We often discuss how to make our programs culturally diverse and inclusive of our representative community. My professional interest in building relationships with my community (those who are culturally and linguistically diverse as well as the poor) at large has grown. I have found myself wondering how to illicit support for programs and resources for families. Over the last few weeks I have been learning about the Aboriginal people of Australia, native people of the country. Strong supports are in place to sustain and maintain the culture of the people with an awareness of providing “cultural recognition…development of literacy and numeracy and levels of participation” (www.whatworks.edu.au). These goals are not possible without the support and partnership between families, school programs and the community. I was impressed by the information I gathered from this website and found the collaboration between these partners impressive; there was no discussion regarding investments with positive financial outcomes or policy initiatives as are found in education discussions in the United States. This web site offers various case studies focusing on different areas of development.
One such project, the Literacy Links Projects was designed to address the fact that literacy skills of indigenous students are below those of non-indigenous students. This particular project was an investment in the aboriginal community. Video conferences were established so children could reach out and communicate with other children in other school programs and communities, while also promoting and building literacy and language learning. The children read books to each other, and shared tribal art work from their homes and communities. The video conferencing created an environment where the children were empowered through learning to use technology and the children’s confidence and self-esteem was increased through the video interactions. In addition, teachers indicated non-engaged children became engaged and disruptive behaviors became modified and controlled. The program has success as the literacy levels of the students have increased. Through this program, children and families are valued for their culture and language. The community truly recognizes the importance of creating and keeping a connection to one’s culture.
What Works also has programs designed to provide students employment opportunities and training, called vocational pathways. Students are given a career path with which to follow. This too is an investment in students with the goal of improving outcomes in the community.
Early Childhood Australia does have branches in each state and territory that identifies issues and trends in early childhood education that need to be addressed at the national level (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/). What was most interesting to me was the commitment to the growth of the community through ongoing projects with the student population; there was no discussion of global competition or fiscal responsibility, nor was there any discussion regarding standardized testing models. It is not to say these mechanism should be done away with, but a greater focus must be placed on the children and finding solutions to the challenges faced by children. Far too many groups of people are placing their personal beliefs over the fact that all children deserve an education.
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Georgia,
ReplyDeleteGreat information! I really enjoyed reading about diversity and education in Australia. I look forward to reading more of your post.
Thanks for sharing.
Georgia,
ReplyDeleteAustralia seems to be on the right track to improving early childhood education. I like that they seem to be more focused on the development of the children rather than competition among them and other countries.
Great Post!