NEWS and VIEWS
Research and teaching of
Indigenous language and culture leads to prestigious $300,000 fellowship for CDU
academic
Charles Darwin University’s Associate Professor Michael
Christie has been awarded the 2008 prestigious Senior Australian Teaching and
Learning Fellowship, valued at $300,000, to continue his work integrating
Aboriginal culture and practices into tertiary teaching.
The
aim of the Fellowship Scheme, awarded by the Australian Learning and Teaching
Council – formerly the Carrick Institute – is to advance learning and teaching
in higher education by supporting leading educators to undertake strategic,
high-profile fellowship activities in areas that support the continued
development of learning and teaching in Australian higher
education.
The program planned by Dr Christie, entitled
“Increasing the participation of Indigenous knowledge holders in tertiary
teaching through the use of emerging digital technologies”, is designed to
further the collaboration between Yolngu educators and consultants in East
Arnhem Land, the School of Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems, the School
of Education, and the School of Creative Arts and
Humanities.
Dr Christie said that in a reverse of the
conventional distance learning set-up, the project planned to have the students
on campus and the Aboriginal lecturers on country in their remote communities,
teaching languages and culture, including Indigenous
art.
“The project will integrate and extend three ongoing
collaborative research programs which have worked on the use of digital
technology for traditional knowledge work, supporting homeland communities with
internet connectivity, and professionalising Yolngu consultants and
researchers,” he said.
“A key part of the project is finding
ways in which Yolngu knowledge authorities can be paid and acknowledged properly
for their work, and that their intellectual property interests can be
safeguarded within the academic context.
“To
achieve this, we
need to continue our focus on the collaborative nature of the work. The
political, technical and social aspects of the work are
inseparable.”
Dr Christie will establish a collaborative team
of internationally recognised scholars and lead an extended seminar as part of
the fellowship.
CDU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Helen Garnett
congratulated Dr Christie on the achievement.
“This is a
great honour for Michael and his Indigenous co-workers and demonstrates CDU’s
commitment to leading-edge education. The award supports Charles Darwin
University’s stated commitment in its Futures Framework to be the best in
Australia in Indigenous participation and relevance and to incorporate
Indigenous perspectives and needs into mainstream University activities,” she
said.
http://www.cdu.edu.au/newsroom/story.php?nID=2672
Congratulations, Michael.
Canadian Journal for
Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education
Special Issue on:
Indigenous
Science Education from Place: Best
Practices on Turtle Island
Call for
Manuscripts
Deadline for Submission:
October 31, 2008
This special issue of the Canadian Journal for Science, Mathematics,
and Technology Education intends to create an interdisciplinary dialogue on
Indigenous science education in the North American (Turtle Island) context. The
guest editor for this special issue invites scholarly essays and research
manuscripts that draw upon existing academic literature as well as showcase
developments in Indigenous science education for the benefit of communities and
schools that are involved in decolonizing science curricula around the
world.
Topics of interest include (but not limited
to):
q
Reports on research studies
that investigate historical, philosophical, ontological, epistemological,
methodological, and pedagogical issues relevant to Indigenous science education
from a position of place;
q
Stories of best practices
and successes in the integration of Indigenous content in school science;
Teacher experiences, struggles and challenges in decolonizing school
science;
q
Perspectives and issues on
the delivery of Indigenous science education in a post-colonial
context.
Submission
guidelines:
The format for manuscripts will adhere to
APA style (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,
5th edition). All submissions will include an abstract of 100
words.
Manuscripts will be typewritten,
double-spaced and not exceed 6000 words maximum including references (but
excluding figures and tables).
Margins are one inch on all sides.
Manuscripts must be submitted electronically. Manuscripts must include the author(s)
name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and email address on a separate
file.
Manuscripts are anonymously peer-reviewed by
three national and international scholars appropriate to the topic and
content. The articles should be
original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If a manuscript is accepted for
publication, the author will be required to submit a brief biographical
statement outlining the author’s areas of study, teaching, and current research
interests. MicroSoft Word 2003 or 2007 is
preferred.
Please forward manuscripts and or any
questions regarding the special issue to:
Dr. Herman Michell – Guest
Editor
#1 First Nations
Way
First Nations University of
Canada
(306) 790-5950 ext.
3332
Email:
hmichell@firstnationsuniversity.ca
Bureaucracy 'hindering' Indigenous
education
Targeted Federal Government funding designed to
“close the gap” in Indigenous education has effectively been frozen for years, a
new study concludes.
Two researchers from Charles Darwin
University’s School for Social and Policy Research (SSPR) have just released
their findings of a study entitled “The funding of Indigenous education through
Special Purpose Supplementation: an historical
overview”.
Co-authors of the report, Helen Walsh and
Associate Professor Tess Lea, Director of the SSPR, have revealed that funding
has not increased beyond the consumer price index since 2001, and possibly
longer, despite most Indigenous students continuing to fail literacy and
numeracy benchmarks across the country.
Describing the
findings of the report, which drew on research that was independently funded by
the Ian Potter Foundation, Dr Lea said that government policy was exacerbating
the problem.
“Government programs are so confusing and
difficult to access, they actually operate as a contributing factor to the
outcomes in Indigenous education,” Dr Lea said.
The
supplementary funding examined by the report was distributed via various
programs to all states and territories and eligible organisations as Special
Purpose Payments (SPPs). While this funding has led to the development of
much-needed programs and resources, the report lists a number of bureaucratic
processes complicating the scheme.
The report reveals that
these problems are compounded in the Northern Territory by the NT Government’s
inability to fully access the funding despite the jurisdiction’s extraordinary
needs (only about 30-35% of Year 5 Indigenous students reached literacy and
numeracy benchmarks in 2006). As an example, the report outlines that in 1999,
of the $5 million made available to the Territory for strategic initiatives in
Indigenous education, only $195,000 was accessed.
While the
report does not examine other jurisdictions, national figures indicate the
Territory Government is probably not alone in this failing. The report states
that “…with approximately $660 million allocated under the Indigenous Education
(Targeted Assistance) Act, section 14, for 2005-06, and only $365 million
actually paid.”
To alleviate the problems and improve the
effectiveness of SPPs, Dr Lea said she believed that governments must shoulder
much of the blame for Indigenous education outcomes and act on evidence, not
historical practice.
“Government red tape and the lack of
fool-proof lines of funding distribution are a structural feature of SPPs
despite frequent program restructures,” she said.
“There
needs to be greater government accountability on how the money is spent,
simplification of current policy, and stringent research into what level of
investment is actually required to bridge the gap in Indigenous
education.”
In 2005-06, SPPs made up just 1.5% or $418
million of the Federal Government’s education expenditure of $30 billion.
Despite the research focusing on only a small portion of the overall education
funding, Dr Lea is adamant about its relevance.
“It should be
remembered that the programs that are targeted for funding under SPPs are
earmarked as supplementary or extraordinary funds – the money required for extra
efforts to close the gaps. So attention to what that money has been doing and
what has been happening to the special grant allocations over time is
warranted,” Dr Lea said.
Read the full
report, The funding of Indigenous education through Special Purpose
Supplementation: an historical overview
http://www.cdu.edu.au/sspr/documents/Indigenouseducationdiscussionpaper.pdf
http://www.cdu.edu.au/newsroom/story.php?nID=2678
Education doesn't erode
Indigenous culture: expert
The head of a Queensland
Indigenous education group says Aboriginal children must get the same education
as the rest of Australia's children.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255700.htm
Related Link: Transcript: The Way Forward
ICASE Newsletters - May and June 2008
I
have electronic copies of the ICASE newsletters for May and June. If you would
like a copy, please e-mail me.
RESOURCES
Aboriginal Astronomy
A number of
new papers on aspects of Aboriginal astronomy have been brought to my
notice.
The
first is an article which appeared in the June issue of the international
refereed journal Astronomy & Geophysics.
Bhathal, R.
(2008). Astronomy for Aboriginal students. Astronomy &
Geophysics, 49
(3),
3.27-3.29.
ABSTRACT: Only 0.003% of the 9000
university science graduates in 2005 in Australia were of Aboriginal origin.
This is a national disgrace in a country that prides itself on giving its
inhabitants a “fair go”. This paper discusses an astronomy project that seeks to
improve the scientific literacy of Aboriginal students so as to motivate them to
take up careers in science and engineering. (For a copy of the paper you
can contact Ragbir
Bhathal at the
University of Western Sydney.
Ray Norris (CSIRO Australia) has also had
a number of articles published:
"Star Dreaming", by Ray Norris, Cosmos, May
2008
"Emu
Dreaming", by Ray Norris, Australasian Science, May 2008.
"In
Search of Aboriginal Astronomy", by Ray Norrris, Australian Sky & Telescope,
April 2008.
Ray
Norris. (2007)."Searching for the Astronomy of Aboriginal
Australians",
inAstronomy & Cosmology in Folk Traditions and
Cultural Heritage, ed. Jonas Vaiskunas (Conference Proceedings from the
VIIIth Oxford International Conference on
Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture).
ABSTRACT. It is
widely accepted that the traditional culture of Aboriginal Australians has a
signicant astronomical component, but it is unclear whether this component
extended beyond ceremonial songs and stories. Here I summarise a growing body of
evidence that there was a deep understanding of the motion of objects in the
sky, that this knowledge was used for practical purposes such as constructing
calendars, and there may even be evidence for careful records and measurements.
(A
preprint is available on http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/rnorris/papers/n214.pdf)
BigScience.edu.au
There is a great free resource available to teachers at www.bigscience.edu.au. This contains lots of science activities for years 7-12
which can be integrated into lessons. It is divided into junior, intermediate
and senior sections.
Do you have an innovative
solution to these problems in natural resource
management?
Land & Water Australia invests,
through this Innovation Call, in research projects to achieve the more
sustainable use and management of Australia's natural resources. We invite
innovative research proposals that address any of the following;
- Practical cost-effective techniques,
suitable for emissions trading, for accounting for fluxes of greenhouse gases
through agricultural and native terrestrial ecosystems, with a focus on soils.
- Impacts of climate and atmospheric
change on vegetation water-use and recharge for the principal native
vegetation classes of Australia.
- Improving the rigour and relevance of
the metrics used in market-based instruments designed to allocate funds to
natural resource outcomes.
- Social impacts of irrigation
adjustment in the Murray Darling Basin in emerging policy and water
markets.
Full guidelines and short application
forms are available from http://www.lwa.gov.au/Apply_for_Funding/Innovation_Call/indexdl_8805.aspx
Conversations about Science
This is a new resource soon to be freely available for
all schools to access. They were originally designed to allow indigenous
learners to engage with western science. We hope they achieve that and more. Our
early support of these with teachers shows they have a more general use. When
teachers use the graphics provided (copyright free), they can construct their
own conversations about topics and ideas of interest to their location and
context.
It is
expected that this resource (in hard copy and digital from) will be available,
at no cost, at CONASTA ‘08 and ASERA ’08.
Contact:Rosie
Thrupp,Central
Queensland University (Bundaberg
campus)
T: 07 4150
7116
E: r.thrupp@cqu.edu.au
This material has been
developed as part of the Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and
Mathematics Project, funded by the Australian Government Department of
Education, Science and Training as part of the Boosting Innovation in Science,
technology and mathematics Teaching (BISMT)
Programme.
Primary
Connections Incorporating Indigenous
Perspectives
The Primary Connections: linking science and
literacy project is pleased to announce that the exemplary curriculum unit:
Plants in action Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives will be
available in mid-June. The Indigenous Perspective Framework and supporting
resources are currently being developed for the website.
The Indigenous
Perspective Framework, which is based on national research findings and
collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, cultural
consultants, Indigenous education and linguistic experts aims to accelerate
science and literacy learning outcomes for Indigenous students and increase
non-Indigenous students’ and teachers’ awareness and understanding of Indigenous
perspectives. (Primary Connections gratefully acknowledges the
contributions of those involved with development of the Indigenous Perspective
Framework.)
For more
information about the release of the Plants in action Incorporating
Indigenous Perspectives unit and the Indigenous
Perspective Framework go to: www.science.org.au/primaryconnections/indigenous.htm
Cultural Studies of Science
Education
We are pleased to announce Springer is currently running a special
promotion to provide readers with
free access to all issues of our journal Cultural Studies of Science Education. You have free
access to the articles in Online First, the first two volumes of CSSE, and the first two issues of Volume 3. Almost
3,000 pages can be downloaded as PDF
files during this trial period.
Many of the articles
will be of great interest to science educators, including almost 300
pages of dialogue about conceptual change theory in relation
to sociocultural theories for science education. These
articles are presently in Online First and in the next day or so will become Volume 3, Issue 2. Also, a special issue focusing on Indigenous Knowledge is available in Online First and in the next three months will
become Volume 3, Issue 3. Other
articles available address science education and globalization and urban science education. By the way, if you missed getting a copy of
the NARST History you can download a PDF version from
Volume 3, Issue 1.
However, this
offer is available for a limited time only. You can access articles from
now until June 6, 2008 by clicking on this link http://www.springerlink.com/content/1871-1502
If you are interested in
continuing to learn more about future CSSE issues, we invite you to sign up for a free service with Springer which
automatically sends you a free alert when a new issue of the journal is made available. With this email alert,
you will always abreast of the latest
publications in CSSE. This service is easy to sign up for on the CSSE home page http://www.springer.com/education/journal/11422 Conveniently, Springer
provides a check box for you to decline any additional advertisements so you
will only receive a single
announcement, once per quarter, when the newest issue comes to press.
We also would like to remind
readers to check out the CSSE BLOG where we highlight a different article from each issue and invite
readers to engage in a scholarly dialogue with author(s) and others readers around sociocultural topics in science
education. You can access the
BLOG articles and post your responses at http://blogs.springer.com/csse
If you have any additional
questions, please feel free to contact the journal Co-Editors, Kenneth Tobin and Wolff-Michael Roth,
or the BLOG Editor, Sonya Martin.
CONFERENCES
Environmental
Education up the Track:
Hot Topics for our Community
9-12 July inDarwin, Northern Territory
Themes
Communities make the system In a time of rapid change, how can people who work in early
childhood services, schools, tertiary institutions, and government and
non-government organisations cooperate to make the system that we are part of
more sustainable, and quickly? Participants will highlight successes,
difficulties and lessons learned from dealing with hot topics such as global
warming, water and waste management, energy options, fire ecology, ecological
footprint management and biodiversity in all sectors.
Transcultural
communication
For
Australia
’s diverse population, it is
important to integrate global, particularly Indigenous and Asian, perspectives
on how environmental education is practiced in our region. This means promoting
skills that develop eco-literacy and care for the environment across cultures
and languages; land and seascapes. Indigenous
led field studies, a conference art space and an environmental art exhibition
will support active communication trans-culturally.
Beyond
rhetoric- Improving our capacity
AAEE
is comprised of diverse communities, and each aims to improve current practice
in environmental education. Much of the Association’s national effort is through
(and supports) the National Action Plan, through the focus of this conference
and through many other workshops and training conducted by State & Territory
Chapters and the Special Interest Groups.
Virtual
Communication Options give
those who cannot attend an opportunity to engage with key-note and other
presentations.
For more information visit http://www.cdu.edu.au/ehs/AAEE/
GARMA FESTIVAL, 8-12 AUGUST
2008
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia
Key Forum Theme –
Indigenous Knowledge: Caring for culture and country, 9-11 August
The 10th Garma Festival –
Australia's leading cultural exchange event – will be held from 8-12 August 2008
at Gulkula, North East Arnhem Land NT.
Garma is an intimate, spectacular celebration of cultural
traditions and practices – dance, song, music, and art (including presentations,
collaborations, sales) – and the venue for a leading Key Forum on Indigenous
issues – in 2008, Indigenous Knowledge. Sharing of knowledge
and real cultural interaction occurs amidst a unique line-up of entertainment.
It is indeed a privilege to experience Garma.
Visit http://www.garma.telstra.com/index.html
International Conference on Science and Mathematics
Education
October 27 – 29, 2008,
UP NISMED, Quezon City, The Philippines
The University of the Philippines National Institute
for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED), in cooperation
with UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE – Geneva), International
Council of Associations for Science Education (ICASE) – Asian Chapter,
Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Department of
Science and Technology – Science Education Institute will hold an international
conference on science and mathematics education on October 27 – 29, 2008 at UP
NISMED Complex, Diliman, Quezon City.
For further
details, contact the Conference Secretariat,
UP NISMED, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101 Email: nismed@up.edu.ph Telefax: (632) 928- 3545
Australian and New Zealand
Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES)
conference
24-27 November 2008, Perth WA
ANZCIES 2008 will
be hosted by Curtin University in Perth from 24 to 27 November 2008. ANZCIES is one of over 40 scholarly
societies that represent the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies
(WCCES). It is an independent
organisation comprised of members who promote the scholarly study of comparative
education in all its various forms.
As the convenors of this conference, we feel that your participation in
this event would add to the lively and engaged debate on the development of
comparative education as an interdisciplinary field of study. ANZCIES will be hosting a number of
WCCES Executive Council members and other overseas guests. It is hoped that they will assist in
critiquing research design and offering advice to those who present
papers.
The theme for the
conference, ‘Meeting of Comparative Minds:
Education in all its Forms’ is designed to promote dialogue on
comparative and international education research throughout the Asia-Pacific
region. As the region is comprised
of countries with a wide range of educational systems, cultures, political
regimes and levels of economic development, the conference is an ideal venue for
critical analysis and interpretation.
The format for
the conference will be divided into three streams:
• Educational transfer
and the globalisation of education
• Educational development
and quality
• Inequalities in
education
The conference
aims to promote discussion of key issues facing educational systems in the
Asia-Pacific region with emphasis placed on comparative education research
models.
For updated
information about the conference, or to register and/or submit a proposal please
visit our website at: http://www.anzcies.org
Second World Universities
Forum
Mumbai, India, 15-17 January
2009
Following the extraordinary success of the inaugural World
Universities Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland last month, we are pleased to
announce that the Second World Universities Forum will be held in Mumbai, India,
15-17 January 2009. http://UniversitiesForum.com
The World
Universities Forum was created in the belief that academe must better engage
today's most crucial questions, and that higher education itself must be
included as part of the wider discussion of global change. The Forum encourages the participation
of university executives, administrators, scholars and research students, as
well as journalists, policy makers, business and political leaders, and others
who understand that the importance of the university extends well beyond
campus.
All presenters
may choose to submit written papers for publication in the fully refereed
Journal of the World Universities Forum. If you are unable to attend the Forum
in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a
paper for review and possible publication in the Journal, and provide access to
the online edition of the Journal.
The deadline for
the next round in the call for papers (a title and short abstract) is 08 May
2008. Proposals are reviewed within two weeks of submission. Full details of the
Conference, including an online proposal submission form, are to be found at the
Conference website - http://UniversitiesForum.com
We look forward to receiving your proposals and hope
you will be able to join us in Mumbai in January 2009.
FISER’09 May 22-24 2009, Famagusta, Northern
Cyprus
A forthcoming international conference on Science and
Mathematics education research;
Frontiers in Science Education
Research 2009 (FISER’09) will be held May 22-24 2009. The official website of FISER’09
could be accessed via http://fiser.emu.edu.tr. The
conference is organised by the Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Arts
and Sciences. Further information can be obtained from Mehmet Garip, Ph.D.
Chair, Organising Committee (fiser@emu.edu.tr)
CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
This is mostly a summary of upcoming conferences. More
details may have been given above or in previous bulletins as shown. A web-based
contact is usually included. Inclusion of conferences in this list is not to be
read as an endorsement of the conference.
2008
June
2008
17-20 June: Eighth International
Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, HEC
(Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales), University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
http://www.Diversity-Conference.com
(Dec07)
July 2008
2-5
July: Australasian Science Education Research
Association, Brisbane Qld http://asera.org.au/
(Aug07)
6-11 July:
Australian Science Teachers
Association, CONASTA57, Griffith University Gold Coast, Qld www.astmanagement.com.au/conasta57
9-12 July:
Australian Association for Environmental Education,
"Environmental education up the Track: Hot topics for our community",
Darwin NT. http://www.cdu.edu.au/ehs/AAEE/ (Aug07)
15-18 July: Sixth International
Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Fatih University, Istanbul,
Turkey,
http://www.HumanitiesConference.com
(Dec07)
22-25 July: Third International Conference on Interdisciplinary
Social Sciences, Monash University Centre, Prato, Tuscany, Italy, http://www.SocialSciencesConference.com (April07)
August 2008
8-12
August: 10th Garma Festival, Nhulunbuy NT Australia http://www.garma.telstra.com/index.html (Jun08)
16-24 August: National Science Week 08 (Australia) www.scienceweek.info.au
September 2008
19-22 September: TSCF 2008
International Social Capital Conference, "Perspectives on Social Capital and
Social Inclusion", Buggiba, Malta.
http://www.socialcapital-foundation.org/conferences/2008/TSCF%20International%20Conference%202008.htm (Dec07)
21-26 September: 13th IOSTE Symposium, "The use of science and
technology education for peace and sustainable development". Izmir, Turkey http://web.deu.edu.tr/ioste13/index/index.php? (April08)
October 2008
27 – 29 October: International Conference on
Science and Mathematics Education, UP NISMED, Quezon City, The Philippines
(Jun08)
November
2008
24-27 November: Australian and New
Zealand Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES) conference,
Curtin University, Perth WA: http://www.anzcies.org (Jun08)
December 2008
7-11 December: World Indigenous
People's Conference on Education (WIPCE 2008), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
http://www.wipce2008.com/
2009
January 2009
5-9 January: epiSTEME-3: Third international conference to review
research on Science, TEchnology and Mathematics Education. Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (TIFR), Mumbai,
India. http://www.hbcse.tifr.res.in/episteme (Feb08)
5-7
January: Fifth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural,
Economic and Social Sustainability, University of Technology, Mauritius,
http://www.SustainabilityConference.com (Feb08)
15-17 January: Second World
Universities Forum, Mumbai, India,http://UniversitiesForum.com
May 2009
22-24 May: Frontiers in Science
Education Research 2009 (FISER’09) , May 22-24 2009, Famagusta, Northern
Cyprus http://fiser.emu.edu.tr (Jun08)
July
2009
ASERA, Deakin University, Victoria.
Dates and venue to be decided.
2010
July 2010
ASERA, University of Newcastle
(NSW). Dates and venue to be decided.
Thank you to all the people who contributed
to this issue. I'm still having problems with the software so there are still
some glitches.
Michael
Michie
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Last updated:
1 June 2008
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