Research

Summary page

Research

What is all that learning for? Indigenous adult English literacy practices, training, community capacity and health

In remote Indigenous communities in Australia there are minimal labour market opportunities, with the majority of jobs under the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP), and limited education and training services. Yet Indigenous communities are under increasing pressure from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and the government to build sustainable communities with a social, cultural and economic capital base, and share responsibility for community well-being and capacity building. Simultaneously, the delivery of primary and secondary Indigenous education is under great scrutiny as outcomes fall behind commensurate levels in the wider Australian society. There is also increasing emphasis on ensuring that ‘culturally appropriate’ vocational education and training (VET) opportunities in remote Indigenous communities are made more accessible, so that Indigenous people can gain the employment skills to ultimately take control of their communities. Conversely, adult literacy is increasingly seen as a major factor affecting the participation of Indigenous people in training and the subsequent delivery and management of services in remote communities.

This study investigates and describes how both the English and the local Indigenous language are used in reading and writing by adults, through a case study of a community-controlled health service in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory. In addition, it analyses the social context of literacy use (Barton 1994; Barton & Hamilton 1998; Reder 1994; Street 1993, 1995); that is, how (for what purposes and functions) people use reading and writing in everyday life in the community. Although Western education has a short history in the region—schooling was first introduced in the area in 1969—access to schooling for all children was only made available as late as 2003.

The case study explores this community’s quest to implement a culturally appropriate form of health delivery that encompasses not just physical well-being but also the interrelationship between the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the community as a whole. The health service leadership in this community is seeking to develop a model that integrates the training and employment of local Indigenous people into a process of strengthening community capacity. Intrinsic to this process is a growing awareness that an emerging training and employment model must reflect existing tribal authority structures and processes, and be integrated into the social and cultural schema of the community, rather than be imposed from the outside. That is, the leadership is aspiring to develop a ‘both ways’ model of community capacity that ensures cultural control in the short-term and, in the long-term, leads to the development of skilled, literate adults, who have also maintained Indigenous law and culture, and are able to manage change and sustain community development.

In this case study, it was found that there is a demonstrated trust that the institution of Western education will deliver worthwhile outcomes. Learning English is seen as a necessity and this is interrelated with meeting everyday functional needs and social obligations. However, adult literacy levels are generally low and it would appear that most adults do not have sufficient proficiency in English language, literacy and numeracy to meet the VET sector’s training requirements. The provision of vocational education and training in this region has been ad hoc, short-term and compartmentalised into disconnected sectors of health and education and from a range of registered training organisations. Community employment opportunities are minimal and vocational education and training is primarily linked with the limited employment opportunities available in the education and health sectors.

A theme that emerges in the study is that most training does not fit into the meaning and purpose of community life. The connection between education, vocational education and training and employment pathways is not linked to any future planning process that takes account of community aims and aspirations. Consequently, a relevant and appropriate ‘training culture’ has yet to evolve and become integrated into community life. The community believes that for education to be successful and to lead to sustainable outcomes, it must be integrated into the social and cultural framework of the community, and must include community goals and aspirations. In this community, relationships through the kinship system are a crucial, cohesive element in an unchanging authority structure determined by Aboriginal law. Literacy, therefore, is only relevant if it is linked in a useful way to the prescribed roles and responsibilities in the community. The mainstream education and training system invests in the individuals progressing along a pathway towards labour market employment, whereas in this remote Indigenous context the most important investment is in the social capital—norms (values), networks and trust (Putnam 1993)—of the communal whole.

The case study in this report highlights the challenge faced by remote Indigenous communities. For these communities, the challenge is to achieve social and economic sustainability without losing the core values of Indigenous law, culture and language. Remote communities can no longer afford to be excluded from the broader national context and this report is not suggesting an isolationist approach. It does, however, suggest that the key to sustainability is to find a way to maintain local coherence, and the core values within remote localities, while simultaneously developing models of appropriate community development. Training and employment are essential elements in this future scenario, but emerging models for remote Indigenous communities must integrate training and employment pathways that reflect community realities and tolerate alternative definitions of employment that are characteristic of diverse localities.

New policy changes are needed that recognise the inherent differences between localities in Indigenous Australia and accept that education and training needs are not necessarily the same for all remote communities. Achieving sustainable social and economic outcomes in remote contexts will be difficult and will involve implementing long-term community development planning processes that harness the training potential of the Community Development Employment Project and capitalise on existing culturally appropriate labour market opportunities. Furthermore, interagency linking between service delivery sectors will be a crucial element in any community planning process. The ‘what for?’ question in relation to education and training will need to be linked with community goals and aspirations so that literacy learning and use can be targeted to relevant roles and responsibilities in the community.