Charles, Walkie; Coles-Ritchie, Marilee (2011). Indigenizing Assessment Using Community Funds of Knowledge: A Critical Action Research Study. Journal of American Indian Education, v50 n3 p26-41. In light of attempts to build a stronger appreciation for knowledge that is often constructed by the dominant Western culture's standards, this article focuses on the efforts to create agency among classroom teachers who teach in rural Alaskan schools. In discussions around the theories of assessment–the focal point of a summer course examined herein–the seven teachers in this group gained agency and ownership to begin making critical changes toward assessment practices among Yup'ik children in Alaska. Using data collected through student and teacher dialogic reflections, field notes from the classroom, and individual construction of portfolios, the teachers combined elements of funds of knowledge and authentic assessment to reconstruct ways of assessing students' Yup'ik language development and English based on Indigenous ways of learning. The article demonstrates how teachers indigenized assessment by "drawing on the power of their place" to align assessments to the… [Direct]

Bogotch, Ira; Schoorman, Dilys; Sena, Rachel (2013). Sister R. Leadership: Doing the Seemingly Impossible. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, v16 n2 p33-43 Jun. Sister R., the first author, is a Dominican Sister of Peace. Until recently, Sister R. had been the director of the Maya Ministry Family Literacy Program, working with the Maya Community in Lake Worth, Palm Beach County, Florida. She described her work with these indigenous, preliterate, hardworking peoples as "a university of the poor" in which "I do community." She worked tirelessly and lived among a largely "invisible" community, but what she thought and did–as a leader–made the seemingly impossible possible. These case stories will describe how she brought leadership capabilities to indigenous, preliterate peoples, a seemingly impossible accomplishment when leadership is defined by traditional assumptions of power and literacy. As authors, we wrote these case stories specifically for the field of educational leadership, which urgently needs to develop new ideas and practices on how to integrate social justice into "everyday" school… [Direct]

Lipe, Daniel J. (2013). Diversifying Science: Recognizing Indigenous Knowledge Systems as Scientific Worldviews. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hawai'i at Manoa. In this dissertation I examine Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and Western science, critically analyzing the underlying values of each, and exploring ways in which both systems can be utilized side by side. In general, Western science has arguably become the worldview utilized in dealing with the many complex multi-level issues of today. Research has shown that as issues increase in both size and complexity, so does the need for cultural and intellectual diverse frames of reference for identifying solutions to problems. By necessity Indigenous peoples have developed their own science-based understandings of the world. Passed on through oral traditions, Indigenous peoples have both maintained and expanded their understandings over time. Until recently Indigenous worldviews have been forcefully removed and placed outside of the realm of science. Focusing on Indigenous stories as scientific knowledge-wells and storytelling as a vital means of transmitting that knowledge, I discuss… [Direct]

Soltys, Matt (2011). Unsettling Ourselves: Some Thoughts on Non-Native Participation in Decolonization Work. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, v23 n2 p4-5 Win. The ecological impact of colonialism is inextricable from empire building, industrialism, large-scale deforestation, and agriculture. Not long ago one could safely drink from nearly every lake, river, stream, and spring, and one could hunt animals as a part of intact ecosystems. Today's world is very different. Colonization alters the reality through one's language and sense of place. Learning the history of the Saugeen Ojibway or the Algonquins, referring to the area as the Saugeen rather than the Bruce Peninsula, and learning how one can assist these nations' reparations is one way of decolonizing the language and sense of place. Decolonizing people's minds has a lot to do with outdoor education work, which has deep roots in ecology and bioregionalism. The author shares some thoughts on non-native participation in decolonization work. (Contains 1 footnote.)… [PDF]

Santoro, Ninetta (2015). The Drive to Diversify the Teaching Profession: Narrow Assumptions, Hidden Complexities. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v18 n6 p858-876. In response to increasing cultural diversity within student populations in Australia as well as Britain, Europe and North America, there have been ongoing calls to diversify the teaching profession. Such a strategy is based on assumptions that teachers who are of ethnic and racial minority are well placed to act as role models for minority students, will understand students' cultural practices and beliefs and how they shape them as learners, and will contribute diverse cultural perspectives to school curricula. In this article I draw on data from two separate studies that investigated the experiences of culturally diverse teachers working in Australian schools. I illustrate how the participants are constructed, first and foremost, as ethnic and racialised teacher subjects, a positioning that shapes the nature of their work and professional identities. I suggest that the work of racially and ethnically diverse teachers and the construction of their professional selves are underpinned… [Direct]

Allen, Louisa (2014). Don't Forget, Thursday Is Test[icle] Time! The Use of Humour in Sexuality Education. Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, v14 n4 p387-399. Sexuality and humour share a fraught relationship at school, so that how humour might be productively employed in sexuality education constitutes a "risky" consideration. This paper explores the role of humour in sexuality education as observed in a Year 9 New Zealand health class. Adding to existing literature emphasising students' use of humour at school, it also considers how teachers might productively mobilise humour in the classroom. Findings reveal that while humour serves established purposes for students such as consolidating heterosexual masculinities, securing peer group hierarchies and disrupting learning agendas, it may hold other pedagogically productive possibilities. Potential uses include the relief of monotony, engaging with the needs of particular cultural groups of students, reinforcing taught information and reducing apprehension around potentially uncomfortable topics. Via this empirical exploration of the mobilisation of humour, the paper endeavours… [Direct]

McKechnie, Jay (2015). Education as Reconciliation: Resorting Inuit Nunangat. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, v4 n1 p56-67. Education is stated as the number one priority of the Government of Nunavut's "Sivumiut Abluqta" mandate. The Nunavut education system is seen by many as failing to provide Inuit with the promise of supporting Inuit economic and social well-being. Today in Nunavut, there is a growing awareness of the effects of past colonialist polices and the need for individual and group healing. However, within the current education reforms, there is little discourse that reflects this colonialist history and how it continues to shape education in Nunavut. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: How did the transition from an autonomous lifestyle on the land, to a dependent lifestyle in communities, affect Inuit society? How are the intergenerational affects of this transition manifested in the classrooms of Nunavut? How can the education system facilitate a public discourse that supports healing and reconciliation? As a high school social studies teacher in Nunavut, I am… [PDF]

Knight, Cecily; Lenoy, Max; Lewthwaite, Brian Ellis (2015). Epistemological Considerations for Approaching Teaching in an On-Line Environment Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teacher Education Program: Reconsidering TPACK. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v40 n9 Article 4 Sep. This research inquiry explores teacher educator knowledge, understandings and beliefs informing their teaching in a web-based Australian teacher education program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Through the use of a phenomenologically aligned interview process, the study investigates instructors' consideration of practice for teaching in an on-line environment. Using the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) as a lens for analysis, what emerges from the data is how lecturers' knowledge and beliefs about students influences the roles they adopt as educators, and how this influences, in turn, what and how technology is used to support student learning. The study ends by critiquing and re-conceptualizing TPACK and providing insights that program developers and teacher educators need to consider in the conceptualization and enrichment of web-based learning, especially those which engage with minority students, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander… [PDF]

(2017). ACER 2015-2016 Annual Report. Australian Council for Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is one of the world's leading educational research centres. ACER's mission is to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be used to improve learning across the life span. This annual report describes ACER's milestones and accomplishments for the 2015-2016 academic year. Ongoing priorities included: building the breadth, depth and reach of research; expanding professional resources and technologies in support of assessment for teaching and learning; providing leadership in school-community partnerships; enhancing the role as education adviser and commentator; addressing disadvantage; and consolidating the role as a higher education provider. [For the report from the previous year, "ACER 2014-2015 Annual Report," see ED582349.]… [Direct]

Fredua-Kwarteng, Eric (2016). Inuit Voices on Quality Education in Nunavut: Policy Implications. International Journal of Educational Methodology, v2 n1 p31-44. This paper is based on a research that explored how Inuit community members in Nunavut Territory, Canada, conceptualized quality education in the socio-cultural context of the territory. Data were collected through telephone interviews of 13 Inuit community members in Nunavut and document reviews both of which were conducted in 2010. The data analysis showed that Inuit community members are gravely concerned with:(1) the low grade twelve graduation rates and high dropout rates in the territory schools;(2) School improvement planning that engages Inuit communities; (3) Integration of school with the larger community; (4) Communicative engagement with parents and other community stakeholders; (5) Culturally relevant school programming and pedagogy; and (6) Culturally appropriate disciplinary methods. In the conclusion, the paper spells out the policy implications of the findings…. [PDF]

Benzies, Karen M.; Ginn, Carla S.; Mughal, Muhammad Kashif; Perry, Robert L. (2016). Longitudinal Effects of a Two-Generation Preschool Programme on Receptive Language Skill in Low-Income Canadian Children to Age 10 Years. Early Child Development and Care, v186 n8 p1316-1326. We explored longitudinal effects of a two-generation preschool programme on receptive language scores in children (n = 78) at age 10 years, living with low income. Scores at four time-points, programme intake, exit, age 7, and age 10 years were measured using the "Peabody picture vocabulary test" (3rd ed.). Effects of culture (Aboriginal, other Canadian-born, and recent immigrant), and gender of the children were explored. Between programme intake and age 10, scores improved significantly, F(3, 75) = 21.11, p < 0.0005. There were significant differences among cultural groups at all time-points except age 10. Scores differed significantly for girls, but not boys, at age 10, F = 5.11, p = 0.01. Recent immigrant boys reached the Canadian average, while girls were two-thirds of the standard deviation below average. Early intervention programmes must include a focus on the unique circumstances of recent immigrant girls; supportive transition workers in schools are one… [Direct]

Bartleet, Brydie-Leigh (2011). Stories of Reconciliation: Building Cross-Cultural Collaborations between Indigenous Musicians and Undergraduate Music Students in Tennant Creek. Australian Journal of Music Education, n2 p11-21. In this paper I look at what happens when a university music classroom is exchanged for a remote Indigenous community. I explore what happens when pedagogical practices are decolonised and placed into the hands of Indigenous Elders and musicians, and reveal the sorts of musical interactions that transpire when students and Indigenous musicians are given the opportunity to spend time together and collaborate. In order to do this, I describe a cross-cultural project I facilitated between Indigenous musicians at the Winanjji-kari Music Centre in Tennant Creek and undergraduate music students from Brisbane. In the paper, I bring these interactions to life for the reader through my own personal observations, and the words and experiences of my students and our collaborators. I construct a narrative that explores the centrality of relationship building, issues of colonial guilt, the construction of Otherness, and the impact that this kind of cross-cultural engagement can have on the ways… [PDF]

Ivins, Tiffany Zenith (2011). Localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Nepal: Strategies of Himalayan Knowledge-Workers. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Brigham Young University. This dissertation examines localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. Specifically, I examine strategies and practices that local knowledge-workers utilize in order to localize educational content for the disparate needs, interests, and ability-levels of learners in rural villages. This study draws on insights from non-formal education (NFE) stakeholders in Nepal, including government, UN, international and national NGOs, local knowledge-workers, and learners from different villages. I specifically focus on a sample of seven technology centers to better understand how localization is defined, designed, and executed at a ground level. I illuminate obstacles knowledge-workers face while localizing content and strategies to overcome such barriers. I conclude by offering key principles to support theory development related to OER localization. This study is anchored in hermeneutic inquiry and is augmented by interpretive… [Direct]

Taylor, Anthea Jo (2011). Coming, Ready or Not: Aboriginal Children's Transition to School in Urban Australia and the Policy Push. International Journal of Early Years Education, v19 n2 p145-161. Concern that too many Australian children, particularly Indigenous children, are not ready to start school has spurred a series of changes to the pre-school sector. Included among these changes are nationwide mass surveying and the introduction of a unified curriculum framework together with moves towards standardised entry assessment. Focusing on Indigenous children in mainstream schools in settled Western Australia, it is argued that such measures have a limited capacity to address misplaced notions of deficit and assist Indigenous children in making the transition to school. Currently missing from policy and profession is a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and language use. (Contains 7 notes.)… [Direct]

Chen, Shan-Hua (2014). What Kind of International Interchange Is Beneficial? Experiences of Taiwanese Indigenes. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, v7 n2 p155-164. Because of globalization, international interchanges among indigenes in every country have become more frequent. Influenced by international multicultural trends, Taiwan's government not only supports indigenous populations to revive their traditional cultures, but also encourages the promotion of the international interchange activities among indigenous populations. This research focused on specialists familiar with indigenous relative affairs to evaluate the benefits and the order of international interchanges. A self-developed questionnaire was used and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and descriptive statistics were employed to measure the relative importance of the factors and international strategies chosen by the indigene affair specialists, respectively. The correspondence analysis aims to explore the relationship between the goal and strategy of indigenous international interchanges. Finally, based on the findings and discussion, some suggestions are provided for… [PDF]

Abrami, Philip C.; Harper, Helen; Helmer, Janet; Lea, Tess; Savage, Robert; Wolgemuth, Jennifer R. (2014). Examining the Impact of ABRACADABRA on Early Literacy in Northern Australia: An Implementation Fidelity Analysis. Journal of Educational Research, v107 n4 p299-311. To address students' poor literacy outcomes, an intervention using a computer-based literacy tool, ABRACADABRA, was implemented in 6 Northern Australia primary schools. A pretest, posttest parallel group, single blind multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted with 308 students between the ages of 4 and 8 years old (M age = 5.8 years, SD = 0.8 years). Findings suggested that computer-based instruction under controlled conditions can improve student literacy, especially for Indigenous students at risk of reading difficulties. The authors examine the fidelity with which the computer-based literacy tool was implemented and the impact of implementation fidelity measures on student outcomes. Student exposure to and use of the literacy tool, and quality of instruction and lesson delivery, were analyzed for their influence on students' literacy outcomes. Implementation fidelity measures accounted for between 1.8% and 15% of the variance of intervention students' scores…. [Direct]

Harrison, Neil (2012). Putting History in Its Place: Grounding the Australian Curriculum–History in Local Community. Australian Association for Research in Education (NJ1), Paper presented at the Joint Australian Association for Research in Education and Asia-Pacific Educational Research Association Conference (AARE-APERA 2012) World Education Research Association (WERA) Focal Meeting (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Dec 2-6, 2012). This position paper develops the case for a greater focus on the teaching of local histories in the Australian Curriculum: History. It takes as its starting point an Indigenous epistemology that understands knowledge to be embedded in the land. This connection between knowledge and country is used to examine recent literature on whether the teaching of history in schools can succeed in the context of the new history curriculum. Various [PDF]

Harrison, Neil (2012). Aborigines of the Imaginary: Applying Lacan to Aboriginal Education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, v40 n1 p5-14. This paper applies the work of Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst, to decipher the desire of the teacher in Aboriginal education. It argues that the images of Aboriginal people represented in Australian classrooms are effects of the teacher's Imaginary, the Imaginary being one of the three psychoanalytic domains theorised by Lacan over a period of 30 years of teaching. The author questions whether it is possible for teacher education courses to move the student teacher beyond the Imaginary, and beyond the inventions of Aboriginal people that he or she has produced in his or her own mind. A possible way out of this endless cycle of romantic idealism and deficiency is proposed outside the usual approaches to cultural awareness training and professional development…. [Direct]

Camp, Amber, Ed.; Holden, Daniel, Ed. (2016). Proceedings 2016: Selected Papers from the Twentieth College-Wide Conference for Students in Languages, Linguistics & Literature (20th, Honolulu, Hawai'i, April 23, 2016). National Foreign Language Resource Center at University of Hawaii The theme for this year's annual Graduate Student Conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature (LLL) was "Celebrating Voices — past – present – future." It reflected not only our goal of celebrating achievements of LLL graduate students, but also our intent of making this the biggest conference yet. The conference opened with an address from Dean Jeffrey Carroll, which was followed by an inspirational keynote by Dr. Samrat Upadhyay. Presentations followed from a group of 35 graduate students, who shared their research with approximately 136 attendees from the UH community. Following a preface from the editors and plenary highlights from Dr. Samrat Upadhyay, contents of these proceedings include: (1) Breaking Ground: Obviation As a Key Target for Assessing the Acquisition of Saulteaux, a Dialect of Ojibwe (Ryan E. Henke); (2) Place-Based Language Learning Using Mobile Technology: Redesigning a Mall Game for Help (Daniel Holden and Yang Liu); (3) The… [Direct]

Seve-Williams, Nuhisifa (2013). Equality of Educational Opportunity, Merit and the New Zealand Education System. Current Issues in Language Planning, v14 n2 p244-253. Pacific students in New Zealand (NZ) quickly learn that they are not very smart. The statistics tell them this. They also come to believe that they do not try very hard. The talk of equal opportunities tells them this, especially when it is coupled with negative statistics. This is not surprising. Education in NZ has been embedded in notions of egalitarianism and merit throughout its history, and this has been accepted in a "common sense" way. Many New Zealanders still believe that an individual's ability to be successful is based on their merits, generally viewed as a combination of factors including innate abilities, working hard, having the right attitude, and having high moral character and integrity. New Zealanders not only tend to think that is the way the system should work, but most actually accept uncritically that this is how it does work. This paper discusses the historical understandings of merit and equality of educational opportunity in NZ and how these… [Direct]

Sibin, Wang (2013). Social Work Experience and Development in China. Chinese Education and Society, v46 n6 p79-91 Nov-Dec. This article presents the experience and limitations of government-run social work and the nonprofessional nature of social work, and suggests that the rapid development of social work and its professionalization are the inevitable results of the reform in the system. The author maintains that under market socialism, social work requires the cooperation of government and society. Moreover, social work is confronted with the dual task of indigenization and innovation…. [Direct]

Haynes, Joanna (2013). Gifts of Time and Space: Co-Educative Companionship in a Community Primary School. Studies in Philosophy and Education, v32 n3 p297-311 May. Family-focused community education implies a relational pedagogy, whereby people of different ages and experiences, including children, engage interdependently in the education of selves and others. Educational projects grow out of lived experiences and relationships, evolving in dynamic conditions of community self-organisation and self-expression, however partial and approximate, as opposed to habitual and repetitive actions. In developing educational activities through radical listening, community educators aim to reflect the character of the neighbourhood and build on local knowledge and expertise. The paper reports on ways in which one community school invited, encouraged and supported children as co-educators through projects that promoted collaborative leadership and unfolded, rather than being delivered through planned and scripted lessons. These were creative projects of cultural significance, characterised by attentive listening and aiming to promote intergenerational… [Direct]

Cornforth, Sue; Lang, Steve K. W.; Wright, Jeannie (2011). Fractured Connections: Migration and Holistic Models of Counselling. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, v39 n5 p471-486. In this article we aim to explore those points at which migrant identity and landscape intersect. We also consider implications for holistic models of counselling with migrant groups. The New Zealand migration literature was the starting point to consider how and why the experience of migration has been studied. We asked how collective biography might work as a way to research questions about our relationship with this new land and its indigenous people. Following feminist and post-structural influences, we shared a sequence of memories of geographical transitions in a structured sequence. We used poetic representation and photographs, in addition to prose, to express what was often experience beyond words. Subsequently we have reflected on how memory work in collective biography and indigenous, holistic models of wellness might add to ways of working therapeutically with migrants. (Contains 3 figures.)… [Direct]

Alias, Norlidah; Siraj, Saedah; Thanabalan, T. Vanitha (2015). Evaluation of a Digital Story Pedagogical Module for the Indigenous Learners Using the Stake Countenance Model. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – TOJET, v14 n2 p63-72 Apr. This study involved the development of a literacy pedagogy for the indigenous people in Malaysia. The Developmental Research Approach was used where insights about the indigenous people and their lifestyle were gathered and analysed for content in developing a literacy pedagogical module. Several principles emerged from the data collected and these principles formed the basis for the module. The module encompassing a digital story was implemented in two schools for indigenous students situated in Peninsular Malaysia. The Stake Countenance model was used to analyse and conclude the evaluation of the module. Both teachers and students who participated in the module implementation were directly involved in the evaluation process. Findings showed that there was strong engagement between the Indigenous students and the lessons in the module. The teachers found that the module was able to respond to the needs of the indigenous students. This paper will discuss the evaluation process in… [PDF]

Carmo, Mafalda, Ed. (2021). Education and New Developments 2021. Online Submission This book contains the full text of papers and posters presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2021), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.), that this year had to be transformed into a fully Virtual Conference as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the most important contributions resides in what and how we learn through the improvement of educational processes, both in formal and informal settings. The International Conference seeks to provide some answers and explore the processes, actions, challenges and outcomes of learning, teaching and human development. The goal is to offer a worldwide connection between teachers, students, researchers and lecturers, from a wide range of academic fields,… [PDF]

Jackson, Osborne (2015). Does Immigration Crowd Natives into or out of Higher Education? Working Papers. No. 15-18. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston This paper investigates the impact of immigration on the college enrollment of U.S. natives. Many studies have focused on the effect of increased demand for schooling by immigrants on the enrollment of natives. However, changes in immigrant labor supply may also affect native enrollment by changing local market prices. Using U.S. Census data from 1970 to 2000, I find that state-level increases in the number of immigrant college students do not significantly lower the enrollment rates of U.S. natives. On the contrary, state-level increases in the ratio of unskilled immigrant workers to skilled immigrant workers significantly raise native enrollment rates. These findings suggest that the demand for college is sensitive to wage rates and that college slots are flexibly supplied over a decadal time horizon. An appendix presents "Theory: A Model of Immigration and Native College Enrollment."… [PDF]

Hodge, Paul; Wright, Sarah (2012). To Be Transformed: Emotions in Cross-Cultural, Field-Based Learning in Northern Australia. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, v36 n3 p355-368. Students undertaking field-based learning, in which they work with Indigenous people in Northern Australia, describe a profound learning experience redolent with emotion. Inspired, challenged and transformed, the students are compelled in ways that require them to interrogate their own selves and taken-for-granted beliefs. In this paper, we draw on empirical work with undergraduate students in geography and development studies to investigate what these cross-cultural experiences add to experiential learning models and recent work on emotional geographies. We find that an understanding of the sensory and emotive is imperative if we are to encourage students to build understanding across difference and connect with diverse people, places and experiences in fundamentally new ways. (Contains 1 figure and 3 notes.)… [Direct]

d'Hauteserre, Anne-Marie (2011). Festival of Pacific Arts: Education in Multi-Cultural Encounters. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, v20 n4 p273-280. Can acts of support and/or revival of Pacific cultures serve to educate international tourists about Indigenous cultures? This paper examines, from a postcolonial perspective and using a qualitative methodology, whether the Festivals of Pacific Arts, to which all nations send delegations, can educate visitors about Indigenous cultures of the Pacific. These Festivals occur every four years, at a different venue each time, to spread the costs of organisation. The paper argues that the vibrancy and the sincerity of the performances are not sufficient to overcome the structural and cultural biases in the world of tourism. Attitudes towards such cultures have been patronising, keeping them at a timeless distance as visitor performance remains mired in the dictates of their social "habitus". The size and facilities at venues along with the modest air links mean that the Festivals can accommodate only a small number of visitors. The visitors, however, could discover the… [Direct]

Fletcher, Jo; Harris, Christine; Parkhill, Faye (2011). Supporting Young Adolescent Students from Minority Cultural Groups Who Are Underachieving in Learning. Support for Learning, v26 n3 p122-126 Aug. Establishing appropriate learning environments for culturally diverse underachieving students continues to challenge educators across a range of international contexts. A synthesis of findings from our studies in New Zealand indicated that teachers and students from Pasifika and Maori backgrounds considered that learning is facilitated by the establishment of positive student-teacher relationships in which their culture and language is acknowledged and valued. Collaboration and co-operation within small groups also supported learning, which influenced engagement as well as achievement. We contend that developing effective and culturally sensitive pedagogical practices that are informed by research offers a way forward, not only for practitioners, but also for teacher education…. [Direct]

Fleer, Marilyn; Fleer-Stout, Freya; Hanh, Le Thi Bich; Hedges, Helen (2016). Aspiring to Quality Teacher-Parent Partnerships in Vietnam: Building Localised Funds of Knowledge. International Research in Early Childhood Education, v7 n3 p49-68. Collaborative and reciprocal teacher-parent partnerships have been established in prior research as vital in empowering ethnic-minority children to be competent learners who value their home background, culture, and language and also learn the language used by teachers as the medium of education. Such collaborative relationships may be challenging to imagine and achieve in countries that have complex political, cultural, social, and economic histories. This paper demonstrates, through a case study in Vietnam, how partnership relationships might be reconceptualised. The research team, comprising both international and local researchers, sought to collectively identify teacher-parent partnership practices that foregrounded local funds of knowledge, and generated a zone of potential development for dialogue about quality practices for teacher-parent partnerships. Through a transformative collaborative workshop process, a tool for aspiring towards quality teacher-parent partnerships was… [PDF]