Decolonising the Classroom

Shelley Davidow; Peter (Muraay Djeripi) Mulcahy

Prior to a visit by Aboriginal elder Uncle Bob Randall in 2014, Noosa Pengari Steiner School's high school survey highlighted a significant disconnect between the (nonIndigenous) student population and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people. Our 2014 surveys indicated that not one student had a strong connection to an ATSI person. A small proportion had an adequate understanding of the Stolen Generations (20 per cent) or had a strong interest in the lives of ATSI people (13 per cent). We therefore identified the need for an expansive, collaborative approach when embedding ATSI perspectives as mandated by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Our project involved two full-day book-illustration workshops for stories written by Uncle Bob. The workshops were undertaken by high school students in Years 8 to 12, and led by Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy and Jandamarra Cadd. Our aim was sweeping; embed Indigenous perspectives, facilitate community engagement and expand students' learning. The project resulted in a dramatic shift toward our aims. After the two workshops, our surveys indicated that 70 per cent of students had improved understanding of the Stolen Generations. Interest in ATSI experience had risen from 13 per cent to 46 per cent and students were likely (73 per cent) to be proactive about issues affecting ATSI people. Most significantly, after the workshops, authentic connections had developed between students and local ATSI community members. Pre-workshop no student had strong connections with the ATSI community. Postworkshop a majority of students indicated that they now had a moderate to strong connection, remarkable after just two days. The book illustration project led to an increase in empathy, historical knowledge and progress in all areas outlined in the Australian general capabilities framework and crosscurriculum priorities of the Australian Curriculum. The project is also transferable. As a relational, experientialbased learning journey, it has tremendous implications for future positive relationships between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australia. In this workshop, participants will be given an introduction and overview of the learning journey taken by the Noosa Pengari Steiner School, by teacher Shelley Davidow, cultural educator and artist Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy and QLD Department of Education and Training Community Partnerships Officer, Alister Bartholomew. The workshop will provide a guided artistic experience for participants raising some important questions, such as: what is a 'decolonial' approach to learning? The artistic workshop activity will echo the project and enable participants to experience illustration led by ATSI cultural guides as a way of engaging with history, a way of developing empathy and as a result, deep learning of the realities of Australia past and present. Participants will also be included in a short two-part survey. In groups of two, participants will be handed an unpublished short story written by the late Uncle Bob Randall, elder, traditional owner of Uluru and a child of the Stolen Generations and guided through an illustration process. The groups will have the opportunity to illustrate specific pages as Peter and Alister share knowledge and talk about the Australia that so many of us do not see. At the end, participants will be asked to respond to the survey questions again, to ascertain if a one-hour workshop can result in a shift in perspective and be a catalyst for change.

Decolonising the Classroom

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