Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T03:32:59.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

To Free the Spirit? Motivation and Engagement of Indigenous Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2015

Geoff Munns ,
Andrew Martin  and
Rhonda Craven
Geoff Munns
Affiliation:
School of Education, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, New South Wales, 1797, Australia
Andrew Martin
Affiliation:
School of Education, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, New South Wales, 1797, Australia
Rhonda Craven
Affiliation:
School of Education, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, New South Wales, 1797, Australia
Get access

Abstract

This article directly responds to issues impacting on the social and academic outcomes of Indigenous students that were identified in the recent review of Aboriginal Education conducted by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (NSW DET) in partnership with New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (NSW AECG). Not surprisingly, a common theme emerging from the review was the importance of student motivation and engagement for Indigenous students of all ages. The article reports on current research into the motivation, engagement and classroom pedagogies for a sample of senior primary Indigenous students. What is of particular interest is the cultural interplay of the lived experiences of these Indigenous students with schools, teachers and classroom pedagogies. Important questions arise from an analysis of this interplay about what might “free the spirit” for these and other Indigenous students.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , 2008 , pp. 98 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bernstein, B. (1996). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique. London: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Delpit, L. (2006). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Fair Go Team. (2006). School is for me: Pathways to student engagement. Sydney, NSW: Priority Schools Funding Program, NSW Department of Education and Training.Google Scholar
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfield, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 76(1), 59–109.Google Scholar
Haberman, M. (1991). The pedagogy of poverty versus good teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 73(4), pp. 290–294.Google Scholar
Malin, M. (1990). The visibility and invisibility of Aboriginal students in an urban classroom. Australian Journal of Education, 34(5), 312–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W. (1990). The self description questionnaire-I: SDQ-I manual. Sydney, NSW: University of Western Sydney.Google Scholar
Martin, A. J. (2001). The student motivation scale: A tool for measuring and enhancing motivation. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 11, 1–20.Google Scholar
Martin, A. J. (2002). Motivation and academic resilience: Developing a model of student enhancement. Australian Journal of Education, 47, 88–106.Google Scholar
Martin, A. J. (2003a). How to motivate your child for school and beyond. Sydney, NSW: Bantam.Google Scholar
Martin, A. J. (2003b). The student motivation scale: Further testing of an instrument that measures school students' motivation. Australian Journal of Education, 47, 88–106.Google Scholar
Munns, G. (2005). School as a cubbyhouse: Tensions between intent and practice in classroom curriculum. Curriculum Perspectives, 25(1), 1–12.Google Scholar
Munns, G. (2006, November). “Don't be afraid to achieve”: What teachers say about working with Aboriginal students. Refereed paper presented at Aboriginal Studies Association Annual Conference, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia.Google Scholar
Munns, G. (2007). A sense of wonder: Student engagement in low SES school communities. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(5), 301–315.Google Scholar
Munns, G., Arthur, L., Downes, T., Gregson, R., Power, A., Sawyer, W., Singh, M., Thistleton-Martin, J., & Steele, F. (2006). Motivation and Engagement of Boys Evidence-based Teaching Practices. Report to the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Munns, G., & Martin, A. (2005, December). It's all about MeE: A motivation and engagement framework. Paper presented at Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia.Google Scholar
New South Wales Aboriginal Consultative Group & New South Wales Department of Education and Training (NSW AECG & NSW DET). (2004). The report of the review of Aboriginal education. Darlinghurst, NSW: NSW Department of Education and Training.Google Scholar
Ogbu, J. (1999, April). Minority groups and education. Invited address at American Education Research Association annual meeting, Montreal, Canada.Google Scholar
Ruge, J. (2005). Raising expectations: Achieving quality education for all. Sydney, NSW: NSW Department of Education and Training.Google Scholar
Sharifian, F. (2005). Cultural conceptualisations in English words: A study of Aboriginal children in Perth. Language and Education, 19(1), 74–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, L., McFadden, M. G., & Munns, G. (2001). “Someone has to go through”: Indigenous boys, staying on at school and negotiating masculinities. In Martino, W. & Meyenn, B. (Eds.), What about the boys? Issues of masculinity in schools (pp. 154–168). Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar