Cultural matter in the development of an interactive multimedia self-paced educational health program for aboriginal health workers

Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander health workers are key providers of primary health services to Aboriginal communities especially in remote and rural areas. They are often overloaded with competing demands. There has been limited attention given to the maintenance and ongoing enhancement of their skills and knowledge following the completion of formal training. A culturally appropriated interactive multimedia self-paced health program as a mechanism to improve the accessibility and the use of scientific data and information for health purposes is proposed as a basic method for better supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care workers in their practice locations. This paper explores different approaches for the development of a culturally appropriate interactive multimedia educational health program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander health workers and it also explore cultural matters concerning program development in the light of existing literature

Using Dual-Language Books to Preserve Language & Culture in Alaska Native Communities

“Children learn their language on their mother’s lap.” This conventional wisdom from a Cup’ik Elder describes the approach used by many Alaska Native peoples to promote native language acquisition. Presumably, the children learn by listening to stories and tales from a trusted parent or caregiver. However, what happens when the caregiver does not speak the native language? This chapter describes an effort to address this issue while also promoting better educational outcomes by providing access to diverse dual-language books in Alaska Native languages through the use of a digital children’s library. Potential benefits from these efforts include an increase in resources for schools, a revitalization of Indigenous languages, and an increase in access, with hopes that future work will show evidence that using these dual-language books encourage greater parent support and involvement in education, support second language acquisition, and promote a strong sense of identity. Implications and future efforts follow.Ye

Indigenous sharing, collaboration and synchronous learning

Online learning is progressively accepted in Indigenous communities with the realized potential for sharing, collaboration and learning for adults living in remote and isolated communities. This study used a design-based research approach that provided opportunity to integrate the current literature, literacy practitioners\u27 views and community members\u27 self identified literacy needs to generate ten draft guiding principles which guided this study. A collaborative community engagement project was created by the community members in consideration of these principles and presented in three iterations in a synchronous environment which will lead to design-based principles for working with technology and Indigenous communities. This paper examines the framework and approach for this study, provides a short literature review and presents the draft guiding principles drawn from data collected from the stakeholders and from which the project was created

Eleven design-based principles to facilitate the adoption of internet technologies in Indigenous communities

Internationally, the internet is a critical component of many projects that aim to improve literacy and build skills in indigenous communities. It is claimed that online platforms provide flexible learning opportunities to suit individual learner schedules and needs, enabling them to learn in \u27anytime, anywhere\u27 environments. However, good intentions and a learning platform deemed suitable by non-indigenous people do not necessarily lead to successful user outcomes. There is a need to understand how Western culture influences the design and implementation of online projects with Indigenous communities and to avoid technological colonisation of the local community. Flexibility, understanding and respect must be at the forefront of projects if they are to be successful. This article suggests 11 design-based principles, derived through design-based research, which guide respectful implementation of internet technologies in indigenous communities

Hong Kong children's rights to a culturally compatible English education

In this paper I discuss why the right of access to the socioeconomically dominant symbolic resource, English, is a fundamental language right of Hong Kong children. I also discuss why current English curricular design and practices do not provide such access and how they can be changed in order to provide Hong Kong children with access to an English education that is compatible with their native culture (Jordan, 1985). In a culturally compatible curriculum, emphasis is placed on affirming and capitalizing on what children bring to the classroom: their indigenous linguistic, discourse, and cultural resources. It aims at building on and expanding the child's existing resources to bridge the gap between her/his native resources and the socioeconomically important language of the society. I also propose some directions for future research and curricular development that researchers, teachers, and teacher-educators can take in the context of Hong Kong in order to develop a culturally compatible English curriculum that will deny neither the Cantonese child's rightful linguistic and cultural identities and resources nor her/his right to have access to English.postprin

Pasifika success as Pasifika

This research report presents the details and findings of a research project commissioned by Adult and Community Education (ACE) Aotearoa, entitled Pasifika Success as Pasifika in Aotearoa New Zealand (PSAPiA). Intended to be the first of a series providing Pasifika participants in Aotearoa New Zealand with the opportunity to collectively and coherently describe success as Pasifika according to their own insights and aspirations, the focus of this current project was on seeking and articulating a collective conceptualisation of ‘literacy’ and ‘success’ and the link between the two from the perspective of Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand. The project’s three-part design incorporated a review of selected relevant literature, Pasifika consultation groups, and wider consultations with Pasifika via an online survey

Contexts of Cultural Diversity Professional Development in Schools

This report is part of a larger MERC study on Professional Development for Success in Culturally Diverse Schools.The goals of the larger study are (1) to understand the landscape of diversity within the schools in the MERC region, (2) to consider the implications for school policy and professional practice, (3) to review the current models of professional development that support teachers and other school professionals in regards to issues of cultural diversity, and (4) to develop and test models of professional development that have positive impacts on teacher practice, student outcomes and overall school success. With these goals in mind, this report contains three parts. Part 1 discusses demographic changes in the MERC region and provides historical, political, social, and economic contexts for understanding these changes. Part 2 describes the federal, state, and local policy contexts relevant to cultural diversity within schools, and professional development (PD) related to this topic. This section also reviews research on how policy contexts shape teachers’ decisions to participate in PD. Part 3 reviews existing studies of cultural diversity PD and describes the types of PD programs currently available in the MERC region. In the conclusion to the report, we present a list of recommendations for policy and and for future development and implementation of PD related to cultural diversity. The final section of the report also describes gaps in the existing body of knowledge and the research needed to better understand PD related to cultural diversity

Reconstructing the deficit discourse in a multi-remote school in Far North Queensland

This chapter looks to explore the effect of being both physically and culturally remote in broadly social but more specifically educational terms, and to describe aspects of a more critical approach to the formal schooling of Indigenous Australian students. Illuminating ways in which Indigenous Australian people have essentially been discursively positioned as uneducable through the operation of a discourse of deficit with its current reliance on the use of standardized testing results, a (neo-)colonial strategy common to Indigenous peoples worldwide, the chapter then moves on to feature an example of alternative practices in the education of culturally remote students in a far North Queensland State [public] school. The physical remoteness of this particular school brings with it a number of advantages and opportunities for affecting a critical indigenous education, one that seeks to secure understanding, respect, and acceptance of the ways of the Other

Cultural Responsiveness, Racial Identity and Academic Success: A Review of Literature

Commissioned by the Heinz Endowments, this paper reviews the literature on "culturally responsive pedagogy" and the arts. Academic success among African Americans is correlated with education that incorporates racial identity and socialization and a focus on resiliency and culturally relevant concepts. The arts are an ideal venue for such educational programs