non-Aboriginal Students Research Articles

A Child Welfare Course for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students: Pedagogical and Technical Challenges

SUMMARY This chapter describes the development of a Web-based undergraduate child welfare course for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners. Rather than simply incorporate an Aboriginal perspective into Eurocentric pedagogies and course structures, the authors disrupt the dominance of Western ways of knowing in education by designing the course to situate Western knowledge as a way of knowing rather than the way of knowing and the frame from which all other perspectives are understood. In this research the authors describe the differences between Aboriginal and European thought and reveal how Web-based courses can be designed in ways that do not perpetuate Eurocentrism.

Cultural Congruence in the Education of and Research With Young Aboriginal Students: Ethical Implications for Classroom Researchers

The purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to explore in an inner-city kindergarten classroom how Aboriginal students' interaction patterns differ from, and are often in dissonance with, what their non-Aboriginal teacher would expect from his or her non-Aboriginal students; and (b) to explore some of the ethical tensions that we experienced as researchers involved in ethnographic research with these children and their teacher with special attention to the interplay between research and advocacy. While addressing issues of cultural congruence in this classroom, we explore some of the relational complexities that we experienced as we thought about how we should position ourselves in relation to the students and to the teacher and in relation to our perceived ethical responsibilities as researchers. We suggest ways in which researchers might combine caring with advocacy.

Recent Dissertations

Abeita, Lynn Ann. "American Indian Compliance with Health Screening Behaviors." PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2004. Aguilera, Dorothy E. "Who Defines Success: An Analysis of Competing Models of Education for American Indian and Alaskan Native Students." PhD diss., University of Colorado, 2003. Ballenger, Thomas Lee. "The Development of Law and Legal Institutions among the Cherokees." PhD diss., University of Oklahoma, 1939. Bauer-Sanders, Katherine. "Students' Perceptions of Bullying Phenomenon in a Native American Elementary School." EdD diss., University of South Dakota, 2003. Begaye, Timothy. "Adaptive Leadership: Challenges of Navajo Leaders in a Contemporary Society." EdD diss., Harvard University, 2003. Berrington, Susan L. "Successful Native American Students: Responses to Challenges and Barriers in College." EdD diss., University of San Francisco, 2003. Bodinger de Uriarte, John Joseph. "The Casino and the Museum: Imagining the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Representational Space." PhD diss., University of Texas, 2003. Boyer, Stephen Paul. "Capturing Education: The Role of Culture at a Tribally Controlled Community College." PhD diss., Pennsylvania State University, 2003. Brandon, Stephen. "Sacred Fire and Sovereign Rhetorics: Cherokee Literacy and Literature in the Cherokee and American Nations, 1760–1841." PhD diss., University of North Carolina, 2003. Brooks, Lisa Tanya. "The Common Pot: Indigenous Writing and the Reconstruction of Native Space in the Northeast." PhD diss., Cornell University, 2004. [End Page 348] Brown, Loren Nunn. "The Work of the Dawes Commission among the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians." PhD diss., University of Oklahoma, 1937. Browne, Annette Jo. "First Nations Women and Health Care Services: The Sociopolitical Context of Encounters with Nurses." PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2003. Burdette, Patricia Wells. "The Power of the Spirit: American Indian Worldview and Successful Community Development among the Oglala Lakota." PhD diss., Union Institute, 2003. Cain, Mary Celia. "Songbirds: Representation, Meaning, and Indigenous Public Culture in Native American Women's Popular Musics." PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2003. Calder, Kim J. "Differentially Scaffolded Instruction for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students during Writing in the Elementary Years." PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2003. Carlson, Keith Thor. "The Power of Place, the Problem of Time: A Study of an Aboriginal Collective Identity." PhD diss., University of British Columbia, 2003. Christal, Mark Allen. "Virtual Museum Projects for Culturally Responsive Teaching in American Indian Education." PhD diss., University of Texas, 2003. Connell, William F. "Emerging Ladino Spaces in the Parcialidades of Mexico City: Race, Identity and Indigenous Self-government, 1564–1700." PhD diss., Tulane University, 2003. Covington, James Warren. "Relations between the Ute Indians and the United States Government, 1848–1900." PhD diss., University of Oklahoma, 1949. Dodge, William A. "The Meaning of Place at Blackrock: Change and Identity on the Zuni Indian Reservation." PhD diss., University of New Mexico, 2003. Fuchs, Dana Lee. "Native American Healing and Counseling: Cantadora." PhD diss., University of Connecticut, 2003. Gates St-Pierre, Christian. "Variabilite, stase et regionalisation stylistiques: La ceramique du site Hector-Trudel et Du Nord-Est americain au Sylivicole moyen tardif (500 a 1000 ap. J.-C.)." PhD diss., University of Montreal, 2003. Hernandez, Andrew S., III. "The Indian Slave Trade in New Mexico: Escalating Conflicts and the Limits of State Power." PhD diss., University of New Mexico, 2003. Hirshman, Amy Jo. "A Case Study in the Relationship between Social Complexity [End Page 349] and the Organization of Ceramic Production from the Lake Patzcuaro Basin, Michoacan, Mexico." PhD diss., Michigan State University, 2003. Horton, Tonia Wood. "Indian Lands, American Landscapes: Toward a Genealogy of Place in National Parks." PhD diss., Arizona State University, 2003. Johnson, M. Rene. "A Perpetual Peace: American Indian Treaties and the Environment." PhD diss., Michigan Technological University, 2003. King, Valerie Claire. "The Organization of Production of Chuska Gray Ware Ceramics for Distribution and Consumption in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico." PhD diss., University of New Mexico, 2003. Lawson, Michael J. "Baskets, Pots, and Prayer Plumes: The Southwest Ethnographic Collections of the Smithsonian Institution." PhD diss., Arizona State University, 2003. Leckie, William H. "The Military Conquest of the Southern Plains Indians." PhD diss., University of Oklahoma, 1954...

Transformation and Re-Creation: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Theorising in Canadian Aboriginal Studies Programs

Abstract This paper explores the professional experience of an Anishnabe educator working in various organisations teaching Indigenous knowledge issues in both Aboriginal and primarily non-Aboriginal settings. The reflections span a number of years of teaching Aboriginal worldview and knowledge issues courses and include formal evaluations from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students who have participated in the courses over that time. This paper draws upon two examples of educational institutions where Indigenous knowledge is being explored: the University of Toronto’s Aboriginal Studies Program and the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources’ (CIER) National First Nations Youth Environmental Education and Training Program. Both settings represent special places for thinking about decolonising Indigenous education. Integral to Aboriginal philosophy and decolonising education is the role elders play in informing and implementing meaningful education for Aboriginal learners. Both programs involve elders in central roles where they are recognised as authorities, facilitators and teachers. Discussion is offered on the subject of Aboriginal philosophies pertaining to education and some models for acting upon them, particularly as they relate to environmental education. Further analysis summarises the challenges faced by both programs and initiatives taken to advance Aboriginal educational goals. Finally, recommendations are made as to the types of changes which may be undertaken to realise creative spaces for resistance and creativity.

Self-recognition and Well-being: Speaking Aboriginal English in Healthy Classrooms

Abstract This paper applies the findings of doctoral research undertaken in the Northern Territory. It draws on extended interviews with nine Indigenous students studying at university to produce four findings for classroom learning and teaching, one of which highlights the need to recognise Aboriginal English as a focal point of the curriculum for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. I take the position that this recognition in schools depends to a significant degree on universities training their preservice teachers to recognise Aboriginal English as necessary to Aboriginal student learning and therefore as a legitimate dialect of the classroom, and this in turn requires universities to recognise the importance of Aboriginal English in their own curricula. Towards the end of the paper, I draw on some literature to suggest ways in which Aboriginal English could be incorporated into the classroom.

Prevalence and related risk factors of areca quid chewing among junior high students in eastern Taiwan

Areca quid chewing is a serious problem in eastern Taiwan. The prevalence and related risk factors of areca quid chewing among junior high students were studied. Group 1 consisted of 896 non-aboriginal students and group 2 of 565 aboriginal students. The students were asked to fill out a questionnaire anonymously. Among the non-aboriginal students, 2.2% were found as current areca quid chewers, 16.4% had tried but not become regular users, and 2.2% had used it regularly and quit, whereas 9.7% of aboriginal students were current chewers, and 32.7% had tried it but had not become regular users, and 7.4% had used it regularly and quit. The prevalence of areca chewing is significantly different between boys and girls in the non-aboriginal group. A logistic regression analysis indicated that a non-aboriginal student who is a male, grows areca at home, is a tobacco smoker, an alcohol drinker, and has family members and close friends as chewers is more likely to chew areca quid than others. Aboriginal students who are chewers are likely to grow areca at home, are tobacco smokers and alcohol drinkers, and have family members and close friends as chewers. Based on the findings of the study, the need for a health promotion program was identified. Areca quid is not only detrimental to people's health, but also to the environment in which people live.

Pedagogical challenges in making mathematics relevant for Indigenous Australians

After the invasion and occupation of their land by Europeans, Indigenous Australians were expected to benefit from a Western education system based on that of the dominant Europeans. Gradually educators realized that Aboriginal children learn differently and that Indigenous culture and pedagogy has validity and strength. Of course, educators also need to be acutely aware of the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Australia and that there is not a monolithic sense of Aboriginal identity or Aboriginal pedagogy. Dispossession and alienation, poor health and few employment opportunities must also affect educational interest, attendance, application and performance. In this paper the characteristics of Indigenous learners are examined and pedagogical strategies to assist in both students' learning and teachers' delivery are explored. The message conveyed in this paper has particular relevance for teaching mathematics to Aboriginal learners. It is also of considerable value in teaching mathematics to nonAboriginal students, in Australia and elsewhere.

Substance use and socio-demographic factors among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school students in New South Wales

ObjectiveTo estimate prevalence rates of substance use and associated socio-demographic factors among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) secondary students. MethodThis paper presents ATSI data from population-based school surveys conducted in 1996, 1992 and 1989 in New South Wales and replicates identical analysis using the three datasets. ResultsThe proportion of ATSI students in each survey ranged from 2.5% to 3.8%. After adjusting for age, gender and socio-demographic factors, ATSI students were more likely to smoke cigarettes, and to have tried cannabis and other illicit substances. ConclusionsThis study suggests that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were more susceptible to, and maintained a higher rate of, substance use than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. Socio-demographic differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in age, rural/urban status, living with both parents, reporting poor school performance, low parental supervision and high school absenteeism remained significantly associated with Aboriginal status and substance use. ImplicationsThis is one of the first studies examining substance use in a large and representative sample of in-school ATSI youth. These results provide information useful for public health advocates, and require policy changes more likely to reduce substance use among ATSI youth.

Building Bridges Between Aboriginal and Western Mathematics

After the occupation of their land by Europeans, the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were expected to benefit from an education system based on that of the dominant Europeans. Gradually educators realized that Aboriginal culture has validity and strength and that all children learn differently. In this paper the characterization of the Aboriginal learner is examined and pedagogical strategies to assist in both students' learning and teachers' delivery are explored. The message that is conveyed in this paper has particular relevance to teaching mathematics to Aboriginal learners as well as to the general curriculum. It is also of considerable value in teaching non-Aboriginal students.

Differences between Values of Australian Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Students

In this study, the Values Questionnaire developed by Schwartz and Bilsky was used to examine differences in the values held by a group of Aboriginal university students and a group of non-Aboriginal students studying at an Australian university. Results indicated that the Aboriginal group placed greater emphasis on values associated with Tradition, Conformity, and Security and significantly less emphasis on values associated with Achievement, Self-direction, Stimulation, Hedonism, and Benevolence. These data, in conjunction with a separate analysis of the ten highest ranked values for each group, support the view that the main differences between the groups lie in values serving collective (Aboriginal) as opposed to individual (non-Aboriginal) interests. These findings are consistent with previous research on the worldview of traditional Aboriginal people, and they suggest that even among younger, more Westernised representatives of this culture collective values are likely to be strong determinants of behaviour.

Curriculum, Classroom Management and Discipline for the Aboriginal Student

The Director-General of Education in 1982, Mr. D.Swan, stated that Aboriginal education had two purposes: to enhance the development and learning of Aboriginal students and to enable all students to have some knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Aborigines and their cultural heritage (Aboriginal Education Unit, 1982, p.5). Unfortunately, today Aboriginal students still do not enjoy compatible success and participation rates to those of non-Aboriginal students. They are predominantly taught irrelvant curriculums and faced with inappropriate teacher classroom management and discipline styles. Subsequently, many Aboriginal students view schools as alien and hostile places. Schools do not meet Aboriginal students’ needs and problems of low self-esteem, motivation, academic achievement and a sense of safety and belonging often occur. Aboriginal students often do not behave in the same manner as non-Aboriginal students and teachers should be aware of the purposes of Aboriginal students’ behaviour and of the family and cultural influences which shape Aboriginals’ feelings, attitudes and values. There is a need in our schools for the inclusion of more Aboriginal perspectives in curriculums and for teachers to become aware of the need to change the way they teach and interact with Aboriginal students.

The Determinants of Motivation for Urban Aboriginal Students

As part of a larger study into the psychological determinants of motivation of urban Aboriginal school students, the Triandis model of social behavior was used to examine a range of variables considered important in influencing behavior. A comparative study, utilizing multiple regression analysis, was made of the responses of 496 Aboriginal students, 487 migrant students, and 1,172 Anglo students to the Behavioural Intentions Questionnaire. The study demonstrates the cross-cultural relevance and usefulness of the Triandis model. Major findings suggest that of the components of the Triandis model, personal normative beliefs and affect toward the act are the most salient predictors of intention for the three groups studied. Furthermore, although they vary in their relative importance, the consistency of the predictors across the three groups strongly suggests that the same cognitive motivational systems are influencing the intentions to continue with or leave school expressed by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Further study of both the facilitating conditions that may assist inhibit the development of motivation to continue with school and the effect of "habit" on decision making needs to be completed to explain why Aboriginal students drop out of school earlier than non-Aboriginal students.

Aboriginal Studies : A Beginning at Mt Druitt High

In 1988 Mt Druitt High will begin an elective course in Aboriginal Studies. The process for development for this course has taken two years and was on the basis that this course could only get off the ground if it had the full support and involvement of both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students and community members.In 1986 the 32 Aboriginal students enrolled at the school formed a club and called themselves the Dharruk Koories (Mt Druitt is in the suburb of Dharruk, which was named after the Aboriginal tribe that originally inhabited the area). The group met weekly with me and the school community worker and quickly formed a list of aims.

The Social Construction of Identity: The Aboriginal Problem

Aboriginal people assert that a crucial contemporary problem for them is the need, after centuries wherein their culture has been destroyed, to build an Aboriginal identity. This study set out to examine some aspects of the construction of identity from a sociology of knowledge approach. It attempted to map the ‘worlds’ within which Aboriginal people locate themselves and to examine the theorizing through which these worlds were objectivated. Three sites were selected for study: one city, one country, and one tradition-oriented. Interview data revealed that reality definers in each group projected fundamentally different models of Aboriginal society. Within these worlds, the school was a sub-structure providing a locus for theorizing with which students interact to form their identity. Reality-definers within the school situation were found to project positive theorizing about Aboriginal identity which was formulated differently from one site to another; this theorizing legitimated the model of worlds proposed by Aboriginal people. In the case of students, incipient theorizing on the part of non-Aborigines typified Aborigines negatively. Aborigines, however, while also typifying Aborigines in general negatively, interacted with the theorizing, not of other students, but of reality-definers and typified themselves positively. The rudimentary theorizing of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students about the world of schooling was positive.

Systemic Bias in Education

Since the early 1970s there have been many positive developments in the education of Aboriginal Australian children as well as education about Aboriginal society, past and present, for all children. We only have to look at such developments as Aboriginal Secondary Grants, Study Grants, home-school liaison, language programs, (e.g. Van Leer or the bilingual programs), family support/counselling (e.g. the Inala Family Project), Aboriginal Education Consultative groups at local, regional, state and national levels. The list of positive developments appears to be endless. Certainly teachers, schools and State Departments of Education have consulted with Aboriginal groups to develop policy statements about Aboriginal Education/Aboriginal Studies in schools. Money has been spent on employing (and sometimes training) Aboriginal teaching assistants; Aboriginal schools have received some support and in areas such as the Northern Territory and Northern Queensland, efforts are underway to decentralise education.In a very real sense giant steps appear to have been made in Aboriginal education over the past ten years or so. If we are really honest, however, the results of these giant steps remain comparatively disappointing. Thus, although we know that Aboriginal children stay at schools for longer now than they did during the 1960s, the proportion who actually complete senior high school at a satisfactory level is small. For example, in the North West Region of New South Wales, only 11 Aboriginal students were enrolled in Year 12 at the beginning of 1981. See Table 1 for further information.In that same year, 224 Aboriginal students entered high school throughout the region. If the 1981 patterns of enrolment for Year 12 persist, then only 5% of the 224 children who started high school will actually complete the program. These figures are not encouraging, particularly as non-Aboriginal students’ enrolment patterns indicate that 29% of those who begin high school actually make it to Year 12.