Curriculum as Knowledge System: Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku

Curriculum as Knowledge System: Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku

Samantha Disbray, Remote Education Systems CRC-REP AILA, World Congress, Brisbane 2014

Curriculum as Knowledge System: Indigenous Knowledge in the Warlpiri schools " This presentation was developed over 2014 and presented at the seminar series of Centre

for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) in March, the Northern Institute in August and finally at the AILA (International Applied Linguistics Association) World Congress, also in August.!!Abstract! In 2013 the researcher was contracted by NT DoE and the Warlpiri schools to design and commission an on-line data base to house the rich collection of Warlpiri teaching and learning resources. This paper discusses the project, detailing the following: !•  the generation of the materials through contemporary intergeneration processes of

knowledge tradition in the context of the NT Bilingual program!•  The role of Indigenous languages as medium of instruction and in language and culture

programs in Australian schools!•  Curriculum and the use of a Traditional Knowledge system in schools – internationally

and locally!•  The history of the Warlpiri Curriculum cycle!•  The Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku website, its design and functionality !•  The use of new teachnologies for Indigenous language work!•  Potential futures for the Warlpiri curriculum cycle and materials!

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Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku"

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Indigenous Knowledge & Northern Territory Bilingual Education Program "

•  Established in response to the federal governmentʼs call for remote Aboriginal children to have ʻtheir primary education in Aboriginal languagesʼ (Dept. Ed. 1974:6)!

•  Ran between 1974 and 2008 in 23 schools, providing teaching for Indigenous students in some 24 languages!

•  Began at Yuendumu 1974, Willowra 1976, Lajamanu 1981 and Nyirrpi mid 1980ʼs. !

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Significance of Indigenous Language & Culture

in Education " Right to exercise control over education !

(United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Section 14 )!! Locally relevant, Pedagogically effective!

(Fogarty and Schwab 2012, Miller 2005, Batten et al,. Silburn et al 2011, Balati et al. 2004, !Catts and Gelade 2002, Osborne and Guenther (2013a) !

Community Involvement!(Wallace, Curry and Agar (2008), Altman & Fogarty (2010), Devlin (2004), Fogarty and Kral (2011) Osborne and Guenther (2013b), Walton and Eggington 1990)!

Social, emotional wellbeing, health !(NILS 2014; Our Land, Our Language 2012)!

Local employment Pathways !Learning through Country (Fogarty (2012)) , Place-based pedagogy (Fogarty and Schwab (2012), Sharing Place, Learning Together (Webb et al.)!

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!The control of curriculum, teaching, learning and literacy is all about power. We wanted the school to be a place which put together Balanda and Yolngu learning to strengthen our culture. !!!! Dr. Marika, quoting Manawuy Yunipingu on Aboriginalisation of

Yirrkala School !!(Marika 1999a: 17)!

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Curriculum and Knowledge System "Curriculum will be designed to develop successful learners, confident

and creative individuals and active and informed citizens. Together the national (and local) curriculum will enable every student to develop:!

A solid foundation in knowledge, understanding, skills and values on which further learning and adult life can be built!The curriculum will include a strong focus on literacy and numeracy skills. It will also enable students to build social and emotional intelligence, and nurture student wellbeing through health and physical education in particular. !The curriculum will support students to relate well to others and foster an understanding of Australian society, citizenship and national values, including through the study of civics and citizenship. !

8 Goals of Curriculum – Melbourne Declaration (2008)

Indigenous and Local Knowledge"Societies from all parts of the world possess rich sets of experience, understanding and explanation. !Local and indigenous knowledge refers to the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings.!For rural and indigenous peoples, local knowledge informs decision-making about fundamental aspects of day-to-day life.!

!This knowledge is integral to a cultural complex that also encompasses language, systems of classification, resource use practices, social interactions, ritual and spirituality. !These unique ways of knowing are important facets of the worldʼs cultural diversity, and provide a foundation for locally-appropriate sustainable development !

!!http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/priority-areas/links/!

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•  Warlpiri Theme Cycle as Knowledge System"!!

!Old people told us what to put in the Warlpiri cycle. We worked

!everytime with elders, about what we should teach the kids, in !different parts of the school. Jukurrpa, jurnarrpa, what food,

!everything. Also literacy and Warlpiri maths.!

!In SACE workshops, on country visits in the 80ʼs and at Warlpiri

!Triangle and sometimes Jinta Jarrimi they help us and so they can !help us to teach our kids. !

!(M.Kitson. Warlpiri Educator at Willowra School, 2014)!

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Lajamanu SACE policy: Warlpiri Strand. 1987 p. 10

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Lajamanu School SACE policy: Warlpiri Strand. 1987 p. 20

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Lajamanu School SACE policy: Warlpiri Strand. 1987 p. 21

Warlpiri Curriculum Development The Warlpiri Language and Culture Curriculum 1989, Bilingual Resource Development Unit, Yuendumu.

Warlpiri Curriculum Development Warlpiri Theme Cycle, 1999

Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku"

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Term Planners"

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A Future for the Warlpiri Theme Cycle!!Archiving and Access!•  On-line database of all resources and materials!•  Use in and out of school settings !•  Sharing and dissemination across schools!•  Up-skilling teaching staff in digital technologies!!!Ways forward!•  Successful programs – Learning on Country !•  Partnerships outside of schools – Ranger Groups, Learning Centers!•  PAW Media Organisation!•  New models – Red Dirt Curriculum (Osborne and Guenther 2013a,b)!!

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References"•  Balatti, J., Gargano, L., Goldman, M., Wood, G., and Woodlock, J. 2004. Improving

Indigenous Completion Rates in Mainstream TAFE, NCVER/ ANTA, Canberra. !•  Batten, M., Frigo, T., Hughes, P. & McNamara, N. 1998. Enhancing English Literacy Skills

in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students: A review of the literature and case studies in primary schools [Research Monograph 54], ACER Press. http://research.acer.edu.au/indigenous_education/5 (November 2011)!

•  Catts, R. and Gelade, S. 2002. ʻRhetorics and realities: Equating the delivery of Indigenous VET to the demands of its context: Commonalities from two research projectsʼ, Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association Conference, April, Melbourne. !

•  Devlin, Brian. 2004. Indigenous Languages and Culture in Territory Schools. Report 2004-2005. Darwin, NT: Department of Education. !

•  Disbray, S. 2013. Evaluating the Bilingual Education Program in Warlpiri Schools. In Language Description Informed by Theory (ed) R. Pensalfini, Myfany Turpin and Diane Guillemin. John Benjamins Publishing Company.!

•  Fogarty, W. 2012. Country as Classroom. In Eds. J. Altman and S. Kerins. People on Country. Vital Landscapes, Indigenous Futures. The Federation Press. Leichardt, NSW.!

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References"

•  Fogarty, W. and R.G. Scwhab. 2012. Indigenous Education: Experiential Learning and Learning through !Country. CAEPR working Paper, 80/2012.!

•  Fogarty, W. and I. Kral. 2011. Indigenous Language Education in Remote Communities. CAEPR Topical !Issue No. 11/2011!

•  Gale, Mary-Anne. 1997. Dhangum Djorraʼwuy Dhäwa. A history of writing in Aboriginal languages. Aboriginal Research Institute, University of South Australia, Underdale, S.A.!

•  Graham, Beth. 1999. Growing into bilingual education: Jottings from the journey: growing into bilingual education. Ngoonjook: a Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues 16, 55-56!

•  Marika, R. 1999. The 1998 Wentworth Lecture. Australian Aboriginal Studies 1999(1): 3-9.!•  Marika-Munggiritji, R and M. Christie. 1995. Yolngu Metaphors for Learning. International

Journal of the Sociology of Language 113, 59-62. !•  Miller, C. 2005. Aspects of Training that Meet Indigenous Australiansʼ Aspirations: A

Systemic Review of Research, National Council for Vocational Education Research, Adelaide. !

•  Ngurruwutthun, D. 1991. The Garma project. In Aboriginal pedagogy: Aboriginal teachers speak out, B.Wei, D. Nayin, Y. Rom & N. Nginingawula (eds), 107-122. Geelong: Deakin University Press.!

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References"•  Ngurruwutthun, D & Stewart, A. 1997. Learning to walk behind, Learning to walk in front: A

case study of the mentor program at Yirrkala Community Education Centre. Ngoonjook 12, 18-42.!

•  Osborne, S and Guenther, J. 2013a Red Dirt Thinking on Aspiration and Success.The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. Volume 42, Special Issue 02, Red dirt thinking on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. December 2013!

•  Osborne, S and Guenther, J. 2013b Red Dirt Thinking on Power, Pedagogy and Paradigms: Reframing the Dialogue in Remote Education. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. Volume 42, Special Issue 02, Red dirt thinking on remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. December 2013!

•  Silburn S. R, Nutton, G. D., McKenzie, J.W. & Landrigan, M. 2011. Early years English language acquisition and instructional approaches for Aboriginal students with home languages other than English: A systematic review of the Australian and international literature. The Centre for Child Development and Education, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, NT. <http://ccde.menzies.edu.au/sites/default/files/resources/Silburn%202011%20Early%20years%20English%20language%20acquisition%20and%20instructional%20approaches.pdf> (February 2013)!

•  Walton, C and Eggington, W. (1990). Introduction. In (eds). C. Walton and W. Eggington Language: maintenance, Power and Education in Australian Aboriginal Contexts. NTU Press, Darwin. !

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Thanks to the Warlpiri educators and NT Department of Education (NT DoE) Staff and staff and members of the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust (WETT), who have been involved in this project. Funds for the development of the Warlpiri Pina-jarrinjaku Database were provided by WETT and the Warlpiri College, NT DoE. The work reported in this publication was supported by funding from the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centres Program through the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the CRC-REP or Ninti One Limited or its participants. Errors or omissions remain with the author.

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