issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

Reflections on Implementing an Education Support Programme for Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Secondary School Students in a Non-governmentEducation Sector: What did we Learn and What do we Know?David ManderEdith Cowan UniversityLisa FieldhouseSt Brigid’s CollegeThis is a reflective paper grounded in the domain of practice. It presents some of the strategiesused to design, implement and establish an education support programme across sixteen (16)non-government residential (or boarding) schools. The aim of the programme was to supportAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school boarding students from rural, regionaland remote areas of Western Australia (WA) with the experience of studying away from homeand family. This paper is divided into three main sections: 1. A brief background of educationpolicy and surrounding context. 2. Approaches and strategies undertaken to establish theprogramme. 3. Reflections on the lessons learned during this process. We identified that nosingle strategy could avert students from disengaging with education at residential schools.Instead we contend the provision of effective support requires the implementation of multiplestrategies targeting the multiple social systems or levels which contribute to a student’s overallexperience at a residential school (e.g., the student, peer, parent, school, and community levels).We emphasise that it is vital to involve students in the implementation and development ofprogrammes so as to make support relevant to their needs.Acknowledgement of CountryWe wish to acknowledge the ‘Wadjuk People’ who are the traditional custodians of thisland that we write these words on. The Wadjuk people are one of fourteen clan groups thatmake up the collective Nyungar nation of the South West of WA. We also thank and payour respect to the many families, parents and students from the numerous lands andlanguage groups across WA that we have worked with.84Education and the surroundingcontext in AustraliaIn Australia, the National Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP)was launched in 1989 (Commonwealth ofAustralia) and provides the original frameworkaround which all government funded educationsupport programmes specifically targetingAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studentsare structured. The overarching emphasis ofthe AEP is to bring about equity in educationand training outcomes for Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander students through thearticulation of 21 national goals endorsed byall state and territory governments. The AEP islegislated in the Indigenous Education(Targeted Assistance) Act 2000(Commonwealth of Australia) and is also thefoundation upon which the body responsible forcoordinating strategic educational policy at anational level, the Ministerial Council onEducation, Employment, Training and YouthAffairs (MCEETYA), developed the AustralianDirections in Indigenous Education (ADIE)2005-2008 policy (MCEETYA) initiated in July2006.Unfortunately for many Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander students, particularlystudents located outside of city or regionalcentres, education in WA is further situatedwithin a broader social context of ‘overall-lifedisadvantage’.This disadvantage embodiessocial issues such as poverty, unemploymentand welfare dependency, poor health andThe Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009