(2019). Relationality and Radical Democracy: The Possibilities of Postcolonial Citizenship in Myanmar. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v18 n2 p68-80. Western liberal conceptions of democratic citizenship require the state to be "neutral" by separating the political from the social. However, this is often at odds with the realities of socio-political organization in many former colonized countries. In this paper, I draw on empirical data from photo-elicitation interviews with eight Buddhist youth in Yangon to illustrate the socio-political realities of everyday citizenship and citizenship education in Myanmar. Findings show that, for Buddhist participants, their political identity as Myanmar citizens and their religious identity as Buddhists are deeply enmeshed. Rather than force-fit postcolonial states into the Western democratic model, I propose that the notions of relationality and radical democracy offer a means of indigenizing democracy and draws on Myanmar's Buddhist democracy to illustrate the political potential of relationalism…. [PDF]
(2019). From Reticence to Resistance: Understanding Educators' Engagement with Indigenous Environmental Issues in Canada. Environmental Education Research, v25 n1 p62-74. Educators who introduce critical socio-ecological issues into learning contexts often experience formidable internal and external challenges. This is especially true when intersecting Indigenous and environmental issues are involved. Compounding such difficulties in Canada is an inadequate level of pre-service, curricular, resource, and research support in this area. As such, while an increasing number of bold educators are incorporating discussion of Indigenous environmental issues, activism, and related history, law, and policy into their teaching practice, many others are interested, but remain understandably reticent. This study explored the experiences of educators in a variety of contexts across Canada with attempting to incorporate critical consideration of Indigenous environmental issues into their teaching practice. Findings include discussion of challenges encountered, successful strategies employed, the societal significance of these considerations, and future research… [Direct]
(2019). Decolonising the Reading of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writing: Reflection as Transformative Practice. Higher Education Research and Development, v38 n1 p24-37. First Nations writing within English literary studies risks contemporary colonisation if encountered as a literary object for close reading without context or reflection on the role of the reader. This article will explore the processes involved in constructing an innovative reading practice amongst tertiary students to counter the potential for intentional or unintentional colonial readings. Dr. Sandra Phillips, First Nations academic and researcher, initiated and applied the reading practice (which overtly incorporates student/reader standpoint and then reflection on the impact of that standpoint among other considerations) from her PhD scholarship then applied it to her curriculum design of 'Reading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Writing', which forms the basis of this research. Dr. Clare Archer-Lean continued the coordination and teaching of the curriculum at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland after Sandra moved tertiary institutions. The two academics… [Direct]
(2019). "Comunidad de Cuentistas": Making Space for Indigenous and Latinx Storytellers. English Journal, v108 n3 p44-50. Storytelling can help youth, families, and communities make sense of their experiences, allowing them to process the past and plan their futures (Bruner; Flores; Jones). The authors argue that the practice of storytelling in biographical learning can be especially powerful when working with youth of color and Indigenous youth–children whose biographies are often misrepresented or unrepresented in the stories they see in the classroom. By establishing spaces that foster storytelling, youth can be encouraged to engage in biography-driven learning in supportive ways that also build trust and relationships among teachers, students, and local communities (Alvarez; Delgado). In this article, drawing work with "Nuestros Cuentos," a community-driven storytelling program, the authors present storytelling as a method for reflection, resistance, and community-building with Latinx and Indigenous youth…. [Direct]
(2020). Unrecognised Language Teaching: Teaching Australian Curriculum Content in Remote Aboriginal Community Schools. TESOL in Context, v29 n1 p37-58 Nov. The case study in this article offers a descriptive account of challenges involved in teaching Australian Curriculum content in the common teaching context in remote communities where an Indigenous language is spoken as the everyday form of communication and students learn English in what is essentially a foreign language setting. An on-the-ground description of the work of a Primary school teaching team serves to illustrate the language teaching aspect of delivering Australian Curriculum content in areas such as History, Geography and Science. This aspect of the teaching team's work is underestimated in the curriculum itself and in the guidance provided to teachers, yet is essential for student learning in this context. While the team draws on students' L1 and early L2 English proficiency abilities to teach curriculum content, this work is not expedited from outside their classroom. An analysis of current curriculum offerings and the teaching team's approaches finds that they… [PDF]
(2021). Indigenous Student Literacy Outcomes in Australia: A Systematic Review of Literacy Programmes. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, v49 n1 p37-60. Improving Indigenous students' literacy is a major priority area for the Australian Government, receiving significant funding to address below benchmark English literacy standardised test results. Despite this, recent benchmark tests suggest Indigenous students continue to achieve well below the national average. This systematic review discusses peer-reviewed and evidence-based publications that report on significant literacy programmes to investigate which aspects of literacy are their focus, which are identified as successful, conditions needed for success, barriers to success and measures of success. While most programs reported significant literacy improvements, all identified barriers to success and/or sustainability as outlined in this paper. This review also utilises the four resources literacy model and multiliteracies theories to map literacy gaps. When considering decades of literacy research, there were significant gaps in the represented literacy skills, with the dominant… [Direct]
(2015). Producing a Tribal Citizenry Literate in Law and Jurisprudence. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, v27 n2 Nov. The relationship between American Indians and the U.S. federal government and state governments is complicated. It is a relationship that controls almost all aspects of tribal life and has resulted in American Indians being the most legislated people in the United States. For many years tribal people relied on non-Native attorneys to help navigate their communities through the maze of laws, court decisions, and administrative rules. As the most legislated people in America, tribal citizens can benefit immensely from a legal education offered from a critical and culturally specific perspective. Tribal colleges are ideally suited for the task. Beginning in the late 1960s, an experimental program at the University of New Mexico School of Law trained Indian lawyers to serve as tribal attorneys, judges, prosecutors, and in other law-related positions. Since that time there have been thousands of Natives who have attained their law degree and have now assumed the responsibility of leading… [Direct]
(2018). Case Studies in Critical Reflection Praxis in University Studies: The Stance and Dance. Journal of General Education, v67 n3-4 p209-225. This article articulates the experience of three professors from different disciplines, teaching at three levels of University Studies, Portland State University's general education program, for whom the toggling between personal/professional critical practices and use of reflective practices in the classroom has led to transformative learning experiences for them and their students. It describes the specific reflective tools and methods they used for teaching and professional development, and considers the challenges to sustaining critical reflection and how those challenges might be addressed. The authors argue that critical reflection (CR) is an important practice for teachers and students of general education. In particular, CR engages the habits of mind and capacities, such as critical thinking, central to the goals of general education, as well as engaging the practical skills needed to procure jobs and succeed as professionals. As a professional practice for teachers, it… [Direct]
(2022). Is Supporting the Needs of Emergent Bilingual Learners in Mainstream Classes a Cultural or Linguistic Issue? How Do Policy, Curricula, and Secondary Teacher Education Programmes in Australia and New Zealand Compare?. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v25 n8 p2962-2975. Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia are similar in many ways. Both were colonised by English-speaking British settlers, and English is a national language in each country. In recent years, both countries have become destinations for immigrants speaking languages other than English and international fee-paying students. Both have a chequered history of maintaining the languages of the tangata whenua (people of the land) or aboriginal people. However, their histories and educational systems diverge on educational programmes and practices supporting citizens and newcomers from non-English heritage cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The linguistic and cultural histories of these two countries have shaped educational policies and practices that, in turn, have impacted how teachers are prepared to teach in linguistically and culturally heterogeneous classrooms. This paper reviews approaches found to support emergent bilingual learners, and those that research suggests are culturally… [Direct]
(2021). Building Trust, Resilient Regions, and Educational Narratives: Municipalities Dealing with COVID-19 in Border Regions of Portugal. European Educational Research Journal, v20 n5 p636-666 Sep. This article recounts how municipalities from border regions in mainland Portugal interacted with the population in the face of the new social order brought about by COVID-19. Our aim is to interpret new educational spaces, beyond schools, emerging from community-level strategies to build trust during the pandemic lockdown and state of emergency. The material consists of 1503 posts from 38 Facebook pages of municipalities that were analysed and organised into dimensions: health and COVID-19; offline to online adaptation strategies; cross-border impact information; economic encouragement; care and social support; community engagement and participation. The article focuses on this last dimension given its pre-eminence. Key findings manifested five educational narratives associated with community engagement and participation: past and memory; place; voicing and wisdom; recognition and solidarity; and participation and learning. We consider those narratives as community resilience… [Direct]
(2021). Exclusion and Extraction: Situating Spirit Murdering in Community Colleges. Educational Foundations, v34 n1 p47-67. Black, Indigenous, and other students of color (BIPOC) are selecting to attend community colleges more than any other post-secondary school setting. However as the author argues, community colleges have, since their inception, served as exclusionary spaces for labor extraction that murders the spirits of BIPOC students. This article explores spirit murdering at a mid-sized urban community college in Chicago. The author presents historical and contemporary narratives of community colleges as sites of extraction and exclusion. The article ends with a call for community college policymakers and practitioners to engage in a more liberatory hidden curriculum, creating and maintaining more co-conspiring relationships and a more community-driven ecosystem of teaching and learning…. [PDF]
(2021). Researching Identity in Language Teachers — Current Challenges and Implications. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, v9 n4 p174-181. Language teacher identity has been at the forefront of pedagogical research in recent years; this has become particularly important due to the demographic changes seen throughout the world since 2015; since then, there have been significant changes in the cultural landscape of schools in general and language teaching in particular, which presents unique challenges for teachers in their process of identity construction. This study aims to explore the transformative nature of language teacher identity in two settings: teaching in online classrooms in one's home country, and teaching in online classroom abroad. The research will explore how cultural identity shapes an educators' relationship with students, how one's own cultural identity influences methodological and pedagogical choices, how these can improve literacy in the young adult classroom, as well touching upon the relevance of cultural identity is in a developing teacher. The findings revealed a general consensus on the need to… [PDF]
(2019). Integration of ARCS Motivational Model and IT to Enhance Students Learning in the Context of Atayal Culture. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, v15 n11 Article em1771. This study involved using teaching strategies from the ARCS Motivational Model to develop new interdisciplinary curricular modules and ability assessments that combine Atayal culture with information technology. The purpose was to explore whether, through pedagogy based on the ARCS motivational model, indigenous middle-school students had a significant improvement in teamwork, creative thinking, and communication abilities, and whether or not students' interest in information technology and culture was inspired. Research subjects were 17 first-year students in an Atayal Comprehensive Junior-Senior High School in Nan'ao, Yilan County. The research period was 2016-2017, and data was collected from teaching demonstrations, thoughts written down by students, and tests. Research tools include the qualitative written thoughts of the students and a quantitative assessment of the key abilities of teamwork, creative thinking, and communication abilities. There were a total of 33 items. To… [PDF]
(2014). Yarning Circles in the Literacy Classroom. Reading Teacher, v67 n4 p285-289 Dec 2013-Jan. This article explains how the speaking and listening practice of yarning circles can be used in the literacy classroom. The article opens with an account of a live enactment of yarning circles with elementary students in a mainstream classroom in Australia. It explains the purpose and origin of yarning circles in Indigenous communities, and provides steps for establishing and implementing the practice in classrooms…. [Direct]
(2009). Journeys of Interaction: Shared Schooling in Quebec and Northern Ireland. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, v3 n4 p209-225. This article compares experiences of shared schooling in societies with 2 distinctive traits: first, a history of intercommunity conflict and isolation; and second, a segregated school system. Drawing on Parekh's (2006) reconceptualisation of multiculturalism, this article analyses issues arising from experiences of intercommunity contact in shared schools in Quebec and Northern Ireland–in one case, bringing Anglophones and Francophones together and, in the other, Protestants and Catholics. Research data from both contexts is drawn upon to reflect on how this experience is lived. The metaphor of a journey is used to capture what it represents for those involved. A need to clarify, recognize, and exploit the potential of shared schooling for the transformation of divided societies is identified. (Contains 3 footnotes.)… [Direct]