AIATSIS CONFERENCE 2014

1. AIATSIS CONFERENCE 2014 Parental choice of school by Indigenous parents: A presentation of research findings Dr Michael McCarthy mccarthys2@aanet.com.au

2. RESEARCH CONTEXT Research Site Indigenous Communities Yarrabah Mosman Bamaga Dajarra Burketown • P-12 Catholic Co-educational Day & Boarding School. • Located in, North-West Queensland. Education a major “industry”, with three boarding schools (P-12) and a State secondary school. • College enrolment: 600 students – 115 boarders.

3. RESEARCH CONTEXT • Since the founding of the College, boarding enrolment patterns have changed. • There has been a marked decline in enrolments from the period of 2002-2007, which is exceeds the national average for Catholic boarding schools (NCEC Annual Reports) • These enrolment changes included a decline in enrolments from traditional feeder areas. There was a concomitant increase in demand from Indigenous students.

4. RESEARCH PURPOSE To explore the ways in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous parents engage in the boarding school choice process.

5. Research Questions • How does rurality/remoteness influence parental choice of boarding school? • How do parents living in rural and remote areas inform their choice of boarding school? • How does school culture influence rural and remote parents’ boarding school choice? • How does race influence the boarding school choice process for rural and remote parents?

6. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

7. INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGY • The study considers the way in which Indigenous parents engage in the school choice process. • Research involving Indigenous people must contribute to the ‘unmasking [of ] some of the overt and brutal racist oppression’ (Rigney, 1999, p.118) which is a part of reality for Indigenous people. • The study seeks to highlight cultural nuances in the school choice process.

8. PARTICIPANTS Parents enrolled at the Research Site School between 2005-2010: • Indigenous Parents – n=16 • Non-Indigenous Parents – n=16 Other School-Education-related participants: • Former and current principals of the Research Site School – n=2 • Indigenous Support Personnel – n=2 Total Number of Participants= 36

9. DATA GATHERING STRATEGIES • Focus Groups (Exploration phase) • One-on-one semi-structured interviews (Exploration and Inspection phases)

10. Findings Theme 1: Access to quality education • Contexts of access: the limitations and possibilities of rurality/remoteness. • Parents desired access to ‘good’ schools: outside the local community; offered an exit from community life; offered quality education Theme 2: Social mobility • Parents desired social mobility as a consequence of their child’s education. • This was enabled through access to quality schools; opportunities to broaden their child’s view of the world; being equipped with the skills to successfully participate in civic life. Theme 3: Informed choosing • Informational network – family and community • The functions of the ‘grapevine’: confirm, affirm, deselect. Theme 4: Catholic School: Values-based experiences • Exposure to experiences of Catholic schooling: community of care and concern; unique Catholic experiences. • The transmission of (Christian, rather than Catholic) values: considered important for adult life. Theme 5:Racialised thinking and school choice • The racial composition of schools was important • High Indigenous enrolment posed risks, reduced the quality of learning; potentially distracting from the boarder family project; stymied access to experiences.

11. Theoretical Propositions“Contentions” • Indigenous parents choose socially mobilising boarding schools for their children that offer their children intellectual and social capital. • Indigenous parents’ definitions of ‘quality’ schools are supported through their familial relationships. • The transmission of universal values, rather than parochial religion, is a feature of Indigenous parents’ selection of boarding school. • There is a racial dimension to the boarding school choice process for Indigenous parent.

12. Indigenous parents choose socially mobilizing boarding schools that offer their children intellectual and social capital. • Indigenous parents had a strong desire or good schools, and sought out the best possible options for their child, consistent with their high aspirations. • Indigenous parents avoided and deselected schools in order to confer educational and social advantages to their children • Indigenous parents made school choices which offered their children possibilities for good educational outcomes which would afford them opportunities for social mobility • New ‘school chooser’ typology entitled The Enfranchised Chooser

13. The Enfranchised Chooser Indigenous parents in rural and remote locations are a unique group of school choosers. • Cultural/ethnic minority • Socio-economic disadvantage (low-SES) • Access to funding (government/private) which facilitates increased school choice • Emphasis on cultural and social capital, and social mobility on the school choice process.

14. Indigenous parents’ definitions of ‘quality’ schools are supported through their familial relationships.

15. The transmission of universal values, rather than parochial religion, is a feature of Indigenous parents’ selection of boarding school. • Denominational/Religious relativism/ambivalence • The Catholic School offers forms of social and cultural capital • Inculcation of values = civic preparedness • Cultivation of the 'moral self’ • Morality rather than religiosity

16. There is a racial dimension to the boarding school choice process for Indigenous and non-Indigenous parents • Indigeneity= unsafe living and learning environments “…there’s more to life [than] falling into the cycle, falling pregnant, having a baby.” • Indigenous avoidance=access to quality education and mainstream schools • Indigenous enrolment is socially demobilising

17. Indigenous Parental Choice of Boarding School

18. Recommendations Policy Recommendations • Consideration to be given to the challenges of education provision for rural and remote areas, with careful attention to the complexities and impediments for people living in these areas. • Attention to be given to access to quality schools by Indigenous people living in rural and remote communities. • Government funding to Indigenous people to support the provision of education be continued.

19. Recommendations System Recommendations • Catholic Education jurisdictions further investigate the ways in which Catholic schools meet the needs of children from rural and remote locations. • Education jurisdictions that cater for Indigenous students review the principles underpinning the establishment of new secondary schools, the formation of school identity, and enrolment policies. • Education jurisdictions consisting of racially heterogeneous schools consider the extent to which notions of ‘race’ influence the ways in which parents select schools for their children.