Global indigenous studies in the first world: some reflections and epistemological matters

Indigenous studies in First World nation states such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America and Hawaii, appear to have acquired the status of a discipline, although the accounts of its formation vary. Indigenous studies is formally recognised as part of university curricula in these countries and is included in inter‐disciplinary contexts and degree programs or is offered as a program and a degree in its own right. Indigenous scholarship is being published in unprecedented numbers with publishing houses competing for manuscripts. Indigenous studies journals have proliferated having emerged in the 1970s though most were, and continue to be, edited by non‐Indigenous people. In addition, Indigenous studies professional associations have been established organising research related activities as well as convening conferences to enable intellectual engagement and the formation of national and international networks. The nature and extent of this institutionalisation and the conditions of existence, though often marginalised and under resourced, may allude to the coherence of Indigenous Studies as a discipline with global reach but what remains unclear are its epistemological boundaries and the degree to which it perpetuates cultural entrapment . This paper will reflect on some of these epistemological matters.

Footprints to pathways : reconciliation action planning in industry to sustain Indigenous employment in Queensland

This paper provides an introductory discussion to a study focusing on industry Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) and sustaining Indigenous employment in Queensland. Indigenous people continue to experience deep and persistent disadvantage in employment, which limits their life prospects (McLachlan, Gilgillan & Gordon, 2013). A major contributing factor to this detriment is irregular employment and or unemployment. A reasonable standard of living has been found to be determined by access to economic resources such as income and wealth. Denial of this access, denies access to income streams, social status, and engagement in meaningful activities. Hence, job loss and joblessness are triggers of disadvantage (McLachlan, et al., 2013). For young Indigenous people, lack of access has lasting effects particularly if they have multiple characteristics that place them at risk of disadvantage. The project aims to develop knowledge and understanding of Industry RAPs mediate employment opportunities for Indigenous people and how young Indigenous people conceive of their employment options and the processes by which employers can best support Indigenous people. It adopts two theoretical frameworks to investigate the aim of the study : (1) Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of communities of practice and, (2) Sen’s (1993) capability approach which provides a structure for examining individual well-being in the context of societal inequality. This paper discusses the first research question of the study: What are Industry Reconciliation Action Plans? What is included in RAPs? Why do Industries develop RAPs? How do RAPs attract, recruit, retain, and tenure Indigenous people? The project’s significance rests with its focus on Industry, employers, policies and practices that aid the attraction and retention of Indigenous people in employment.

Writing the Barbaric Recent Past : Holocaust Fiction for Young Adults

Horror and redemption in Holocaust writing for young adults: Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. While it has long been thought that the Holocaust is not an appropriate subject matter for young audiences, from The Diary of Anne Frank onwards it has always been part of their reading matter. Never, however, has there been so much interest as in the recent best-selling publications by Zusak and Boyne (the latter of which has been made into a film). This chapter examines the politics of crafting stories for young people about the unspeakable events of the recent past, about who has the right to ‘speak for’ the victims, and whether some genres (for example, fairy stories or fabulism) work best, given the horrific nature of the subject matter.

Editorial : Global 21st century professionals : developing capability to work with Indigenous and other traditionally-oriented peoples

International agreement on the framework for protecting the rights of Indigenous populations within nation states has occurred alongside unprecedented levels of globalisation of other previously nation-based activities such as economic and social provision and planning. As the idea of the postcolonial democratic state emerges, this collection undertakes an international and comparative examination of the role of higher education in educating globally aware professionals who are able to work effectively and in cultural safety with Indigenous Peoples...

Race matters : Indigenous employment in the Australian public service

This thesis demonstrated that race mattered as a contributing factor to the low Indigenous participation rates within the Australian Public Service. The thesis showed that the public service reproduced social relations privileging non-Indigenous executives while positioning Indigenous executives as deficient. The thesis explains how the everydayness of racism assumes the racial neutrality of institutions because the concept of race is externalised as only having relevance to the racial other. Non-Indigenous executives regard Indigeneity as being synonymous with inferiority to explain Indigenous disadvantage. Consequently, the Indigenous experience of everyday racism is perpetuated and contributes to declining rates of employment.

"I can't believe I just said that": Using guided reflections with non-Indigenous pre-service teachers in Australia

This paper explores the use of guided narrative reflection as a strategy used with high-achieving non-Indigenous pre-service teachers in Australia on teaching practicum. We suggest that reflections (and subsequent dialogue) can provide opportunities for non-Indigenous preservice teachers to re-think their beliefs and actions in ways that may intervene in the teaching that often causes educational disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Towards an Australian Indigenous women's standpoint theory : a methodological tool

In this article I outline an Australian Indigenous women's standpoint theory. I argue that an Indigenous women's standpoint generates problematics informed by our knowledges and experiences. Acknowledging that Indigenous women's individual experiences will differ due to intersecting oppressions produced under social, political, historical and material conditions that we share consciously or unconsciously. These conditions and the sets of complex relations that discursively constitute us in the everyday are also complicated by our respective cultural differences and the simultaneity of our compliance and resistance as Indigenous sovereign female subjects.

The spatialized practices of teaching writing in Australian elementary schools : diverse students shaping discoursal selves

This paper discusses the teaching of writing within the competing and often contradictory spaces of high-stakes testing and the practices and priorities around writing pedagogy in diverse school communities. It uses socio-spatial theory to examine the real-and-imagined spaces (Soja, 1996) that influence and are influenced by teachers’ pedagogical priorities for writing in two linguistically diverse elementary school case studies. Methods of critical discourse analysis are used to examine rich data sets to make visible the discourses and power relations at play in the case schools. Findings show that when teachers’ practices focus on the teaching of structure and skills alongside identity building and voice, students with diverse linguistic backgrounds can produce dramatic, authoritative and resonant texts. The paper argues that “thirdspaces” can be forged that both attend to accountability requirements, yet also give the necessary attention to more complex aspects of writing necessary for students from diverse and multilingual backgrounds to invest in writing as a creative and critical form of communication for participation in society and the knowledge economy.

Bilingualism, literacy and NAPLAN : ongoing challenges for EAL/D education [Editorial]

Advocacy is integral to the work of many TESOL specialists. For several decades, ACTA and the state TESOL associations, along with other professional associations, and individual teachers, researchers and administrators have all engaged with conversations about EAL/D education in public forums. These advocates have drawn attention to implications of policy developments for EAL/D students; they have proffered alternative forms of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to better account for the particularity of EAL/D learning pathways; they have argued the necessity of specialist EAL/D teaching. In response to the Australian Language and Literacy Policy of the early 1990s, for example, there was “a frenzy of writing responses… a conference… and attempts to publicise what was going on through the press and television” (Moore, 1995, p. 6). It is in this spirit that this double issue of TESOL in Context has been compiled...

Cross-cultural web user interface design for Indigenous internet users

This project investigated 1) Australian web designers’ cultural perceptions towards Australian Indigenous users and 2) Australian Indigenous cultural features in terms of user interface design. In doing so, it reviews the literature of cross-cultural user interface design by focusing on feasible models and arguments to articulate and integrate Australian Indigenous Internet users’ cultural needs of web user interface. The online survey results collected from 101 Indigenous users and 126 Web designers showed a distinctive difference between them on the integration of Indigenous users' cultural in Web sites. The interview data collected from 14 Indigenous users and 14 web designers suggested practical approaches to the design implications of Indigenous culture.

Working towards a ‘thirdspace’ in the teaching of writing to middle years students

The teaching of writing, particularly in the middle years of schooling, is impacted on by converging, and at times, contradictory pedagogical spaces. Perceptions about the way in which writing should be taught are clearly affected by standardised testing regimes in Australia. That is, much writing is taught as a genre process, yet results on standardised tests such as National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) show that the writing component consistently receives the lowest scores (ACARA, 2013. Research shows that creative and individualised approaches are necessary for quality writing (Grainger, Goouch & Lambirth, 2005). This paper investigates the writing practices of students in years 5 to 7 in two culturally and linguistically diverse schools. It shows that the writing practices of these students are greatly influenced by teachers’ perceptions about what is required by external testing bodies such as the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The paper will then highlight how socio-spatial theory (Lefebvre, 1991) can be applied to explain these practices and offers the notion of a more productive ‘thirdspace’ (Soja, 1996) for improvement in the teaching of writing.

Long-term azithromycin for Indigenous children with non-cystic-fibrosis bronchiectasis or chronic suppurative lung disease (Bronchiectasis Intervention Study) : a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial

Background Indigenous children in high-income countries have a heavy burden of bronchiectasis unrelated to cystic fibrosis. We aimed to establish whether long-term azithromycin reduced pulmonary exacerbations in Indigenous children with non-cystic-fibrosis bronchiectasis or chronic suppurative lung disease. Methods Between Nov 12, 2008, and Dec 23, 2010, we enrolled Indigenous Australian, Maori, and Pacific Island children aged 1—8 years with either bronchiectasis or chronic suppurative lung disease into a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial. Eligible children had had at least one pulmonary exacerbation in the previous 12 months. Children were randomised (1:1 ratio, by computer-generated sequence with permuted block design, stratified by study site and exacerbation frequency [1—2 vs ≥3 episodes in the preceding 12 months]) to receive either azithromycin (30 mg/kg) or placebo once a week for up to 24 months. Allocation concealment was achieved by double-sealed, opaque envelopes; participants, caregivers, and study personnel were masked to assignment until after data analysis. The primary outcome was exacerbation (respiratory episodes treated with antibiotics) rate. Analysis of the primary endpoint was by intention to treat. At enrolment and at their final clinic visits, children had deep nasal swabs collected, which we analysed for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry; ACTRN12610000383066. Findings 45 children were assigned to azithromycin and 44 to placebo. The study was stopped early for feasibility reasons on Dec 31, 2011, thus children received the intervention for 12—24 months. The mean treatment duration was 20·7 months (SD 5·7), with a total of 902 child-months in the azithromycin group and 875 child-months in the placebo group. Compared with the placebo group, children receiving azithromycin had significantly lower exacerbation rates (incidence rate ratio 0·50; 95% CI 0·35—0·71; p<0·0001). However, children in the azithromycin group developed significantly higher carriage of azithromycin-resistant bacteria (19 of 41, 46%) than those receiving placebo (four of 37, 11%; p=0·002). The most common adverse events were non-pulmonary infections (71 of 112 events in the azithromycin group vs 132 of 209 events in the placebo group) and bronchiectasis-related events (episodes or investigations; 22 of 112 events in the azithromycin group vs 48 of 209 events in the placebo group); however, study drugs were well tolerated with no serious adverse events being attributed to the intervention. Interpretation Once-weekly azithromycin for up to 24 months decreased pulmonary exacerbations in Indigenous children with non-cystic-fibrosis bronchiectasis or chronic suppurative lung disease. However, this strategy was also accompanied by increased carriage of azithromycin-resistant bacteria, the clinical consequences of which are uncertain, and will need careful monitoring and further study.