Conference Papers
Session E1.1 Education and identity
1. Steve Larkin: The Review of Higher Education Access & Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
In this session Professor Larkin will engage with the audience on the capacity of higher education to nurture and express concepts of identity at an individual and a societal level. Professor Larkin is a member of the current Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. He will relate this discussion to important themes of the Review which will report to the Australian Government in April 2012. Themes include achieving a better integration and recognition of Indigenous knowledges across all fields of learning and university life and cultivating an academy that promotes the cultural enrichment of all Australians. In April 2011, the Australian government announced a review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be led by Professor Larissa Behrendt and which will report to the Australian government by April 2012.
Author bio: Professor Larkin is a Kungarkany man from Darwin. He is Chair of the Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council and a member of the Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People expert panel. In 1995, he was appointed Aboriginal Health Adviser to the Australian Medical Association, and in 1997 became the inaugural CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. In 1999, he joined the Department of Health and Aged Care as an Assistant Secretary in the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health where he managed Social Health, Substance Misuse, Men's and Prison's health, the Executive Policy Unit, and Research and Data programs. In 2002, he managed the National Indigenous Employment program, and was appointed Deputy Principal, AIATSIS. In 2004, he was appointed Principal. He holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Indigenous Public Health with James Cook University, and was an Adjunct Professorial Fellow with Charles Darwin University prior to his current appointment as Pro Vice-Chancellor - Indigenous Leadership. He holds positions on the Board of Directors, Beyond Blue, the Child Deaths Review Committee (NT) and the NTER Evaluation Advisory Group. He is also Chair of the NT Board of Studies. He holds a Bachelor of Social Work, a Master of Social Science (Welfare and Social Policy) and is currently completing his PhD on the topic “Race Matters? Indigenous employment in the Australian Public Service.”
2. Mere Berryman and Te Arani Barrett: Te Kotahitanga: Positive changes for Teachers and Māori students in 32 New Zealand Secondary Schools
Te Kotahitanga (1) is a research and professional development reform project that is funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. This project aims to support secondary school teachers to raise the achievement of their indigenous, Māori students. An Effective Teaching Profile, developed from the voices of Māori students, their families, principals and some of their teachers, provides direction and focus for classroom pedagogy and for the professional development. This paper reflects on the Te Kotahitanga professional development that supports teachers to implement the Effective Teaching Profile and develop a culturally responsive pedagogy of relations. Classroom relationships and interactions such as these have resulted in Maori students attending school more regularly, engaging effectively as learners and achieving at levels that are more equitable to their non-Māori peers. The paper also considers the leadership and institutional changes necessary at the school level and concludes with some evidence of the changes that we have seen as a result. (1) Te Kotahitanga literally means unity of purpose but is increasingly being used in its figurative sense of promoting the self-determination of individuals within non-dominating relations of interdependence.
Author bio: Dr Mere Berryman trained and worked as a teacher before beginning work as a researcher. As a researcher she has collaborated extensively with school staff, families, communities and other professionals to bring about education change for Māori students. This work has been in mainstream, special and Māori medium education settings. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow working as the Professional Development Director in Te Kotahitanga at Waikato University.
Te Arani Barrett has a Masters in Indigenous Studies and a background in senior management with experience in quality management systems. She has taught at tertiary and secondary levels in both mainstream and Wānanga (Māori University). Te Arani started working as the Te Kotahitanga Project Manager in February 2007 and now, as the Operations Manager, contributes to the leadership aspect of the project. Her doctoral study compares highly effective leadership between Te Kotahitanga and Wānanga settings.