(2018). "If We Lose Their Language We Lose Our History": Knowledge and Disposition in Maori Language Acquisition Policy. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v17 n2 p69-84. Localising knowledge and dispositions helps to predict the likely success of top-down language policies. In so far as language acquisition is a pillar of language revitalisation policy, then community perspectives on learning a minority language deserve attention. This article presents the knowledge, dispositions, and ideas of around 1,300 indigenous and non-indigenous university students in New Zealand about learning te reo Maori as public policy. The article analyses the students' level of agreement to a series of propositions about language acquisition policy, and the epistemic and dispositional stances they took in their free-text commentary to describe the rationale for learning te reo Maori, how and where acquisition occurs, who should learn the language and to what extent, what policy should deliver, and what policy changes are needed. The article concludes that the knowledge and dispositions of the students are at odds with government policy and traditional tenets of language… [Direct]
(2015). The Common Core Initiative, Education Outcomes, and American Indian/Alaska Native Students: Observations and Recommendations. Center on Standards and Assessments Implementation This monograph explores the ways in which large-scale school reform efforts play out in American Indian/Alaska Native communities and schools, starting from a historical and cultural perspective, and focusing on the translation of research into concrete steps leading to American Indian/Alaska Native student academic success and personal well-being…. [PDF]
(2017). "Que Luchen por sus Intereses" (To Fight for Your Interests): Unearthing Critical Counter-Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Parents. Journal of Latinos and Education, v16 n3 p243-262. This article reports on findings from a year-long research project conducted during the 2012-2013 school year in a PK-12 school district, located in the Mountain West region of the United States, utilizing the Photovoice method. The findings in the project point to the important critical counter-narratives Spanish-speaking immigrant parents present to the larger school community when given the opportunity to have their voices and perspectives heard and recorded in written form. The article provides teachers, counselors, administrators, and support staff in schools and school districts with insight into the hopes and aspirations of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents and highlights educational practices that address issues of equity and access, as seen through the eyes of the participants in the study…. [Direct]
(2016). "Game Remains": A Platform Design Grounded in Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Dialogue and Composition Play. Educational Technology, v56 n3 p11-16 May-Jun. This article reviews the design and implementation of a game as an instrument for dialogue, both as a social tool and a shared interface for music performance. Beyond describing the design of "Game Remains," the article shares the details of an impact story of how an installation in Guelph's Musagetes Boarding House Arts in Canada has supported community action and transformation efforts…. [Direct]
(2016). Deploying the Post-Colonial Predicaments of Researching on/with "Asia" in Education: A Standpoint from a Rich Peripheral Country. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v37 n1 p70-88. Against the current infatuation with Asia in Australian education, this article rearticulates the notion of "Asia literacy" to explore new ways of researching on/with/through Asia. Drawing on the post-colonial critique of Western social science knowledge, I first demonstrate the problematic nature of Australian knowledge production on and with Asia in social science and education. And yet, I also highlight the contribution that Australian scholars have made to decolonizing knowledge work, with particular attention to their critique of internationalization of cultural studies in the 1990s. In so doing, I identify the particular epistemic standpoint of Australian scholarship, which has emerged out of its ambivalent location in the global politics of academic knowledge production. Then, I identify three types of engagement by Asian researchers with Western knowledge. Situating Australian education scholarship among them, I explore what "Asia literate" education… [Direct]
(2016). "Kia whakatomuri te haere whakamua": "I Walk Backwards into the Future with My Eyes Fixed on My Past". Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, v17 n4 p387-398 Dec. This "whakatauki" or "proverb" speaks to Maori perspectives of time, where the past, the present and the future are viewed as intertwined, and life as a continuous cosmic process. Within this continuous cosmic movement, time has no restrictions–it is both past and present. The past is central to and shapes both present and future identity. From this perspective, the individual carries their past into the future. The strength of carrying one's past into the future is that ancestors are ever present, existing both within the spiritual realm and in the physical, alongside the living as well as within the living. This article explores Maori perspectives of the past and the models and inspiration they offer. In this way, it provides a critique of the practices in early childhood education, highlighting the importance of cultural concepts and practices, and discusses implications for both teaching and academic practice…. [Direct]
(2016). Success for All: Eroding the Culture of Power in the One-to-One Teaching and Learning Context. International Journal of Music Education, v34 n3 p285-298 Aug. This study applied a cultural lens to the "expert-novice dyad" (Kennell, 2002, p. 243) and explored the learning experiences of indigenous minorities studying in this context. The purpose of this study was to gather narratives that reflected the nature of teaching practices in the one-to-one studio context. The resulting data presented more complex stories that described how indigenous and minority students participate in the conservatory learning culture. The narratives described strategies for overcoming educational and institutional obstacles, and outlined examples of social practices within their "learning culture" (Hodkinson, Biesta, & James, 2007, p. 419) that students had culturally modified in order to optimize their educational experience. The article examines the notions of critique, resistance, struggle and emancipation in a specific learning culture, a School of Music founded on the European conservatory model…. [Direct]
(2020). Eroding the Monolingual Monolith. Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics, v3 n1 p91-114. Australian schools are increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse places, and yet, the monolithic weight of the "monolingual mindset" (Clyne, 2008) still hulks at the centre of Australian education systems. Despite this, there is increasing recognition of the value of multilingualism, and the importance of incorporating students' home languages and multilingual abilities into teaching and learning. Teachers, teacher educators and curriculum developers seek guiding principles for multilingual approaches and examples of effective strategies which can be adapted and translated for diverse educational contexts. This paper suggests some principles which support effective multilingual pedagogy, illustrated with examples from students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EALD) and their teachers in two South Australian secondary schools. At a foundational level, a multilingual stance underpins the success of multilingual pedagogies. Attention to both… [PDF]
(2023). English as an International Language Education: Critical Intercultural Literacy Perspectives. English Language Education. Volume 33. English Language Education This volume provides an overview of current issues in English as an International Language (EIL) education and critical intercultural literacy pedagogy. The different chapters are inspired by 'critical interculturality' as a decolonial project that seeks to interrogate the structures, conditions, and mechanisms of colonial power relations that still pervade our increasingly globalising postcolonial societies; they tend to perpetuate forms of discrimination such as sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism and linguicism. Divided into five sections, this collection critically examines English Language Teaching textbooks' integration of intercultural dimensions, the promotion of intercultural literacy in teacher education programs, the management of cultural diversity in multicultural professional/business and educational situations, and the 'decolonisation' of the curriculum in various global educational and professional situations. The book presents a range of linguistic approaches as a… [Direct]
(2019). Realizing Mauli Ola through Workforce Development: Educational Resources for Advancing Social Justice through Indigenous Collaboration. Educational Perspectives, v50 n1 p30-39. Over the past forty years, considerable attention and funding has been spent to improve the health status of Kanaka ?Oiwi. While gains have been made, Kanaka 'Oiwi continue to experience an average life span ten years shorter than that of the general population (Wu et al. 2017). This is caused in part by non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases that affect Kanaka 'Oiwi at significantly higher rates than the general population (Native Hawaiian Databook 2017). Coupled with mental and behavioral health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, there are multiple health needs that require attention to improve the health of all Native Hawaiians throughout the lifespan. In addition to these physical and mental health factors, there are systemic barriers to achieving health equity. "The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the… [PDF]
(2017). Promoting Gypsy Children's Behavioural Engagement and School Success: Evidence from a Four-Wave Longitudinal Study. British Educational Research Journal, v43 n3 p554-571 Jun. Low schooling, high non-attendance and school dropout rates are critical phenomena within disadvantaged groups, especially among the Gypsy community. For example, in the UK, 10%-25% of Gypsy children do not attend school regularly and have significantly higher levels of overall absence from school (percentage of half-day sessions missed) than pupils from other ethnic groups. In Portugal, available data on Gypsy children is sparse, yet data from one geographic region of the country reports high school failure (45%) and dropout rates (15%) among this population. The present study assessed the efficacy of a four-year intervention to promote Gypsy children's behavioural engagement and school success. Gypsy communities were contacted and 30 children participating in the four waves were randomly distributed into control and experimental groups. Every school day throughout four years, 16 children in the experimental group were called at home and invited to go to school. The effectiveness of… [Direct]
(2017). Reconciliation Agendas in the Australian Curriculum English: Using Postcolonial Theory to Enter the Fray. English in Australia, v52 n3 p51-61. This article begins by discussing the Australian Curriculum: English and its remit to contribute to this nation's reconciliation agenda. Ever cognisant of our individual identities as non-Indigenous teachers and teacher educators and our relations to this topic, we hone in on one Content Description from Year 10, and analyse one stimulus text, an interview transcript between Michael Hohnen and Patrick Pittman. In the interview, Hohnen reflects on the long term collaborative relationship with Dr G. Yunupingu, a hailed musician from Galiwinku (Elcho Island), North East Arnhem Land. The theoretical grounding for thinking about these reflective recounts is drawn from a critical theory paradigm imbued with a postcolonial lens. Specifically, we draw on Bhabha's (1994) notion of cultural hybridity. Our analysis of this text points to the utility of using postcolonial theory for framing discussions of this ilk. We conclude by commenting on implications for non-Indigenous teachers and teacher… [Direct]
(2018). Caregivers and Service Providers' Perspectives on a Western Australian Aboriginal Community's 0-3 Years, Early Learning Programme. Early Child Development and Care, v188 n10 p1431-1441. A broad range of initiatives including early intervention programmes have been implemented in Australia to assist disadvantaged and at-risk Indigenous parents and children. This qualitative exemplar case study details the perspectives of caregivers and service providers of one such early learning intervention programme situated within the remote Mowanjum community in Western Australia. Twelve participants were interviewed and their transcript data were analysed thematically. The findings reveal participants maintained that the Mowanjum Early Learning Program provided psychological benefits for both the attending infants and their caregivers. Additionally, that the programme facilitated learning and skill development in the children, which in turn enhanced their preschool readiness. Finally, participants maintained that a further significant benefit of the programme was that it provided caregivers with a supportive and safe respite place in which they could socialize and engage with… [Direct]
(2018). Understanding the Behavioral Intention to Play Austronesian Learning Games: From the Perspectives of Learning Outcome, Service Quality, and Hedonic Value. Interactive Learning Environments, v26 n3 p372-385. Although ubiquitous learning is a novel and creative teaching approach, two key issues inhibit its success overall: a lack of appropriate learning strategies regarding learning objectives, and ineffective learning tools for receiving knowledge regarding the chosen subjects. To address these issues, we develops and designs a game-based educational app and an object-linked knowledge environment in order to help learners learn about Taiwan's Austronesian culture. 70 fifth-grade students are split into experimental and control groups to determine whether there are significant learning differences. For the experimental group, we use a questionnaire survey to assess students' learning condition and to measure their willingness to continue to use this app. The questionnaire examines mobile learning from the perspectives of service quality, hedonic value,and certain control variables. Service quality reliability is found to be the key factor driving learners' willingness to use the system…. [Direct]
(2017). Uncovering Youthspaces: Activist Voices, Productive, Materialist Methodologies, and Social Inquiry: An Introduction. Critical Questions in Education, v8 n4 spec iss p334-341 Fall. This article expands the discussion on youth activism, arguing for a new materialist conception of youthspaces. Centering this article around the concept of youthspaces, a term that refers to the agency, relationality and resistance engendered in youthspaces, the article urges that a new materialist understanding of youthspaces and youth studies, in particular, opens up new opportunities to observe how minoritized youth are making sense of education policy and practice as well as cultivating positive identities and affinities among each other in the context of education and social justice efforts…. [PDF]