Recording:
availabke here
Abstract:
For more than a decade, policy and funding priorities have worked against the delivery of quality secondary education programs in remote Australia. The legacy of this is a cohort of youth and young adults who have opted out of school education and been overlooked by the system. Meanwhile, communities have been working hard, often with limited resources, to support and deliver for these young people. This seminar looks to a new and brighter future for remote secondary education that is commonwealth-led, strengths-based, and responsive to context and place. This panel discussion will feature experts on the topic including Assoc. Prof. Bill Forgarty, Claire Rafferty, Rarrtjiwuy Herdman, and Dr. Marnie O’Bryan. Bill will discuss his current work evaluating the Learning on Country program; Rarrtjiwuy and Claire will reflect on their experience of working together to develop a research agenda and applied program that embody the ‘both way’ philosophy; and Marnie O’Bryan will discuss the emergence of inter-school partnerships to support quality education in remote Australia.
About the speakers:
Assoc. Prof. Bill Fogarty
has extensive experience in research on Indigenous education, employment policy and service provision. He has qualifications in anthropology, communications, social research methods, education and applied development. Over the past decade, Bill’s work has been instrumental in the development of the highly successful Learning on Country program in the Northern Territory.
Dr. Marnie O’Bryan
is a Research Fellow at CAEPR with a background in Education. She is also Co-Chair of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Prior to obtaining her PhD, Marnie worked for more than a decade with First Nations young people in a range of education and pastoral care settings. From 2012-2019 she led the Victorian Indigenous Education Network of schools in the Independent and Catholic sectors. Her book, ‘Boarding and Australia's First Nations: Understanding how residential schooling shapes live’ was recently published by Springer-Nature.
Claire Rafferty
has recently completed her PhD ‘Relationships Matter: Yolŋu Models of Community-Centred Education’. She has worked as an educator in Northern Territory communities for many years and is passionate about intergenerational community-based learning. She has collaborated with teachers, rangers and community members to develop contextual bicultural programs for both adult and student learners that are grounded in place and relationships. Claire is interested in how collaboration in intercultural spaces can be enriched when we value multiple perspectives, recognise power imbalances, create space for honest dialogue and engage in reflective practice.
Rarrtjiwuy Melanie Herdman
is a Yolŋu woman and leader from Northeast Arnhem Land. She is currently setting up the Djalkiri Foundation, a Yolŋu led organisation committed to creating space by providing support, guidance and advocacy for Yolŋu to support them to lead empowered lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities. As the Manapanami (CEO), Rarrtjiwuy plays a critical role in making sure Djalkiri focuses on community priorities and that the control of the organisation is in the hands of Yolŋu. As Chair of the Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation, board member for Country Needs People and a director at Country Connect, to name a few, Rarrtjiwuy works across different sectors and that supports her to advocate and influence the priorities of her people and the communities she represents.