issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

Education support programme96that flowed into the second part, whichcontributed to students feeling more motivatedand comfortable to explore, listen and talk withprospective organisations about the variouscareer options they offered.Developing supportive links with the widercommunityWe activity initiated and developednetworks with the wider community such astertiary institutions, as well as with relevantgovernment, non-government and industryorganisations in WA. Relationships wereestablished with national initiatives such as theIndigenous Youth Mobility Programme(IYMP), Indigenous Youth LeadershipProgramme (IYLP) and the NationalIndigenous Cadetship Project (NICP). Theseprogrammes were particularly targeted becausethey offered direct support to students with thetransition from completing secondaryschooling into entering post-schooldestinations. Similarly, networks were alsoestablished with key people responsible fordelivering other vital educational supportprogrammes such as the Remote IndigenousStudents Tuition (RIS), Indigenous TutorialAssistance Scheme (ITAS) and Abstudythrough Centrelink, as well as with local healthprofessionals.To assist with the promotion of theprogramme and to make information availablemore broadly, a webpage providing relevantinformation and links for all stakeholders aboutthe programme was developed. It listedupcoming events and activities, careerdevelopment opportunities, as well as providedadditional information on culturally sensitivecommunity based support services in areassuch as health, accommodation, other youthsupport services and legal advice. We alsopublished an information brochure forstudents, parents, school staff and communitymembers explaining areas were support wasoffered, and most importantly how to contactus.Connecting with the wider communitywas central for the success of the programmeas it equally provided a voice and representationfor the students, families and schools, whilealso allowing the wider community to identify apoint to initiate contact and consult with.Final reflectionsFrom our experience, no singlecomponent of an educational supportprogramme can avert students from disengagingwith education at residential schools. Instead,multiple strategies operating in a coordinatedand collaborative manner but which are alsotailored to meet individual needs rather than justusing a blanket approach is required. It wasclear to us that residential students benefitedmost from when families, schools, peers andprogramme staff work together to strengtheneach other’s efforts rather than workingindependently to address perceived needs,expectations and deficits. To achieve this goal,the non-government education sector,policymakers (e.g., government) and the actualstaff of education support programmes arerequired to have a strong commitment toensuring that all stakeholders, particularly theresidential students undertaking the livedexperience, feel that they are able to contributeto and share in the direction and decisions thatguides education support programmes.It is vital for education systems in thefuture to be better at being inclusive of studentperspectives (voices) during the initialconsultation process of education supportprogrammes. The current approach of includingminimal student perspectives in programmedesign and development was initially thecircumstance in our experience. The instigationof an Indigenous Boarding Student Council,conducting weekly student meetings at eachparticipating school and facilitating regularopportunities for students to network andsupport each other, provided a valid and valuedavenue for students to contribute through.From our experience, an effective supportprogramme should actively encourage andcelebrate the student role (participation) inidentifying and implementing solutions todeliver better targeted support to their fellowThe Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009