The relationship between education and wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities

Aims

• Improved measures of educational outcomes.

• To identify the interrelationships between formal education, traditional learning and culturally relevant outcomes.

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Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP)

Goal:

To improve social and economic conditions in remote Australia using research and innovation

To improve the education and training pathways in remote areas so that people have better opportunities to participate in the range of economies that exist

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Projects within the CRC-REP

Interplay Between Health, Wellbeing, Education and Employment (Interplay Project)

Associate Professor Sheree Cairney

Remote Education Systems (RES)

Associate Professor John Guenther

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Interplay Project Framework

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Remote Education Systems (RES) Project

Aims

• Education for what?• What is the problem in remote education?• What does success look like in remote education?

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RES Project FindingsMasters Project: Establish Links

Links between Interplay and RES projects

Achievement of Year 9 students at or above minimum standard, NAPLAN

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Source: ACARA, National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy Achievement in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy 2010

Background – ‘The Gap’

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision 2011. Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2011.

Background - Remoteness

Background - Pathways

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  Proportion of 20-64 year olds with non-school qualifications at Certificate III or higher

Remote* 2002 2008Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

14.4% 18.4%

Non-Indigenous 38.6% 45.5%

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision 2011. Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2011.

Remoteness isn’t the main issue

The majority of Indigenous students in very remote Australia currently do not meet the national minimum standard in reading, writing and numeracy. (FaHCSIA 2009:, p. 15)

Indigenous Non-Indigenous

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Gunther, J (2012)Are we making education count in remote Australian communities or just counting education?

(ACARA 2011)

Attendance vs NAPLAN Year 3 Reading Score, 2011all very remote schools (n=119)

Gunther, J (2012)

Moderate relationship

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Attendance vs NAPLAN Year 3 Reading Score, 2011very remote schools >80 per cent Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students (n=70)

Gunther, J (2012)

Weak relationship

Indicators of Disadvantage (The Gap)

• Lower school attendance and enrolment rates;• Low levels of Year 9 attainment;• Low levels of Year 10 attainment; and• Difficulties in the transition from school to work.• Poorer teacher quality • A lack of Indigenous Cultural Studies in school curricula

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Outcomes from the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage Steering Committee:

Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, 2011a

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There appears to be more to the story……

What indicators would be represent education in this context?

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RES Project FindingsMasters Project: Establish Links

Links between Interplay and RES projects

Aims

• Improved measures of educational outcomes.

• To identify the interrelationships between formal education, traditional learning and culturally relevant outcomes.

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Wellbeing

Health

Employme

nt

Aims

Relevance

Indicators of Disadvantage

The Bigger Picture

Quality

Learning about culture in

school

Engagement

pathways

Motivations and barriers

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Interplay Project Framework

QualityRelevanceLearning about cultureEngagementMotivationsBarriersPathways

Hypotheses

• That engagement, and the quality and cultural relevance of education are more important than attendance in relation to achievement in remote education.

• That connection to culture, engagement in school, empowerment and opportunity are strong predictors of wellbeing.

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Project Design and Method

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Project proposal

Baselin

e Data Collection

Data Analysis

Thesis

2013 2014 2015 2016

Support Aboriginal Community Researchers in the collection of data

Correlations between Health,

Education and

wellbeing

Improve the quality of education and therefore wellbeing by policy

Literature ReviewOral presentation Ethics

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Communities

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Galiwin’ku (NT)

Wiluna (WA)

Amata (SA)

Setting: Communities

Data collection

Primary Data • Individual surveys • Community level survey

Secondary Data• Linkage data • Education • Health • Services• Infrastructure• Governance • Economic participation

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Community 15-24 25-34

n(N) n(N)

Galiwin’ku (NT) 179 (335) 178 (330)

Amata (SA) 92 (121) 75 (94)

Wiluna (WA) 46 (53)             50 (58)

Data collection

Based on ILOC by INGP Indigenous Status and AGEP, 2011; Source: ABS unpublished data; N=population count; n=minimum sample sizes for each cohort.

N=population count; n=minimum sample sizes for each cohort.

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Ethics Clearance

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Closing the gap

• To halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children within a decade

• To halve the gap in Indigenous Year 12 achievement by 2020

• To halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade.

Closing the Gap (2008) the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)

Outcomes

Knowledge to inform policy on effective education that improves people’s lives in remote communities

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