Transforming schooling practices for First Nations learners: culturally nourishing schooling in conversation with the theory of practice architectures

Abstract

The Australian education system is culpable in perpetuating, rather than alleviating, inequitable outcomes for First Nations peoples. To address this, the Culturally nourishing schooling project (2020-2024) involves eight high schools committed to whole-of-school change in four intertwined domains: learning from Country, culture/language programs, epistemic mentoring, and sustained professional learning. In this paper we envision how and why the theory of practice architectures (TPA) may provide a framework for understanding what happens as schools pursue this transformation. We critically examine whether TPA can provide an epistemologically and ontologically appropriate methodology to support change in schools with significant cohorts of First Nations students. A key premise of TPA is to uncover the meanings and impacts of the practices of the people entangled in school sites, and reveal the usually unseen structural arrangements that allow these practices to unfold. We contend that by making these arrangements visible, those involved in schooling are enabled to contribute to the transformative change that will foster culturally nourishing practices.