Remote secondary education retention: What helps First Nations students stay until, and complete, year 12
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v53i1.1039Keywords:
remote secondary education, First Nations students, secondary school completion, Year 12 retention, remote teachers and teaching, family supportAbstract
Over recent years there has been a strong emphasis on year 12 completion as an indicator of success in remote First Nations education. The research reported in this article explores what students, school staff and community members say leads to secondary school retention and, ultimately, completion. The research was conducted in the Northern Territory and Western Australia during 2023 by a team of researchers from Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Curtin University and University of Notre Dame. The research focused on remote and very remote independent and Catholic schools. The findings suggest several factors encourage retention, including the supportive role of families (although questions remain on how families might also be supported to encourage their children), the quality of teachers and their teaching, specific school programs and initiatives, post-school pathways, and boarding schools. Student aspirations and motivation are also critical for retention. The findings have implications for schools, school systems, state and federal policies, and associated funding priorities.
Downloads
References
Angelo, D., Disbray, S., Singer, R., O’Shannessy, C., Simpson, J., Smith, H., Meek, B., & Wigglesworth, G. (2022). Learning (in) indigenous languages: Common ground, diverse pathways [OECD Education Working Papers, no. 278]. OECD Publishing. https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/e80ad1d4-en DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/e80ad1d4-en
Atkinson, P., Baird, M., & Adams, K. (2021). Are you really using yarning research? Mapping social and family yarning to strengthen yarning research quality. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 17(2), 191–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211015442 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211015442
Australian Government. (2024). DSS Benefit and Payment Recipient Demographics – December 2023 Quarter. Department of Social Services. Retrieved May 2024 from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/dss-payment-demographic-data/resource/be62aff6-a77e-4ea9-b14f-c34b1e608036
Australian Government Department of Education. (2024, January 3). School to work transitions. https://www.education.gov.au/school-work-transitions
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023, July 10). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework summary report 2023: Tier 2 – Determinants of health, 2.05 Education outcomes for young people. https://www.indigenoushpf.gov.au/measures/2-05-education-outcomes-young-people
Beetson, J., Anderson, P., Lin, S., Williamson, F., Amazan, R., Boughton, B., Morrell, S., Taylor, R., & Schwartz, M. (2022). Impact of a community-controlled adult literacy campaign on crime and justice outcomes in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 11(4), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.2201 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.2201
Benveniste, T., Guenther, J., Dawson, D., & King, L. (2019). Race, Rules and Relationships: What Can Critical Race Theory Offer Contemporary Aboriginal Boarding Schools? Journal of Intercultural Studies, 40(1), 32-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2018.1552573 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2018.1552573
Benveniste, T., Van Beek, A., McCalman, J., Langham, E., & Bainbridge, R. (2020). Can it be done?: An evaluation of staff perceptions and affordability of a school-based multi-component integrated intervention for improving the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding students. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 30(1), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i1.260 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i1.260
Bessarab, D., & Ng’andu, B. (2010). Yarning about yarning as a legitimate method in Indigenous research. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 3(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcis.v3i1.57 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcis.v3i1.57
Biddle, N. (2010). A human capital approach to the educational marginalisation of Indigenous Australians (CAEPR working paper no. 67/2010). Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/CAEPRWP67_0_0.pdf
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3470-2
Burton, R., & Osborne, S. (2014). Kuranyu-kutu nyakula nyaan nyanganyi? Imagining the future. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 10(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/117718011401000104 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/117718011401000104
Cameron, T., & Biddle, N. (2012). The benefits of Indigenous education: Data findings and data gaps. In B. Hunter & N. Biddle (Eds.), Survey analysis for Indigenous policy in Australia: Social science perspectives (pp. 103–123). ANU E Press. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/33567/1/459881.pdf#page=125
Clarke, K., & Denton, M. (2013). Red dirt thinking on child wellbeing in Indigenous, rural and remote Australian communities: The SpICE model “I just don’t want my kid to struggle like I did at school”. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42(special issue 02), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2013.21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2013.21
Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2017). Study away review: Review of support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary students studying away from home. https://www.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/study-away-review_0.pdf
Corrie, S. (2021). Culturally responsive possibilities: Leaders’ voices in remote Indigenous schools [PhD thesis]. University of South Australia. https://hdl.handle.net/11541.2/25548
Dadi, A. F., He, V., Guenther, J., Su, J.-Y., Ober, R., & Guthridge, S. (2023). Transitional pathways through middle school for First Nations students in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Australian Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00655-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00655-3
Deloitte Access Economics. (2016). The economic impact of improving schooling quality. Australian Government Department of Education and Training. https://www.education.gov.au/download/3942/economic-impact-improving-school-quality/5820/document/pdf
Guenther, J., Benveniste, T., Redman-MacLaren, M., Mander, D., McCalman, J., O'Bryan, M., Osborne, S., & Stewart, R. (2020). Thinking with theory as a policy evaluation tool: The case of boarding schools for remote First Nations students. Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 20(1), 34-52. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X20905056 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1035719X20905056
Guenther, J., Disbray, S., & Osborne, S. (2014). Digging up the (red) dirt on education: one shovel at a time. Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues (Special Edition), 17(4), 40-56. https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.230322176349062
Guenther, J., Disbray, S., & Osborne, S. (2015). Building on "Red Dirt" Perspectives: What Counts as Important for Remote Education? Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 44(2), 194-206, https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.20
Guenther, J., Lowe, K., Burgess, C., Vass, G., & Moodie, N. (2019). Factors contributing to educational outcomes for First Nations students from remote communities: A systematic review. Australian Educational Researcher, 42(Special issue. Aboriginal voices: Systematic reviews of indigenous education), 319-340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00308-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00308-4
Guenther, J., Ober, R., Maralngurra, C., Yibarbuk, D., Guymala, T., Nabarlambarl, E., Bilis, S., Nabulwad, R., Namarnyilk, S., Bangarr, M., & Namundja, C. (2022). Evaluation of Nawarddeken Academy Final Report. https://www.nawarddekenacademy.com/_files/ugd/75b820_bbee48f1a6c94c86bc5d40466bf82229.pdf
Guenther, J., Oliver, R., Holmes, C., Ober, R., Thorburn, K., Ridley, C., Dryden, S., & McCarthy, H. C. (2023). Researching School Engagement of Aboriginal Students and their Families from Regional and Remote Areas Project Final Report. https://assets-global.website-files.com/645756659178cbeb013589af/6572a3e8b0629b88ac7c0065_RemoteEngagement_FINAL%20REPORT.pdf
Guenther, J., Rigney, L.-I., Osborne, S., Lowe, K., & Moodie, N. (2023). The Foundations Required for First Nations Education in Australia. In N. Moodie, K. Lowe, R. Dixon, & K. Trimmer (Eds.), Assessing the Evidence in Indigenous Education Research: Implications for Policy and Practice (pp. 265-284). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14306-9_14 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14306-9_14
Gutierrez, A., Lowe, K., & Guenther, J. (2021). Indigenous student literacy outcomes in Australia: a systematic review of literacy programmes. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(1), 37-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1700214 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1700214
Halsey, J. (2018). Independent review into regional, rural and remote education: Final report. Australian Government Department of Education. https://www.education.gov.au/quality-schools-package/resources/independent-review-regional-rural-and-remote-education-final-report
Howard, D. (2020). The importance of physical health: The impact of otitis media on hearing loss and education outcomes. In R. Midford, G. Nutton, B. Hyndman & S. Silburn (Eds.), Health and education interdependence: Thriving from birth to adulthood (pp. 35–52). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3959-6_3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3959-6_3
Lester, L., & Mander, D. (2020). A longitudinal mental health and wellbeing survey of students transitioning to a boys’ only boarding school. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 30(2), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.261 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.261
Lloyd, A. (2020). Walking the tightrope or constructing a bridge? A study into effective partnership practices between an interstate boarding school community and a very remote Aboriginal community. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 30(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.256 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.256
Lowe, K., Bub-Connor, H., & Ball, R. (2019). Teacher professional change at the cultural interface: A critical dialogic narrative inquiry into a remote school teacher’s journey to establish a relational pedagogy. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 29(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i1.189 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i1.189
Lowe, K., Harrison, N., Tennent, C., Guenther, J., Vass, G., & Moodie, N. (2019). Factors affecting the development of school and Indigenous community engagement: A systematic review. Australian Educational Researcher, 42(Special issue. Aboriginal voices: Systematic reviews of indigenous education), 253-271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00314-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00314-6
Lowe, K., Skrebneva, I., Burgess, C., Harrison, N., & Vass, G. (2021). Towards an Australian model of culturally nourishing schooling. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(4), 467–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2020.1764111 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2020.1764111
MacDonald, M. (2018). Examining the perceived benefit of education for Aboriginal secondary students in Western Australia [PhD thesis]. Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2087/
MacDonald, M., Gringart, E., Ngarritjan Kessaris, T., & Gray, J. (2018). A “better” education: An examination of the utility of boarding school for Indigenous secondary students in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Education, 62(2), 192–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944118776762 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944118776762
Mander, D., Cohen, L., & Pooley, J. (2015). “If I wanted to have more opportunities and go to a better school, I just had to get used to it”: Aboriginal students’ perceptions of going to boarding school in Western Australia. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 44(1), 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2015.3
McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R. G., Redman-MacLaren, M., Russo, S., Rutherford, K., Tsey, K., Ungar, M., Wenitong, M., & Hunter, E. (2017). The development of a survey instrument to assess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ resilience and risk for self-harm [original research]. Frontiers in Education, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00019
McCalman, J., Benveniste, T., Wenitong, M., Saunders, V., & Hunter, E. (2020). “It’s all about relationships”: The place of boarding schools in promoting and managing health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school students. Children and Youth Services Review, 113, Article 104954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104954 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104954
McRae-Williams, E. (2008). Understanding “work” in Ngukurr: A remote Australian Aboriginal community [PhD thesis]. Charles Darwin University. https://doi.org/10.25913/5eba302f30d93
Midford, R., Nutton, G., Hyndman, B., & Silburn, S. (2020). Health and education interdependence: Thriving from birth to adulthood. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3959-6
Milgate, G., & Giles-Brown, B. (2013, April 27–May 1). Creating an effective school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students [Paper presentation]. Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, USA. https://research.acer.edu.au/indigenous_education/32
Miller, J., & Armour, D. (2021). Supporting successful outcomes in mathematics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: A systematic review. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1698711 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1698711
Miller, J., & Berger, E. (2022). Supporting First Nations Students with a Trauma Background in Schools. School Mental Health, 14(3), 485-497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09485-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09485-z
Minutjukur, M., & Osborne, S. (2014). At the heart of learning (series paper 2 of 4): Witulya mulapa nganana mantjintjaku: From cultural devastation to cultural reinvention. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 10(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/117718011401000102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/117718011401000102
Moodie, N., Vass, G., & Lowe, K. (2021). The Aboriginal voices project: Findings and reflections. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2020.1863335 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2020.1863335
Ober, R. (2017). Kapati Time: Storytelling as a Data Collection Method in Indigenous Research. Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts, 22(SPECIAL ISSUE: DECOLONISING RESEARCH PRACTICES), 8-15. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ecaf/ba8b4d5a4cf858cd01633b7136f0b64ad048.pdf DOI: https://doi.org/10.18793/LCJ2017.22.02
O’Bryan, M. (2021). Boarding and Australia’s First Peoples: Understanding how residential schooling shapes lives (vol. 3). Springer Nature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6009-2
O’Bryan, M., & Fogarty, B. (2020). Boarding off and on country: A study of education in one Northern Territory remote community (CAEPR commissioned report no. 4). Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research. https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2020/9/NT_Ed_Study_2020_7_Sept_1.pdf
Oliver, R., Grote, E., Rochecouste, J., & Exell, M. (2013). Needs analysis for task-based language teaching: a case study of Indigenous vocational education and training students who speak EAL/EAD. TESOL in Context, 22(2), 36-50, http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;res=AEIPT;dn=201408
Osborne, S. (2013). Kulintja nganampa maa-kunpuntjaku (Strengthening our thinking): Place-based approaches to mental health and wellbeing in Anangu schools. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42(2), 182–193. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2013.25 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2013.25
Osborne, S., Guenther, J., Ken, S., King, L., & Lester, K. (2022). Centring Anangu voices on work: A contextualised response to red dirt thinking. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 51(2). https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v51i2.37 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v51i2.37
Osborne, S., Lester, K., Minutjukur, M., & Tjitayi, K. (2014). Red dirt curriculum: Reimagining remote education: Sidney Myer Rural Lecture 3. Flinders University Press.
Osborne, S., Lester, K., Tjitayi, K., Burton, R., & Minutjukur, M. (2020). Red dirt thinking on first language and culturally responsive pedagogies in Anangu schools. Rural Society, 29(3), 204–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2020.1842597 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2020.1842597
Poetsch, S. (2020). Unrecognised language teaching: Teaching Australian Curriculum content in remote Aboriginal community schools. TESOL in Context, 29(1), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2020vol29no1art1423 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2020vol29no1art1423
Productivity Commission. (2023). Closing the Gap annual data compilation report. https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/annual-data-report/report/closing-the-gap-annual-data-compilation-report-july2023.pdf
Redman-MacLaren, M. L., Klieve, H., McCalman, J., Russo, S., Rutherford, K., Wenitong, M., & Bainbridge, R. G. (2017). Measuring resilience and risk factors for the psychosocial wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding school students: Pilot baseline study results [original research]. Frontiers in Education, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00005
Rutherford, K., McCalman, J., & Bainbridge, R. (2019). The post-schooling transitions of remote Indigenous secondary school graduates: A systematic scoping review of support strategies. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 29(2), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i2.222 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i2.222
Sarra, C. (2011). Strong and smart: Towards a pedagogy for emancipation. Routlege.
Schulz, S. (2014). Images of a good white teacher. In L. Michael & S. Schulz (Eds.), Unsettling whiteness (pp. 175–190). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848882829_017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848882829_017
Spina-Matthews, S., & Chaseling, O. (2023, 7 October). Northern and Central Land Councils join call for immediate scrapping of NT's 'effective enrolment' education policy. ABC. Retrieved May 2024 from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-07/northern-central-land-councils-call-end-nt-effective-enrolment/102944932
Stanley, L. (2024). Aboriginal-led development – the case of the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust. Development in Practice, 34(3), 325–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2023.2294684 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2023.2294684
Stevenson, K., Graham, C., & Colling, T. (2023, September 22). Scandal of the nation’s forgotten schoolkids. The Australian. Retrieved May 2024 from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nt-education-system-and-the-scandal-of-the-nations-forgotten-schoolkids/news-story/90550e28a679c1aab3c00f0736c7d9ae
Stewart, R. (2021). “We let ’em go!”: Transition from remote community to boarding school: The Lockhart River experience [PhD thesis]. James Cook University. https://doi.org/10.25903/rnkn%2D0592
Thomson, N., Burns, J., & McLoughlin, N. (2012). The impact of health on the education of Indigenous children. In Q. Beresford, G. Partington & G. Gower (Eds.), Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education (fully revised ed., pp. 202–234). University of Western Australia Press.
Wagner, B., Latimer, J., Adams, E., Carmichael Olson, H., Symons, M., Mazzucchelli, T. G., Jirikowic, T., Watkins, R., Cross, D., & Carapetis, J. (2020). School-based intervention to address self-regulation and executive functioning in children attending primary schools in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. PLOS ONE, 15(6), Article e0234895. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234895 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234895
Walker, M., Fredericks, B., Mills, K., & Anderson, D. (2014). “Yarning” as a method for community-based health research with Indigenous women: The Indigenous Women’s Wellness Research Program. Health Care for Women International, 35(10), 1216–1226. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2013.815754 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2013.815754
Weuffen, S., Maxwell, J., & Lowe, K. (2023). Inclusive, colour-blind and deficit: Understanding teachers’ contradictory views of Aboriginal students’ participation in education. The Australian Educational Researcher, 50, 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00517-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-022-00517-4
Whettingsteel, E., Oliver, R., & Tiwari, R. (2020). “It would give you a space to be yourself”: Increasing a sense of belonging for Aboriginal students in boarding schools. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 30(2), 84–110. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.253 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v30i2.253
Williamson, F., & Boughton, B. (2020). “I can speak on this here”: Empowerment within an Aboriginal adult literacy campaign. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 50(1), 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2019.27 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2019.27
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 John Guenther, Robyn Ober, Rhonda Oliver, Catherine Holmes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education is in the process of transitioning to fully Open Access. Most articles are available as Open Access but some are currently Free Access whereby copyright still applies and if you wish to re-use the article permission will need to be sought from the copyright holder. This article's license terms are outlined at the URL above.