20161HAssessment2

102096ResearchingTeachingandLearning
18593424ChristopherTierney

Indigenouseducationhaslongbeenanafterthoughtforeducationalinstitutionsfromthestolen
generationtothe21stcentury.Severalsmallstepstowardsimprovementforeducational
equalityhavebeenmadebuttherearestillalargenumberofindigenousstudentsthatare
sufferingfromeducationaldisadvantageduetotheirlowsocioeconomicstatusandlackof
educationalaidstosuittheirneeds.Keddie(2014)presentsafocusseditemofresearchwhich
aimstojustifytheepistemologyofrelationalityapproachtoeducationforindigenousstudents.
Tracey,Craven,Yeung,Tregeagle,Burnstein,&Stanley(2015)provideamuchbroaderstudy
thataimstohighlighttheenvironmentalimplicationsoflearningandhowecologicalaspectsofa
classroomoreducationalinstitutioncanpromoteengagementwithlearning.Thegoalofthis
essayistodeterminethevalidityoftwoseparateresearcharticlesandwhetherindigenous
studentsbenefitmostlyfromtheepistemologyofrelationalityorifindigenousstudentswillbe
moreeducationallysuccessfulfromavarietyofsupportmechanisms.

Keddie(2014)presentsanarticlethatisbasedonaqualitativereviewofanalternativeschool
calledIndigoHouse.Thepurposeofthisresearchwastogatheraperspectiveofstaff
memberspersonalperspectivesonrelationalityandsocietalconnections.Keddie(2014)
highlightsthedisadvantageindigenousstudentsfaceinmainstreameducationandthe
inadequaciesofprovisionsforindigenousstudentsinAustraliaaswellasglobally.Theresearch
presentedbyTraceyet.al.(2015)isinasimilarvein,andaimedtoanalysetheimplementation
ofalternativelearningcentresinruralAustraliaforAboriginalstudents.Thefocusofthis
researchsurroundsthelearningenvironmentratherthanthepedagogicalorcurriculumfocusof
pastresearch.Keddie(2014)describesteachingasbecomingincreasinglynarrowand
prescriptive,andthateducationreducesindigenousdisadvantagetoculturaldifferencesrather
thananinstitutionalproblem.Keddie(2014)impressestheimportanceofrelationalityand
epistemologyonreaders.Inthiscontext,theepistemologyofrelationalityreferstohowpeople
createaselfidentitythroughtheirinteractionsandexperienceswithotherpeople.Traceyet.al.
(2015)arguesthatthereisanincreasingrealisationthatschoolbasedfactors,ratherthan
individualorfamilialcharacteristics,havealargeimpactoneducationaldisadvantage.Both
articlesreachedthesesimilarconclusionsthroughsimilarresultsanditisclearthatemphasisis

placedontheimportanceofsocialconnections,learningenvironments,andnotfocussedon
studentsasanissue.However,theeducationalsystemfordisadvantagedstudentsisslowto
progressandisnotadequateforindigenousstudents.

TheresearchconductedbytheauthorsofthesetwoarticlestakeplaceinamodernAustralian
societythathas,inthepast,neglectedindigenousaustralians(Moses2004).Thiscontextof
modernAustraliaisanimportantconsiderationwhenanalysingresearchthatisfocussedon
indigenousAustraliansthatareataneducationaldisadvantage.Contextually,Keddie(2014)
basedherarticlearoundIndigoHouse,whichisanalternativeeducationsourceforindigenous
studentsbasedinalargelowsocioeconomicsuburbanareaofQueensland.Traceyet.al.
(2015)informsthereaderthattherehasbeenanunprecedentedlevelofsupportforyoung
AboriginalAustralians.ThefocusoftheTraceyet.al.(2015)studyislocatedinaLearning
CentrecoordinatedbyBarnardosAustralia,centredinaninlandruralNewSouthWales
community.Traceyet.al.(2015)alsonotesthehighproportionofAboriginalAustraliansbased
inthatregionwith20%oftheshirepopulationconsistingofAboriginalAustralians.

Botharticlesappeartohavelocatedadiverserangeofliteraturethatisrelevanttoalternative
educationinindigenousstudents.Theauthorspresentresearchthatcontainsbothpositiveand
negativeaspectsofisolatedindigenouseducation,leadingtoamorebalancedargument.The
literaturethatKeddie(2014)presentswithherresearchisinalocalandaglobalcontext.The
CoolangattaStatementisaconstantpresencewithinthearticle,whichhighlightsthe
inadequaciesforindigenouspeopleinAustraliaandaroundtheworld,aswellastherightsfor
indigenouspersonsineducation(Read,Meyers&Reece2006).Casestudiesthathighlightthe
effectivenessofalternativeeducationforindigenousstudentsinNewZealand(Smith,2003)and
theUSA(Graham,2012Kim,2011)arealsopresentintheliteraturereview.Theseresearch
articlesbringtolighttheimportanceofselfdeterminationandidentityasanimportantaspectof
alternativeeducation.Traceyet.al.(2015)focustheirliteraturereviewaroundAustralian
researchasitdirectlyrelatestoAboriginalAustraliansandtheeffectenvironmentaland
ecologicalfactorsinalternativecommunitybasededucationhaveonindigenousAustralians.
ThisisdifferentfromliteratureprovidedbyKeddie(2014)thatfocussesondifferentcasestudies
ofindigenousculturesandalternativeeducationandtheeffectrelationalityhasonthose
indigenousstudents.Shedoesmakenoteoftheweaknessesofselfdetermination.The
principlesofthesealternativeeducationinstitutionscanpromoteanegativeimageastheycan

beseenasadumpinggroundandthatthestudentscanhavetheirnegativebehaviour
reinforcedastheyperceivethemselvestobesocialoutcasts.However,thisisnotsomething
acknowledgedintheliteraturereviewbyTraceyet.al.(2015).Botharticlesareclearintheir
researchbuthaveneglectedtoincludesomeareasofresearchthatrequiremoreindepth
analysis,suchastheperceptionofalternativeeducationschemesasdumpinggrounds.

Theresearchprocessdocumentedbybotharticleswasdifferentinanumberofcontrasting
ways.ThequalitativeresearchconductedbyKeddie(2014)involveslooselystructured
interviewswithschoolstaffandstudentsatIndigoHouse.However,mostofthefocusisplaced
onthefourmostlyanonymousinterviewees.Theinterviewquestionsarenotincludedinthe
appendicesanditisunclearwhetherallresponsesfromtheintervieweesarepresented.

This
methodofresearchislimitedinitscapacity,asitiscondensedintoareviewofasingleschool
andsheonlypresentstheresultsoffourstaffmemberinterviewsoutoftheunknownother
amountofinterviewsthatwereclaimedtobeconducted.Incontrast,Traceyet.al.(2015)
describesthedatacollectionprocessinextensivedetail.Theirresearchwasbasedon
postinterventionqualitativemethodology,meaningthattheauthorsconductedtheirresearch
afterparticipantshadtakenpartintheresearchthattheauthorswereinvestigating.Participants
fromtheBarnadosLearningCentrewerepartofsemistructuredinterviewsandfocusgroups.
Overallthegroupofparticipantswasmuchlargerthanthegroupparticipatinginthegroup
arrangedbyKeddie(2014),givingagreaterrangeofresponsesfromdifferentagegroups,
howeveronlyindigenouspersonsinterviewedwhichmayhavegivenadifferentresulttoKeddie
(2014).GiventhedrawbacksofthedifferentmethodsusedbybothKeddie(2014)andTracey
et.al.(2015),itappearsthat,ideally,furtherresearchwoulduseamixedmethodsapproachto
gainabetteroverallresultfromthistypeofresearch,asnosingularapproachisadequatefor
examiningallareasofeducation(Gall,M.,Gall,J.,&Borg,2015)..

Despitethedifferencesbetweenthetwomethodologiesandtherangeofparticipants,the
resultsofthetwopiecesofresearcharenotdissimilar.Keddie(2014)framedtheresultsofthe
interviewsunderthethemesofindigenousculturalidentityandrelationality.Thesethemeswere
reinforcedintheliteraturethatKeddie(2014)hasreviewed.Theresultsindicatedthatthe
educationalenvironmentandsocialinteractionsreducedproblematicareasforindigenous
studentsthatwereconsideredatrisk.Atriskstudentsareindigenousstudentsthataremore
likelytonotcompletehighschoolandparticipateindangerousbehaviour.However,she

recognisesandconcludesthattheepistemologyofrelationalityfailstocompletelytraversethe
issuesindigenousAustraliansfaceineducation,andthatitshouldbeusedinconjunctionwith
othersolutionsasasharedschoolvisiontosupporttheendeavourtoequality.Traceyet.al.
(2015)presentedtheirresultsinaformatofrecommendationsandthemespresentedby
participants,asimprovementsthatcouldbemadetotheireducationalenvironment.These
includedbutwerenotlimitedto:oneononeattention,positiverelationshipswithadults,and
staffmembersbeingpartofthesamecommunity.TheseresultsalignwithKeddie(2014)and
confirmtheimportanceofsocialrelationshipsandemployeesbelongingtoalocalindigenous
collective.ParticipantsinTraceyet.al.(2015)weremostlysupportiveofthelearningcentres,
withtheexceptionofparentsthatstafffounddifficulttoengagewith.Thiswasacknowledgedby
theauthorstobeathemethatrequiresfurtherinvestigation.Traceyet.al.(2015)alsoreached
asimilarconclusiontoKeddie(2014)thatlearningcentresaimedatoneculturalbackground
fosterculturalexclusivityandotherness.Thiswasalsoreflectedinresearchconductedby
Graham(2012),ONions(2010),McnultyandRoseboro(2009)

Thetworesearcharticlesdiscussedbothhavesimilarimplicationsforteaching.Theresultsand
conclusionofKeddie(2014)showthatitisclearthatindigenousidentityisanimportantaspect
ofindigenousstudentslearning,andbeingsociallyconnectedtoteachersappearstogenerate
betterperformanceandattendanceforatriskstudents.However,thisisnotalwaysachievable,
asindigenousteachersareaminoritywithintheteachingworkforce,andareestimatedto
represent1.2%ofworkingteachers(AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderteacherworkforce
analysis,2014).Thiscanalsocreateanexclusionaryenvironment,andKeddie(2014)states
thattheexclusiveuseofindigenousteachersandstaffhasbeenrejectedbytheorists
(McConaghy,2000).Sherelaystheideathatbiodeterminism,theideathatapersons
behaviouriscontrolledbytheirgeneticmakeup(Naiman,2012),isnotanindicatorfora
personssuccessinapositionjustbecauseapersonisconsideredindigenousdoesnotmean
thattheyarenecessarilythebestcandidateforaleadershipposition(Spivak,1990).This
highlightsthatselfdeterminismandrelationalityisnotanecessitybutindigenousteachingstaff
shouldbechosenforthesealternativeeducationcentresiftheywillbeusefultodisadvantaged
studentsandincreaserelationalitytohaveapositiveeffect(McConaghy,2000).Asaresulta
cultureofempathyandindigenousculturallearningshouldbecreatedwithinnonindigenous
staffmembersasitisunrealistictoexcludenonindigenousstafffromalternativeeducation
institutions.Traceyet.al.(2015)indicatestheimplicationsoftheirresearchasimportantfor

understandinghowbesttodesignanddeliveralternativelearningsolutionsforstudentswho
maybeatriskofleavingthemainstreamschoolingsectorlaterintheirschoollife.However,
Traceyet.al.(2015)deducedthatallstudentswouldbenefitfrommainstreameducationthat
hasbeenadjustedtobemoreinclusiveofculturalandlearningdiversity.Theauthorsalso
determinedthatthestudentswhoparticipatedinalternativelearningcentreshadapositive
experience,withtheirexperiencesinvolvinglearningattheirownpace.Thisechoesother
alternativeschoolingresearchwhichidentifiedthatstudentsvaluedteacherswhoprovided
adequatetimeandassistance(McGregor&Mills2012).WhileTraceyet.al.(2015)focussedon
youngerschoolagestudents,thestudyrevealedthat,liketheirolderpeers,youngerstudents
preferredcommunitybasedalternativelearningtobepreferabletomainstreamschool.
Transportingstudentstoandfromthesealternativelearningcentreswasalsoanindicationfor
futureteachingpractices,asitencouragesandenforcesstudentattendance.Thisresearch
highlightsthatlargerscalelearningcentresmaybelessbeneficialtowardsindigenousstudents
learning,astheresearchreviewedaboveshowsthatindividualised,communitybasedlearning
appearstohaveagreaterimpactinimprovingeducationalequalitywithinhighindigenous
populationruralcommunities.

Theoverarchingthemesofselfdetermination,relationalityandenvironmentalcontrolinthetwo
researcharticlesrevealhowindigenousstudentsinthemodernAustralianeducationsystem
canbenefitandexcelinalternativelearningenvironments.Thisessaydeterminedthatthese
themesarenotmutuallyexclusive,and,whenworkinginconjunctionwitheachother,theylead
toevengreaterstudentimprovement.However,itisimportanttorememberthatthese
alternativelearningcentresshouldnotbeexclusionaryandshouldbewelcomingtostudents
fromallcultures,otherwiseitmayleadtoagreaterculturaldivide.Botharticlesreachedsimilar
conclusions:thatthesepracticesarenotindependentandshouldworkconcurrentlywithother
programstoreachabetteroutcomeforindigenousstudents.Toencouragefurthereducational
developmentschemes,moreresearchshouldbeconductedtoidentifyhowindigenousstudents
canbeaidedtoreachequalitywiththeirnonindigenouspeers.

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