AIATSIS CONFERENCE 2014
Parental choice of school by Indigenous parents:
A presentation of research findings
Dr Michael McCarthy
mccarthys2@aanet.com.au
RESEARCH CONTEXT
Research Site
• 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.
Indigenous Communities
• Yarrabah
• Mosman
• Bamaga
• Dajarra
• Burketown
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.
RESEARCH PURPOSE
To explore the ways in which
Indigenous and nonIndigenous parents engage in
the boarding school choice
process.
Research Questions
1. How does rurality/remoteness influence
parental choice of boarding school?
2. How do parents living in rural and remote
areas inform their choice of boarding school?
3. How does school culture influence rural and
remote parents’ boarding school choice?
4. How does race influence the boarding school
choice process for rural and remote parents?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Epistemology
Theoretical
Perspectives
Research
Methodology
Constructionism
Symbolic
Interactionism
Indigenous
Methodology
Case Study
INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGY
1. The study considers the way in which Indigenous
parents engage in the school choice process.
2. 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.
3. The study seeks to highlight cultural nuances in
the school choice process.
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
DATA GATHERING STRATEGIES
• Focus Groups (Exploration phase)
• One-on-one semi-structured
interviews (Exploration and
Inspection phases)
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.
Theoretical Propositions
“Contentions”
1. Indigenous parents choose socially mobilising
boarding schools for their children that offer their
children intellectual and social capital.
2. Indigenous parents’ definitions of ‘quality’ schools
are supported through their familial relationships.
3. The transmission of universal values, rather than
parochial religion, is a feature of Indigenous parents’
selection of boarding school.
4. There is a racial dimension to the boarding school
choice process for Indigenous parent.
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
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.
Indigenous parents’ definitions of ‘quality’ schools are
supported through their familial relationships.
Constructed notion of ‘good’ and ‘quality schools
Selection/De-selection of schools
Interaction with the ‘grapevine’
Boarding School Choice
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
There is a racial dimension to the boarding
school choice process for Indigenous and nonIndigenous 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
Indigenous Parental Choice of Boarding
School
Recommendations
Policy Recommendations
1. 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.
2. Attention to be given to access to quality schools
by Indigenous people living in rural and remote
communities.
3. Government funding to Indigenous people to
support the provision of education be continued.
Recommendations
System Recommendations
1. Catholic Education jurisdictions further investigate the
ways in which Catholic schools meet the needs of
children from rural and remote locations.
2. 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.
3. 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.