(2008). The Impact of Early Numeracy Engagement on Four-Year-Old Indigenous Students. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, v33 n4 p2-8 Dec. This paper reports on a component of a research project, Young Australian Indigenous students Literacy and Numeracy (YAILN), a longitudinal study investigating learning and teaching activities that support young Indigenous Australian students as they enter formal schooling. In Queensland, students are allowed to attend a non-compulsory year of schooling, Preparatory (Prep), if they reach the age of five years by the end of June in the year they enrol. In YAILN, one of the participating schools' preparatory intake included Indigenous students who had not reached the required age for Prep. Numeracy understandings for two of these students were tracked during their pre-prep year. The pre- and post-test numeracy results and the interview conducted at the beginning of their "official" preparatory year suggest that this extra year of schooling enhanced their knowledge of mathematics and has (a) put them on an even footing with students from more advantaged backgrounds as they… [Direct]
(2008). About Us: Reflection and Dialogue on the Purpose of University Continuing Education in Canada. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, v34 n1 p17-26 Spr. This article is a response to Scott McLean's (2007) CJUCE Forum article "About Us," which set out the claims that university continuing education (UCE) units make about themselves on their websites. Using the activities of the Legal Studies Program of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta as a reference point, this article suggests that the activities of UCE units may not be as bland as their purpose statements suggest. The ability of those statements to represent the visions of UCE units is questioned, as is the adequacy of the processes by which such statements are generated. In doing so, the author exposes the need to catalogue what UCE units are actually doing and reflect on why we seem to need to downplay some of those activities. The article concludes with the suggestion that in presenting a synthesis of the units' purpose statements, McLean takes UCE units full circle to the debate he set to the side: What should UCE units do? (Contains 1 endnote.)… [Direct]
(2008). Colonizing Green? We Must Remember Our Roots of Harmony, Beauty, Balance, Restoration. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education, v20 n2 p30-32 Win. While tribal educators rightfully search for ways to address the global warming and climate crisis using sustainability initiatives, people should also be cautious. They risk colonizing, exploiting, or commodifying the \green\ dimension of the climate and energy crisis. By centering and privileging Indigenous knowing that assumes a nurturing, kinship, conversational, and collaborative relationship with a living earth and sky in learning situations, people can generate culturally appropriate and alternative ways to think and act on the sorts of contradictions that, for example, bottled water engenders. Viewing water merely as a commodity or air as utilitarian violates one's sense of the sacred. This article discusses three ways to counter the colonization of green: (1) Indigenization; (2) Indigenous knowledge construction; and (3) critical lens making. Together these practices can provide meaningful and life-sustaining skills and competencies for students…. [Direct]
(2008). Functional Literacy in India: A Progress Report. Education Canada, v48 n2 p50-52 Spr. Literacy has been a priority for the leaders of India since before Independence. Since the independence of the country in 1947, eradication of illiteracy has been a major concern of the national Government. The nation's constitution includes specific articles and amendments to guarantee the advancement of education. During the country's first Five Year Plan, the program of Social Education, including literacy, was introduced as part of the Community Development Program (1952). Later, the Kothari Commission on Education (1964-66) emphasized the importance of spreading literacy as fast as possible and observed that "literacy if it is to be worthwhile, must be functional." The 1968 National Policy on Education not only endorsed the recommendations of the Kothari Commission, but also reiterated the significance of universal literacy and the importance of developing adult and continuing education as matters of priority. In an effort to impart functional literacy to the Indian… [Direct]
(2008). Fostering Aboriginal Leadership: Increasing Enrollment and Completion Rates in Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions. College Quarterly, v11 n1 p1-16 Win. Aboriginal people have philosophies with a holistic approach to learning that are imperative to Aboriginal leadership development. The Aboriginal worldview is needed in any long-term education strategies of Aboriginal students to increase the awareness of higher education and to address cultural, financial, and academic barriers. This article focuses on ways to build Aboriginal leadership in the education sector and ways to increase the enrollment of Aboriginal people in post-secondary institutions and Aboriginal completion rates in these institutions. The author incorporates some theories surrounding Aboriginal education and leadership, provides the basic differences between traditional Aboriginal leadership and western leadership, and gives a statistical snapshot of current academic achievement rates. She also provides evidence on the government's role in legislation affecting Aboriginal education, and then shares some thoughts about contemporary academic issues…. [PDF]
(2009). Social Partnerships in Learning: Negotiating Disenfranchised Learner Identities. Online Submission, US-China Education Review v6 n6 Jun. A study of disenfranchised learners in a regional area found that their engagement in formal education was influenced by their learner identities, their perceptions of themselves as learners, and the identity resources on which they draw. Understanding the disconnects between individuals', communities' and educational institutions' assumptions about learning engagement impacted on the types of identities on which learners drew and the efficacy of those identities in negotiating new learning experiences. Developing innovative and successful approaches to engage disenfranchised regional learners in training necessitates effective partnership and the recognition of diverse knowledge systems as they relate to the worlds of work, community engagement and learning. Social partnerships in learning frameworks were the key in describing the interactions between agents, they are the interagency and interdisciplinary relationships that enable effective learning in different disciplines,… [PDF]
(2008). Addressing Anti-Indianism in the Mainstream Curriculum: A Partnership Model. Multicultural Perspectives, v10 n4 p224-228 Oct. When prospective teachers are asked to discover something about the Native peoples on whose homelands they live and will earn their living, why do they have such difficulty locating material that reflects a contemporary indigenous perspective? Is it that there are no resources out there to help them in their search, or is it that they only find what they expect to find, replicating the narrowness of educational histories? As future elementary school educators, the author's students will be expected to teach a required unit on Native Americans in the fall term of fourth grade. Whether they approach this requirement as an exercise in replicating malignant stereotypes or critically examining them will be their choice as future educators. Unfortunately, this critical approach will most likely not be suggested by curriculum supervisors, themselves embedded in a culture that turns a blind eye to anti-Indianism. In this article, the author describes ways in which she could demonstrate to… [Direct]
(2009). "Xoa:dau" to "Maunkaui": Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into an Undergraduate Earth Systems Science Course. Journal of Geoscience Education, v57 n2 p137-144 Mar. Very few Native American students pursue careers in the geosciences. To address this national problem, several units at the University of Oklahoma are implementing a geoscience "pipeline" program that is designed to increase the number of Native American students entering geoscience disciplines. One of the program's strategies includes the development of an undergraduate course called "Earth Systems of the Southern Great Plains." The course focuses on geoscience topics that relate to the southern plains (particularly Oklahoma), emphasizes "sense of place," integrates indigenous knowledge and geoscience content, makes use of Kiowa stories and metaphors, and uses Native American Art as a vehicle of learning. Students in the course are required to put living indigenous philosophies into practice through teaching activities and the construction of geoscience models using everyday materials. The course is designed to highlight the integrated nature of Earth… [PDF]
(2006). "To Take Their Heritage in Their Hands": Indigenous Self-Representation and Decolonization in the Community Museums of Oaxaca, Mexico. American Indian Quarterly, v30 n3-4 p441-460 Sum-Fall. This article features the museums of Oaxaca, the place where the community museum movement in Mexico got started. Oaxaca has the largest Indigenous population in Mexico, with about 36.6% of the population over five years old, or about 1.027 million people, speaking an Indigenous language. Tourists spend large amounts on group or personalized tours and flock to it to try to get a closer look at the "real" Oaxaca and to experience the richness of Mexico's Indigenous cultures, layered together from the present day back to pre-Columbian times. Community museums have proved to be a way for the towns to construct and transmit their identities through the choice of themes important to the communities, in which archaeology is chosen as one of the themes of their museum. In Oaxaca the museums have been a way for the small communities to assume control of the stewardship of the archaeological treasures found: they stay in the community because they are culturally meaningful for that… [Direct]
(2009). MCEETYA Four-Year Plan, 2009-2012: A Companion Document for the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (NJ1) This Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth (MCEETYA) four-year plan outlines the key strategies and initiatives Australian governments will undertake in each of these eight areas to support the achievement of the educational goals for young Australians and will be reviewed and updated as needed. The plan is aligned with relevant work of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and key COAG and other national agreements have formed the basis of the plan, including: (1) the National Education Agreement; (2) the Schools Assistance Act 2008, which confirms the Australian Government's financial support for the non-government school sector; (3) the National Partnership Agreement on Literacy and Numeracy; (4) the National Partnership Agreement on Low Socio-economic Status School Communities; (5) the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Teacher Quality; and (6) Other National Partnerships that may be agreed during the life of this plan. It is intended… [PDF]
(2010). Factorial Invariance Testing and Latent Mean Differences for the Self-Description Questionnaire II (Short Version) with Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian Secondary School Students. International Journal of Testing, v10 n1 p47-79. This investigation reports on the cross-cultural equivalence testing of the Self-Description Questionnaire II (short version; SDQII-S) for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian secondary student samples. A variety of statistical analysis techniques were employed to assess the psychometric properties of the SDQII-S for both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. In addition, an analysis was conducted to determine whether the latent means of the self-concepts differed significantly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous male and female students. The results demonstrated that the SDQII-S held strong psychometric properties across the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students. Furthermore, the analyses indicated that there were significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students for 7 of the 13 self-concept facets. Although some question could be raised as to the practical nature of these differences, the measurement equivalence of the SDQII-S for… [Direct]
(2009). Leading the Way: Indigenous Knowledge and Collaboration at The Woolyungah Indigenous Centre. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, v6 n2. This paper derives from collaborative research undertaken by staff at the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre, into our own teaching practice. It articulates a particular strand of inquiry emanating from the research: the importance of Indigenous knowledges as this is taught at Woolyungah in the discipline of Indigenous Studies. The paper is a reflection of Woolyungah's pedagogical aims, and its development as a Unit that seeks to embed other knowledges into the realm of critical inquiry within subjects taught at the Unit. It also reflects student responses to our pedagogy. The writers are Indigenous and non-Indigenous and have collaborated with all teaching staff involved to present this work as a starting point for discussions about the emerging discipline of Indigenous Studies, its rigour as an academic field of inquiry and our commitment as educators to the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges in our programme…. [PDF] [Direct]
(2009). Indigenous People in a Landscape of Risk: Teaching Social Work Students about Socially Just Social Work Responses. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, v18 n1-2 p166-179. The need for social justice in social work practice is particularly apparent in work with indigenous populations. In spite of the social work profession's commitment to social justice, social workers have often done significant harm in their work with indigenous peoples. Social work educators are ideally positioned to close this gap between social work values and practice by teaching how principles of social justice can be applied with indigenous peoples. This article provides social work educators with background knowledge and specific tools for teaching about indigenous populations from a social justice perspective…. [Direct]
(2011). Studying Diversity in Teacher Education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. "Studying Diversity in Teacher Education" is a collaborative effort by experts seeking to elucidate one of the most important issues facing education today. First, the volume examines historically persistent, yet unresolved issues in teacher education and presents research that is currently being done to address these issues. Second, it centers on research on diverse populations, bringing together both research on diversity and research on diversity in teacher education. The contributors present frameworks, perspectives and paradigms that have implications for reframing research on complex issues that are often ignored or treated too simplistically in teacher education literature. Concluding the volume with an agenda for future research and a guide for preparing teachers for diversity education in a global context, the contributors provide a solid foundation for all educators. "Studying Diversity in Teacher Education" is a vital resource for all those interested… [Direct]
(2009). American Indian Studies: Intellectual Navel Gazing or Academic Discipline?. American Indian Quarterly, v33 n1 p1-17 Win. The academic field of Native American/American Indian studies (NAS/AIS) has been and largely remains a product of political forces at the national level and now at the tribal level. The very recognition of American Indians as a unique group by the U.S. government is a political statement of survival. In this article, the author revisits the political dimensions of NAS/AIS. The underlying theoretical question in Native American studies is, What constitutes truly indigenous knowledge? Its corollaries are, What constitutes Native American identity in contemporary society? Who is an Indian? These questions are both political and epistemological ones. If American Indians constitute populations with distinctive cultures and values and epistemologies that can be studied, what are those distinguishing characteristics? Indians as cultural groups have interacted with foreign cultures since the sixteenth century. They have been subject to policies of the U.S. government designed to assimilate… [Direct]