant, or even a problem to be overcome within efforts to ‘Close the Gap’ (Abbott, 2015) between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians. This paper draws on the work of Arjun Appadurai, who argues that strengthening cultural capacity, more specifically, the ‘capacity to aspire’ and ‘voice’ (Appadurai, 2004, p. 66) generates future-oriented thinking, foundational to notions of development. Two case studies are shared as examples of remote community research methodology in practice and where the logic of strengthening cultural capacity has been applied. In each case, this approach has required flexibility, working across research disciplines, and complex negotiations across points of significant epistemological difference as local voices and aspirations are privileged. Methodological adjustments are required and negotiated for strengthening local voices, language and conceptual development in each case, and the emergence of a language of aspiration and future thinking informs the analysis. Finally, in arguing for institutional structures that might assist in strengthening cultural capacity in remote communities, the concept of a tristate hub is proposed. Such a model offers potential for ‘decolonial knowledge-making’ (Nakata et al., 2012) and pursuing research-informed social and economic justice in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Futures in primary science education – connecting students to place and ecojustice

After providing a background to futures thinking in science, and exploring the literature around transdisciplinary approaches to curriculum, we present a futures pedagogy. We detail case studies from a year-long professional learning action research project during which primary school teachers developed curriculum for the Anthropocene, focusing on the topic of fresh water. Why fresh water? Living in South Australia—the driest state in the driest continent—water is a scarce and precious resource, and our main water supply, the River Murray, is in trouble. Water is an integral part of Earth’s ecosystem and plays a vital role in our survival (Flannery, 2010; Laszlo, 2014). Water literacy therefore has a genuine and important place in the school curriculum. Working with teachers and their students, the Water Literacies Project provided an ideal opportunity to explore a range of pedagogical approaches and practices which connect students to their everyday world, both now and in their possible futures, through place-based learning. We describe the use of futures scenario writing in an issues-based transdisciplinary curriculum unit on the theme of Water, driven by Year 5 teachers and their students from three primary schools: two located on the River Murray and one near metropolitan Adelaide. All three schools focused on a local wetland. The research was informed by teacher interviews, student and teacher journals, student work samples, and teacher presentations at workshops and conferences. We report on two aspects of the project: (1) the implementation of futures pedagogy, including the challenges it presented to the teachers and their students and (2) an emerging analysis of students’ views of the future and implications for further work around the futures pedagogical framework. Personal stories in relation to water, prior knowledge on the nature of water, experiential excursions to learn about water ecology and stories that examine the cultural significance of water—locally and not so locally—are featured (Lloyd, 2011; Paige & Lloyd, 2016). The outcome of our project is the development of comprehensive adventurous transdisciplinary units of work around water and connection to local place.

The relationality of race in education research

This edited collection examines the ways in which the local and global are key to understanding race and racism in the intersectional context of contemporary education. Analysing a broad range of examples, it highlights how race and racism is a relational phenomenon, that interconnects local, national and global contexts and ideas. The current educational climate is subject to global influences and the effects of conservative, hyper-nationalist politics and neoliberal economic rationalising in local settings that are creating new formations of race and racism. While focused predominantly on Australia and southern world or settler colonial contexts, the book aims to constructively contribute to broader emerging research and debates about race and education. Through the adoption of a relational framing, it draws the Australian context into the global conversation about race and racism in education in ways that challenge and test current understandings of the operation of race and racism in contemporary social and educational spaces. Importantly, it also pushes debates about race and racism in education and research to the foreground in Australia where such debates are typically dismissed or cursorily engaged. The book will guide readers as they navigate issues of race in education research and practice, and its chapters will serve as provocations designed to assist in critically understanding this challenging field. It reaches beyond education scholarship, as concerns to do with race remain intertwined with wider social justice issues such as access to housing, health, social/economic mobility, and political representation.